...and two years ago joined the NCU administration to put something back into the game at union level. He’s now entering his second season as union PRO and has no illusions about the challenges ahead. However, he’s up for the challenge and feels clubs and union could work a lot closer with each other.
Ulster Cricketer editor Clarence Hiles asks some probing questions…
1 Another season, another set of challenges. As NCU PRO do you set specific targets each season?
This is only my second season as NCU PRO and last season was very much a learning curve, not least because I also got married and this took up a lot of my spare time. My main aims this year will be to promote the union and the clubs and schools and to liaise with the press. I’d like clubs to see my role as helping them find out a lot more about what’s happening at union level.
2 Are you interactive with clubs on a regular basis or only when the union needs to send out a message?
I wouldn’t say that I am in contact on a regular basis with clubs but I’m always available, I have tried to encourage clubs to use the “Club Focus” section on the union website that I created for better lines of communication, and some have taken up the invitation. However, generally I have been disappointed that most clubs have not used this as an easy PR option available to them. I feel that this is a great way to get a club some coverage on what is now a popular site.
As far as sending messages out to clubs, our General Secretary Bryan Milford normally does this. I tend to focus on getting press releases to the media channels regarding competition matters and issues that happen during the season.
3 There’s been a lot of controversy in recent years. Has this tarnished the image of local cricket?
I sometimes think there has been some type of “NCU-gate” each year for the last number of seasons. People have to remember that individuals, not machines, run the union and the clubs and there will always be mistakes and human errors. There are also at least two sides to every controversy, and everyone thinks they are right. The NCU committees do their best in these difficult circumstances and always try to make the right decision. But inevitably, there is always a side that feels hard done by and the wrong choice has been made. I wouldn’t say that any of these issues has seriously tarnished the local game, because if the outcome had been a different decision, then there would still have been controversy. It goes with the territory.
4 Some people say the NCU is anti publicity and doesn’t take a more proactive role in dealing with controversial issues. How do you react to this comment?
Perhaps the NCU could be more proactive but who knows what is right? These people have to remember that the NCU is a small union within a small sport. The officers are all volunteers and give up a lot of their spare time to help run the sport and many of them take on more than one role. I can assure everyone that each union volunteer wants the NCU to run a smoothly as possible and to make the right decisions. This can take time and although it may look as if the union is not moving quickly, the consultation process within an amateur organization can be slow. We are certainly not anti publicity, but we do take our time to carefully consider all the implications before going public.
5 Local cricket is losing column space in newspapers and gets less and less coverage on radio and television. Is this a concern for the union?
Of course it is, as we want to attract new sponsors and to promote our existing sponsors so we need to provide good publicity in return. I feel that cricket in the modern world is less attractive to some people than it was years ago, and that interest has been dwindling for some time. Some say that Saturday cricket is too long and takes up too much time and this creates negativity. Obviously this is reflected in media interest. We are working to improve the current situation but clubs also need to take more responsibility and get their results and reports into the local press. I know some clubs are excellent and do provide the information for their local paper and this is great. The union will do its bit, but each club PRO must also be supporting the PR campaign.
6 The NCU gets a fair bit of bashing from its critics, many of whom are unknown website correspondents. Is this something the union accepts or wants to do something about?
I guess that many organizations get a bashing on websites so the NCU is probably no different. People have the choice to write on these forums or not, and personally I think they are very important to see what the public really thinks. Ok, some people can go a bit too far and maybe then decide to remain anonymous and yes, it’s easy to say things on line and especially behind a bogus name.
As I have said before, the union makes decisions that they feel are fair and correct, but someone will always think it is the wrong decision and that’s life. My opinion is that it’s good to see what people say on forums, and although some of it can be quickly discarded, sometimes a good point or idea does pop up that can be used for the betterment of local cricket.
7 Is the NCU anti website Forums?
I wouldn’t say that the union is anti forums, but some people within the NCU have opted not to get involved. Personally I think they are excellent tools to see what some people in the local cricket community are thinking. And, if you can get through the deluge of postings on clubs buying success or certain runners in the 3-15 at Epsom, generally there are many good chats. I guess it’s a bit like being in the bar after a game, where everyone has an opinion, except that on the forum some people hide their identity.
8 There was a PR course recently for clubs. Was the NCU involved?
I have been working with Katie Nixon from Northern Ireland Sports Forum trying to get something for the NCU clubs. There are various workshops organized for sports clubs to use, and more information is available on the NCU website at www.irishprovincialcricket.com/NORTHERN/index
We did try to get a workshop targeted at cricket only, but unfortunately not enough interest was given by the associated clubs to make this happen. That was disappointing.
9 Can your role as NCU PR be developed for the betterment of the local game?
Yes, is the simple answer. I feel that the union wants to develop the role and help get the local game into the bigger picture. This will take time and will also require the help of the NCU clubs. Some people expect miracles from the NCU officers but if the clubs help me with information I will certainly help them back. PR in local cricket is a joint venture.
10 Finally if you had the ability to change one thing in local cricket at the flick of a switch what would it be?
I’d like to change a few things, especially the weather that seems to be a regular pest each year! I would also like to see more people, maybe the ones that have all the answers on the forums, get involved in committees. There are about 80 seats on various NCU committees (with about 50 people taking those seats), but there is an option to increase that to 100 if clubs nominated more members. The NCU is not a closed shop and if more people got involved then it would reduce the need for some members to have two and three roles, and ultimately that should improve the smooth running of the administration.
On the playing side I would like to see much more respect from the players towards the umpires and to each other. This poor behaviour has crept into the modern game but there should be zero tolerance for abuse towards the umpires and the opposition players.
It’s just not cricket!
Thanks Ryan and good luck this season and in the future.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
