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CSNI BID TO RETAIN GALLAGHER WOMEN’S CHALLENGE CUP
The 2020 NCU Gallagher Women’s Challenge Cup campaign gets underway this weekend with an exciting schedule of first round of games on Sunday 2nd August.
The holders, CSNI, begin their Cup campaign when they travel to The Green to play North Down. CSNI proved that they were a force to be reckoned with last summer as they clinched victory in the Cup final, beating a strong Muckamore side at Stormont. Chris Elliott’s squad will be going into the game on Sunday knowing that there is no room for error if they are to retain the trophy this season.
Last season’s runners-up, Muckamore, go into their first round game against Holywood in confident mood having already defeated their opponents in their season opener last weekend. Whilst Muckamore will start as strong favourites to make it into the semi-finals, Holywood’s young side will have learned from their previous encounter and will provide much tougher opposition in their game on Sunday.
The Instonians vs Waringstown tie will be a tough one to call at this stage. Waringstown had an excellent win in their season opener last weekend against North Down, with Cara Murray performing well with bat and ball. However, they will unfortunately be without Murray this time around due to an injury picked up on representative duty during the week. A young Instonians squad will be relying on the excellent early season form of Amy Hunter if they are to progress to the semi-finals.
Former Cup winners Lurgan will start as strong favourites in their tie against Division 1 side Carrick. Lurgan will be relying on strong performances from Emma McMurray and Hannah Grieve, who have both shown excellent early season form, if they are to ensure they progress to the semi-final stage of the competition.
With four exciting games ahead this weekend it will be interesting to see which four teams stay in the hunt for the Gallagher Women’s Challenge Cup this season and make it into the hat for the semi-final draw.
Gallagher Women’s Challenge Cup first schedule – Sunday 2nd August.
Carrick v Lurgan Carrick (TBC)
Holywood v Muckamore Seapark (1pm)
Instonians v Waringstown Shawsbridge (2pm)
North Down v CSNI The Green (12pm)
Photo (Presseye) – (l-r) Aisling Healy (CSNI), Richard Johnson, NCU President, Shane Matthews, Managing Director of Gallagher Northern Ireland, and Beth Healy (CSNI) with the Gallagher Women’s Challenge Cup

A terrific article on Philip McCormick in the latest edition of PitchCare Magazine.
Unfortunately the NCU Groundsman Workshop that was scheduled for March and April at Holywood and hosted by Philip was cancelled so we hope this has some helpful information for all who are interested.
https://www.pitchcare.com/news-media/holywood-cricket-club-passing-down-the-skills.html

Hi there Ed nice to see the great initiative that a Womens League in 2 groups have been done and the 2 winners of both will meet in a League final plus the Cup makes it a minimum of 5 matches for a side this term.
Hopefully this type of format will stay in place for next year with a home and away plus the top 2 playing a Semi Final and Final and a plate for bottom 2 sides.
Have contacted all the clubs re scorecards but have not received any replies from any of them, as I have said in previous posts I am a stats nerd so please help me in this regard.

Keep safe ed and all the followers on the forum aswell.

