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OK guys both sides have had their say so let's move on. We have to live with "friendly umpires" and we all know the challenges, the problems and the potential damage to club relations and young players. We live in the hope that people learn from their mistakes, including young players (who are not all angels) and that the 'spirit of the game' will come through. Like I said we all live in the hope!

JT.

Thanks for your well thought out and adult response to the issue of swearing at a 14 year old. The turning down of an LBW appeal is clearly grounds for such a disgusting outburst. It marred what was a great game of cricket.

I was scoring the entire game and didn’t hear any such singing you speak of. Yes, when a catch went down there was a cheer from one of our 13 year old players, who was immediately reprimanded by a club official.

You clearly missed the point I was making.

Can I ask Local Cricket Follower when and where he thinks the T20 Cup Final should be played?

As skipper of Academy 2s I have had some good games with Victoria. There have been occasions when both sides have crossed the line as it where (No 4 or 6 pun intended). I could take time to de-construct your post JT as a large number of the points are, shall we say, more than slightly subjective and I do not take kindly to the inaccuracies that it contains. However life goes on and I am not up for a slanging match.

I was at game on Wednesday and must say that I was horrified at the abusive language and aggression aimed at a 14 year old umpire who was doing a sterling job. He had not been briefed to deny LBWs or anything like that, but even if he had I can't see any possible justification to speak to a child in that manor. I'm sure the player who hurled the abuse regrets it now, but really there can be no excuse for it.

It is something I hope to never see again on the field but sadly the way the game is going I am concerned it may become a regular occurance.

JT - the "spirit" lives on. I recall captaining a Ballymena 4s versus Downpatrick many years ago when their captain, at the non-strikers end berated his young umpire for giving a second LBW with the words "f***s**e" - you've already give one". He was less than impressed when I asked him which Law covered the "quotas" for LBWs. The problem arises when there as so few adults playing so young guys are press-ganged into umpiring or indeed scoring - an art that young guys don't seem to learn. The only question I would ask JT - if you weren't at the game how can you say the guy was "plumb"?

In response to Brian Kelso's i am the Captain of the Victoria third 11, unfortunately on Tuesday night i was unable to play due to other commitments. I am sorry to hear of this which you speak of.

But i do not feel that we should be so scathing of Victoria from your own view. I myself have just last season seen the actions of Academy first hand at times, a 4 which got signaled a 6 in the last game of the season, when i was on the boundary and even when your guys gathered round and clearly the mark was before the line it was ignored. Also when travelled down to yourself, one of your guys clearly gloved one and didnt walk and the umpire in question didnt give it, when one of my guys asked in a normal manner things got a bit heated. Once again Academy actions overshadowing the VCC ones.

Also on the night in question which you speak of there were other events which you havent mentioned.. firstly the guy was plum LBW, you speak of the spirit of cricket, if it had of been played in the Spirit of Cricket he should of been given out. I always tell my boys who go out to umpire if you think its out give it out if not then dont. Another point, i was told that whenever my boys dropped catches or so, the Academy "young guns" on the side cheered and so on. Also they were singing other songs "Victoria are this and that".. "Mon the Ports".. so Brian lets not throw stones at glass houses.

It was a good close game. I am sad i wasnt there.

JT.

I’m glad davy mcd vcc had an enjoyable debut for Victoria III on Wednesday evening in a game played “in the right spirit”. It is a pity he wasn’t playing for Victoria III v Academy IV the previous evening when he would have witnessed at least one of the Victoria players direct the most foul and abusive language at our 14 year old umpire. I would have liked to have read his thoughts on the spirit of that game.

It is not the first time this season that opposition players have tried to bully and insult the younger members of our 4th XI. With all the talk of how to get people playing and involved with cricket, maybe some people need to take a look at themselves. What sort of example is that to set to up and coming players?

Academy entered a 4th XI this season with the team consisting of 2 or 3 old hands and 8 or 9 under 15s so it is inevitable that youngsters will have to umpire at some stage.

