Forum

RE: Neil Cahill

Great postings Neil. I agree with you on just about everything. League format should 8, 10, 10 and 9 and play as many 50 over rearrangements as possible. I dont object to two/three nighters for premier 2/section 1 and below. Downpatrick kindly allowed us to play a three nighter rearrangement this season and it was a highly enjoyable game of cricket despite rain interruptions. Would also like to see earlier starts. The schools will have to get used to the idea of playing without their very best players on Sat mornings. (I am not sure just how many school players actually play regularly in their first elevens?)

Could anyone tell me if there is promotion and relegation in junior 1-9 please

It's been a long time since an NCU side won the Irish Cup in an epic encounter in 1995 when North Down beat Bready by one run.
We can at last look forward to what should be a superb game between Waringstown and Instonians.
Well done both sides in getting to the final. What a great finale to the 2011 season!

Ivan,

Good questions my answers relate to Premier 2 (Section 1) as this is what I know best and don't want to speak for other people and sections.
1. How many overs do players in each section want to play ? 50
2. Does everyone accept DL should be in all Senior crickets meaning more results are obtained on the day and less rearrangements ? Duckworth Lewis should apply
3. How many matches and therefore teams in leagues do people want to play. Is it 14,16 or 18 ? 18
4. Do people want ANY midweek rearrangements and if so one night or two ? Only as a last resort as they are poor quality matches
5. How many Sunday's per season is acceptable to have to play a game ? As many as is required under the rearrangement rules
6. Should cup games be Sunday only ? Yes as the Cup is only important to about 4 teams at the top
7. What time do people want the game to FINISH at ? If we start at 12 and apply DL correctly it shouldn't be an issue
8. Do players want a T20 competition as well as the League and the recognized cup competitions ? Not at the expense of the league

1. How many overs? 50
2. Does everyone accept DL? No. I hear lots of complaints
3. 14, 16 or 18 matches? 18
4. Do people want ANY midweek rearrangements? Yes
5. How many Sundays per season is acceptable to have to play a game? Very few. A lot of players don't want Sunday cricket.
6. Should cup games be Sunday only? NO! Above comment.
7. What time do people want the game to FINISH at? I don't mind. Start time of 11 or 12.
8. Do players want a T20 competition? No and I don't want a Clubturf. Waste of time and extra matches

Ivan,

An excellent set of questions.

1. How many overs? 50
2. Does everyone accept DL? Yes
3. 14, 16 or 18 matches? 18, but if we remove the 20/20 rearrangement then I'd reluctantly accept 14.
4. Do people want ANY midweek rearrangements? No
5. How many Sundays per season is acceptable to have to play a game? As many as necessary.
6. Should cup games be Sunday only? Yes; this worked very well when I was in New Zealand.
7. What time do people want the game to FINISH at? I don't mind. Start time of 11 or 12.
8. Do players want a T20 competition? No

Ed,

I too am almost certain that the idea of the 20/20 matches was to play these midweek, but in my opinion it just isn't working.

I hate having to play a match with a number of players, who can't get out of work, missing and warm ups being rushed, if they have time to take place at all. If I never have to play another midweek fixture again then I'll be quite happy. I'd be much happier giving up my Sunday and doing things properly.

As with my previous posts, I'm mostly thinking about Premier 2, however, if I'm in the minority on this issue then I'm prepared to get on with it.

re Ivans questions
1. How many overs do players in each section want to play ? 40 as a minimum accross all adult saturday cricket
2. Does everyone accept DL should be in all Senior crickets meaning more results are obtained on the day and less rearrangements ? Yes
3. How many matches and therefore teams in leagues do people want to play. Is it 14,16 or 18 ? 14, 16 games would mean that there is an odd number of sides in a league and some side would have no game each week.
4. Do people want ANY midweek rearrangements and if so one night or two ? Up to the clubs to decide, depending on how far apart geographically the sides are, two night games could be easy enough, but for others they are a nightmare.
5. How many Sunday's per season is acceptable to have to play a game ? NONE
6. Should cup games be Sunday only ? NO
7. What time do people want the game to FINISH at ? After the last ball is bowled, the last wicket taken or the last run is scored, but no earlier start than noon.
8. Do players want a T20 competition as well as the League and the recognized cup competitions ? No.

