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Hi Jason glad to see you've got internet, that should make life easier. Thanks for your support and encouragement over the years from all at CI 4s

That is a very kind offer. Now that i am connected to the worldwideweb i will be able to keep an eye on fixtures. I hope to come down some saturday God willing.

Re ci man. Thank you for your kind words. I was at the junior cup final with the Reverand Wray and had a nice welcome from Jack and Mrs Mccullough

Re: Jason

Thank you for your kind words Jason - you are always more than welcome at Belmont and to enjoy the teas with us - we have a new sandwich supplier and hope to see you soon to come and sample before the end of the season.

God bless

I would like to congratulate the church of ireland young men's society 3rd xi on their minor qualifying cup win and also on their 4th xi on winning junior league 8. I have enjoyed the kind hospitality shown by the club and their teas on several occasions this season.

Just wanted to publically thank Neale Matthews for his dedication and organisation of the Graham Cup this year. In a season of rain Neale stuck to the task and an excellent Waringstown team beat a spirited North Down in the final on Monday evening at the Green. Hopefully all the boys enjoyed the experience and many continue to progress to bigger and better things.

NUC Minor Qualifying Cup
Well done to Holywood 3rd XI for a fine victory over their rivals Armagh.
I didnt see the game, just followed on "Twitter" - but I would like congratulate the decision to give the Man of the Match to a young player in Thomas Anderson. 3 wicket and well deserved - easy way out could have been the efforts of Davy Johnson, 2 wkts and 40odd not out.
Well done to the NCU judge of MOTM in making a young lads cup final experience even better!

Just wanted to pass on my thanks to Nigel Jones and his willing helpers, Rory McCann and Greg Thompson, for delivering the excellent 'Play Smart' training workshops at Downpatrick last week. The kids (and coaches) who attended the sessions found them very informative and beneficial - the excellent sunny weather (for a change) was also welcome. Thanks also to the folks at Downpatrick for hosting the sessions.

Hopefully there will be other sessions held in the future.

Ronnie Balfour Ards CC

Due to a waterlogged pitch at Carrick the final has been switched to the Lawn with a 2pm start.

Could anyone tell me how the North under 11 team was picked and by whom ?One young player on our team has returned figures of 8 for 6 and 5 for 1 but didn't get asked !!One wonders what he needed to do in order to get on !
I also see that the Warinstown that won the Quoile cup only have 1 player on it - is it a case of whoever shouts loudest ?

don't be too amazed Paul. As I have said on many occasions, I speak for, or on behalf of, no-one but myself. Nowhere have I ever purported to speak on behalf of Muckamore, NIACUS or any other organisation of which I am a member. I am exercising something that members of my family fought for in two World Wars and conflicts since - free speech. Perhaps Paul would point out where I have made any critiscm of any club or individual player.

So it is an observation plucked out of thin air then given that you yourself are wondering how many have contributed to player development. Not only that but you'll find that there are other competitions beyond the Senior Cup in which many more than 40 overseas players have played. I can think of many at Derriaghy, all of whom have coached. Whilst I admire Cecil Walker the quotation remains the opinion of one man only. If you wanted to quote statistics then we could always look at the number of players born on the island of Ireland that have county contracts but even I would consider that to be skewed from normality because of various economic factors.

I find it amazing that a Premier League Umpire is allowed to come on to a public forum and slag clubs, pros and facilities.

Long weekend so just getting round to replying to David Edwards. If he takes a look at page 251 of Hiler's excellent book "The History of Senior Cricket in Ulster" he will find a list of the 40 odd overseas players and the clubs for which they played (and presumably coached). I wonder how many could be described as making a contribution o have been to our local game. It is interesting to note the names of some of the clubs and their current status. On the same page there is a quote from Cecil Walker "the overseas players have greatly distorted the playing strengths in clubs and although some local players habe benefitted, the overall quality in senior cricket has declined". A prophetic comment made in 1989. P.S. Many congratulations to Cecil on his significant birthday. P.P.S. The teas at Lisburn get better & better!!

PROVISION OF UMPIRES

With the NCU AGM in mind was hoping to start a debate about how clubs who benefit from Umpires every week might make a greater contribution to the cause.

What about a requirement for each club in the top 3 sections of the Senior League and in Junior 1 to be obliged to provide an umpire on 2 occasions throughout the season. If your club is strong enough to have a second 11 club in Junior 1 then the requirement is effectively 4 times per season. This would provide Ian with 76 filled umpiring spaces for next season.

Any thoughts?