Forum

Reference M. Parks

M...........it depends what you see as the priority....personally I would rather improve the standard of ALL cricket.....rearranging leagues MIGHT make it competitive in the short term but the overall standard won`t improve.....some leagues in a range of sports are competitive but the quality of many games is poor.........don`t forget that good quality cricket AND competitive cricket are not mutually exclusive irrespective of what level we play the game...........as I said before its all about REAL personal and club committment

Personally, I feel that Muckamore should be commended for what they are doing as a club. They appear to have a number of people working tirelessly within the key aspects of a club; their youth structure looks strong and they appear to be targeting Primary School ages, which is key. They are investing in their facilities, which, in my opinion, should be each club’s priority. Their success is richly deserved as was their victory on Sunday.

DK (why hide your name or club ?) ive always been againest pros/coaches and if i had a vote id ban them but id still raise all the £( ive raised 6k in 2yrs ) needed too bring retired coach over as the amount of work ours does with kids is unbelievable as we have for the first time ever got 4 schools playing cricket in the area something that i never thought possible and into intregated schools so even a small club like Dundrum can promote the game off cricket an produce players for the future of our club an i hope its in section 1 but too be honest i love my club an if its section 4 ill still be a STALWART at Dundrum as the club is what matters not the section . ps verbals think if u ask paul mccrum ( still a freind )he rang me after the game too see if Dundrum would employ him although it might have been something to do with Peter Lavery 10 million lottery winner owning the clubs local pub the BAY INN so ive no doubt that the very talented ex irish cricketer Paul was more deserving off banter( not verbals IMO) than most playing in section 3 in which their was some cracking players Alan & Noel Nelson Davy & Robbie Dennison Charlie Mcrum Craig Irwin and 2 pros kiwi Micheal Clarke & indrejet Kametar ex donacloney ( now soon 2 star in premier with muckamore ) clarke who was as good bat as i seen so it proves that it dont matter what section you play as long as you enjoy the game off cricket.

I wish Davy from "the nets" would remember that there are those who are of a certain age who haven't a clue what IMO means. Indeed there are those of us old enough to remember a certain JRW Boyce who couldn't bat up an entry & following his injury wasn't exactly the sharpest of wicketkeepers but was motivational enough a captain to take Ballymena, who were a Section 3 side at the time, all the way to a Senior Cup final. Where does it say in the Boys Big Book of Cricket that a captain has to be a star? And being captain isn't all about what happens on the field. Indeed I was discussing the very subject with a Premier league captain last Saturday. Admittedly it is easier in the 1st XIs but I am sure that many who have done the job will agree with me that when you've picked a side, dealt with the cry-offs (always from teams above) and found 3 players on a Friday night/Saturday morning, organised the sandwiches, who will be taking cars, got the rope out, opened the scoreboard AND organised the drinks, the playing of the game is the easy part! I didn't read the article but a look at the top 3 League tables shows that teams are "adrift" at the bottom of each section. If the standards were as high as everyone claims there wouldn't be this points gap. If Macca needs the loan of another fishing rod he knows where I live!!

"Non playing captain"
I have to agree that sometimes a captain is required to do much more than just play. It seems that big Macca has 10 other talented players at his disposal and if he can make then all play together then he will bring the success that they want.
In the late 90s at Holywood, Billy McCormick came back from 2nd XI to captain the 1st XI - simply because none of us were ready to take that role on but he developed the younger lads like Philip and me to eventually captain the club. As Wayne says, there is much more to captain than just turning up and tossing a coin!
Good luck to Macca and Muckamore - they seem to be doing something right and dont need to explain anything to anyone in my opinion.

Jeff Maguire - glad your opinion on progressive clubs has changed - seemed to remember you giving Paul McCrum lots of verbals from the sidelines when he was the class guiding Dunmurry to victory over Dundrum............ambition is good but needs careful planning/vision/monitoring ongoing

As a selector at Muckamore it was especially exciting to see us hammer Instonians with four teenagers in our team in the Twenty20. The same four plus Gary Nicholl figured recently in an NCU Under 17 side v West of Scotland U 17 .
Jason VdeMerwe has been a regular in the Ireland under age teams for quite a while and when we play CIYMS in the Twenty 20 cup final we will have at least four teenagers and possibly five on our side. Gary Nicholl has taken 31 wickets in the 2nds this season and also scored a century for the 3rds v Lisburn. Sunson Stephenson has had score of 80,77,46 and 37 in League 2.1 and Jordan Mairs has proved an effective deputy to Brian Dunlop behind the stumps when called upon and Craig Drummond has opened the bowling in the 1sts for the last two seasons. Those five plus another three that are regulars in our seconds in League 2.1 all took part in our recent Cricket Factory at Junction One. ( not just any old nets in any old shopping centre )

We have had over 100 boys on a Monday night , coach in over a dozen local schools and we field teams at Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15 and had young Sam Gordon in the recent Inter pros in Cork.

