Forum

Freddie.

If the batsman completes the run before the ball crosses the boundary, then the game is over, and only one run added to his score.

Phil

I think it's great the debate on here over the last few days and the work that has gone into the discussion document by Neale Matthews and his team. I think there are a lot of ideas that are good in there.

But I wonder, is making tweaks to what we have what we need, or is there an argument that there is a need to take a blank page and to start from scratch?

There's a lot of really good stuff happening in cricket and the administrators we have are doing their best. But there are a lot of small issues that all seem to intertwine and it's very complicated to come up with solutions for these individually.

A lot of them have been mentioned on here already - match duration, start times; I also add clashes between school/club cricket and clashes between cricket commitments and exam commitments and the whole calendar of the summer especially in regards to when the junior/intermediate/minor cups are played.

The issues now are, in my opinion, starting to have an impact on the quality of cricket at the level I play.

The administrators are doing a great job with the work they do, but I think the meetings in a couple of weeks are massively important and need to have as many players there to offer constructive points. I think sometimes the reality of what we see on the ground does not always make it back to committees and this is a great chance to share this experience.

A few radical thoughts...why not have just one NI league, yes this would mean getting rid off the NCU and NWCU but as NI is a small island I cannot see the purpose of having two cricket unions...at present there are cup / shield competitions where teams travel up and down Ireland to play...to me travel would not be an issue as currently if you look in the lower leagues for example you have teams such as monaghan travelling to Larne / donaghadee ...why not expand to just one union...makes good business sense in regards to sponsors etc as there would be a wider audience for you ( I have my own small business and I would rather put my money into a club which was playing on a wider stage ).

if the present structures stay in place I would change the following:
Start times 10am with a finishing time of 4pm ( plenty of time for a 50over match as the majority of games do not go the full distance)
limit clubs to only 3 teams...this would / will upset a lot of clubs as their revenue would go down but when you see clubs with 4 / 5 and even 6 teams compared to clubs with just 1 it just makes no sense...it would be better to disperse players to other clubs and even things up...it is getting to the point where the rich are getting richer and the poor...you know what I mean.
I would introduce player contacts ( only for premier league clubs and excuse my ignorance if this is already in place) as this way you can buy / sell / loan players to other clubs...unfortunately sport is becoming a business and with this you have to treat players as assets...not sure if this is happening already but my biggest gripe is that I hear some players are getting paid to play ( I play in the lower leagues and this does not affect me ) but in the same team others are not...would you go and work for a company and do it for free whilst your co workers are getting paid...the same applies to cricket, no point in half of the team getting paid to play on a saturday etc whilst the other half are not - not good for moral.
These are just a few ideas I have and many of these topics may have already been discussed but for cricket to flourish in NI things need to change drastically ---Interpros a waste of time and money get rid off!!...I have played cricket in a few different countries around the world ( lower league cricket )and some of these suggestions I have made happen within these countries...why start cricket matches at 12 / 1 pm in the afternoon..pure nonsence...yes some players have morning commitments ( childs swimming lessons etc ) but considering the cricket season lasts only 3/4 months a year some sacrfices have to be made.

I honestly don't think reducing the overs further is the way to progress the local game. I think it will regress it instead.

At the minute the NCU league structure offers all ranges of overs at all levels to cater for different desires, so the options are there, from 20 overs up to 50.
If both captains fancy reducing the overs then they can agree to do this.
However the option is not there to increase.

I know all clubs are different and all have their own different challenges so we cannot suggest individual solutions...... I do however believe that to make cricket and your club more attractive you have to offer a quality product, allow as many people to play a part in the games as possible and feel their input is being valued, then they will want to play.
Also make them feel they are progressing and developing and enjoying the experiences. Then they will want to come back.

The bottom line is clubs need a team of workers ( admin , coaching , groundstaff etc ) who are prepared to create the opportunities for these players and it is this that I think is the key to healthy clubs. Not reducing the overs.

Promote the game by letting people play it and participate in it.

Fyi we have been asking our members recently ( young and old ) and the general consensus is more overs rather than less.
That at least tells us they are enjoying and want more of it.

Agree with Bruce and Tony start the season playing 20/20 with a 2 pm start – no school clashes for sides and might get a few guys playing longer cricket again. Move to 50 over down to J1 & 40/30 over the rest from end of June with a 40/30 over format starting at 9.30 am.

I don’t think reducing the game to nothing but 20/20 is going to improve playing numbers as clubs need volunteers and guys prepared to put in time with the youth regardless of the playing time. For too many years clubs paying players to play has eroded the volunteer base in the club, why do it when such and such is paid, it must be their job. Now there are clubs where a generation or two have left and the older guys are wondering where the fresh faces to take committee posts and run kids teams have gone. Shortening games seems to be the holy grail but unless you have an active club membership who are prepared to give up their time to help with the ground, practice, train the kids, play on Saturdays with young teams and most of all teach them to win or lose with a smile and respect it won't matter if you drop to 10 over games. If you get that more will again want to play 50 overs but without it the decline will continue.

The NCU cannot do this for us, they can facilitate as in the upcoming meetings but we all have to look at our clubs critically and think of how we can take positive steps forward.

Apologies for the long post but another suggestion is a to insist that clubs playing Prem or Section 1 have to have an U15/U13/U11boys team and at least one girls team each of which must complete 6 fixtures a season. Make links with at least 3 primary and 1 post primary school, kids will play if we give them the opportunity.

Ivan as a skipper of a team in Junior 1 waringstown 2s maybe the only team not wanting to reduce overs but every other skipper in the league including Ballymena/Muckamore & myself are requesting 40 overs. It does help keep some of the recently "retired" senior player and some of the 20 somethings involved

Start/finish times are a great concern it's brilliant now that matches start at 11/12 and are over by 5/6 gives teams more of a chance to socialise post game before going our separate ways. Early season starting a 50 over game at 1 and not finishing until near 8pm is an issue.

