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Naomi Matthews in Ireland Women's T20 squad for Zimbabwe challenge
Richard White (NCU PRO) / Cricket Ireland
Waringstown's Naomi Matthews has been included in the Cricket Ireland Women's T20 squad for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.
The first T20 International on the 10th July is to be played at Stormont, Belfast. The T20I series will be doubleheaders with Ireland and Zimbabwe Men's teams playing at the same venue on the same day.
Squads for Zimbabwe series
50-over squad: Laura Delany (C), Shauna Kavanagh, Anna Kerrison, Gaby Lewis, Hannah Little, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Lara Maritz, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Una Raymond-Hoey, Mary Waldron.
T20 squad: Laura Delany (C), Shauna Kavanagh, Anna Kerrison, Gaby Lewis, Hannah Little, Louise Little, Sophie MacMahon, Lara Maritz, Naomi Matthews, Celeste Raack, Una Raymond-Hoey, Rebecca Stokell, Mary Waldron.
Fixtures
50-over series:
3 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Oak Hill, start 11.30am)
5 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Oak Hill, start 11.30am)
7 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Oak Hill, start 11.30am)
T20 International series:
10 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Stormont, start 4pm)*
12 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Bready, start 11am)*
14 July: Ireland Women v Zimbabwe Women (Bready, start 11am)*
The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) have announced the following MTB Northern Knights squad, for upcoming Test Triangle IP50 match to be held in Pembroke CC on Thursday 27th June 2019
• GARY WILSON (C)
• HARRY TECTOR (VC)
• NEIL ROCK
• MARC ELLISON
• JAMES MCCOLLUM
• SHANE GETKATE
• MARK ADAIR
• JAMES CAMERON-DOW
• GRAEME MCCARTER
• JACOB MULDER
• MATTHEW FOSTER
• MURRAY COMMINS
• GREG THOMPSON
Cooke Collegians 20th Anniversary Mela and President's Game
Cooke Collegians
NCU President Richard Johnson has selected a President's XI to play Cooke Collegians on Sunday 30 June 2019 at Fullerton Park to mark the club's 20th Anniversary.
Colin Andrews (CSNI) Captain
Jeremy Burrows (Cooke Collegians)
Craig Irwin (Laurelvale)
Aaron Kernoghan (Instonians)
Manoj Khatri (BISC)
James Martin (Dundrum)
Paul McCart (Donacloney Mill)
Amit Rekhi (BISC)
Mark Robinson (Cooke Collegians)
David Sinton (Laurelvale)
Bruce Topping (Donacloney Mill)
The match starts at 1.30pm.
Alongside the cricket is a Community Mela which will feature music, dance, food and children's entertainment.
Fun for all the family and all are warmly invited.
Delighted Michael with your attitude to it all and great to hear that North Down continue to be an honourable club. Many clubs might have stacked their team. Wonderful too that the union are supporting you so well.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Club President and former Irish International Captain Alfie Linehan
Those who knew Alfie will know how much of a gentleman he was as well as a true competitor on the pitch
All club members wish Mary, Annie, Paul and the entire family circle our deepest sympathies.
The funeral will take place on Thursday 27th June at 12 noon at St Patrick’s Chapel in Downpatrick
Ed...Very very sad. More details to follow.
to David (Right here right now)
David a few comments concerning this result
North Down 1st XI were not playing , they played 7 of the 2nd XI Stars and 4 of the 3rd XI Stars a strong team for any game. Lurgan fielded 6 of there 1st XI Stars and rest would normally have played for the 1st XI so on paper a normal team
as to the result thats sport for you odd scores do happen
what has this to do with the NCU ?
Ulster Schools' team for Dublin Interprovincial announced
The following team has been selected to represent the Ulster Schools in the annual Interprovincial match against the Southern Schools at Rathmines, Dublin on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th June:
Oliver Metcalfe (R.B.A.I.) (Captain)
Max Burton (Belfast Royal Academy)
Matthew Humphreys (Methodist College Belfast)
James Hunter (Methodist College Belfast)
Matthew Hutchinson (Coleraine Grammar School)
Archie Johnston (Campbell College) (w/k)
Gregory McFaul (North West Regional College)
Kyle Magee (North West Regional College)
Reece Malone (Friends' School Lisburn)
Hugh Minford (Campbell College)
Robbie Moffett (Belfast Royal Academy)
Adam Reid (Methodist College Belfast)
Players should report to me at Lanyon Place Station no later than 7.45 am on Wednesday 26th June. In the event of any selected player becoming unavailable through injury or other unavoidable cause, he should advise me by phoning or texting 077 7552 0054 or emailing murray.power@ncucricket.org as soon as possible.
Murray Power
Chairman, Schools Committee
There is very few times that I make a vocal comment on local cricket. On Saturday night I always check the results (because I'm interested) on the excellent NCU website. (a bit they have got right!) However the North Down 2s v Lurgan 1s result today makes me wanna cry. Probably ageist. Oh NCU why have you got it so wrong. ????
Ed...
