...is a worthy honour for two of Ulster cricket’s most distinguished performers. Looking back over 100 years of Irish representative cricket. no genuine Hall of Fame would be complete without these two prolific batsmen and former Ireland captains. Indeed their early inclusion in the embryonic years of this innovative Roll of Honour says much for the high esteem in which they are held by the cricket writers, some of whom have been involved in covering Irish cricket for over 40 years.
The Hall of Fame was introduced last year and the first recipients were Dubliners Alec O’Riordan and Dougie Goodwin, immortalized forever in Irish cricket folklore for their demise of the great West Indies touring team at Sion Mills in 1969. And now that two distinguished NCU icons have been recognised, perhaps the writers will look further up the M2 and in a spirit of equilibrium, honour two North-West icons and balance the books? It would certainly be a genuine attempt to recognize the region’s contribution to Irish cricket in a tangible way, and build another bridge towards aligning North-West cricket with the two stronger and more dominant provincial unions in the NCU and Leinster.
Hall of Fame nominees from the North-West conjure up all sorts of worthy recipients, especially if the adjudicators go back to the early years of the North-West Cricket Union, and if they include former union officials. On the playing side it would be difficult to look beyond Scott Huey, Andy McFarlane, EDR Shearer, “Ossie” Colhoun, and John Flood in former years, and perhaps Peter Gillespie, Roy Torrens, Junior McBrine and “Decker” Curry in the more recent years. Assuming the adjudicators are looking towards the wider interests of Irish cricket and not being parochial, perhaps the great Willie McGarvey and the Rev. GW Peacock might not qualify, but there should be a strong case for Eglinton’s long-serving Dr. AH Montgomery who gave Trojan service to Irish and North-West cricket for over fifty years.
Playing catch-up in a Hall of Fame has many challenges, but at the end of the day when the criteria is established, it all comes down to choice. Thankfully in the early years we will be spoiled for choice, because icons like Ivan Anderson and Stephen Warke have exceptional records that set them apart from their peers. This helps give the Roll of Honour the status it deserves, and recipients in the future will look back in awe at the great names that have gone before them.
Well done Ivan and Stephen, and we await with interest some recognition for our North-West brothers.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
