Forum

I'm in the 'dog-house' (again)!

Or should that be the Pig-house? I've committed the unpardonable once more this year and forget that it was Valentines day yesterday, doubtless to say Mrs. B. is none best pleased!

So by way of a lame apology and a little self rebuke, I'm dedicating the following verse's not just to my lovely wife but to all the cricket W.A.G.S. out there...(You ladies put up with alot)! It's called....

The Pig

It was Saturday evening, late September
We won our Cricket match I well remember
I went strolling down the street in drunken pride
But my knees were all a-flutter
And I landed in the gutter
And a pig came up and lay down by my side

Yes,I lay there in the gutter
Thinking thoughts I dare not utter
When a maiden fair passing by did softly say
'You can tell a man who boozes
By the company he chooses'
And the pig got up and slowly walked away !

Best fielders:

1-James Shannon (superb at backward point)
2- Andrew White
3- Greg Thompson
4- Ryan Haire ( bullet of an arm , superb outfielder)
5-Ally McAllmont ( superb cover fielder)

The best infielder that I have come across though in the local game is Bob Robinson from the NW. Incredibly athletic, unreal fielder at backward point. He must have saved a serious amount of runs in that position over the years.

Matthew...

Well done on the petition and good to see productive chat on the forum to support the status of a struggling club. Let us know how you get on with the council.

I would like to sincerely thank to everyone who signed our petition opposing Craigavon Borough Council's proposed 575% increase on what Victoria Cricket Club would be charged in 2012.

The petition amassed over 1,000 signatures in only 4 days!

A meeting involving a selection of councilors on Thursday 9th February, were presented with the petition, and the meeting rejected the proposed charges.

Officers of Victoria will be meeting with councilors throughout the week, in the hope of finding a figure which both parties are happy with. Hopefully, further discussions will lead to an agreed fee for 2012.

We will keep everyone up to date with proceedings via our website, www.victoriacricketclub.co.uk and will email you all whenever a final decision has been reached.

Thank you again

Matthew Parks
Victoria CC
Treasurer

I have not been on the forum for a while and all the chat re paid players is amusing. The reality is that is the way sport and life are going. What and why people do things is up to them.

What is of paramount importance is that all of the good things about cricket remain. Team building, individual challenge, character building and lifelong friendships, and as WG Grace says “A cricketer's life is a life of splendid freedom, healthy effort, endless variety, and delightful good fellowship.”

My worry is a lot of the good things in local cricket are being lost in forums, the rush of society etc and what is the paid phenomenon creating? Some of the best clubs in the ncu are Drumaness, Dunmurry, Derriaghy, Muckamore, Armagh, Laurelvale and Donacloney. Probably because they adhere to the principles of WG Grace and embrace the game as it is.

Every so often I drop into the forum to read the banter - If rumours were to be believed Inst have paid the majority of the team for years - no-one ever thought I got paid though - wonder why that is?
As for CI rumours re who is coming and who is getting paid what - I am sure they are all greatly exaggerated and if they want to spend the money let them. The reason they seem to get a bit more stick is that their results have not been great in recent years. I think this is more due to the fact the team has changed every year and players have come and gone - if they keep a settled side for a couple of years they could be a threat. It is very difficult to generate a team spirit that will get you through the close matches without a settled team. Liked Coops comment re getting paid for runs in front of square - I, like him , would struggle to generate much income over the season! Now if it was £5 for every run through gulley - I would at least have enough to buy a quarter of Jeremy Bray for the season depending on who you talk to!!

de Villiers was just ok. Best outfielders off the top of me noggin: Hutchy, Whitey, Greg Thompson. Outside bet: Paul Coverdale, quick and best arm I've seen. Now, worst fielder...

Now that the 'stour' seems to have settled a little on here for the time being at least, I reckon it's a good time to update the readers and those itching to get back and at it... how my early outdoor cricket practise is progressing!

Well as you know, I like to keep ahead of the chasing 'pack', the early bird gets the worm and all that, so what with the unseasonally mild winter we've been experiencing I should be able to report that I'm well ahead off schedule.

Alas this is not the case!

The problem being ofcourse as I've alluded too from previous posts, as I use the nearby football pitches in Moira demense I don't have the convenience of any cricket nets, subsequentially and as no brave souls ever dare to join me, I rely on my dog to retrieve the numerous cricket balls that I hurl down from 22yrds at the single stump.

Wee Oscar our 1yr old Shi-tzu just isn't shaping up at all, he loves getting out alright and as I've previously mentioned he'll chase the ball willingly, but the retrieval instinct of the Shi-tzu breed just isn't there and when he does collect the dam thing, it's away he goes in the opposite direction, dropping the ball somewhere along the line as he proceeds on his merry way.

Ah well, at least I'm getting fit and losing an inch or two off the waist-line as I chase after the 'wee blighter' !!

(Further updates will appear as & when it occurs).

On a more serious note:

Not much real debate about who would clearly be rated as the best, so who would the forum think could be perhaps the second or third best out-fielder out there over the years in the NCU?

Seeing as even my old mate has, surprisingly, bitten the bait and entered a posting in the case for the defence, will stick it my own, opinion that is, not case for the defence.

There has been some fairly blinkered stuff on both sides of this so called argument. On the anti-recruiting debate some fanciful notional statements about payments to players are just thrown out casually as if all are privy to what is paid by each club and to who; (perhaps this is something that the Union would like to get involved with as in The Premier League in England all players salaries are now public matter). Speaking of the Premier League, Manchester City are taking similar flak through their recruitment etc but can tell you for nothing if they win the league not a supporter or anyone affiliated to the club will give one dot how much they have forked out. Each cricket club has their own amount of money to do with what they will.
On the ‘CI side’ though there appears to be just as much fanciful stuff on show. The argument that they ( and being fair almost every club does the same), recruit players mainly to help coach etc etc and they all have roles within the club is becoming to say the least a bit thin. Why not just come out and say that the majority of players are being recruited and brought in, first and foremost to win cricket matches (and not to coach); this may result in promoting the club to a higher standard which in turn may attract younger players and so on for the future. And given that this is the policy be prepared that others will not like it and criticise; that’s the nature of success in general. And anyway is being talked about not one of the top criteria for spending the dough in the first place???

Andy K :

We could invite "Dan" back and let him bash you again??!!

c'mon Clarence - we can't "bash" CI or England and the rants about Derriaghy died out years ago so what's left?!! I'll have to start writing about Flossie!

Re Coops;

You are quite correct my old friend, i am infact a v fleeting reader of the forums these days, they bore me, tbh. I generally only reply when i see something to do with myself, hence my lack of forum messages!!!

Good to hear you're back playing mate, your non stop chat on the field is a pain tho!!!

Russeller

Its not often russeller or coops get dragged in to talking on this forum... shows you the extent of the absolute rubbish which has been talked over the last week or so. The CI bashing comes up on here every few months.. im sure its water off a ducks back now for the boys.

The usual responses are applicable.. they are not the only club spending money.. times are changing so up to any club if they want to spend money etc etc etc.

Coops, according to Cricinfo Taimur's only 36!