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Yes well done Ivan and Muckamore and good luck if we wernt playn id go and let her spend her own£ in junction1 , just back from primary schools finals at stormont and i have to say the future is bright for ncu club cricket as the talent that i witnessed shocked me bigtime with over 150 juniors and they were superb in all aspects of the game with Strandtown the best of the 4 teams i witnessed an a young lad Humpries from Waringstown looked very good . Just like pass on big thank you to Ryan Eagleson who had everything running like clockwork ( im sure it was quite a headache and he will sleep well 2night) and all his helpers and as usual Stormont was in superb condition and exceptional array of food from the sponsors ASDA for everyone. Was gtreat experiance for adults an juniors so take a bow to all involved.

Excellent work Ivan and everyone at Muckamore. I watched a league match there five weeks ago and the atmosphere was terrific with many old stalwarts around. Moylena is a beautiful cricket theatre and I hope the weather is kind and everyone has an enjoyable day. One tip I would offer in your marketing plans is to involve the opposition. Waringstown travel with staunch supporters so let them know that you are rolling out the "red carpet" and they can support your promotion on their website etc. Both teams will appreciate the atmosphere created with more spectators in the ground. Good luck on and off the field!

Awesome Ivan & Muckamore CC and to be greatly applauded - trusting the sunshine and spectators make it a wonderful summer's cricketing day to remember.............visionary!

Here, here Ivan.

Great idea, and a great amount of thought and effort is obviously going into the promotion of this.

I drive past Moylena on the way to Portrush every Sunday, so I might just take a long stop on the way on Sunday 19th!

Marketing club cricket.
Muckamore play Waringstown on Sunday 19th June at Moylena and we are embarking on a major marketing campaign to create a record crowd of 600 at this game. This includes a major Facebook presence, 5,000 door to door leaflets in Antrim town, posters in shop windows and workplace canteens plus press coverage. This experiment is driven by the number of faces I noticed at Stormont ( and I don't mean the Pakistan fans ) who I had never seen at a club match. It started me thinking that maybe locally there are hundreds of people in our towns and villages who would love to spend a few hours watching cricket if only they knew it was on. Maybe we have been guilty for too long of "preaching to the converted ". For this game we are hoping to get many diehard cricket fans along but equally we are appealling for new faces to come along for the first time. We know from some research that there are a vast majority of people in Antrim don't know where the cricket club is, when we play etc. This despite us having pages of reports and photographs in our local paper every week. Newspaper sales and readership is droppping and among the under 30's is practically non existent.
So pass the word to your non cricket watching friends about this game and our attempts to get a bigger crowd than most Irish League football games. Let's all make an effort to market our sport locally. It need not be expensive but it needs to be done consistently. A website is a must as is a heavy Facebook presence but old fashioned posters and leaflets, banners etc still create interest. We will have the bar open all day and the bbq's lit on Sunday 19th. Why not come along and add to the atmosphere. Maybe even turn up in the fancy dress gear and enter into the spirit. If your partner doesn't fancy the cricket then Junction One Shopping Centre is two miles away and for an after match meal we can recommend Moes Grill or Redz at Junction One. So go on make it a proper family day out. Match starts at 1pm and admission is FREE .
Which match in the next six weeks is your club going to promote hard ? More people at games will mean more people playing the game, will mean more interest from sponsors and a healthier game all round. It's our sport and our clubs let's start marketing it. If I can help in anyway or if you have any great ideas get in touch.

Thanks Andy.
I haven't seen Alan for many years but I'm glad to hear he's still taking the pills! Great guy.

tatyo. its getttin there we got daisys sprayed so lets hope for bit good weather but big derby or not the covers will be of for THE BIG GAME DUNDRUM V NORTH DOWN under 15 fri night not that has me excited!!!!!!!!! PS ill double or quits on the 40 £ yu owe an if we win ill give the money too CHARITY ?

well said jeff, you looking forward to the big derby?? hopefully the forecast is wrong, hows your place taking the rain these days??

just been informed that NCU have meeting with Dunmurry tonight so fair play the NCU care an are on the ball and lets hope they get the help they deserve.

I have read Jeff's posting carefully and he makes some positive suggestions. There is a similarity between the present situation and what has happened in rugby, with the emphasis on "Club Ulster" and the junior clubs can sort themselves out. I know that the "word from the top" would deny that but the reality is there for all to see. In relation to cricket I'm not sure where responsibility lies. Dare I say that perhaps dunmurry aren't the only club in such straits? I'll leave others to guess who!
P.S. - Clarence - I was at a rugby dinner in Magherafelt the other week and I met Alan Burns who sends his regards.

Anyone agree with that possibly now is the time for the NCU too step in an help Dunmurry a great JUNIOR club that has won cups an leagues instead waiting till possibly the whole club folds ? Yes im probably bit naive but with locals Lisburn & Derriaghy both having PROS and lots paid coaches surely between them and NCU they can try help in any way possible as very few seem care about grass roots cricket and everyone is caught up in the ireland and big clubs only scenario which is also fine but for far too long junior clubs have to fight to survive without help as in all junior clubs theirs a great band of stalwarts that do a superb job of running ther clubs and supply lots players than join the bigger clubs an thats why i think the time is now to HELP a fine club as far too many junior clubs were let slip away without help from us all and anyone who can help should .Yes might be difficlut but not impossible for say the NCU start by getting in touch an say see what they could do like ie send down some of ther fine coaches say even run good summer schemes etc for them as im quite sure that theres lots could be done instead of just ignoring the situation of a club that is struggling but Ihope an pray that this fine club gets thru and can get stronger with support from all in the CLUBS & NCU

Does anyone know when the draw for the next round of Ulster Shield takes place

Sorry to hear about Dunmurry having to scrap their seconds, but it was not that long ago, we had to make the same painful decision, and the members responded superbly so that we are now able to field three sides on a saturday (not always successfully), and now for the first time in our clubs history, have a colts cup side entered as well.
Keep at it lads, and keep trying to encourage new members to join.

Re: M Parks

Junior Leagues 1-8 will comprise 8 teams from 2012, and Junior League 9 may have more or fewer than 8. As Junior 1 currently has 10 teams, to achieve this there will be no promotion at the end of the current season. Two teams will be relegated from Junior Leagues 1-4, and following the withdrawal of Dunmurry II from Junior 5, only one team will now be relegated from Junior Leagues 5-8, assuming there are no further withdrawals.

I was wondering... with the re-organisation of Junior cricket, how dopes promotion and relegation work this season?

Am I right in saying that 2 teams will be relegated from each section and there will be no promotion?