Most people have been able to highlight the problems without too much trouble, but understandably not everyone is in agreement on the solutions, and the best way forward. Public debate is healthy and website forums have been excellent mediums in getting a wider cross-section of opinion to the table, and although many correspondents often feel the "powers that be" are oblivious to these postings, that's certainly not the case. Union officials are regular readers, but because of their positions have wisely taken back seats in the general correspondence.
Change is often difficult, but not impossible to achieve, as we have seen in the past few days with the restructuring of the old Irish Cricket Union. This reflects the needs of sport in the modern era and while the interests of competitive cricket north of the border have been well served by both unions for over 120 years, we have long since now reached the time to re-visit the current format.
The NCU road-shows last year were steps in the right direction but they didn't really get off the ground and proposals that were previously thought of as popular, like the Ulster league, got only a lukewarm reception. Perhaps this was inevitable given that the impetus for such a structure was coming from some of the top clubs and the lesser lights had little to gain.
However, that may be changing. Given that the aspirations of most (but not all) of the top clubs are different from those who enjoy the recreational side of the game more, there is a distinct gap widening between the two schools of thought. The NCU attempted to assist the debate by putting forward suggestions for change, but they got nowhere, so perhaps the impetus has to come from the people who champion this cause, namely the ambitious clubs.
While I'm a traditionalist at heart, the game in 2008 is a very different game than thirty years ago, and there's no good reason to shackle the progressive clubs if their ideas take cricket forward and to a higher level. One possible suggestion is the Ulster League, or a premier division to be more politically correct.
Such a league might be abhorrent to the majority of clubs because it is elitist and beyond their reach, but if the game is to go forward and the tops clubs are to service the Ireland team structure, it won't come from the lesser lights in the game. It has to come from the bigger and more ambitious clubs. Almost inevitably the teams in the premier division would be the ones offering semi-professional or professional contracts, and if the sponsorship was big enough to sustain such a structure, then surely the best players would be playing against each other, and this would be a natural stepping stone to representative cricket.
If clubs like North Down, Carrick, Instonians, Civil Service North and CI saw greater merit in a premier division playing against Brigade, Limavady, Glendermott, Eglinton and Bready, then wouldn't much of the player tapping and player movement disappear from our routine rank and file club cricket?
Wouldn't such a premier division rejuvenate the game at the highest level and create the stepping stone to international cricket that is currently missing?
Of course some people might see such a development as divisive rather than visionary, and two of the strongest clubs in the Province, namely Waringstown and Donemana, would perhaps have to change their thinking if they wanted to be involved. And therein like the crux of the debate. Would a premier league achieve all its visionary objectives if two or three of the top teams opted out and thereby diluted its status?
One thing that is certain, there would have to be a strong business model on the table to drive such a revolutionary change to fruition and if it wasn't on the table, then why mess around with what we have? That said, semi-professionalism is already in our cricket and we certainly need to look at ways of controlling and regulating it for the betterment of all clubs and the development of the game at the highest level.
These are challenging times.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
