The trinity of cricket, laughter & beer is what formed the Misfits. It remains at the heart of everything we are and everything we do. It’s the platform that made 2008 such a glittering year and is what will sustain our tribal eminence into the future. In 2008 we played 42 games, providing opportunity in abundance for all. We hosted 10 touring teams & toured the Philippines & Malaysia. We took part in 3 domestic tournaments, winning all of them in style. We made 150 kids grin from ear to ear at our Under 12’s tournament, & were the 1st to pioneer beach cricket in Asia. Our awards night told the story of a jaw achingly funny year, evidenced partly by the pics on our home page, but more fully by our 2008 reportage. We excelled at the bar, consuming 2,293 pints on match days plus a further 5,230 pints at The Cavern. That’s a staggering 8,506 pints, clearly illustrating our tribal tone…as well as the room for medical sponsorship in 2009. Our BBC chat-board extended Misfit sledging & puerility beyond the pitch, averaging 5,000 page views per month. What does this all mean? Well in short it means that to be a Misfit is something to be F@*$#ng proud of. Together we have created a tribe of substance and contributed to the betterment of cricket. Not by any grand design…but simply as a consequence of being true to our like-minded trinity. So how do we make sure we stay special? This was the key question posed at our 3 week on-line AGM, where we came together to co-create our future. Thanks to everyone who took part, both on & off line. The dialogue was rich, with our AGM chat-board threads receiving over 100 posts & 1,000 page views. Our organizing team met recently to review the collective feedback from our AGM. Using the basis of this dialogue, here is a summary of the decisions that were made. 1. Who are our organizing team for 2009-10 & how does it differ to the past? Here is your organizing team for 2009-10. Its packed with, colourful characters, from diverse backgrounds & differing points of view, balanced with a modicom of sanity (thanks Lorraine)....To some it might read like a high octane recipe for a bar fight....it probably is....but eccentricity, non conformity & passion for being a Misfit are qualities harcoded into our DNA. Its what makes us distinctive. Its what makes us eminant.

New roles & role changes

a. A new Vice Captaincy & Master Banker position merges the previous VC & Treasurer functions.

b. A new Rest of the World (ROW) captaincy leverages the growth of our very strong non English/Aussie contingent and gives birth to a new Misfit Tri-Series.

c. The position of Misfit Almanac will develop our stats tracking and an all new Misfit Fantasy League.

d. The role of Tournaments Captain has evolved to Master-Batters Captain. This new role will oversee all games where we face seriously strong competition & need to field the best side we can muster.

e. Other roles have been sunset in favor of 9 new Advisor positions. This brings the Organising Team to 17 volunteers. It ensures diverse representation, so that we keep the interests of all members front of mind. At the same time with 50% of Misfits traveling at any point in time - it ensures that we always have a decision making quorum and manpower to get things done.

New faces

a. Abhi Parinam (Wooka) steps into the new ROW captaincy.

b. Jamie O’Sullivan (Sully) hands on the baton of the England Captaincy to Jeremy Smith (Jezza). Jamie takes on the new role of Misfit Almanac.

c. Pete Alexander (JD&C) passes Tournament Captaincy to Mark Christensen (Hammer) who becomes Master Batters Captain.

d. Paul Lattimore (Latts), Lorraine Meyer, Alex Khan (Khanage), Mike Velappan (Mikey), Graham Burns (Grazza) & Peter Salt (Saltie) step into advisory positions as do existing Organizing Team members Pete Alexander, Nick Ohlin (Moose) & Todd Harper.

Stepping down from the organizing team are Phil Childs designer of our Logo and playing shirts, David Ritchie (Weasel) our Original Club & England Ashes Captain & Nigel Perera (Ponch) our seed sponsor in 2008 who moved to Hong Kong.

We owe a debt of gratitude to every one of our Organising team volunteers, both past and present - without their time and energy nothing would have been and nothing is possible.

2. What will be our membership policy going forward?

We have grown to 122 registered members. To focus on our current membership & build tribal spirit we have decided to cap membership to 128 playing members. 128 is an auspicious Misfit number, representing the record number of tall beers sunk after any game last year.

New registrants beyond our elite 128 will be placed on a waiting list and require nomination by an existing member and seconding by an Organizing team member. Their playing membership will only become active once there is room.

3. What is the cost of membership be in 2009 & what do members receive in return?

In 2009 there will be 3 types of membership

i. Renewing members - $100 receive a 2009 drinking shirt,

ii. New members - $150 receive Playing & Drinking Shirts, a Cap, Membership card and a sequential Misfit number that is theirs for life.

iii. Student, National Service & Female membership (renewing & new) - $50 receive a Playing shirt, cap & Membership card.

Playing fees for Renewing & New members will remain $40 per game, where as Student, NS & Female members will pay $20 per game.

4. When do members renew their membership for 2009?

To create cash flow at the beginning of the year we will be asking all members to renew their membership in March. For members who joined less than 6 months ago we will prorate the renewal fee.

A membership renewal note will be sent to each member in Mid February.

5. Do we have any new sponsors in 2009?

Yes we have 2 TechSmart & the Michael Angelo Restaurant Group

i. TechSmart ASIA is an IT solutions company catering to the Financial Services industry and becomes a primary sponsor.

ii. Thanks to Misfit, Michael ‘Slugger’ Hadley owner of The Michael Angelo Group we have a new 20% give back program with their fab restaurants. They are Zambuca at the Pan Pacific & Michael Angelo’s and Original Sin at Holland Village. The program operates in the same way as our very successful program with the Cavern, where 20% of everything spent by card carrying Misfits will be donated back to the club in the form of credits.

6. Do the Misfits play social or a competitive cricket?

This was the subject of a fair amount of dialogue. The answer without reservation is that we are both. We always play to win - but equally important - we always aim to ensure that everyone has a great time including our opposition.

Because of the fundamental role team captains have on achieving this we will form a pool of captains on a volunteer basis who,

i. Know how to captain

ii. Know most of the team

iii. Ensures everyone including the opposition have a great time

7. What new cricket formats will we develop in 2009?

Cage Cricket - Following a ton of interest in indoor cricket & nets practice, we will partner with our equipment sponsor Cotton & Willow to pioneer Cage Cricket in Singapore. In essence a warehouse has been converted to provide Singapore’s first indoor cricket facility. We will start with a few mid-week bookings a month and then build behind the enthusiasm generated.

Beach Cricket - After the tremendous success of our end of year beach cricket bash, we have decided to put on 2 events per year. The first will be toward Mid year and will be an invitational to our sister clubs in Singapore. The 2^nd will be our regular end of season shin dig.

Kids Cricket – We will look to develop an under 12’s league format in addition to our regular kids cricket 6’s competition.

Finally - I'd like to thank all Misfits past & present for their contribution to making our tribe such a F@*$#ng pleasure to be a part of. Misfits around the world - I salute you.

Nishan - Misfits Cricket Tribal Leader