So our youth policy is sound and allied to the youthful enthusiasm not to mention ability and honsety of our 44 year old skipper Andy McCulloch was the reason that Wayne Horwood decided to return in 2010. As someone who gave him throw downs over 20 years ago when he was a youngster starting out I was particularily proud to see him hit a wonderful century at Bangor on Sunday.

We are also about to launch an Emerging Players Programme as part of a Cricket Ireland initative and now that we have had new clay wickets laid must have one of the best and nicest grounds in the country. Also we have a large travelling support each week mainly made up of ex Senior players and we also realise we are only a small step along on our quest to be one of the leading clubs.

We are a real cricket club with a fine history of playing the game in the right spirit and of promoting young players and encouraging them to play representative cricket.

We are not perfect but my motto is" the man who didn't make a mistake never made anything." And it's encouraging to see some people have a swipe at us because " no one kicks a dead dog ". However I think we will get more positive comments than negatives. I think as a club we have many friends in NCU cricket and beyond.

We return to play at Moylena on 7th August v Armagh and next day in a 20 over game v Saintfield. I hope the sun shines and we get a big crowd to cheer Macca and his boys along.

r.e Wayne Horwood...respect?

What about respect for the other teams? Uncalled for IMO

First Derriaghy then Ciyms now Muckamore nearly always from nameless people who hide and dont say if they play or what club they are from as they continue too run down clubs who work hard too push their clubs too the highest level , fair play too the above 3 clubs as the premier league might have been a closed shop but not any longer so good luck as no reason why Muckamore wont shock quite a few next year and they definitly will, ps macca keep doing what your good at mate as that young fella Billy Dale tormentend quite a few good premier players in his 50& 60s so think m8 you have few years quality bowling left no matter what section or team you play for as you like me love the game of cricket and our clubs!pps next weekend is divorce time cup finals fri & sun ( an few lagers) game sat and what a fantastic achievment too Academy cricket club on getting too the junior cup final 3 years in a row and i for one wont bet againest lifting it for the 3rd year in succession!

The rearranging of leagues which I suggested, has nothing to do with increasing standard, merely increasing the competiveness of Div 2 Sect 3, and therefore increasing the enjoyment of that league!

Here we go again about size of leagues etc etc. Before you make any proposal realise that rejigging leagues will NOT improve overall stanadard of cricket being played...........it is equivalent to rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic [with respect to those who perished]

Crcicket development is more about committment and quality coaching........if you are not committed either as a club or individual DON`T exect your standards to rise

EVEN THE WORMS IN SAINTFIELD KNOW THAT IF YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU HAVE DONE BEFORE YOU WILL VERY PROBABLY GET THE SAME OUTCOME

captaincy is a selfless task and one that requires immense effort and personal sacrifice. The work put in by eagy, shieldsy, eugene etc on and off the pitch often goes without thanks
big macca has put in a huge effort at muckamore and watching him running circuits, bleep tests, getting 25 folk to nets in december last year, working with youngsters and seeing that hunger is probably the main reason i returned home. It takes people like this in clubs and perhaps if there were more maccas helping cricket the standard here would be higher.

as a player macca has 13 wickets at 15 this year and goes at under 3. However he has opted not to bowl to try and ensure 1 or 2 bowlers bowl each week and touch wood get some experience in advance of promotion.

I can only assume anyone criticising a captain on a forum has never captained before or they would have shown significantly more respect.

As for standards. Would the late 90s, early 00s teams at waringstown, north down, inst, csn/north, woodvale, downpatrick, lurgan, bangor, ballymena, cliftonville, lisburn etc beat the current teams when you take out the overseas professional??? yes in my view. At the same time irish cricket in many ways has never been in better shape with the full team doing well, half a dozen lads in county cricket etc. The game is just changing and will continue to do so.

Re Davy & Mark

Mark, i think you've missed the point...
The initial comment was that "certain People" had made "disparaging comments" to the press... The insinuation was that maybe "people in glass houses" maybe should not be throwing stones...!
Me thinks a nerve has been touched...

Your right Davy, the skipper you are talking about rarely bowls, preferring to open the bowling with 23 year old Neil Gill and 17 year old Craig Drummond and therefore giving youth a chance.

Yes the club you are referring to do have a professional, but the other 2-3 you are talking about can't be referred to as hired guns.

The 2 South Africans played with each other at school in South Africa and always said they would love to play in the same team for a couple of years before they retired, for the enjoyment they would get from it.

And Mr Horwood started his cricket with Muckamore and always has maintained he wanted to finish there to.

Re Davy

Surely captaincy is as much about organisational abilities as playing ability?