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Come on Stephen. They could lose if they went out understrength so why should they take the chance?.
Maybe the Bangor and Woodvale players will see it differently. As for Cliftonville they'll have a great day down near the Mournes and I'm sure they are looking forward to it.

What are people's opinions on Instonians and Waringstown postponing their Challenge Cup games this weekend due to unavailabilty of players through the Ireland games? I see Cliftonville haven't postponed their match.

Ok Staffy, it seems other correspondents are onto you as well so I'll just reply to your little barb that your sense of humour is for your enjoyment and those of your friends. Are you the same guy that has just written that you write for the enjoyment of others and get upset when some people that don't know you criticise you for doing it? You are in the public domain when you write articles and you have to be big enough to take it on the chin when some readers don't agree with you. Same too for Mr Daultrey although he probably couldn't care less.
Vanburn's last sentence says it all.

OK, OK, I take it all back. All NCU teams move heaven and hell to put out their best teams, try their eyestrings out, and make it the No 1 priority. Cricket in the region is head and shoulders better than anywhere else however there is no complacency. ISC results are a statistical quirk and despite ND and CSNI leaving players out the region does not benefit from overseas players. Each club has hundreds of kids in the youth development and there is never a fixture scrubbed due to cry offs. NCU cricket is full of wonderful people and has never ever been in a healthier state with hundreds of people coming out each week to watch a stunning array of cricketing talent.

Is that better, guys? And I promise never to even hint at any criticism again because it would be completely unfounded.

PS. No animals were harmed in the typing of this apology.

Stu's article are offensive. all he does is slag off players, grounds, teas. presidents.etc........report on the cricket please

Staffy
So, you were at the selection meeting when the CSNI side to play in the ISC was chosen, and no doubt heard that CSNI did not care and would put out a weak side just for the hell of it?? How preposterous and offensive! You need to get your facts right before you go slinging accusations about Clubs not caring. Firstly, eligibility criteria for ISC meant that we had to leave out 3 of our first X1 squad (we could only play 2 out of Thompson, Jones, West, Goodall, and Costain). Secondly, Beverland, McCulla and Heaney had school commitments. Thirdly, Dyer had to withdraw on the morning of the match for personal reasons. That makes 7 of our squad unavailable, and nothing we could do about it ! I can assure you that none of these guys were out shopping with their wives, on holiday, or galavanting about town as opposed to playing and trying to win the fixture. If you had been at the game you would have seen that those who played did indeed care about the result, and but for a magnificent 173 from Todd CSNI would probably have won. Spare me the holier than thou comments in future.

Staffy
Who do you think was missing from the CSNI and Bangor sides on Saturday that was going to make a difference to the results? CSNI with the three Kiwis and Alan Coulter all bowling their ten overs and batting in the top six or seven are always going to have a few "fielders". I think the eight sides that qualified are without exception the top eight sides north of the border and they won't fear anyone in the next round.
The Club Turf has thrown up some great ties and an opportunity for the bragging rights to be won. My match of the round is the one at Beechgrove and I would expect to see a big crowd at that one.

Mark

Andrew Sutherland, Taimur Khan, Luke Parsons and Irish players Ralph Coetzee and Peter Connell mean that at the very least North Down are competing on an even basis with any team in Leinster so they can't use that excuse or 'fact' nor do they.

The point I am making is we are not helping the NCU cause by picking understrength teams (with notable exceptions). Look at the NW attitude, they talk themselves up all the time and go into the games believing they can win. The ISC results will only improve when teams start to make an effort to do so and stop complaining.

PS My sense of humour is for my friends and my enjoyment and doesn't require your judgement.

Does Billy Henderson go into hibernation every so often? Back now with another innovative gem... North versus South matches. Haven't seen that one for a few weeks Billy.
Good to see Staffy back on the UC forum. Can you answer my 10 May posting as we hear all sorts of things these days from 'people in the know?'

Staffy, you laughed off Stu Daultrey's offensive comments as 'tongue in cheek' but even neutrals like me can see the personal offence. I've read some of his articles and they take the pi** out of everyone and everything. Obviously it appeals to your sense of humour. But you don't need to belittle the opposition because Malahide didn't measure up on the day. On a point of information the 'excuses' you refer to are facts.

Mark
How can you accuse me of not supporting my own? I made my remarks (About the NCU in the ISC) precisely because I care more than a lot of clubs seem to. Look at the Bangor and CSNI line ups on Saturday for example. 2nds players would struggle to recognise the names. Different case on Sunday but the damage was done.
The 3 clubs you mention may now 'carry our hopes' but last year there would only have been apathy. All this ' they have more overseas players than us' or ' their pros are better' or 'these things go in cycles' is just an excuse. The cycle never moves unless you make some attempt to pedal it.
North Down are too good and too fine a club to worry about Stu Daltrey's opinion and I agree that the best place to answer it is on the pitch.

Staffy, in your defence of Stu Daultrey you forgot to mention what has really annoyed the North Down people...."they don't have the class to win the Bob Kerr." Now if he had said ability (in his opinion) that would have been OK but when it comes to class North Down is up there with the best both in current form and in pedigree. As for the other nonsense he writes it is up to readers to form their own opinion but maybe we Ulster folk are a bit too common to appreciate his indulgence with colourful English language and prefer facts rather than fiction. And maybe we support our own better than you do. Morrissey had it right, answer him on the field. Waringstown, Instonians and North Down carry our hopes.

Brilliant start for us managing to scrape past Muckamore up there, certainly a massive contrast from our bowling and fielding display at Lurgan. It will be a few weeks yet though before the table starts to take shape and we can really see who are contenders. Certainly Ballymena look to be the team to follow at this early stage.

yes rodney , it certainly has been an interesting start to section 2, a shocking one on our part. Great start for Armagh, which many will see as a big shock with a great win against a strong muckamore side. Ballymena looking very strong so far with DK and steve in great form already. I think you might be right that there wont be any one team running away with it, with everyone beating everyone else. Well lets hope so for our sake. Long Long way to go

Folks

Section 2 seems to be throwing all kinds of surprises already, Downpatrick beaten twice already (albeit by two of the stronger sides), armagh beating muckamore etc. It will be very interesting to see the results unfolding over the coming weeks. My prediction is that a lot of points will be shared and there could be a few more shocks along the way. Great to see the weather so nice for a change!