6 You’ve seen a lot of youth and schools cricket in the last few years. Is it well structured and managed these days?
Youth cricket outside Schools has come on very well. The structure for up and coming players is so much better than in my days, with great work being put in by Cricket Ireland and the NICA, initially by Garfield Harrison, then by Gordon McKenzie, Bobby Rao & Brian Walsh, and now in the very capable hands of Ryan Haire and RyanEagleson. The number of quality players coming through is testament to this - witness the likes of Paul Stirling, James Hall, James Shannon, Lee Nelson, Gavin McKenna, & Greg Thompson in recent years. All of thembenefitedfrom the structures that have been built. The same goes for the entire set up for Youth Cricket in Ireland, and in recent years we have also seen Andrew White, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien, Eoin Morgan, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, & Gary Wilson coming through the system to play International Cricket and gain full time County contracts. Others inIrelandand sure to follow are Andrew Balbirnie, Graham McDonnell, GeorgeDockrell, and Shane Getkate to name just a few. Ben Ackland is also in there, already on the books of a County side, so we must be doing something right!! Unfortunately, despite there being a lot of good young cricketers about, School's cricket in Northern Irelandis generally not in such a good state. There are too many mismatches and meaningless games, for example a friendly twenty over game played on a Saturday morning between two of the mismatched sides. This deprives many good cricketers of meaningful cricket and continuing development, as the games they are playing on these days prevent them from playing a longer game for their Club in a more competitive environment on the same day. By all means play School's cricket up to 1st XI level on a Saturday, but it is blindingly obvious that the development of a player is better through the Clubs. Play the School's Cup with all players available during the week, and let the better players go to Club Cricket. As always, there is another side, and the Senior School's Tour and Under 15 Tours to Englandare very wellorganisedand managed. Basil McNamee, Ted Cooke, ChrisHarte, Simon Thompson, and John Semple deserve special mention for their work here. I have been on several of these trips, and they have all been superblyorganised. Any cricket that has been played has been of a very high standard, and the boys have both enjoyed andbenefitedfrom the experience. Mention should also go to Roger Bell and George Wilson, who (when sober!)organiseand look after the Belfast Team which participates in the Under 14 Inner CitiesTaverner'sTournament. Very positive results over a number of years, and this provides another excellent opportunity for young players to develop.
7 What about this stuff we read about parents getting too involved? You are well placed to give an accurate assessment! Haveto say that I am all for parents getting involved! At CSNI I am aware of a number of very interested parents, some of whom are new to the game, and some who are past players and now back having a renewed interest in the game through their offspring. The more of them we can attract the better. At times parents do go overboard when watching their children play, and sometimes the comments from the sidelines are unacceptable. This is somewhat down to the times we live in, but I would have to say that I have seen very little in terms of badbehaviourfrom parents, or from them becoming too involved. Where we do see it happening, I think it is incumbent on all of us who really know the game to encourage these people to continue to attend matches and be involved, but they must understand and maintain the ethos of cricket.
8 Can Stormont establish itself as a quality international cricket ground given the criticism it gets from some spectators despite the huge effort made by the members in promoting games?
I think Stormont is already established as a quality international cricket ground. I will admit that when it is not set up for an International match, it lacks a bit of atmosphere, but that is because it is such a large playing area. However, when it is set up as it was for the game against England, it is as good as anywhere in Ireland, and the backdrop of Stormont Castle is great no matter what, assuming of course that you can see it through the rain! The major issue is not with the ground at Stormont itself, the problem is getting numbers to attend international matches anywhere in the NCU, unless it involves one of the Test Nations. This is a marketing issue for Cricket Ireland, not for the home Club at Stormont.
9 You have strong views and a pragmatic approach to most of the cricket issues that arise these days. Can you see a role for David Heaney within the NCU administration?
During my days at North I held every post on the Cricket Committee at some stage. I also served as Honorary Secretary at Belfast Harlequins, so I have a lot of administrative experience. Workcommitmentsover the past few years have meant that I have had to cut back on such roles, and my involvement now is confined to the not very taxing position of Chairman of Selection at CSNI. In the medium term, I do not see myself returning to anything more time consuming or onerous, either at CSNI or with the NCU. This might change when I retire from my full time job, but I hope that is some years away yet.
10 Finally, if you could change one thing in local cricket at the flick of a switch, what would it be?
The weather!!! Seriously, get the professionals back into the Senior Challenge Cup. It's ludicrous that they can play in every other competition, but not this one. If we want to continue the development of our cricket, the players have to compete against the best side the opposition can put out all of the time, not just some of it. Plus, why pay a player to come here only to sit on the sidelines watching. I know that we want them to coach our players, but let's be honest, they are also here to win matches. They add to the quality of the game, and I just don't understand the rationale behind the rule that prevents them from playing?
Thanks Vanburn.
