There are so many words I could use to describe Luke, ‘servant, loyal, raucous and kind’ being just a small mix of them. For anyone who has ever come into contact with him, you’ll already know he’s one of a kind, i’m pretty sure there isn’t another person on the planet like Luke.

As a cricketer, his performances on the field say far more about him than I could put into words. The fact that his stats rocketed off on an upwards curve after a bang on the head has proved to be a point of entertainment and fun poking for the whole of the committee (seriousness of the injury very much acknowledged!). The fact that the Radcliffe road lower crowd breaks out in cheer after he has completed a T20 over is testament to his value to Nottinghamshire fans and members. The fact the stewards on the gates at Trent Bridge still consider him one of their own (years after he stopped working the gates) supports the fact he is indeed ‘one of our own’.

So, planning a testimonial year for this huge character hasn't been without the odd challenge or two, very often as a committee we’ve been left saying ‘what would Fletch do?’, and fundamentally we know the answer - have fun, make memories and ensure that we can make a significant donation to the nominated charities at the end of the year. On the note of the charities, please watch our video about Leo and his story, Leo’s family were supported by PASIC a local Nottingham charity and this video shows you exactly why their hard work and tireless service very much deserves our support. In addition we are supporting the PCA and are very much looking forward to welcoming them to some of our events. Luke will also be taking on an ambassador role for The Trent Bridge Community Trust this year.

So what does this year hold? We’ll be releasing different events on this site at different times, however there will be a mix of dinners, family picnics, golfing adventures, mystery bus tours, racing days and very special pitch days at Trent Bridge, we hope we’ve come up with a calendar of events that suit every family and every pocket at some point across the year. Please subscribe to our mailing list to help us keep you up to date and feel free to contact us with any suggestions!

Personally i’d like to say a little thank you to a few people before signing off, the LF23 Committee - a constant source of laughter and reality checking, for requesting event flyers and raffle ticket books like you would never believe, thank you for being a part of the LF23 crew, this year is going to be great because of you.

Finally to you, the supporters of LF23 - welcome to the clan, lets enjoy!

Kirsty