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Totally agree with Neil Fullerton's comments about cricket teas, a now totally outdated tradition which could easily be done away with. Hassle for home teams and adds time on unnecessarily. 15 minute break between innings and anyone in need of a drink or snack can bring their own.
Adds to the stuffy, stuck up image that many outsiders have of cricket, but merely my own personal opinion.
Ed...
Ryan,
It has also been mooted half-times might be scrapped too. That certainly makes sense when some players barely touch the ball 45 minutes both ways. Mind you, in a cold, wet, and muddy day a player might welcome a hot cuppa tea and bicky!
The topic of the time taken for junior league matches raises its head from time to time on this Forum and I would put forward a few suggestions that may help. (I) don't continually bring a guy up from long-on/off to bowl at the other end. (II) don't waste time taking helmets to the boundary only to bring it back the whole way at the next over from that end. (iii) the incoming batsman doesn't have to wait until his dismissed colleague reaches the boundary. (iv) is it necessary to have a long discussion about field placing at the end of EACH over. (v) do the batsmen have to have a similar discussion at the end of the over. (vi) it is permitted to jog to position at the end of the over. With a bit of improved thought and time management I'm sure that at least 30 minutes could be knocked off each innings.
Ed...
Andy,
Is the time taken really a big factor? After all, the overs are taking less and less these days and a lot of traditions might suffer. Bowling 5 overs at each end might also save time too. In my opinion the captains take too much time. In many cases they are indecisive, move players that are not required, and posture like making Government decisions. However, I suppose we are very grateful for captains, as it is a thankless job. PS: Don't ban the teas!
Owen thanks for the posting. I could challenge some of your assertions and indeed provide some clarification as to why things turned out the way they did for our 3rds between Friday and Saturday morning. However you seem to be missing my point- why the need to claim the game. There are 3 months left of the season, our two ground are only 15 minutes apart so a midweek game could easily be arranged and based on the league table you are not that far behind in games compared to everyone else. Also it seems rather contradictory to be taking about playing a friendly later in the season after claiming the league points. I wish you well for the rest of the season.
Graham
Lol! Had the pleasure of playing at Moylena today so no tea duty for me. But brought my bananas.
Ivan
'Hideous post?'
Unlike many posts on this forum I haven't slagged off an official, criticised an umpire, lambasted another club or poured scorn on the rule book.
Just a simple observation and some personal opinion about teas to generate some debate.
Hideous?
I'll tell you what's hideous....
Unfortunately cregagh 3 cancelled at 1030am this morning after confirming at 11am yesterday that they were good to play on Sunday. Like Cregagh 3 Instonians 6 is also a lads and dad's team. This was the 3rd request for a postponement from a team due to no team to play us. The other requests to rearrange were made mid week before the match not on Saturday morning 24 hours after confirming the game was on. Unfortunately we were not able to rearrange any of the other three rearranged matches for tomorrow given the notice. Fixtures now piling up and the request to have points and to try to rearrange a friendly later in the season was agreed and acknowledged by Cregagh has reasonable under the circumstances. It's unfortunate this back story was not made public to balance the post on this subject. My understanding is that fathers day is known at least year in advance so if it was a problem an early in the week call to rearrange would have been the decent thing to do and time therefore could have been directed for our kids to get an alternative game on the best cricket weather weekend of the season to date. Instead no-one now has a game. I hope this information puts the previous post in perspective.
Ulster Bank Schools Cup Final
Friday 16th June
Wallace HS 43 (23 overs, J Hunter 20, D Robinson 4-9, M Fleetham 2-17, B McNamarra 1-9, C Robinson 3-4)
RBAI 45-1 (8.2 overs, J Waite 22, B Rose 19no, S Cardosi 1-5)
RBAI beat Wallace HS by 9 wickets
Junior 8
This posting is in a personal capacity and not on behalf of my club Cregagh CC.
Tomorrow our 3rds were due to play Instonians 6ths in J8. With Fathers Day almost all of our young players were not available. Not a surprise. In addition there are GCSE commitments too. We asked for a postponement and gave an undertaking to play the game midweek. The request was refused and we are advised that the points are going to be claimed by Instonians. To say that I am dismayed by this attitude is an understatement. I thought J8 was to facilitate player participation not claim walkovers and deprive young guys of time on the pitch. I would ask the senior officers of Instonians to reconsider this decision in the interests of cricket and the NCU.
Cricket in a degree of flux, teams not fulfilling fixtures, playing standards continuing downwards, Cricket Ireland becoming increasingly detached from the club game, etc., etc., and what gets most response? The cost of two or three loaves of sandwiches and the time to drink a cuppa in the middle of what can be a 11 hour day! Says it all. By the way, I have always held that the Lisburn teas are best and, as Mrs. Slocombe said 'I am unanimous in that'!
Question about why we have teas?
Very simple for me - Carrickfergus CC provide the best teas ever in the ncu and no matter what level you're playing - 1s.2s, 3s or 4s they always seem to provide teas.
Credit where it's due - simply the best and will never be beaten
Ed...
Some at the other channel ran for a series on teas in the North-West a few years ago.
Mr Editor
Is that a recent post by Neil Fullerton or was it posted on 1st April and lost in your spam ?
It's without doubt the most hideous post I have read on any cricket forum.
It has to be a wind up.
Ed...
Not 1st April!
All Neil's work, but still a wind up.
Cricket teas can be very important indeed, just ask any cigarette smoker.
We (us Taverners) only play 20 over cricket so we usually just have some tea and coffee, biscuits and drinks on hand throughout the match (for our guests, don't forget you are a host). The bar and bistro are open from Thursday to Sunday if anyone wants to indulge themselves, it's a fantastic spot.
If we are having a 'cricket tea', it's usually after the game and having the finest curry chef in the country in our club we always have a tasty time.
For snr league 50 overs matches people sponsor match balls, why not ask for tea sponsors? Supermarkets throw food away everyday!!
I can't bat , can't bowl and can't really field , if you scrap having tea , what am I meant to be good at ?
I know it's an old chestnut, but does recruiting from outside your own district and further afield, really improve standards at club level?
Take England's recent fortunes at international level for example!
The county championship consists of a rich and diverse blend of cosmopolitan players from all over, and in my opinion, probably as high a standard of first class cricket as you would find anywhere the world over.
Yet, despite being mooted as pre-tournament favourites and with home advantage, the England first eleven were knocked out in the semis by a very average Pakistan side at the current ICC trophy?
Secondly, they tell me the soccer premiership in England is the greatest league in the world, whom am I to argue? That being the case, why during a recent international match are England easily beaten by a ten man France side? The irony ( and perhaps a clue) is that quite a few of the French galacticos just happen to be club teammates of the opposition on the night in question?
Indeed, dare we equate the very same analogy to the current demise of the Ireland side and their recent poor form and losses to teams they used to 'eat for breakfast?'
Time to wake up and smell the coffee me thinks?
Hold on a minute.. need to reel my first catch of the day in...
OK..
Ronnie - The age of socialising during/after cricket games has passed by. Maybe you didn't notice.
When I started playing senior cricket in 1984 I had to wait in the corner as a 16-year-old and sit over a coke for a couple of hours while my driver and his pals sank three or four pints.
Sadly those days are gone (Although not the drink driving part - thankfully).
And.. you completely miss my point.
I'm not talking about socialising and interaction. If players want to do that they can still do so after the game
I'm talking about teas and the provision of teas.
It's my personal view that they aren't needed and it's one less thing that a home club needs to worry about on match day
Simple.
Now, give me a minute while I hook on some more bait..............and now I wait...!
By chance, are you on tea duty at the weekend Neil?
