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Can the ICC not sort the exodus of players from their birth nations? Rankin is the latest ot put his cards on the table with his desire to play for England. As an England supporter I find it somewhat embarrassing that we are seen to be the scapegoats. If they are making themselves available and are good enough then the selectors cannot ignore them. Surely the time has come to change it now, especially if the associated nations have a chance of playing to a higher level? At the moment there is no incentive for Cricket Ireland to bring throguh emerging talent.

Well said Stuart. How a Club goes about their business is entirely up to them so long as they don't break any rules or laws in the process.

With respect to overseas players, different clubs have different approaches and different requirements and those with overseas players will always be slated at every opportunity by those that either can't attract overseas players or are still living in the dark ages in the belief that home grown coaches are able to nuture all the talent on the island and somehow create a test playing nation; and of course there are always the omnipotent trolls.

I can only speak from my own experience which spans the period from no professionals to the current period when every club would like to have one. I've had to listen the Derriafrica brigade, mainly from a couple of miles towards Belfast, who, not being associated with Derriaghy, failed to notice the work done by the Saffers in coaching within a youth structure that is the envy of many. Indeed Albert has since gone on to give Leinster the benefit of his coaching and personal skills and I'm sure I'm not alone in mourning his loss to us. There was also the CSNZ jag but Nigel Jones does some sterling work as a Cricket Ireland/NCU development officer and I'm sure he's improved many a cricketter at CSNI also.

Purely because of a certain Buckna resident I shall also mention Muckamore and Ballymena. Ballymena have the affectionately known "Alfie" whom I know from his time at Derriaghy where he was a much liked and respected coach, particularly within the youth structure; again a great loss for us but the lure of first class cricket in his home country was understandable. With the reputation of Ballymena men for their thriftiness I can't see him suddenly being a hired gun alone. And finally there's Kammy at Muckamore. Whilst at Dunmurry he was extremely sucessful as a hired gun but he was also coaching within the limitations of the available youth. Extrapolating the Buckna resident's reasoning presumably means that he has now just become a hired gun because all pros are only there to play; I doubt that.

Clubs should spend their money what ever way they want tbh. Pros bring more to a club than just their playing ability in my view. I know many people at my club that have benefitted from overseas coaching and continue to. I also think a pro adds to a clubs fabric for however long h is there. But my main point would be nobody is in a position to tell a club how to spend their money.

fluter makes valid points. I think the myth of the professional "coach" has been well and truly laid. Perhaps if some of that money had been spent in equipment to assist in drying pitches during the past season of inclement weather may have meant less games being called off.

Im a keen follower of Victoria Cricket Club in Lurgan so the question of pro's will never really be an issue for us. I know many on here seem to be fed up with the debate but i would be very much for them. Surely in general they are of a better standard than what generally plays in the leagues. Do players not learn from these guys with different styles of play, attitudes etc. Surely also they are involved in the coaching side of things and are improving the youth sections anyway. In my opinion to succeed kids need the attitude to do well and not necessarily a fancy set up to do it in so if a pro is the way a team decides to go then good for them i say. I only wish Victoria could afford one!

Re: Junior Cup Final

Firstly let me say well done to Cooke Collegians on their win. On the day a much better team than Lisburn.

I would like to echo the comments on CIYMS and their hosting of the cup final - the grounds looked beautiful especially considering the rain, and surely their aren't any better facilities in the country. This was my first time at Belmont and was very impressed by the facilities, car parking,, bar area and the very clean toilet facilities.

Surely Belmont would be a worthy host of the Senior Cup or Irish Cup Final?

The pro debate strikes again...This is the first season for yrs that HCC havnt had a paid overseas player simply because we cant afford one.
Obviously we are struggling near the bottom of div 1, and have been on the receiving end of pro-sided defeats.If we are safe for next season, i dont see us spending money on a pro just to keep us up..instesd were are looking at spending our funds on our youth section.
My question is why other clubs spend on pros ?? Is it to stay in div 1 or is it to gain promotion into the premier lge ?? If its the case of staying in div 1, then maybe all clubs should agree to go without pros and spend their funds elsewhere

Would like to thank Lisburn 2's for the sporting manner and professional attitude on Saturday at Junior Cup Final. Also congratulations to CIYMS for being excellent hosts. May just need to lower windows in scorebox. Finally well done to Louis Arneill and Kevin McConville. As usual the umpires and scorers are the unsung people at a match but both umpires did a fine job and ensured an excellent game of cricket for the large crowd.

Overseas Pro, Local Pro, No Pro? - what about we just leave this one up to each individual Club to decide and get on with club cricket in the NCU....weather permitting

Davy McD - "quite a few girls in my younger days"!! Tell us more you old dog!!! To be serious - what a great day today for sunshine and cricket played with the sun on one's back. Cracking game at Holywood with almost 450 runs scored. All credit to Messrs. McCormick for their work.

Can a club just not decide not to get a pro?

Personally i think pros are good for clubs and cricket. You should learn from them, learn about other cricket and utilise them to enhance the skill sets in the game. The right pro can be the nucleus of a good team/club development. Taimar Khan, Ewen Thompson, Kamal Merchant etc etc over the years have been great ambassadors.

Whilst I dont know the background Bangor do not seem to have had a pro/coach for a few years and a great club with a proud tradition is losing players to other clubs and its status in Div 1 is under threat. It is not fair to use an example but why is this happening? Could a pro/coach have helped provide the nucleus of a club while an era retires and kids come through and develop?

There are pros and cons but fundamentally each club has an income stream and it is accountable to its members as to how it spends it. If a club wants to spend money on machinery etc as part of a medium term strategy then surely that is up to the club. Whether pros are banned or not by the union will not matter.

If that means missing a pro for a year then that is a clubs choice.

You would find if pros are banned that there is always a back door and those clubs worried will find local players to pay via non club funds etc so it wont matter that much in many ways if pros are banned. money would still be spent

re Michael Kennedy

Best post ever on this site. Let the clubs find their level and get folk enjoying the game again instead of relying on 1,2 or however many overseas players. Plenty of quality local coaches out their.

Hope the end of the summer is better for all of you Groundsmen.

I have no intention to re-open previous debates re the pros & cons of professionals but the outworking of the reduction of the Premier League to 8 teams means a reality check for one of those sides that have in previous seasons been "cushioned" by the usual suspects for relegation. One of the big spenders is for the drop!

Re Matthew
Noon starts are one of the reasons why I am intending to say this season will be my last as a player (or at least regular player).
To have to leave the house at 9am or 9.30 to go to a game in august that is over by 4.30 after the full allotment of overs is in my opinion ludicrous.
For 30 - 35 over games a 2pm start at any time of the year is plenty early enough, and it means that players can often take their children to the pool or park or whatever before going to the game, or can get the grass cut or flowerbeds weeded thus earning brownie points from the Boss.
One of the reason why i feel so many people are turning away from playing the game is early starts and too much Sunday cricket, meaning that those that are available to play both days often work all week, then have to leave the house at 9am or shortly after for an away game on both saturdays and sundays, not good for a Work life - Cricket life balance, quite a few girls in my younger day were willing to let me go play cricket on a saturday as they knew we would be doing something on a sunday, now it is both days.

glad to see Michael Kennedy speaks more sense than his da!!