We don’t say ‘yes’ very quickly in Ulster society, but we can all say ‘no’ at the flick of a switch! And Ulster has said ‘no’ to almost any political or religious change for hundreds of years, perhaps until the current political circus.
Politics has no place in sport and neither has religion. Both are up to the conscience of an individual, and over the years cricketers have been adept at keeping both out of their sport. There have been challenges, and while the NCU succumbed to the inevitability of Sunday cricket over thirty years ago, the union quite rightly did not go as far as mandating clubs to play on Sundays. It was left to clubs to re-arrange matches on Sundays if they wanted, but those who objected did not have to accommodate. In more recent times the union has directed clubs to re-arrange matches on Sundays if they were Sunday cricketers, but a club that objects still retains the veto to opt out of such re-arrangements.
The current debate is similar to the issues that have been around for decades but with seemingly more pressure on players getting away from work, players having to take unpaid leave, poor weather, a dislike for two-night cricket, and a modern trend to play less cricket, there is mounting pressure on all clubs to play Sunday cricket. And you can see the logic behind the pro-Sunday cricket lobby, as why should some clubs be forced to play mid-week with weakened teams and at a cost, when a ‘free’ day is available on Sunday. At the other end of the debate lies respect for the Sabbath and quite frankly, there’s no real argument against this position if your faith puts you in that corner. However, nothing is ever that simple, and it would be naïve to think that someone was not a Christian because they played sport on a Sunday. Different religions have different beliefs and different individuals have different approaches. It really comes down to personal conscience and therein lies the crux of this potentially contentious debate. After all, if there are some conscientious objectors within a club, should they have the veto in stopping the majority of others who want to play Sunday cricket?
Another issue that has to carefully factored into the debate is the availability of grounds as not all clubs are in control of their destiny, and also some clubs are sensitive to prevailing local circumstances and may prefer to play away rather than create a social problem within their community.
There is no straightforward solution to this problem but the pressure of re-arranging games within a 22 day period means that more and more clubs will want to use Sundays as an option. That means the clubs that don’t play on Sundays will have to establish their position at club level, then defend that position at the annual general meeting should a proposal be tabled to force all clubs to play Sunday cricket.
It would be a sad day if clubs were forced to play Sunday cricket against their wishes, but even on Saturdays it is almost impossible to get full strength teams so maybe the time has come for all clubs to accept they just can’t get days when all their players are available. But one thing is certain, all available Saturdays should be utilized and that includes the Twelfth of July and every Saturday in September.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
