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Win, lose or draw after a tough game I like to spend a Saturday evening with a liquid libation accompanied by a legendary tune or two from Marty Robbins...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=999RqGZatPs

"Big Wood"

To a cricket club in Lurgan rode a stranger one fine day
only spoke with the skipper, didn't have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a quip
For the stranger there among them had a big wood by his hip
Big wood by his hip

It was early in the morning when he rode into the town
He came riding from the south side slowly lookin' all around
He's an outlaw running loose came the whisper from each lip
And he's here to do business with the big wood by his hip
Big wood by his hip

The opposition had a pacey bowler known as Nasty Ned
Many batsmen had tried to hit him but their stumps got spread
He was fast and he was vicious though a youth of twenty four
And his wickets so far numbered one and ninety more
One and ninety more

Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around
Was a former player who wouldn't be too long in town
He came here to put some manners into a bowlers head
Said he'd do it off the first ball, bowled by Nasty Ned
Bowled by Nasty Ned

Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Nasty Ned
But the bowler didn't worry men before had froze like lead
Ninety one had tried to take him ninety one had made a blip
Ninety two would be the stranger with the big wood by his hip
Big wood by his hip

Wickets soon fell quickly but the stranger did not twitch
And by twenty past eleven he walked out on the pitch
Folks were watching from the pavillion, sure he'd get struck
For they knew this handsome stranger was another sitting duck
Another sitting duck

There were 22 yards between them when the umpire called out play
And the timing of the stranger is still talked about today
Nasty Ned barely had cleared leather fore the stranger walked down the strip
Sending the ball far over the boundary with the big wood by his hip
Big wood by his hip

It was over in a flicker and the folks all gasped aloud
As they watched the ball go hurtling, then disappear into a cloud
Nasty Ned was taken off, knowing he'd made a fatal slip
When he tried to bounce the stranger with the big wood by his hip
Big wood by his hip

Big wood Big wood, when he tried to bounce the stranger with the big wood by his hip

i agree with the knights fan when talking about pros. if every team had no pros then you see the real team. i dont think pros should play in the ncu set up. That is a spot gone. when you look at the top 4 teams in the league 1 and the bottom 3 of the PL there is nothing in it only paid players.. and the team who would come out would be Woodvale in my opinion.

Just to re-iterate I said the main difference in standard in the calibre of pro. All 7 PL pros play first class. Then look at muckamore who went down last year, poor pro was the main reason, same I think with carrick this year. (No such thing as a poor pro but poor in comparison to other teams). Think if you had a pro-less game between Lisburn/Ballymena/Carrick/Downpatrick/Muckamore/Derriaghy.... In my personal opinion 1 of the latter 4 would come out on top. Personal opinion though....

Re - Knights Fan

I have watched a fair bit of cricket over the last few years and i hate to say it but there is a huge gulf in standard between PL and section 1 and that includes the bottom of the PL and top of section 1. Promotion and relegation over the last few years highlights my point.

I think in reality, any player wishing to progress to Knights and then ultimately Ireland will need to be associated with a PL club and consistantly perform at the highest level.

This is no different to any other sport and unfortunately with this will see the trend of players moving clubs continue.

Can someone please clarify - do cricket ireland give any money or funding to individual clubs ?

I think the interpro set up is the right lines to go along. Gives club cricketers the incentive to perform and gives a young player not involved in the English County set up a clear pathway to progress to the international stage.

However, think the knights need to be better used. What is the purpose of playing a clubs pro? Waste of time from a development perspective. Also, while they are terrific players it is also complete waste of time playing White/Jones etc (retired internationals) in interpro games. Get the young guys in! Nelson/Shannon/Getkate/Thompson/Doc all capable of leading the team in the absence of these figures, who all still have a realistic chance of playing for Ireland. Then the rest of the team should be under 25s, Adair/Eakin/Dennison/McCollum etc.

Also agree with an earlier point about there being all lot of talent overlooked in section 1. Really there isn't a great deal of difference between bottom PL teams and Top S1 teams, only difference in my view is the quality of pro.