Wow, I see the NCU are going all out this year with the T20 promotion - final on a Tuesday evening at Shaw's Bridge!

Can I just say what a disgrace it is that Clogher Cricket Club has been vandalised AGAIN! This must come to an end and hopefully the Police can find these thugs and some sort of punishment is handed out.

Re: James

They were split in to two separate meetings at the first meeting, one for current Premier/Section 1 clubs and one for Section2/3 as we recognise that some of the issues are different. Then we brought them all together to discuss their findings, a summary of the various issues raised is on the NCU website. Another meeting is planned for later this month before we go out to clubs to discuss before the AGM.

Thanks Wylie
Let me be clear firstly that I think any initiative such as this is to be applauded and is required.
I do have issues with the committee however as it is apparent to me, as a cricket watcher in the NCU that trying to marry the aspirations of say North Down and Ards on any committee is a nonsense, or PSNI and Waringstown for that matter.
Surely we should be splitting the Premier League and the rest or Premier 1 and 2 from the 3rd and 4th tier. I mean what do they have in common?

ivan, matchwinning bowlers at downpatrick.... in my time, e have had a few, geoff ferguson could change a game and did so on many occassions, billy adams took a serious number of wickets, phillip lennon and brian ferris both topped the bowling averages at different times, and dale mullan has been so economical over the years which im sure has bought wickets at the other end.

re Composition of NCU Senior Cricket Working Group.

James, unlike yourself, the composition of the above group is not a secret:

J Fleming (PSNI), P McCormick (Holywood), R Dunn (Ards), C Williams (Ballymena), G Alexander (Larne), G McCarter (Armagh), S Dyer (CSNI), G Rodgers (North Down), R Eagleson (Carrickfergus), A Rose (Instonians), D Munn (Cliftonville), G Hunter (Lurgan), A Waite (Waringstown), R McCavrey (Saintfield), S Catterson (Cregagh).

A number of people were asked to join the group but declined.

RE Neale Matthews.

"Where to start.

If I don't want to play at Waringstown but fancy a few games at Portadown, what's wrong with that?"

Ony if when captaining a portadown side in lurgan Park and keeping wicket, you dont appeal for an LBW decision against the home captain, see the finger go up, celebrate the wicket, and then when the opposition skipper goes to stand at square leg (as there is only one official umpire), ask if he got an inside edge and then say "I Thought So"

Im still gutted about that lol, so the next time I see you at the lawn, mine is a magners :-)

made my debut this evening for our thirds against Ards threes tonight and a very enjoyable game it was with a lot of talented young cricketers on show (and some with a few too many grey hairs as well), a great game of cricket played in the right spirit (on the whole) and there are a few in the Ards team that will be very good cricketers if they are allowed to develope at their own pace and not be torn between club versus school debates that can so easily be avoided if the Union goes about things in the right way.

Your Pro-v-Our Pro

1.Your Pro I guess, comes from a foreign soil
Our Pro lives local, doesn't bother with suntan oil
Your Pro is young, fit, the darling of your crowd
Our Pro's getting on, has arthritis, but he's still proud.

2.Your Pro bowls well with vigour and zest
Our Pro just bowls and hopes for the best
And when your Pro bats, the crowds in a trance
Our Pro bats eleven, likes to give the rest a chance.

3.I bet your Pro gets runs and wickets galore
When our Pro last got a wicket, his hamstrung he tore!
And I know your Pro runs, like an Olympic champ
Our Pro can't run fast, cause he goes down with the cramp.

4.But let's look at the 'Pro's and then the Cons',
In a few years, will your Pro be gone ?
Is he like Clint Eastwood, the young hired gun
'For a few dollars more', will he up and run.

5.Not so our Pro. No! He'll never leave
Been at his club 50 years, wears his heart on his sleeve,
Now what price do you pay, for service like that?
Yes he's our Pro and if you meet him, please, lift your hat!