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GOOD NEWS is we have some cricket grounds SURROUNDED with beautiful scenery.

BAD NEWS is we have a LOT of sub standard playing surfaces on which cricket is played on.

The recent postings on number of runs scored are irrelevant.Many runs are scored on POOR pitches due to the inadequacies of bowlers who are unable to take advantage of "helpful" conditions.
Generally, the only SCIENTIFIC figures[to name but a few] that really matter when determining the quality of a cricket square are:

Clay Content
Soil Strength- Breaking Strength
Binding Stength
Silt Fraction
Organic Matter Content
pH values

How many of our clubs KNOW or want to know this information about their OWN ground.

Unfortunately,we must live with the fact that most local clubs are unable/unwilling to provide the resources [financial and human]to construct AND maintain the playing surface to the standards we see at many grounds in England.

I can assure you that whilst a "holiday" visiting a few county grounds and viewing their preparations for a match is interesting it has a "deflationery" effect on one`s own mindset when you think about NCU surfaces and one`s own club back home.

Nevertheless,when you recover from the shock you have to remember that we are amature clubs/players with an amaturish approach playing generally village cricket to 10 men and a dog for spectators.............so why get so concerned about where a cup final is played........it doesn`t matter

If you don`t think I am correct take a jaunt over to a few county grounds and before you go view a few websites on cricket pitches ......the ECB one is a good one to start with.

Happy Cutting/fertilising/rolling etc,etc

Wylie,

You are quite right: those figures are far from scientific. I think, however, they give a decent, if a little rough, indication of how pitches performed across the season,

Michael

No Dundrum in the Ulster Shield draw this year. Was just wondering reasons behind this?

Ivan raises an issue that hasn't been picked up - a sponsor for the Challencge Cup. In the past there have been some fantastic sponsors such as Touche Ross. In the absence of any progress I ask if there is any input available from Cricket Ireland to assist in the marketing of this competition or are they totally focussed on the national team? I also recall an earlier posting from Wayne Horwood regarding this so we seem to be in the same position as last year.

Re Paul
NDCC certainly did. I think the players would like to see the FINAL shared around the 3 top grounds.
In Oz grade cricket has a comprehensive system of reviewing is in place to determine ground gradings which transparently indicates the good and bad grounds. 1 or 2 is just not enough.

Michael,

Those are very interesting stats you have produced within your article.

Amazed to see Waringstown as low as that but as Wylie righly points out, there have to be other circumstances taken into account when assessing these stats. No surprise to see North Down at the top as they have been the dominant force for a long time now on what must be superb wickets.

All this chat has got my juices going again for local cricket and i think i may take in a few games this coming year to make sure my assesments from news articles/websites and old playing colleagues are correct!

I'll ask my question for a second time though to Wylie if i may, and see if he responds this time. What clubs put their names forward for the NCU Senior Cup Final 2011?

Michael

Surely you need to factor in the second innings scores as well and calculate a "runs per over per ground" (based on the two scores) sort of thing as well as take in to account other factors affecting a teams score.

The reason I say this is:

Scenario One: Larne are the best team in their league and all the rest are rubbish – they win the toss in each match at glorious Sandy Bay and put the opposition in and bowl them out for under 100 each time. This would mean the average score for Sandy Bay is less than 100, ridiculous I know, but there you are, the figures say so that Sandy Bay is not a good batting ground.

Scenario Two: Larne are the best team in their league and all the rest are rubbish – they win the toss in each match at Sandy Bay and bat first passing at least 250 each time. This would mean the average score for Sandy Bay is more than 250, so the figures say Sandy Bay is a great batting ground.

What I am trying to say is that based on your method there are other factors (other than the ground condition) that need to be taken in to account when calculating runs per ground – eg. Strength of opposition, weather conditions, umpires (?)

Any one else got other thoughts?

I'm not sure if this will add anything to the debate, but the average first innings scores for top-division club grounds in 2010 are published here: http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES3/articles/000048/004886.shtml

Brendan, you took the words out of my mouth.
Andy, I'm sure James was not being personal.
On another note I played golf with Frannie Lee and Paul Hanby from Leinster CC this morning and it is amazing how much fun three "has-beens" can still enjoy through the medium of sport. Looking forward to linking up with George Dockrell next week when Somerset arrive in Barbados for the Twenty20 finals. Good kid with great potential.

I am convinced Lisburn will do the Senior Cup proud and be fantastic hosts. The new extended ground looks great and geographically is a great location. I think after this Final there will be a clamour for Lisburn to be regular hosts. My hunch is weather permitting we will get a record crowd. There must be a sponsor out there somewhere. Who's looking and does anyone know the sums involved ?

Is that really true James?
Have we so many superstars in local cricket these days?
Surely they still only win a few cups?
Play for the shirt yes, but it is still only a game.
Enjoy it as the playing years pass quickly and then you have only memories.

Interesting debate re Cup Final venues. Our amateur game is for the players and for me players should decide on cricket matters.
Hopefully the grounds selected for the NCU finals do the business so lets hope for a brilliant summer to accompany our showcase events of 2011.

James makes a point about "most sucessful teams/players". Conversely, Clarence, that makes you a "most unsucessful player"!! Maybe he should invest in a copy of the North Down book!!!

Funny how the most successful teams/players never say 'it's only a game'...

regarding earlier postings about shared grounds - if the criteria was that such grounds should be excluded then the only ones that would come into the reckoning are the likes of Waringstown, North Down, Muckamore & Lisburn. As Wylie points out, the reality is that few clubs "offer". With regard to "low scores" at the Lisburn ground - it will be remembered that the outfield is considerably larger following ground improvements that incorporated part of the cycle track that I, as a wee lad, in the company of the Wisemans, used to watch the McCloys, Messrs. Bowden, Martin, etc. (we had to watch from outside as we spent the admission money -something else that has long disappeared - on sweets!) As pointed out elsewhere- it is only a game. Some posters who get a bit "precious" about pitches,etc, should remember that a limited amount of cricket in Ireland is only a step up from village cricket and the rest is very much village cricket. So let's get real about this.