...so why was it so badly attended last Saturday?
The evening should be the pinnacle of the season for many clubs and leading players, as the NCU makes its annual presentation of awards. It is a night steeped in history and over the years many leading cricket personalities have provided lots of entertainment as guest speakers, and at its peak, the evening attracted over 400 cricketers and friends.
But not so these days!
At last Saturday’s dinner less than 150 people were present, and when you take away the official guests, it was a poor showing from local cricket. And just why this should be the case is something of a mystery, given the fact that the guest speaker was superb, and the meal itself was excellent. Add the tried and tested traditional Belfast venue, the presentation of the major 2008 awards, and a reasonably priced ticket, and it’s good value for an end-of-season blowout with friend and foe.
But what has gone wrong with the NCU dinner as the numbers are getting less and less every year? This is not only an insult to the sponsors, the union, and the prizewinners; it is a missed opportunity to enjoy one of the social attractions of our sport. Clubs are quick to criticize the union for anything that goes wrong these days, but it’s difficult to throw blame in any other direction in this instance than at the clubs themselves. Many clubs were not represented at all, and some clubs had only token representation. Some people present hadn’t even the courtesy to wear a club tie, and a number of winners did not even bother to attend to collect their awards. It was particularly disappointing that nobody from the Dungannon club was on hand to receive the Umpires Fair Play Award, and an embarrassment that the NCU Senior League trophy was not presented because Civil Service North had made a second appeal against their one point deduction five weeks ago. Since this was done just prior to the dinner, it put the union in an impossible situation. Not surprisingly, some people showed their dissent, but the real losers were the league winners North Down, champions either on their own or jointly, so why should they have missed out on this special occasion? And of course we have to consider the sponsors who look on presentation evenings like this to cement their relationship with the sport and enhance their sponsorship with goodwill and publicity.
Surely the Ulster Bank deserved something better than this?
Everyone loses when the glitter of the annual NCU dinner starts to fade. The hard-working Peter Wood produces some excellent framed memorabilia every year, but sadly on Saturday evening three lovely items were sold at knockdown prizes because there weren’t enough bidders in the audience, and as for the prizes in the draw, they were lightweight items that drew little appeal.
The NCU has a hard-working dinner committee and they deserved better from the clubs. If the venue is wrong then let’s tell the organizers. If the cost is too high then let’s look for a cheaper tariff, but you won’t get better value than what was offered last week. If the entertainment element is weak, then tell the committee and they can engage more entertaining speakers, but let’s not allow our premier social gathering to decline any further.
Wednesday evening is another shop window for the Northern Cricket Union, so let’s hope the clubs and their members support this gathering with a lot more enthusiasm, as our local game deserves better.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