Thanks to all NCU clubs for their hard work in enabling their cricket activities to begin successfully last weekend.
Following the NI Executive announcement on 23rd July we have a further update for clubs in advance of the next series of fixtures scheduled for this weekend.
Spectators at Outdoor Sporting Events
The NI Executive legislation has now been updated to allow for spectators to attend outdoor sporting events from today (24th July).
The legislation provides that a person may not participate in an outdoor gathering of more than 30 persons, but that provision will not apply to a gathering which is organised for outdoor sports purposes and which fulfils these conditions:
The person responsible for organising the gathering
(a) has carried out a risk assessment which meets the requirements of the of Health and safety at Work Regulations (NI) 2000, whether or not that person is subject to those regulations; and
(b) takes all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of the coronavirus, including implementing the preventive and protective measures identified in the risk assessment undertaken in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) and complying with any relevant guidance issued by a Northern Ireland Department.
This is welcomed news for all cricket clubs throughout the region and we know you will all be looking forward to welcoming spectators back to your facilities. However, the NI Executive and the Department for Communities have emphasised that these “decisions place enormous responsibility on Governing Bodies, clubs and venue operators as well as on individuals. The risk of the virus continues to be very real. Where possible, everyone must observe social distancing and good hygiene practices”.
We would therefore remind clubs that the current Safe Return to Play Protocols (SSRTP) issued on 7th July are still required to be followed and in particular social distancing (2m), sanitation & hygiene procedures and contact tracing records are required to be kept for all visitors to your club facility.
Supporting COVID Safety at NCU Clubs
Continuing on from the good work of NCU clubs from last weekend, and in advance of the next series of club fixtures this weekend, we also have some key Covid safety measures we would like to re-emphasise to clubs to support you in your delivery of cricket activity.
The points outlined below are based on feedback from clubs and some key learnings from the first weekend of fixtures.
• Clubs are reminded to continue to practice social distancing of 2m within their cricket facilities and remind members and visitors / spectators of the need to do so. Clubs are encouraged to contact each other prior to each match - through club secretaries and/or COVID Safety Officers (CSO’s) - to share as much relevant information as possible.
• Club CSO’s must arrive at the venue well in advance of the start of the game to ensure all preparatory tasks are completed prior to the arrival of players and personnel.
• Club CSO’s must not have any other role on the day of the match and must certainly not also be an umpire or player involved in the matches.
• Club CSO’s must fully adhere to and follow the required check-in process for officials, home and visiting team members
• Full record keeping must be maintained of all attendees (Teams, officials and spectators) - visiting team contact details can be supplied in advance and then confirmed on arrival.
• Visiting teams must be advised of all Covid safety aspects by the home team, including location of toilets and water/sanitising solutions for optimised hygiene standards.
• Short pre-match briefings for both teams with umpires and CSO’s are encouraged as a means of reacquainting everyone with their safety responsibilities.
• Toilet facilities must be available and maintained in a clean condition at all times.
• Umpires should not be asked to hold any player clothing and/or caps etc.
NCU staff will continue to be available to support clubs with any queries or issues they may have as they implement their cricket activity in the weeks ahead.

Great to see cricket back. A shame that A Bushe has concentrated his reports on spectators not being allowed to access the grounds - a rule imposed on clubs across all sports- he went as far to say if he couldn't get in to watch it was pointless even playing at all. What about the players? Such a selfish attitude in my opinion.
Strange move from Carrick to bring in Scottish international Munsey for games which are more or less glorified friendlies- why not play a young lad or actually keep the 2 Burtons?

The article about Bill McCarroll rekindled some of my own memories.
As a very young secretary at Cregagh CC Bill welcomed me to the new role and straight away offered his guidance and any assistance that I might need. Fair to say I needed his assistance a lot in those early days and it was something that always stayed with me. He was always free for a chat, or if I had a query and the advice he give me back then still holds true today.
A true gentleman.

A shout out for the Taverners.
While everyone was in lock-down the Taverners were busy facilitating cricket for young people with disabilities and learning difficulties . The young people are part of a family crisis support programme that was introduced by the health trust when the specialised schools closed in March.
We have played table cricket and indoor cricket and we've had a wheel chair cricketer involved as well.
The Taverners have long been involved with disability cricket, we are fortunate to have coaches with the skills and experience required to allow these young people to participate in cricket.
With the programme set to continue through August the young people will probably get to play more cricket than the Taverners team this season.

It has been a long time since I posted here so much has happend.
I would like to extend my condolences to those who we lost during the close season and to the victims of the current crises we are still going through. May they Rest In Peace
With no crowds allowed at the matches over the weekend something what Waringstown done was a great idea in streaming the match v Insts on Facebook and nice to see the CIYMS v CSNI live scored to on the TCS System.
Lets hope now the season sees its way now and everyone keeps safe and well during this period. We have done the hard work so keep it up.

20/20 Vision sees Cricket start in the NCU
The Northern Cricket Union has revealed a major revamp of what remains of its season with a series of competitions all played under 20 over rules.
The shortened games in the shortened season get under way on Saturday with the Union's three main sponsors coming together for a completely new look fixture list.
The eight Premier league clubs will compete for the Robinson Services Cup, playing each other once with the top four going through to the semi-finals. The eight clubs will also play a knock out competition for the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup with the winner lining up in the All-Ireland T20 finals.
The 10 Senior League 1 clubs will play each other once for the Robinson Services Trophy as well as a knock out competition for the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Trophy.
Senior Leagues 2 and 3 are completely reorganised with the 12 clubs divided into three groups of four to compete for the Robinson Services Bowl. The teams will play each other home and away with the group winners and the best runner-up proceeding to the semi-finals.
The three groups are:
Group A: Cooke Collegians, Laurelvale, Lurgan, Victoria
Group B: Ards, Bangor, Donaghadee, Holywood
Group C: BISC, Dundrum, Dunmurry, Drumaness Super Kings.
The will be no men's Gallagher Senior Challenge this year but the company will sponsor the women's Challenge Cup.
Saturday's opening fixtures are:
Robinson Services Cup: CIYMS v CSNI; Instonians v Waringstown (at The Lawn); Lisburn v Woodvale; North Down v Carrickfergus.
Robinson Services Trophy: Armagh v Derriaghy; Ballymena v Saintfield; Cregagh v Cliftonville Academy; Donacloney Mill v Downpatrick; Muckamore v Templepatrick.Robinson Services Bowl:
Group A: Lurgan v Laurelvale; Cooke Collegians v Victoria.
Group B: Holywood v Bangor; Donaghadee v Ards.
Group C: BISC v Drumaness Super Kings; Dundrum v Dunmurry.

