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Curry banned and Limavady kicked out of the ISC according to BT and BBC. Now we can get on with the cricket! Difficult to see how and why both would appeal given the offences that Curry admitted. His exceptional cricket career ends with a big blemish but Limavady haven't exactly come out with much credit with their soft internal ban and now an appeal. Stand by your man!
Re. D. McD. V.C.C.
There's no doubt about it, good & all as those chaps are/have been you've mentioned,in my opinion Gerald Johnston of Victoria C.C. was and still is the greatest 'professional' ever to play cricket within the N.C.U.
After all, the man's even had tribute poems written in his honour, kept our seconds going through the 'hard times' and never gave in !
A legend !! (And never asked for a penny)!!!
Wish I could have seen him play in his prime....but I'm only 46 yrs of age !
I know its a bit late but i would just like to pass on my congrats to saintfield under 15's for winning the graham cup, great achievment for a club on the up, hopefully your firsts dont have similar success in our two games coming up
Best NCU professional?
Nice wee thought for a discussion, and as a player to entertain and bring in the crowds, Obus Pienar will be hard to beat, in much the same way that raman lamba and others were in times past, the same could be said for Marc Harper and what he done for a generation of children in the Donacloney area, but I still feel that the best value for money has to have been John Solanki for bringing through a lot of very good young players at every club he was at (though I am expecting Lurgan people to mention Rahul).
How do you judge a good professional? one who pays for himself by increased takings in the collecting tin, or bar, or one that works with the next generation and brings them on or a combination?
Hiler-look after the chairman while he is out there and warn him about the strenght of the rum as he hasnt been out there for awhile!!!
Hope your well and see you soon on the golf course
I'd like to second Jim's & Ed's congratulations on the I.C.C. letting common sense prevail on the I.C.C. World-cup ruling and allowing the top associate nations a fair slice of the cake !
Great stuff !
Well done ICC. We kick you when you get it wrong but at least you had the integrity to recognize the mistake and rectify it. Ireland now has a fair chance to qualify for 2015 but further down the line the 10-team format is the ICC way forward. Promotion and relegation too!
Off to the Kensington Oval to spy on the opposition but the skyline looks like a wet day in............
Great News that 2015 World Cup will comprise of the associated nations! Should never have been any other way though.
Dicky
Great to see Saintfield winning the Graham Cup. A very talented group of kids who did their club proud. A lot of hard work has gone into the youth structure at Saintfield in the past 10 years and its great to see them finally getting the rewards they deserve.
Ivan,
Regarding Dundrums proposal to reduce overs below Premier League to 40, this is the views of an individual member. As is the norm, it will be debated (I'm sure at some length) at committee before we decide on our proposal.
Lost grounds.
Orange field
YMCA Bladon Park
Allen Park?
Academy pitch at clubhouse
Deramore Park collegians and harlequins.
Upper Galwally?
Post Office ground Derriaghy?
Always a shame to think of cricket clubs which have disappeared. There are a few from looking back through past league tables.
Chanced upon this article about the formation of Newry and Mourne. Seems such a shame that 10 years later they no longer exist.
http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CEIRELAND/NORTHERN/2001/NEWS/001.shtml
A quick google search found a few of their scorecards, all heavy defeats. I'm sure that this didn't help.
Is anyone aware of when or if the draw for the quarter finals of the Ulster Plate has been/will be made? The fixtures are to take place next Sunday (3 July) and it would be rather helpful to know opponents, and more importantly, whether our club has a home or away game. If the draw hasnt been undertaken yet it would be helpful to have some sort of explanation.
The debate about starting times seems to be gaining momentum on the Twitter feeds. A lot of people wanting 11am starts.We may not be able to accomadate schoolboys in Senior cricket during school term and if thats the price so be it. If we don't catch the mood of the current players we are going to lose more and more people to either mid week cricket or worse golf.
I left Eaton Park at 8.45pm last night as soon as the Ballymena v Waringstown match ended. The Waringstown players and supporters weren't probably home until 10.15pm. That has to be a killer for a club with so many teenagers coming through and also a loyal band of spectators who add so much to the game. I know it was a rain affected game but under the current playing conditions that was the time it finished.The game at Comber was finishing at exactly the same time.
I see in another Tweet that Dundrum are intending proposing 40 over cricket below the Premier League. If that was successful maybe those games could start at 12.30. I suppose we focus on starting times. Maybe we should focus on the finishing time and work back accordingly. If we aimed to cut off at 6pm then 11am for 50 overs, 12.30 for 40 overs and 1pm for 35 overs or less would work. Do away with the no overs lost in first 30 minutes rule and shorten tea intervals to 20 minutes if time doesn't allow the full 30 minutes.
This compromise might cover most eventualities and should suit players and spectators alike. Premier League clubs need to start marketing the game better on a local level and I think we could see improved crowds with guaranteed 6pm finishes. That mid afternoon 2pm to 6pm could become a very enjoyable way for a lot of people to spend at a game.
Don't lets use the red herring of schools cricket dictate the wishes of the majority. If you analyis the scorebooks of the games played this season how many games did these schoolboys play in Premier League cricket even with 1pm starts ? And if you work on a Saturday morning you may have to play in a team that plays only 35 overs on a Saturday and you can start at 1pm.
Well here is one shop owner heading for 35 over cricket then Ivan!
Lost grounds
What about YMCA's lovely ground for years at Bladon Drive, Belfast?
Over the years many great local cricketers played there - I am sure a lot of our readers will remember some of them with fond memories.
