6 Which grounds have made the biggest improvement in recent years?
There are some grounds that stand out. For example, Saintfield year on year have had great reports about their wickets, and North Down, Waringstown and Bangor have always been at the top of the scorings from the umpires. Last year the wickets at Shaw’s Bridge Lower have seen a massive improvement.
7 Does your work on the grounds committee give the same attention to the pitches used in junior and minor cricket, and especially public grounds?
It is hard to cover every ground in the lower divisions and if I am honest, they are not given enough attention. This is something, which is currently being addressed by the grounds committee. Public grounds are in short supply and I know the NCU have been doing their upmost to get councils to provide more grounds. Belfast City Council has to be commended for the work they have done in regard to Mallusk. Along with some dedicated helpers from Cliftonville, Mallusk now has a grading for Division One cricket, which is tremendous as only two years ago this ground was graded for Division 3 only cricket.
8 Many of the top grounds still lack basic spectator facilities like seating, bathrooms, refreshments, and shelter. Can we attract more supporters to watch games if the facilities are so archaic?
I think we will always attract supporters irrespective of the facilities, as cricket followers are generally a hardy bunch of people. As mentioned above, money needs to be spent on facilities to improve them, but with some clubs, we all know that this may be the last place where money is spent!
9 Is the current assessment of grounds the best system and does it embrace all the facilities or just the playing area?
The current assessment is by a form that the umpires complete. Some people may think the umpires just stand each Saturday, but their reports are so important to the grounds committee as they allocate scores for the facilities, equipment, wicket, and outfield. These scores are collated at the end of the season, and that is how we grade grounds.
I feel this is still the best way to collate scores, as the umpires are independent assessors. Occasionally captains complete ground result forms but sometimes they are influenced by the result, and may not be as independent!
10 If you could change one thing at a flick of a switch in relation to improving the standard of cricket grounds then what would it be?
I would love to see Cricket Ireland introduce a funding or grants scheme for equipment to all clubs in Ireland.
Thanks Neil
