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I was wondering about financial support being available from local councils and indeed I raise the question that in any proposed development, do councils take cricket into consideration in any planned development. I remember a few seasons ago when Victoria faced difficulties regarding increased council charges. Thankfully it was resolved and I hope that the NCU would be making representations should a similar situation arise in other council areas.
Jack Carson
Have been following the Sussex CC tour to South Africa to see if Waringstowns 17 year old Jack Carson featured in any of the pre - season friendlies. On the Sussex website he got very favourable mentions for his contributions with both bat and ball in a game against Middlesex.(Breaking an opening partnership of 119 when he took the wicket of England International Sam Robson - not a bad scalp for your first wicket!)
For all the plaudits many young players receive he often slips under the radar but felt his success deserved to be highlighted on the Forum.
Ed...Terrific potential. A chip off the block from his dad.
ICC World Cup Qualifying
Ireland live to fight again if only for a few days. West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets to give us a chance, albeit remote.
World Cup Qualifying
Ireland v Scotland
Ireland won by 25
Ireland 271-9 (50 overs) (A Balbirnie 105, N O'Brien 70, K O'Brien 46; B Wheal 3-43, S Sharif 2-52)
Scotland 246 (47.4 overs) (K Coetzer 61, R Berrington 44, S Sharif 34, M Watt 31*; B Rankin 4-63, S Singh 2-33, T Murtagh 2-51, B McCarthy 2-44)
Captivated TV watching from the armchair critics, and we got plenty to comment! We perform better on TV.
However, the most important factor was the result! Balbirnie and the O'Brien brothers rescued our batting, and the bowlers were impressive after a few flutters at the start and finish.
Roll on the Afghans on Friday! DD Day!
It was with sadness that I belatedly learned of the death of one of another of cricket's abiding characters - Bobby Henderson. It was always to good to meet him and his "partner in crime" Tonto at Carrickfergus. .Hendi was never slow about voicing his opinion on the standards of playing, players or umpires - all expressed with a wicked humour! Deepest sympathy to his family circle.
ed...
Just found out yesterday. He was a great character and we shared a few pints over the years.
World Cup Qualifying-Super Six
Zimbabwe v Ireland
Result-Zimbabwe won by 107 runs
Zimbabwe 211-9 (50 overs) (S Raza 69*, B Taylor 25, T Chisoro 21, C Ervine 20, C Zhuwao 20; T Murtagh 3-36, A McBrine 2-42)
Ireland 104 (34.2 overs) (P Stirling 41; T Chisoro 3-22, G Cremer 3-18)
Poor performance from Ireland and they will rue the decision to bat first after the hosts. Thereafter the bowlers flattered to receive after good work in the early stages, but Zimbabwe dodged a bullet to register 211, which was unlikely.
Must-win matches to follow from Scotland and Afghanistan.
Great win by Ireland and not many openers score over 200 in partnership. Well done Paul and William. Crazy formula that produces the top Six after Afghanistan lost three games. A semi-final seems more appropriate.
Result:
Ireland win by 226 runs (DLS)
Ireland 313-6 (44 overs) (P Stirling 126, W Porterfield 92, K O'Brien 50*; M Naveed 3-78)
UAE 91 (29.3 overs) (B Rankin 4-15, S Singh 3-15, B McCarthy 2-26)
World Cup Qualifier Group A: Harare Sports Club, Harare
West Indies 257-8 (50 overs): Powell 111, Holder 54; Murtagh 4-41, McBrine 2-45
Ireland 205 (46.2 overs): Joyce 63, K O'Brien 38; Roach 4-27 2-41
West Indies won by 52 runs
Charles,
Agree with 10 team league and as mentioned in previous posts I directly blame the condensed 8 team Premier league for the production of super teams and the demise of former great teams like Woodvale Lurgan and Downpatrick.
It won't happen as I.C.U demands 8 team Premier leagues.
Before Tuesday nights meeting regards the structure of leagues for the 2019 season I would like to personally see 4 leagues of 10 where we would see plenty of cricket.
I would also like to see all leagues open so that strong 2nd X1s could go to as far Section 1 if they were good enough to beat teams in Section 2 and Section 3.
I do have a personal reason for bringing this to a public forum as when I last played over 10 years ago we always discussed if some of the great 2nd X1s we played against like North of Ireland Woodvale and Warringstown would actually beat our own 1st X1 when we were in Section 2. Maybe in this structure we might see a strong 2nd X1 climb to those mighty heights. Thoughts from the Ed.