I really enjoyed the article on Bill McCarroll. A truly brilliant administrator and a real gentleman.
Whilst I was Hon Secretary of the NCU I assisted Bill with some events such as the Annual Dinner. He was a pleasure to work with, but unfortunately fell sick during the summer of 2001 and I was landed with all his duties. Everything was paper based in those days and my postman was inundated with Cup results, registrations, Umpire reports and ground gradings! I was so relieved when Bill returned to his duties.
In the NCU we should be very grateful for the administrators we have had over the years who have carried out their duties so faithfully. Like Clarence, I have to mention also my good friend Bryan Milford who has served the Union so well since Bill passed. Along with other administrators in the past and at the current times we must surely be the envy of many other sports.

Was wondering how things are going with the Ireland training sessions at Stormont - or is it Comber? Hearing wee whispers again that even the CEO has been involved!!

Sir Everton Weekes
We feared the worst in the last few weeks after Sir Everton's health had deteriorated. I had the pleasure of being a friend over 25 years and enjoyed so many wonderful experiences. There were no 'airs' about Sir Everton, and he enjoyed life to the full. There were several special memories in Ireland after he had been Knighted by a small group of friends who honored him in 1995, presided by the legendary EDR Shearer. Robin and Dorothy Walsh also hosted him a few years later when he presented the prizes at the NCU Annual Dinner, and he was the special Guest at the North Down CC Dinner to celebrate the Sesquicentenary Celebration in 2007. He loved Ireland and often wanted to return, but his ailing health prevented it. I had the pleasure of introducing many Irish cricket friends to him in Barbados, and he never rejected the many demand placed on him. He loved the visits of Malcolm Brodie, Robin Walsh, Alfie Linehan, Roy Torrens, Colin Barkley and the Irish team et al. He was always in the most accommodating of a Legend, as indeed he was. His cricket records barely scratched on what he has achieved in his lifetime.
As for me, I lost a dear friend.
Rest in Peace Sir Everton
JCH

Johnnie Walsh.
I spent 8 wonderful years as an adopted son of Instonians Cricket Club and made many friends and many enduring get memories of great matches and great people who played or were involved with the club.
The Walsh family were always so welcoming and helpful.
The fact that Johnnie was a similar age to my own son really brought this sad loss home to me.
May God comfort and strengthen you all at this very sad time.
Billy Dale.

Jonathan Walsh
We are sorry to inform you of the sad passing of Jonathan Walsh yesterday after a valiant fight against motor neurons disease. Despite we feared the worst, it still came as a shock for everyone and we remained stunned that we have lost a wonderful young man at the height of his prowess. A former Captain at Instonians, he was immensely popular within the club and throughout Irish cricket. We extend our condolences to his father Brian, a doyen within NCU and Ireland Cricket, to Anne, wife Helen and son Ben, sister Julie and Stephen and their family. Our loss is one of cricket, as he was a joy to be involved prior to his illness which he bore with great courage.
Rest in Peace, Jonathan

JCH
JK

Have very rarely felt the need to make an entry on the forum however Joe Vaughan was one of the most warming and compassionate men I’ve met .Him and Pete Reith were something else.
I echo a lot of what of Paul McCrum has said .
However I was a competitor to all he held dear - Armagh Cc and Loughgall FC but his fairness always shown through.
I can remember scoring a few runs or getting a goal against his teams and he always congratulated me.

A personal response but one that highlights the quality of this man who I have very fond memories

Thanks for the article

PS - Thanks Paul and Charlie for the alleged good fielder I became after watching you both bat and bowl to each other and as the young fella I was only there to return the ball