David, I watched Lurgan twice last year and they won. At Pollock Park there was coaching at the same time with young players. Not sure what has happened since but North Down II also struggled for a few year and recovered. Let's hope Lurgan can recover. Within a mile Victoria are competitive and of course, within three miles Waringstown is thriving. Some clubs are certainly suffering, same as North West, but I'm sure the NCU want to help.
The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) have announced the following MTB Northern Knights squad, for upcoming Test Triangle IP20 Festival to be held in Pembroke CC (22nd – 24th June).
• GARY WILSON (C)
• HARRY TECTOR (VC)
• NEIL ROCK
• ALLEN COULTER
• JAMES McCOLLUM
• SHANE GETKATE
• MARK ADAIR
• JAMES CAMERON-DOW
• GRAEME McCARTER
• JACOB MULDER
• ROB McKINLEY
• MURRAY COMMINS
• GREG THOMPSON
The Match Schedule is:
Saturday 22nd June
North West Warriors v Northern Knights 11:30am
Leinster Lightning v Munster Reds 4pm
Sunday 23rd June
Northern Knights v Munster Reds 11:30am
Leinster Lightning v North West Warriors 4pm
Monday 24th June
Munster Reds v North West Warriors 11:30am
Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights 4pm
The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) has selected their first Women's squad for the summer programme, which includes four matches against North West Women and a three match tour to Cornwall, England, in August.
The NCU Women's programme commences with two T20 fixtures, at Laurelvale Cricket Club on Friday 28th June, with the first game starting at 11am.
NCU Women's Squad
Naomi Matthews (Captain)
Amy Benson
Alison Cowan
Hannah Grieve
Jennifer Hanna
Charlotte Lyons
Molly Mathers
Staci Maxwell
Beth McCrea
Susi Morrison-Keates
Cara Murray
Nikki Niblock
Tim Simmonite, the NCU Womens' Head Coach said, 'the squad have trained hard over the course of the winter and early summer in preparation for the 2019 season. We are looking forward to the challenge that the upcoming matches against the North West will bring us'.
So Ed what of the predictions I gave on Saturday night for the Cups in Ireland on Sunday (distracted due to the Golf and the Carom Billiards tournament in Holland and the start of one in Belgium) so only getting in touch now
Irish Senior Cup
Bready vs Phoenix. Home Win. NO
CIYMS vs Merrion. Away Win. NO
Clontarf vs Carrickfergus. Away Win. YES
Leinster vs Strabane. Home Win. YES
Malahide vs Waringstown. Away Win. YES
North Down vs CSNI. Away Win. YES
Pembroke vs The Hills. Home Win. YES
Rush vs Instonians. Home Win. NO
Irish National Cup
Ardmore vs Killyclooney. Home Win. YES
Ballymena vs Fox Lodge. Away Win. YES
Cregagh vs Derriaghy. Away Win. OFF
Laurelvale vs Templepatrick. Away Win. YES
Limerick vs Railway Union. Away Win. YES
Midleton vs St Johnston. Home Win. YES
North Kildare vs Balbriggan. Away Win. YES
Terenure vs Downpatrick. Home Win. YES
IRISH CUP MATCHES 5/8 results right
IRISH NAT CUP MATCHES 7/7 results right with 1 to come
Result of the Irish Cup was defo Instonians win v Rush followed by Pembroke v The Hills but Waringstown and Leinster nearly gave their supporters and me a slight scare.
The Result of the National Cup was Midleton beating St Johnston in a run fest and some entertaining matches in this round and the bowlers being put to the sword.
But a massive well done to all the ground staff at all grounds considering the amount of rain we have recently and thankfully all DLS Sheets were printed so no forefits.
PS Well done to the NCU Website on the reporting of the Womens Matches in the region and well done to Staci Maxwell on her writings. Did E-Mail her re the scorecards but she said it was only summeries they cover since then have E-Mailed all clubs in the top flight but no response so far so if anyone on here can help with this please.
Ed...Good work Keith.
The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) has announced a squad, sponsored by PwC, for the Under 14 Cricket Festival at Kings College, Taunton.
NCU Under 14 Squad
Mohamed Aahil
Sam Allister
Ashton Clark
Tom Crothers
Harry Dyer
Rory Ellerby
Ryan Hunter
David Kane
Jude Keates
Adam Leckey
Finn Lutton
Ryan Matthews
Carson McCullough
Sam Topping
Tour Party Manager: Uel Graham
Coaches: Callum Atkinson and Mike Grossett
Fixtures
Monday 22nd July: NCU Under 14 v Northamptonshire
Tuesday 23rd July: NCU Under 14 v California
Wednesday 24th July: NCU Under 14 v Cornwall
Thursday 25th July: NCU Under 14 v Cheshire
Friday 26th July: NCU Under 14 v Barbados
Commenting on the tour, Uel Graham said, 'This will be the fifth consecutive year that NCU Under 14's will have experienced the festival. It has been a pivotal part of the NCU junior pathway programme. The intensive and challenging playing programme of five consecutive days of 50 over per side cricket together with the experience of staying onsite at Kings College provides our juniors with great opportunities for personal development as well as the cricket aspect.
