North Down 1st XI had a busy weekend, but the limelight at Comber on Saturday fell on their 3rd and 4th Elevens who locked horns in the semi-final of the Lindsay Minor Cup on the top ground. It was a keenly-contested match but much of the attention centred on the North Down wicket-keeper Don Shields who was in lively form behind the stumps for the Fourths. Not much wrong with that you might say, but Don is a spritely 67-year-old and will celebrate another birthday before the season ends. No mean feat by any standard.
Don Shields has been playing cricket for North Down for over 50 years and at the start of his career he was a sharp opening bowler. He moved on to become a very competent opening batsman and when the club needed a wicket-keeper he stepped into the breach. He has always been a natural all-round sportsman and for many years he was also a very accomplished football and hockey player. But it is his longevity that has stood out in recent years and there’s no doubt he has “cricket at seventy” firmly on his radar. The popular raconteur of tall stories is a big hit with his younger teammates and a shining example of how to play the game in the right spirit.
Across the city at Carrickfergus it was another Shields that captured the headlines as 17-year-old opener Alistair scored his maiden senior century. It was a remarkable achievement for the Grosvenor High School student who was thrust into the opening slot following an injury to Andrew Sutherland.
North Down travelled to Limavady on Sunday for their Clubturf Ulster cup semi-final and it was 16-year-old Peter Eakin who captured the limelight with key wickets at a time when the other Comber bowlers were on the receiving end of an early onslaught. The interesting sequel to this story was the comparison with Limavady who opted for experience and plenty of it when they bowled. At one stage the combined age of their bowling attack was 100 plus as 54-year-old Victor McDaid and 46-year-old former Ireland all-rounder Nigel Thompson held court. And they bowled well, even if their fielding was a bit laboured.
Age is not a barrier if you keep fit and have the enthusiasm to continue your career for as long as you feel up to it. At the other end of the scale Peter Eakin and Alistair Shields have shown they have the maturity to live with the best players in senior cricket. And the same goes for 14-year-old Adam Dennison at Waringstown. Son of former international opener Davy Dennison, Adam has broken into the senior team at the Lawn and seems destined for a long career.
Age is just a number and all three young players will be inspired by their elder statesmen.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
