ANDOVER cricket Club celebrated a successful first year of the new Millennium and one which saw the town club ranked as one of the top ten in the south with its annual end-of-season presentation dinner at the Keystone Hall in Andover.

There was a general feeling of a job well done at the 70-strong gathering as club captain Tim Keighley listed their roll of success throughout the game.

The 1st XI finished in fourth position in the elite ECB Southern Premier League - their highest ever - while all the other teams all secured places in the top six in their own respective leagues, with Paul Collins' 3rd XI putting the seal on a splendid season by winning Hants West Division One and gain promotion to the county league next season.

Not only did Andover celebrate the success of its men's teams but also the outstanding season enjoyed by the colts section. During the summer the colts fulfilled no less than 140 fixtures, over a 100 more than any other comparable club. Their crowing glory was without doubt the success of the Under-15 XI which carried all before them to win three trophies outright.

With the town club also engaged in discussions concerning the exciting redevelopment of its London Road ground, these are marvellous times at Andover.

Apart from the individual batting and bowling awards, the presentation evening is always the time to recognise the contribution made by club members away from the playing field.

Club president Andy Hooper was named as Clubman-of-the-Year for his tireless efforts in setting up the lottery bids for the proposed new indoor cricket school at London Road; Andy Page received the Spirit of the Club award for his work in producing a weekly matchday programme, which is without parallel in local cricket, and Ken Brown took the Committee Award for his work on the ground which has resulted in London Road regaining its status as one of the finest in Hampshire after too many years in the doldrums.

There was also a new award donated by club stalwart John Baxter. The cup has been in the Baxter family for over 40 years and was first played for on a knockout basis by members of the South West Lancs Cricket Association around Wigan. However, in recent years the competition ceased to be viable and Baxter was able to rescue the cup from Widnes CC, who had been the last winners in 1986.

After discussions with his father (who orginally donated the cup) and the town club it was decided to award it to Andover's outstanding player-of-the-season and it was decided that the first winner of the Baxter Player-of-the-Season Cup should be Ian Gardner, who notched up over 1200 runs and claimed 22 wickets. Other playing awards presented were as follows:

1st XI: Batting, Roger Miller; Bowling, Andy Hooper; 2nd XI: Batting, Mark Kavanagh; Bowling, Steven Simpson; 3rd XI: Batting, Dale Green; Bowling, Matthew Hooper; 4th XI: Batting, John Baxter; Bowling, Ken Richardson; 5th XI: Batting, Alan Ellwood; Bowling, Brendon Clarke; Young Player-of-the-Year: Matthew Hooper.