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In all formats of cricket where I have played there are normally 3 tiers - club - county or state and then international cricket.
The interpro is like the county or state tier to get you ready for international cricket but as they only play 3-4 games a year this is not working...I would suggest that the unions get together and form a elite league - the best 3 or 4 teams from each union play in their own seperate league hence ready for the call up to international cricket.
there will be a lot of people against this idea but if certain teams are going to "hire players" to play for them they need to be playing against suitable opposition ( I also would like to think that if a team is paying a player that ALL members of the team should also be paid - very bad for moral if half of the team are paid and the other not ).
The NCU can still have their leagues but section 1 would become the premier league and so on...no point in having players such as Kempy playing against amatuers as it will become soul destroying very quickly for the opposition.

Ivan,
You are correct we need a stepping stone from club cricket to international cricket, but that competition has to have a level playing field and capture the interest of cricketers, spectators, sponsors, and the media. At present it doesn't so all I'm asking for is a competition that does. Remember the early years of the Guinness Cup? Real Interprovincial cricket.
Billy,
All sport is elitest to some degree. It comes with success, facilities and a number of other factors that set clubs apart. The NCU has had it since 1887 and during most of its history it was a lot worse than today. Too much is made of it as big clubs attract ambitious players from small clubs in every sport and they don't become elite simply because of that. You were spoiled at North Down! LOL.

Bumper . The idea that if you want to play at the highest level you might need to move clubs isn't a new thing nor is it confined to cricket .
For example twenty years ago Andy White moved from Ards to North Down and thirty odd years ago Alan and Noel Nelson and Davy and Robbie Dennison moved from Millpark to Waringstown and I'm sure there are many more examples of players moving clubs to have an opportunity to play at the highest level .
Of course there have been players down through the years who decided to stay with their home club. When Muckamore got relegated in 1972 John McCormick could have played in any team in the top flight but stayed at his club. I can think of others in the 70's, 80's and 90's who could have moved up but didn't . In recent years players like Craig Lewis ( who has got his rewards now ) stayed loyal to Derriaghy and another player who could have played at a higher level is Colin Russell at Armagh.
Muckamore lost Jason VdeMerwe to CSNI simply because he wanted to play in the top flight.
We tried to persuade him to stay and all his mates are still at Moylena and would love to have him back but it's easy to understand why players like Jason want to play at a higher level.
I know I love to see him do well in the Premier League and his is the first performance I check each week in the Sunday Life. In a way I still see him as one of ours .
Losing a player with ambition to the top flight is inevitable but it shouldn't for a second stop clubs wanting to develop more and more quality players. Not every club can be in a top eight league but as Neil Fulkerton pointed out you can have good club cricket below the top flight but if you are ambitious ( and good enough) beyond your home club's ambition then I say "go for it" and if it doesn't work out or for what ever reason you will be welcomed back with open arms or as we say " there are no gates at Moylena".
I notice that Clarence thinks the current interpro set up is flawed but what's the alternative ?
Surely we need a stepping stone from club cricket to international cricket. Surely we need our up and coming potential internationals playing against current internationals so we can guage just where they are at in their development.

Maybe we need to address the closed shop that is now the Premier League!
If you are a young ambitious player hoping to play at the top level you need to play for CSNI, CIYMS, Waringstown, Instonians or North Down.
Now surely that is not a healthy situation for the development of club cricket!

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Bumper I think you are being very generous including Muckamore in that list. We shared the top division title once - in 1970 and we have won the Senior Cup once - in 1963 so those successes are in the very distant past. Many of the others you list have had top flight success within the last 20 seasons.

That said come the start of 2016 we will be having a real go at getting back in to the top division and I think that ambition should be encouraged.

The fact you have highlighted eight traditionally strong cricket clubs that are outside the top division shows that NCU cricket in general is in good health and they will play good club cricket as described by Neil Fullerton at the start of this debate.

Other clubs like Armagh, Laurelvale, Academy, Templepatrick, Saintfield, Donacloney, Cregagh, Dundrum and Ards are all working hard at promoting the game and in a few years not only will NCU have a strong Premier League but will have strong Senior Leagues below that with each club having many Saturday teams , ladies teams and youth teams at all ages.

In the not too distant past these clubs were powerhouses in the top division of the NCU.

I ask the question will they ever win or challenge in the 'closed shop'
that is the Premier league?

Oh yes, what clubs- Woodvale, Ballymena, Bangor, Downpatrick, Lurgan, Cliftonville, Holywood and dare I include Muckamore.

