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Ivan, if anyone will remember Freddie's ton it will be Freddie himself. He bought drink all night! Not sure if this was the trip that Jimmy Ellis played with us but he was a lovely person and great company. As for the Glouester trip I recall at one stage that evening you were in the squad for the next county match.
Where did it all go wrong son?
Great memories if we could remember all of them!

Clarence
Was that the tour on which "Dilip" Ashton scored a ton and then the next day when he was too sore to play he was replaced by one James Lynch of Z Cars fame who then the next day met us at Lords for the rained off game v Pakistan. Most of those tours are a blur to me but I think Graham Crothers " Andy if I was you I would sack your elocution teacher" retort to Andy Clement in full flow is still the best off the cuff remark I have heard. Especially as he was also driving the minibus for the complete trip as you and Barclay had "forgot" your driving licence's.
I know the Grasshoppers have had some fantastic trips abroad in recent years but those days the trips based around the Ireland Gillette Cup fixtures were great fun. I found photos a fortnight ago of myself behind the bar at Gloucester with Bill Athey obviously taken when I was "tired". I remember that game as one of the Gloucester supporters asked me which club I was with and when I said Muckamore he said to me "Archie McQuilken". It turned out he had played football with Archie. Up until then I thought Archie was only a legend in Muckamore.That was the game when Mark Cohen stood up to everything Bruno Lawerence could throw at him.

I have heard that Alfie has played 2 first class games in the past 3 weeks in India - surely this rules out Derriaghy?

just to clear up on a few issues regarding ballymena's new pro.
i was out with albert and hennie van der merwe at the weekend, both are more than happy with their current clubs.
their brother marty is contracted to play in england again next year, he scored nearly 2000 runs last year but does not bowl any more due to injury.
piet van niekerk is very settled in SA and wont be back here for the foreseeable future (trust me, we have tried to get him back). incidently, piet will be playing against england in one of their warm up matches (9-12 dec).
as i am no longer on the commitee at derriaghy i cannot give a definitive answer, but it is my belief that alfie will be back at queensway in 2010.
does this narrow it down any?

John Busby
John, sometime in the eighties the Grasshoppers played in the Leicester area prior to an Ireland game as we travelled to support the team in those days. One match I recall was against Sheepsted Cricket Club in a beautiful rural setting but too many beers after the game and old age have clouded the other details. Maybe any Grasshopper who made the trip could add a few more details. In any case good luck with your search for a new club.
Best wishes,
Clarence

Stevie Max
Stevie when I was on the Sports Council in the early nineties the officer responsible for the GAA was Danny O'Connor who was an expert in getting grants for his sport. Danny has since retired but I'm told he still does some consultancy work so if you call the Sports Council I'm sure there's someone who has his contact details. You may have to put a set of posts up on the ground for a short time (Just joking) but I'm sure he will help if he can as he's a great bloke and loves sport.

rodger bell;

tilakaratne bowled off spin last year not leg spin like he had done in the previous 2 seasons. something to do with an injury.

The work on the Woodvale car park has started and the work on the ground will start in early December and will mean us not playing at Ballygomartin Rd in the 2010 season.

Gents,
Just to clarify what is happening at Woodvale CC. We have secured funding from two different sources thanks to the tireless efforts of several members.

Our ground will be getting a brand new drainage system, a newly laid square and a new artificial pitch.

Outside, our carpark will be repaired and resurfaced and at the Ballygomartin Rd entrance we will have new gates supported by two very fancy stone pillars.

We at Woodvale are delighted that funds have been made available to what is one of the very last inner city (Belfast) cricket clubs left.

Thank you Roger - you learn something new every day!

im helping design the stonework for woodvales new entrance and it will look the part!!!

No John, an off spinner is by definition a right arm bowler. A left arm finger spinner who bowls with a similar action (such as van Niekerk) is known as a left arm orthodox spinner, but he will generally turn the ball away from the right hand batsman similar to a leg spinner.

In response to Michael Taylor - of course I am not privy to the machinations of any club and in this instance I have only put on the site such as is already in the public domain. In this instance I qouted from the Ballymena Times and the Ballymena Cricket website. The Ballymena secretary's report makes a clear distinction between dubious reports and dubious umpires. Others will judge on the merits of the opinion expressed but I can confirm that I have had a couple of calls from NIACUS colleagues. As I have stated on previous occasions I am not a spokesman for anyone other than myself and as you rightly say I take the odd "swipe" and there usually is a response (sic! I would reserve the right to continue to comment as I see fit.

Can left armers not bowl off spin then Roger?

Andy Kennedy,

Upon your criticism of Ballymena CC's Honorary Secretary's report, I offer some advice: upon circumstances of which you do not know, or which you do not fully comprehend, it is best not to comment.

Further, I think it is utterly amazing that an umpire - a role in which a man ought to be as impartial as possible - finds it acceptable to make controversy, and to regularly take swipes (no matter how 'jocular') at various individuals and clubs upon this forum. I can think of no other umpire who does this.