The NCU has had excellent administrators down the years and our current crop is up there with the best and worthy of the praise and compliments they modestly decline. Of course, there have been mistakes, some dreadful ones if we are being honest, but in the bigger picture who doesn’t make mistakes and in the economies of scale do a few mistakes depict the integrity and calibre of anyone or any administration?
Well done Andy in standing up for your fellow administrators because without them cricket would be nothing. Can you imagine a Saturday match without administrators? For a start it is a “friendly” because there are no leagues, there are no neutral umpires and possibly no scorers. No club officials, no teas, and no grounds staff and ultimately nobody interested. We all love to say the game is about the players, but that is one of the great fallacies in cricket. Of course, the players rightly have the limelight, but to make the game happen involves another set of officials and behind-the-scene “players” whose skills and expertise are vital in pursuit of a good game. Sad to say, but many of the modern players fail to match the status or integrity of the very people who contribute more to their afternoon’s entertainment than they care to acknowledge. Of course, not all teams are full of pumped-up spoilt brats who arrive, play and depart, the option of socializing determined by whether they win or lose. Thankfully most clubs have level headed passionate cricket people in key positions and are above criticism. And therein lies the balance that needs to be considered when occasional mistakes are made or officials are abused. These are isolated incidents and sometimes without substance. In any case there is always a forum for dealing with problems and it is certainly not on the cricket field irrespective of the tensions or emotions involved. Get real, this is essentially an amateur sport and we need to keep a perspective given the many challenges that face mankind in the modern world.
Andy Clement’s statement of support is well-timed and will hopefully be followed by an NCU declaration of zero tolerance of dissent on and off the field. We talk the talk at union and club level, but now is the time to give our umpires, our opposition and their supporters much more respect and play the game hard, but in good spirit. However, the responsibility doesn’t lie with the NCU alone, it lies squarely at the table of the club and its captains. If a club is truly genuine about playing within the spirit of the game it should appoint responsible captains and when things go wrong deal with them in a meaningful and responsible way. Any incident reported to the NCU Disciplinary Committee should be investigated at club level long before it reaches the union and appropriate action taken. And the action shouldn’t be determined by the status of the player. If you have principles and integrity they should never be compromised. If you don’t have them you shouldn’t be playing sport.
The modern world is very different from what has gone before and a cancer has crept into sport that challenges authority and allows criticism whether fair or unfair the same publicity. But it does nothing for the game and although anonymous forum postings on websites are regrettable, you can understand why some people feel passionate enough to express their concerns, but don’t want the personal abuse that could follow. The old adage of “look at the message and not the messenger” has yet to be accepted in Irish cricket website culture. That said, there is no room for personal criticism of an individual. You have every right to voice an opinion, but you have to respect a right to disagree and go forward.
Well-spoken Andy and let’s see a follow-up to clean up our game and deal with the negatives in a positive and responsible way at union, club and individual level. Everyone will benefit and more good people will step forward to promote and develop the game. We need them!
Clarence Hiles
Editor