When we reflect on some of the players who have gone to this festival in the early years, they affirm that this experience greatly helped their all round development. Some of these players are now excelling at national and regional age grades as well as representing their clubs in the Premier League and being involved in the Emerging Knights programme.
With the support of PwC, we are delighted that another squad will gain a similar experience next month.
This festival has also provided NCU coaches with the opportunity to develop their skills and expertise whilst networking with other first class county and international coaches.
Our Under 11 boys and Women's tours to Cornwall later in the summer, together with Cornwall Cricket Board's involvement in our own NCU Festival based at Campbell College are direct outcomes from relationships built at this festival'.
The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) has announced their Under 15 squad, sponsored by PwC, for the Inter-Provincial Series (50 over and 20 over), and a 30 over game fixture against a touring South African Academy.
Five of the Inter-Provincial Series games are based in the NCU, with games at Holywood Cricket Club and Campbell College School, where the visiting teams are staying. The rest day on Thursday (4th) is to coincide with Ireland's Second One Day International against Zimbabwe, at Stormont.
NCU Under 15 Squad
Matthew Cherry
Ashton Clark
Matthew Daly
Rory Ellerby
Matthew Halliday
Adam Kennedy
Adam Ly
Ryan Matthews
Carson McCullough
James Rose
Zak Solomon
Sam Topping
Michael Waite
Lead Coach Callum Atkinson said, 'over the past eight months, both our Development and Performance groups continued to improve individually and collectively through the efforts they have put in. Credit has to go to all the players, parents and organisers. Wayne Hughes, Colin Stewart and I, are excited to see what this group can accomplish during the busy summer schedule starting this Sunday at Fox Lodge, in our first Inter-Provincial fixture'.
Fixtures:
Sunday 23rd June: North West, in the Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial Series (Fox Lodge CC) 12 noon (50 overs)
Tuesday 25th June: South African Touring Academy (Holywood CC) 12 noon (30 overs)
Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial Series
Monday 1st July: Munster (Campbell College) 12 noon (50 overs)
Tuesday 2nd July: Cricket Leinster (Holywood CC) 11am (50 overs)
Wednesday 3rd July: North West (Campbell College) 10am (20 overs)
Wednesday 3rd July: Munster (Campbell College) 2.30pm (20 overs)
Thursday 4th July: REST DAY
Friday 5th July: Cricket Leinster (Holywood CC) 10am (20 overs), followed by the Tournament close at Campbell College.
Irish Senior Cup 16th June
Bready vs Phoenix. Home Win
CIYMS vs Merrion. Away Win
Clontarf vs Carrickfergus. Away Win
Leinster vs Strabane. Home Win
Malahide vs Waringstown. Away Win
North Down vs CSNI. Away Win
Pembroke vs The Hills. Home Win
Rush vs Instonians. Home Win
Irish National Cup 16th June
Ardmore vs Killyclooney. Home Win
Ballymena vs Fox Lodge. Away Win
Cregagh vs Derriaghy. Away Win
Laurelvale vs Templepatrick. Away Win
Limerick vs Railway Union. Away Win
Midleton vs St Johnston. Home Win
North Kildare vs Balbriggan. Away Win
Terenure vs Downpatrick. Home Win
Some tricky matches and we will see how they pan out
Ed...Very tricky though the weather might be the most tricky! LOL
Both sickening, demoralising and sad to hear that some warped individuals appear to glean some kind of twisted satisfaction destroying our local cricket pitches, don't they realise the beautiful game is open and welcoming to the whole community, regardless of class or creed?
After all, in an era before yet never forgotten, our forefathers laid down their lives for the privilege...
Thoughts, of a fallen soldier..
Bugler's trumpet, splits the early dawn
troops rally, mount charges,
no dilly-dally, timidity, nor benevolence
within satan's jaws, we must ride
Onwards onwards, galloping hooves plunder
betwixt bullets and cannonball,
comrades in arms, swords drawn, cold steel
frontline decimated, bloody is war
Second row, third, unrelenting onslaught
reverberates, bugler's shrill horn,
override sickening thud, steed hitting ground
or ghastly shriek, another brother slain
Foe's penetrating lead, lodged deep in chest
blown from saddle, gargling blood,
I lay in muddy ichor, instant pain, battle shock
feel life's vitality, slowly ebbing away
White light glistens above, becalms my fear
sound of clear, trickling water,
immersing turgid noise of enemy gunfire
visions of verdant homeland, emerge
The jay and lark, sing a mellifluous tune
whilst I fish in the stream, a youth,
carefree days, trout leap, evading false fly
tell them at home, big fish got away
Blackthorn hedge, where dainty fairies play
surround, freshly mowed fields,
light summer shower, aroma, sweet petrichor
vixen with cubs, leveret takes heel
Welcome canopy of oak, initials carved in bark
teenage sweethearts, Sally my love,
and there's Ma & Pa, familiar wave as they call,
' time to come home son, supper's on stove '
(petrichora pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.)