It's good to see debate on this subject and others. I really don't see what the issue is. Surely every club decides at what level they want to compete , what level of fundraising they want to do , what sponsorship they can attract .
As Clarence says " the old days are no more". We now have cricket coverage in local papers in the winter, we have another T20 World Cup to look forward to and remember with the possible exception of Tim Murtagh everyone else in that squad will have started as a youngster at a club in Ireland and developed to play on the world stage.
I remember seeing a 15 year old William Porterfield play in a Senior Cup final for Donemana and thinking " this wee lad will be a good player " but never did I think I would be watching him on Sky TV score a century at the ODI World Cup .
And remember he stated at Killymallaght I think it was and I remember playing against a 15 year old Andrew White when he was at Ards. Gary Wilson came to Moylena with Woodvale 2nds as a 14 year old and hit Philip Dewes who was no mug into the river and Philip still talks about knowing that day he was watching someone special.
So this is " our Ireland team ". When I see youngsters running about at Moylena I wonder " will one of these guys play Test cricket?".
Let's get as many NCU players in that first Test team as we can.
That's how the game has moved on and our best young batters and bowlers will only get better playing with and against quality pros. And don't worry about them not getting a chance - if they are good enough they will force there way through .
A successful Ireland team will raise the standards at every level.
"Utopia" for me would be seeing a player on that team sheet with Muckamore in brackets after their name.

Clarence,

I totally agree as the NCU has to progress in the line with other unions so in this semi professional era clubs have to move with times ans Waringstown are a fantastic example of an excellent club structure where they have avoided spending a lot of money to reach success, simlarly those who can and do spend money fair play to them if thats the route to success. I dont think any section 1 club would turn down being promoted to the Premier League but if you had spoken to the majority of clubs mid way through the last few seasons the common response would have been we dont want to go up. We certainly have been guilty of those thoughts in saying that im sure every club tries to win every game. Next season we will have the mindset of lets try and see if we can win the league and go up and give it a go, we might do it or we might not come close. We wont know though without giving it a real good push. Derriaghy are a fine example of a close knit bunch of boys and it will be very interesting if their spirit and togetherness wins them a few games in the Premier League, i think it might just.

Interesting point Taito. No promoted club has ever declined going up to the Premier League but perhaps it may happen in the future? It would be interesting to hear the views of other Section 1 clubs, although we have to commend the top clubs for raising the benchmark to a higher level to compete with the top clubs in other unions. To do otherwise would set us back years and reduce NCU cricket to dinosaur status. Waringstown's success in the Irish Senior Cup this year was great for NCU cricket and widely praised as they championed the union's cause. We have to accept some clubs are driven by different motives, but there is a place for everyone within the NCU structure. The challenge is to understand and manage diversity-not an easy task in Northern Ireland culture!

Ivan,

I agree with a lot you have said as in fair play to the Premier Legaue clubs who can afford to bring in top overseas and irish qualified players. No doubt playing with and against the best improves you as a player, i always loved playing against the best players. The issue i have is that Section 1 clubs did or do have ambition to play in the Premier League but as it gets more and more proffesional and more and more about spending money this has become unachievable to compete in that league for many clubs. We will be pushing as hard as we can to get promoted next season and truly believe we can do it but the Premier leageu carrot dangling isnt that appealing for Section 1 clubs.

Ivan - as much as I want Ireland to win when they play, the bottom harsh line is I don't really care that much.

My loyalties solely lie with my club - not with massaging the egos of the select few

You desperately need to get out of your Muckamore bubble of utopia - either that or someone should burst it for you

Ivan, if your last sentence is correct perhaps we should start by scrapping the Interprovincials and concentrate on the Premier League as a stepping stone to the national squad! They are a jolly for Leinster because of the Ireland player contracts and the current structure is a waste of time and money.
Neil, I understand your philosophy but most sports are semi or fully professional these days. I'm also sure there's a brown envelope or two in the NI Amateur League which supposedly caters for club football outside the professional game. Unfortunately the 'good old days' have disappeared and we live and play in a different era. I only know the finances of one Premier League club and they registered a trading profit at their AGM two weeks ago for the first time in years. They also did quite well on the pitch so there is a business model that works. Also, I think Waringstown has a genuine club culture, and is one of the lighter spenders. However, at the end of the day every club will do what they think is best for them and that's their prerogative. Good luck to you guys next season.

Michael - I'm not sure what you are reading . Neil and I are on the same page . I believe clubs make decisions based on their own ambitions . Ballymena want to play good club cricket probably in Section One and that's to be applauded.
However it shouldn't stop clubs like CIYMS , Waringstown etc wanting to play a higher standard and if that means bringing top drawer pros I think that's to be equally applauded.
Maybe we need to introduce a licencing system like you have in Football in Northern Ireland . A club can play and win the Champiobship but opt not to play in the Premier league. Ambitious clubs like Ballinamalard emerge and say " we want to play with the big boys ".
We need a strong Premier cricket league to help us develop international players in the NCU area.

Well said Neil fullerton - 100% right

Ivan - oh dear, I don't even know where to start :(