Ed...
Interesting comparing former 2nd XIs against 1st XI. True, some of those teams were strong, although maybe longer than 10 years. Who will ever know, but we all know the strength of 2nd XIs reflects a 1st XI and clubs need to ensure it happens. I favour the 10 team structure and hope the clubs attend this meeting to reflect opinion. The NCU has asked it so don't waste the opportunity.
Fixtures for Saturday (matches start 09h30 local time; matches involving the Netherlands and Nepal will be classified as List-A matches as the two sides don’t have ODI status coming into this tournament
Windies v Ireland, Harare Sports Club, Harare (Group A)
PNG v Netherlands, Old Hararians, Harare (Group A)
Zimbabwe v Hong Kong, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo (Group B)
Afghanistan v Nepal, Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo (Group B)
"Ballyclare" you hide your identity with a false name and a stupid remark.
However, I will reply once you clear your name. Otherwise don't waste our time and resource. Go somewhere else.
Ireland v Papua New Guinea at Harare Sports Club.
Ireland win by 4 wickets.
Papua New Guinea 235 (50 overs) (T Ura 151, C Soper 25; A McBrine 3-39, B Rankin 2-41, K O'Brien 2-53)
Ireland 237-6 (49.1 overs) (W Porterfield 111, E Joyce 53, P Stirling 27; A Vala 2-39)
Now two up and topping the A League table.
West Indies now on 10 March.
World Cup Qualifying
Ireland v Netherlands (Group A)
Put in to bat, Ireland scored 268 for seven in their allotted 50 overs. All the top order batsmen got decent starts but only Andrew Balbirnie was able to cross the 50-run mark, scoring 68 from 75 balls with four fours and one six.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien (49), opener William Porterfield (47) and one-down batsman Ed Joyce (32) were the other notable run-getters, while the 101-run fourth wicket partnership between Balbirnie and O’Brien was the biggest of the Irish innings.
For the Netherlands, fast bowler Timm van der Gugten was the most successful bowler with three for 59 even as Ireland collected 76 runs in the last 10 overs for the loss of four wickets.
Chasing a revised target of 243 runs in 41 overs, the Netherlands started poorly when they lost Maxwell O'Dowd on the third delivery of the opening over and then continued to lose wickets at regular intervals until they were bowled out for 149 to fall short by 93 runs.
Tim Murtagh, who started the riot when he dismissed O’Dowd, was the pick of the Ireland bowlers when he finished with three for 28, while Boyd Rankin and Barry McCarthy took two wickets apiece. For the Netherlands, van der Gugten (33), Scott Edwards (26) and Ryan ten Doeschate (21) were the notable contributors.
Cricket Ireland has revealed plans to develop a new permanent stadium in west Dublin.
The board has voted to pursue the creation of a new national cricket stadium at the National Sports Campus.
Irish internationals have traditionally been staged at Malahide or Clontarf in Dublin, Stormont in Belfast or Bready in County Tyrone.
The board has also announced an additional six limited-overs matches against Afghanistan in 2018.
The three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day matches will be held at Bready and Stormont from 20-31 August.
The board, which has also approved its largest annual operational budget of 9m euro, has announced a number of significant decisions in the wake of Ireland's elevation to Test status.
"Cricket in Ireland is entering an exciting new phase, as we begin to understand more and more the implications and obligations of becoming an ICC full member," said CI chief executive Warren Deutrom.
"We anticipate that the new future tours programme [FTP] will be finalised by the ICC in April this year. It is likely to involve the senior men alone playing about 60 home matches over the next five seasons.
"What has become abundantly clear to the board is that this dramatic increase in our home schedule means that we will need to share the load beyond our four existing international-standard grounds around Ireland."
Stadium relocation
The decision to relocate to the National Sports Campus follows a review of Cricket Ireland's previous plan to redevelop the Malahide cricket ground to become their main national stadium.
A report recommended the move to the green-field site where it will be located next to Cricket Ireland's new administrative office, which is under construction, and other world-class training facilities already available on the campus.
"The report informed the board's deliberations around a number of important issues around venue access and future-proofing," added Deutrom.
"When we selected Malahide as the location for our main stadium in Dublin a decade ago, Irish cricket was in a very different position with a much smaller fixture list.
"By achieving Test status and joining the FTP, we've had to ask ourselves the tough question of whether that decision is still fit for purpose."