I think from speaking to a number of people at the cup final on Friday the view is to give clubs more flexibility to pre agree overs/start times l to make sure games get played.

It's great to see the debate on the forum hopefully some good ideas come out of the roadshows and we can less no results etc

Just wondering . We reduce innings by 10 overs . 50 to 40, 40 to 30
, 30 to 20 .
That's a saving of 80 minutes.

What do cricketers intend to do with this extra 1 hour 20 minute ?

Drink a few extra pints ?
Go and watch the end of another game ? ( trust me playing beats watching
every day of the week )
Book at table for 7pm instead of 8.30pm ?
Take a lie in on a Saturday morning as we can now start at 2.30pm instead of
1pm

This needs serious consideration ?

Those three veteran veterans playing at Shaws Bridge that Andy was referring
to were all playing at least 40 over games .

Look at the four Senior Cup final teams at the weekend and I would venture
60% of them were made up of guys under 25 years of age.

Waringstown 2nds are probably the youngest side in Junior 1 and apparently
they are always keen to play 50 overs and refuse offers to play 40 overs .

I look at Ballymena with probably 3 old hands and 8 kids but hear no talk of
"can we play fewer overs".

Same at Muckamore where the average age is around 24 , I don't see anyone
making themselves unavailable because it's 50 overs .

Is it the length of the game or the starting time / time you get home is the
issue ?

I am NOT convinced reducing the number of overs we play will see people
return in their droves.

Four or five years ago the overs were revamped to allow 25 overs in the
lowest leagues stepping up to 30 , 35 , 40 and then 50.

I heard guys say "if there were 30 over games I'd play " . I can't speak for
anyone else but I can't think of ONE person who had previously quit and has
now returned at Muckamore.

As I ask "what's this extra 1 hour 20 minutes people find them with going to
be used for ?".

Just wondering . We reduce innings by 10 overs . 50 to 40, 40 to 30 , 30 to 20 .
That's a saving of 80 minutes.

What do cricketers intend to do with this extra 1 hour 20 minute ?

Drink a few extra pints ?
Go and watch the end of another game ? ( trust me playing beats watching every day of the week )
Book at table for 7pm instead of 8.30pm ?
Take a lie in on a Saturday morning as we can now start at 2.30pm instead of 1pm

This needs serious consideration ?

Those three veteran veterans playing at Shaws Bridge that Andy was referring to were all playing at least 40 over games .

Look at the four Senior Cup final teams at the weekend and I would venture 60% of them were made up of guys under 25 years of age.

Waringstown 2nds are probably the youngest side in Junior 1 and apparently they are always keen to play 50 overs and refuse offers to play 40 overs .

I look at Ballymena with probably 3 old hands and 8 kids but hear no talk of "can we play fewer overs".

Same at Muckamore where the average age is around 24 , I don't see anyone making themselves unavailable because it's 50 overs .

Is it the length of the game or the starting time / time you get home is the issue ?

I am NOT convinced reducing the number of overs we play will see people return in their droves.

Four or five years ago the overs were revamped to allow 25 overs in the lowest leagues stepping up to 30 , 35 , 40 and then 50.

I heard guys say "if there were 30 over games I'd play " . I can't speak for anyone else but I can't think of ONE person who had previously quit and has now returned at Muckamore.

As I ask "what's this extra 1 hour 20 minutes people find them with going to be used for ?".

Interesting looking at all the league tables. There is a possibility that Academy 3rds can be relegated into Junior 6 and Academy 4ths promoted into Junior 5.

OK i have a question for any umpires out there. So the scores are level and only 1 run is required to win, The batman hits it to the long part of the ground and before the ball has gone over the boundary for 4 runs the batsman has ran 1 complete run. How many runs will the batsman get 1 or 4 as i have been told by the official umpire the batsman should only get 1 run added to his score, would anyone be able to clarify

Possibly a spelling mistake went through - please change to Lurgan

Good debate on the pros and cons about shorter overs. But surely there is be room for everyone? If both teams want the shorter games then agree it. If both games want a longer game then continue.
At least give it a try for a couple of years.
Also, make sure the proposals are timely and correctly before the AGM. This is the place to debate and some of the best thinkers are involved.
Clarence Hiles
Editor

Two games at Shaw's Bridge today - 3 players whose combined age you couldn't hit with three darts - Bumperdale, Stevie McCart and Cook - and 4 umpires in the 40+(!!!) bracket. Who says cricket is a young man's game??!!!

Quick question -
for junior matches in July and August why not start matches at 9.30am ?
Personally, from a family perspective, an 11am start pretty much rules out both morning and afternoon with the kids. At least with an earlier start the majority of the afternoon is free and opens up the possibility of watching another match. School kids are used to playing at these times during term time.

Grass and Astro each have their own benefits. Astros are generally batsmen friendly with little turn for spinners and little movement for quicker bowlers. The ball comes through at nice pace. This will produce high scoring games and allow batsmen to play a full range of shots. Astros will encourage the development of fast bowlers because of the extra bounce and pace compared to our slower grass pitches. Of course a good hard grass pitch does the same with a little more in it for the bowlers.

Most of our pitches however are slow and low which means batsmen have to learn how to grind out an innings and play spin. It can produce dull cricket though.

My amended suggestion therefore for all divisions would be to have a t20 league for one third of the season and a 40 over league for 2/3 thirds of the season for junior 2 and below. Same for j1 and senior divisions but a 50 over league rather than 40.

All matches to played on grass as first choice but Astro can be used if required except in senior cricket.

A few years of this would demonstrate which format players prefer.