Forum

Thanks for clearing that up. If Ally Shields was in the northern knights squad for experience only and there are 8 better players at north down, then we have no problem at all. And for the record, I would just like to say that he is a class act and i can't wait to see him in a few years time playing for Ireland in a test match (fingers crossed)

Everyone is invited to the Cloughan to watch over 200 Under 11 boys and girls aged from 4 till 11 play cricket this Sunday ( 9th ) 1pm to 4pm.

To create a family vibe there will be face painting, bouncey castle, BBQ, ice creams etc.
There will also be a radar gun set up in the nets area to check how fast you can bowl !!!!

Come along and bring the family.

Ref D Oldroyd. Ur still missing the point,when Traoari withdrew from the Knights team G.Thompson was drafted in to replace him and A shields remained the 12th man.after recently speaking to both chief selector and player coach it is clear that a few young guys with Potential r being brought along for the experience each game as 12th man,I think young McKinney from ballymena has been 12th man in a recent game . Think most people agree the two young guys r still some way off from being inter pro players 40wickets or 800runs for their clubs this year might change that though.

D oldroyd get over it I play 2nd eleven and every season we play against stacked sides now we have beaten them regularly which makes the win sweeter would you have complained if you had won why not starr 11 players from the 1sts so they cant play and same in the ulster plate

The Lark at Dawn

An early rise with the lark at dawn
to greet a rapturous, fine Summer morn
The great outdoors, my venture from abode
as through wild garlic and daffodils,I strode.

Pungent, fragrant, aromas infused
with the lark's shrill song, my senses enthused,
erasing each folly, e'er I knew,
all rendered hence, a pleasing adieu.

Then onto a hallowed field, the continued sojourn,
the early bird, always gets the worm
to take a seat with the best view
were men in white, play the game neath a sky of blue.

'Twas then my reason to wonder why?
Grown men in slumber, prostate lie
and never rise with the lark at dawn,
nor hear it's shrill, invigorating song
Until their life, has briefly passed away,
then I shrugged my shoulders, as an eminent voice, called out "Play"!

D Oldroyd:

The comment about Russeller was made to reinforce the strength in depth that North Down have. You could easily have faced an even stronger XI than the one fielded.

Interesting debate about North Down 2s selection policy in the Junior Cup. Last year we (Woodvale 2s) played a North Down side in the JC that im convinced would win Section one. If memory serves the top 6 that day was.....N.Burns, A.Shields, D.Graham, A.Haire, J. Terrett, G.Patterson and they also had D.Kennedy , B.Adams and another young prospect in Carson in their team. (quite a side)

We lost by 15 runs, did we complain...not at all. I would much rather play a good team with good players than roll a team over and be home for 4pm... To be honest we probably should have won that game!

Bottom line is...the big teams have better players and a lot more of them and looking at NDs team at the weekend it probably could have had other non starred players in it.

Junior one teams haven't exactly been winning many Junior Cups recently....hopefully that will change this year!

Re: Editor

Fair enough regarding the 'top 12' comment, but to Section 2 and 3 teams he would be regarded as a fairly handy Premier League standard player.

I think the issue is the significance of the contribution the un-starred player made in the Junior Cup, and of those players in general in that competition. I am sure Drumaness would have been quite confident of winning against ND 2s with their regular 'Saturday' team.

I am not trying to pick on ND in particular, and certainly not on the player, as I am sure he is keen (as I am) to play as much cricket as he can. But surely it is understandable that lower Senior teams would be frustrated to lose out in their only cup competition when beaten largely by the performance of one or two Premier standard players dropping down?

Thanks for the responses.

Re Jeff Ohara: totally agree that with the strength and depth of north down, no matter who is starred, there is still gonna be class players eligible to play. But in picking 8, those playing representative cricket would be a good start. Your point regarding Neil Russell is pointless. If a player is dropped for the 1st XI, well of course he will be playing for the 2nd XI

Re Andrew H: I appreciate your honestly. You were well within your rights to play the strongest team within the rules however wrong they may be. I registered a mate of mine last week to try and make XI for the weekend. Although he is allowed to play in the league, he wasn't allowed to play against you guys in the cup - and he has never lifted a cricket bat in his life

Re Jonny Kennedy: Good luck with the game with Saintfield - don't think it's the same tho. They don't play in the challenge cup as well. For all the NCU statisticians out there- when was the last time (if ever) a player won the challenge cup and junior cup in the same season?

D.Oldroyd.

It's no more bizarre than playing against Senior League teams in the junior competition. Our club played a great game which we only managed to win by one run and our prize is a trip to Saintfield. I for one am relishing the challenge and im sure my team mates also feel the same way.

re my recent posting regarding the plethora of regulations - just back from Larne-v-Bangor. Different regs. again. That now makes 6 different sets of regulations so far this season _ and I haven't stood in any schools games!

Re: D.Oldroyd

Agreed. We were knocked out of the Junior Cup last year by a couple of Premier League players. In that scenario, there was a good reason why they were down with the 2s, but still doesn't make it any easier to take.

The system is open to abuse by all teams, but in my experience normally to enable the lower side to field a team when numbers are short. This shouldn't be the case with clubs like the one you mentioned, and should certainly not be permitted when the player is one of the top 12 in the union.

At least you can say you dismissed a Northern Knight, so well played.

D.Oldroyd: starring:

The starring system does a pretty good job at stopping clubs from unfairly 'loading' teams on days when higher teams aren't playing. Sure, it has been abused over the years but in this instance I don't think you have a valid gripe.

North Down are fortunate to have such a depth of talent and Drumaness were unlucky that their Junior Cup tie was played on a day that the NDCC 1st XI had no game.

Ali Shields is undoubtedly a great talent and thoroughly deserves his callup to the Knights. However, look at the North Down 1st XI and tell me who you would rather have been unstarred to make room for him the nominated 8 ?

Indeed, had Neil Russell not decided to join Instonians, having been dropped, Drumaness would likely have faced an opening pair of Shields and Russell.

Something seriously wrong with the NCU strarring system. How can a player who has just been named in the northern knights team play in the junior cup for his club's 2nd XI the day after playing for the 1st XI in the challenge cup. What is 'junior' about that?

The player and club in question will play in many cup competitions throughout the season whereas the junior cup is the only 50 over cup for teams in sections 2 and 3 yet we're expected to play against players of this calibre.

Any thoughts?

Played a game today against Dundrum 2nds and I would just like to thank them for a good game. Played in the right spirit, great bunch of lads and I wish them every success this season