Forum

Have to say folks, the forum is really taking off! Gareth my predictions would not be worth putting a bet on as I dont really know most of the teams in the section. I am only aware of Downpatrick and Saintfields qualities so I expect to find some quality teams in the league and you may well be one of them.

Anyway one thing is for sure, I would say that Section 2 will be the most competitive of all the sections while the banter off the pitch wont be too bad either. Looking forward to meeting new teams and making new friends.

Also looking forward to clubs visiting our ground, as on a nice day, it is by far one of the nicest grounds in the NCU if not Ireland. I have no doubt that the opposition will enjoy it and win lose or draw we will treat them with good hospitality.

garteh, predicting a league will always mean some people are annoyed at where i said they will finish, your right though it will be so tight and i cant see one or two teams totally dominating it , they will lose a few games on the way, what does anyone out of south down think about the possible finishing positions?? Looking forward to ballgomartin too, havent been there in a couple of years

Nice to see Taito and Rodney have written off Woodvale as a mid table team this season. What a difference a year makes, this time last year we were favourites! It will certainly be very tight. I can't see any team running away with it and i think the two teams that will go up will lose 4/5 games over the season. Every team is capable of beating each other. Dundrum and Saintfield might just surprise a few people. As for Woodvale. i believe we have a much stronger team and squad this season with Nigel Palmer back and David Connelly signed. It will be very interesting!

Michael, you are so right about players that are used to good tracks and grounds having to adjust to some places with poor wickets and outfields. DK will still score a bag full at eaton park, he is a class act and dont forget he played on those tracks for years. Its going to be one tight league that is for sure ,

taito,no problem !man that hasnt made mistake aint BORN.no 1 thing theirs BOUND 2 b some great craic this year WIN LOSE OR DRAW !! &yes i will accept 20£@ 3 1 home &away that we can BEAT the mighty DOWNPATRICK!ps dont anyone bet dan george as just out for canter!

Ivan, most grounds are like a bog right now so Moylena is no exception! However it does raise an interesting point and one that teams like Downpatrick and Lurgan need to be wary of. Without going into the merits of section two grounds few of them match the quality of section one clubs and batsmen will have to adjust. For example despite all his local knowledge and ability Davy Kennedy won't score the runs he scored at North Down because Ballymena and the Green are very different wickets. Also the scores in section two are generally much lower.

Caught up too much with the football these days but I'm still enjoying the banter on the website. Great stuff and plenty of good articles to back up the postings. On the subject of nicknames everybody should remember Monty, Warkey, Jacko, Genius, Decker and co but who was Bilko, Beastie, Growler, the Goat?

I used to think it was only the North-West men that bummed and blowed about what their teams were going to do BEFORE the season got under way but we're starting to sound a lot like them in section two.
What it highlights is the fact that everyone is really looking forward to a competitive league probably even more competitive than section one and that every match will be meaningful from start to finish.
I would also like to add that the reason why people like myself don't give all their details on the website is because we want readers to deal with the message and not with the messenger. I'm a cricket nobody beside some of the website big boys but my views are personal and I really enjoy the craic and the banter.

gareth , as i said in a previous post i apologise for leaving out armagh, i am sure we will have a good couple of battles with you. Look forward to coming back to the mall. It wasnt me being alouf, just me being stupid, apologies again. Look forward to coming down there

richie, sorry i forgot to say i dont know what club you are from, but if you play a game for fun and can get paid for it and still enjoy it why not?? there are plenty of boys in ncu and north west cricket doing it now. It has been discussed at length on both forums and there are opposing views. As you know the season could have went better, it wasnt through lack of effort.
John, yeah i think saintfield will do well, and you arent far wrong that you will have to get the sledging in quick in the middle cause it is likely i wont be out there for long

OOOOOOO THE CLAWS ARE OUT NOW , I LOVE IT. Apologies for omitting armagh from my table i would say they will be somewhere in the bottom four. Certainly i would say i will have made some mistakes in my predictions, there are a lot of very evenly matched sides there that there isnt much between.
Richie, i knew someone would pick up on that point, good work.
Jeff , apologies i was obviously being a bit thick after a long day at work, i am hardly gpoing to predict we dont do well, have to go in to the season with a bit of confidence, and yeah i will take that 3-1 bet.

re Taito

I reckon Taitos opinions aren't worth reading if he doesn't even have the respect to know how many teams are in the league. If Downpatrick come down anywhere with that sort of aloof Section 1 attitude they will have a long year, as the teams he mentioned at the bottom and the one he neglected completely will be more than ready to trip them up.
I can see a very close season ahead with a lot of evenly matched teams.

Taito
That may not be far away from the end of season league table.Ballymena must be favourites with DK and his brothers James and Robert plus Lazurus,Carl Williams,Glassy,Minnis and Neil Fullerton all good experienced players.I would hope we could challenge but despite having probably the two best batsmen ( DK excluded ) in Kami and Baguley,the best quick bowler in Neil, the best keeper in Dunners ( also a class batter who got an exceptional ton against Woodvale last season ) two exceptional slow bowlers in Kami and Cardwell plus the very promising Jason V de Merve ( off soon to the West Indies with the Ireland Under 15's ) plus a wily skipper in Leslie Allen and the experience for hopefully some games of Andy Clement ( Jeff if he plays at Dundrum that might be another room for the night you'll need to find ) I think we are maybe a batter and bowler short of making a challenge in a league I think is the best I can ever remember it's been.Two up,two down and giving four different faces in the league really shakes it up.It would need to stop raining soon.I was over our ground today and it's supposed to be the driest in the country and it's like a bog in places.

Couple of cracking posts. Predictions for this year...

After much chopping and changing...

Ballymena
Muckamore
Downpatrick
Lurgan
Saintfield
Woodvale
Hollywood
Dundrum
Laurelvale
Armagh

i thought it was an interesting point made about nicknames and slightly more interesting than listening to the same old debate which has been occurring recently. as was said previously who cares?! Anyway any predictions for section one? or will it be one of the usual two?? also what about this paying of players? personally i dont agree with it. I think the only people who should be getting paid are those who are good enough and have made it to the county scene. any thoughts? Obviously clubs with enough money will pay players but are players losing a sense of loyalty to their club which has nurtured and developed their talent?