Think its critical the new u21s set up is used well. A lot of very talented players have been forgotten about by the set up because they aren't involved in senior knights stuff.

First it's £10k, then £100k, now I'm hearing £1.5 million over three years on top of match fees, food expenses, hotels, travel, add into that the coaches, manager, administrator, umpires fees, scorers fees, ground fees and not forgetting stays in the La Mon Hotel if you please.... Have I missed anything ?

It's a crazy world gone mad !

Jack, you were saying about who do you bring in for the knights team. What i think is the selectors (Only) look for players in the premier league. there is a lot of really good talent in league 1. League 1 is a harder league to win and get out of than the PL really.. There is 1 batsman I would say and his name is Sam Fleiming. what a class batsman to watch. #whynot?

ICC Targeted assistance and performance programme funding for the interpros is $1.5 million over three years.

Lots of talk on here about the knights and the lack of quality players but who can they bring in?

Ivan, someone with more time than me will be able to dig it out but I'm nearly sure at the time the funding was gained for the start of the interpros a few years back it was give or take a million over three years. Divide that among three unions, minus whatever admin costs were taken out of it, so 100k a year sounds about right.

Ivan,
I don't see the rank and file cricketers ever hearing exactly how much the knights costs to run, but I would say its fairly costly.........between players match fees, food expenses, hotels, travel, add into that the coaches, manager, administrator, umpires fees, scorers fees, ground fees. Not forgetting the junior knights and the interpro tournaments etc. I reckon a few people would be surprised by the figures, to coin a phrase from Andy in buckna...they ain't doing it for nowt...
Yes there will be sponsorship, however I can't see this being anywhere near enough in todays economic outlook. I was a bit surprised when I head that the u13 interpro players from MCU&NWCU (who played at moylena) were staying in the La Mon Hotel....not exactly doing it on a budget, but hey fair play to them and all involved, the kids had a blast that day, it was great to watch. Maybe they got a discount on the hotel bill?
4 day cricket in England gets very little crowds, I was at Lords for the Middlesex vrs Warwickshire match and there was more groundstaff, players and officials than spectators, and this was 3 days after 18K at the T20 blast. Boyd Rankin looked every bit as quick as Finn during the practices. Problem for Cricket Ireland is that we aren't getting crowds at any matches. Yes there was a decent crowd at Belmont for a T20, but how much of that can the knights marketing team claim...........from what I could see it was driven by the host club, and thats my personal opinion.

Phil - £100k for the Knights !
I don't know exact figures but I would have thought it was closer to £10k than £100k.

Irish cricket is NOT awash with money. I don't know how we become Test playing standard without aiming to be a Test nation.

Excellent piece from Neil Fullerton. Could not agree more. As someone who has scored in the Premier League, Section One and Section Two I must confess that the gulf between leagues is massive. In fact the gap in the Premier League can be huge at times. Where do we go from here? Well we need the clubs to work on a way ahead. The administrators in Dublin have really no idea what goes in the real world and their obsession with Test Cricket illustrates how detached they are. There are of course many within the game who have a positive impact and indeed the recent tour to South Africa by the NCU was an example of this but when one looks at the NCU, there must be many doubts in terms of how many players are ready to play for Ireland? The inter pro series are a waste of money and time. They produce a few players but these players have shown their class to be in the Ireland squad. Money has ruined the game and for what? Media coverage is poor, public interest virutually non existent and yet we pay players to come over here and take the limelight away from our local players. I heard the term hitmen being used many years ago as a means to describe professionals in the game and we have gone beyond that and are simply seeking to buy success but who is interested. Does it command back page headlines in the Newsletter. Belfast Telegraph or other media outlets? Our aim should be to maintain the local game and keep club cricket alive. It should be also to have an Ireland team that can compete in T20 and 50 over cricket as I fear the Test Cricket boat has already sailed many years ago.

Whilst I believe that the interpros are a good idea in theory, there should perhaps have to be a quota of players under the age of say 25? Test status won't be achieved for another 10 years, if ever, so what would be the point in picking 35 and 36 year olds just to win now. Have to think about the future and who could potentially be playing for Ireland if and when test status is achieved .