When times are tough even cricketers have to forsake the rulebook and extend the hand of friendship.
Nobody from the outside world knows the full story behind the loss of Cliftonville Cricket Club’s ground but we have known for some time that the club was under serious pressure, so the news that they are to play their Premier League games away this season was hardly a major shock. To their credit the NCU has been sympathetic, and given the predictable criticism that they had abandoned their own rulebook once again, their resolution is commendable. But this is not an issue about NCU rules and regulations, it is about helping a friend in need and the critics need to step back from their self-appointed high moral standing and reflect on what this fine old Belfast club has given to local cricket over the years, and how it has always faced adversity and survived.
The Cliftonville story dates back to 1870 when the club was formed under the name of Enfield Cricket Club using a pitch at Clifton Park in North Belfast. It disbanded a few years later but bounced back in 1874 although by then they had lost some of their best players, including the famous Vint brothers who helped put North of Ireland on the map. Willie Vint was described as the greatest wicker-keeper Ireland ever produced in Lillywhite’s Cricket Annual of the time, and he won ten caps for Ireland and was the first Ulster player to score 1,000 runs in a season. In 1880 the club assumed the name of Cliftonville and continued to have close associations with Ormeau. It was also a founding member of the NCU and took part in the first NCU Senior Cup competition in 1887. One of the finest players at the turn of the century was FB ‘Ned’ Newett who played regularly at both North and Cliftonville, and of course their legendary captain Dr. AB Mitchell was one of the greatest characters and servants of Ulster cricket. Dr. Mitchell was a pillar of the NCU for many years and was followed by JC ‘Jimmy’ Picken, another outstanding NCU administrator who served his club and union magnificently through tough times, including the difficult war years. Along the road Cliftonville won league and cup trophies at every level of local cricket and produced a plethora of representative players and many fine soldiers who served their country during two horrific wars.
The post-war era was tough going for Cliftonville, but the club could not have anticipated the loss of their ground and the intimidation and assaults on their members that came with the ‘Troubles’ in the late Sixties. The hoodlums eventually destroyed the clubhouse and a fine old Belfast ground that had hosted senior cup finals and hundreds of cricket and hockey matches became another victim of senseless civil disorder. The Cliftonville Club became nomads but survived at public playing fields because of the determination and the grit of its members, and the sympathetic support from its peers. When a new home was eventually found it heralded a new era, an era that saw their 1st Eleven win the senior league championship three years in succession in the mid Nineties, and just a few years after an ill-advised legal spat with the union involving Raman Lamba’s status.
Throughout the period Cliftonville has produced many fine players, not least Kyle McCallan, one of the all time greats in Irish Cricket. In more recent times teenager Paul Stirling has burst into the Ireland senior team so the legend lives on.
In the past thirty years the NCU has had to deal with ground problems involving clubs like RUC, Cregagh, Holywood, North of Ireland, Instonians, and Carrickfergus, and been sympathetic to extenuating circumstances. The same hand of friendship now needs to be extended to Cliftonville as this club has given Ulster cricket Trojan service over 138 years and that has to count for something when times are tough.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