It is so refreshing to see so many opinions on here on the best way forward and hopefully the roadshows will help get an acceptable proposal together.
To try and formulate a single proposal from all the views expressed it might be worthwhile to answer some straightforward questions.
1. How many overs do players in each section want to play ?
2. Does everyone accept DL should be in all Senior crickets meaning more results are obtained on the day and less rearrangements ?
3. How many matches and therefore teams in leagues do people want to play. Is it 14,16 or 18 ?
4. Do people want ANY midweek rearrangements and if so one night or two ?
5. How many Sunday's per season is acceptable to have to play a game ?
6. Should cup games be Sunday only ?
7. What time do people want the game to FINISH at ?
8. Do players want a T20 competition as well as the League and the recognized cup competitions ?

If we had answers to these basic questions and a few more that I haven't thought of then it might be easier to create a structure that meets the requirements of the MAJORITY ( it's always impossible to please every one ) of the players playing currently and hopefully this new structure will entice a few back or encourage a few to play longer.Make for more meaningful cricket and help attract people along to watch.
This process is to meet the players demands NOT the administrators demands so it would be great to have Players as the representatives at the roadshows.( details on NCU website ).

Andy,

Some interesting thoughts. I think the key issue is that it can’t be a one size fits all league structure may not be the way forward. I think that the Saturday Sunday question will always be there with our weather. Also the training issue is completely separate there are good and bad trainers at every club. Some at our Club may not be regulars at training but will play every week. My concern is that the reduction matches which is bound to happen with eight team leagues across the board will not make the less committed more committed but lead to the more committed becoming less so as Mark alluded to.

Regarding free block Saturdays I like the theory but the practicality for it to work would require that the Saturday be left free for when there was a compete wipe out of league fixtures as otherwise logistically it wouldn’t work out as people would go to that date “on a first called off basis”. Would it also apply to Junior League who maybe are due to play on the ground that day thus meaning they have to rearrange?

Hopefully all these discussions are taken forward to the meetings.

NCU Senior working group

Firstly, congratulations to the NCU and this committee on taking steps to improve local cricket. Let’s hope we as clubs can get on board to create a good model.

I agree with a lot that Neil and Mark have said and here are some further thoughts.

It is good to get the debate going and people ideas before the roadshows.

• League Structures
Obviously we don’t want to reduce both the amount of cricket games and the overs played so therefore how about creating a structure that is manageable and realistic considering weather and timescale.
Our 1st XI seem to have been playing Saturday and Sunday forever this season and we need to look after our players with regards to rounded individuals with balanced lifestyles and their fatigue. Always playing does not always mean you are getting better, although it can contribute. To really progress, players need time to get quality practice sessions under their belt and work on certain aspects of their game – that is the key – the match is were it all comes together.
With 37 NCU teams, how does this sound ?
Sections with 8, 8, 8, 8, 5
The bottom section with 5 teams play each other 3 times , therefore 12 league games ( same as currently ).
This means each league contains teams of similar standard and is competitive . We suggest talk to the 5 / 6 clubs who may find themselves in the bottom section and get their opinion on this. If the bottom league has 10 - 13 teams there will be too much of a gap between top and bottom standards and this will not do anything to promote their cricket. Easy wins and heavy defeats means nobody learns or benefits or progresses. Might be worth talking to the teams who have yo-yoed between Sect 2 and 3 to get their opinion on this. TCC have been on this journey and jumping standards was not easy.

Current rearrangements policy
The fact that matches are decided by 20 overs or are even voided means the weather is determining results and leagues and not the cricket. If there were 8 teams in the league this would hopefully free more dates for rearrangements. After all we should want to actually play in cricket matches.

We believe 1st XI cricket should be 50 overs with the introduction of Duckworth Lewis to take into consideration conditions and will mean less need for rearrangements and help these circumstances. If conditions are conducive and umpires and captains agree that full games can be played then get people playing.
Perhaps 8 teams in a league will free up Saturdays. We suggest that free block Saturdays are set and these are then allowed to be used as backups for cancellations. Eg - Sat 2 July - no fixtures are arranged for this date until fixtures have been cancelled and need arranged after season has started. This will reduce the Saturday / Sunday scenarios.

Any thoughts ?

Midweek 20 over rearrangements. This week Bangor travelled to Ballymena for a 5pm start. To be there and get properly prepared would mean leaving Bangor at 3pm. Similarily for Ballymena players working maybe in Belfast or Lisburn. Inevitably that means taking a half day. Why not start at 2.30pm and play say 40 overs? Then guys might be more keen to take the time off.

enjoyable debate on the forum at present with lots of positive comment. To throw something else into the mix - what about the re-introduction of the "bonus points" system that existed a few years ago? I'm sure there are some forumites who can recall the details!

Fair enough Ed, see your point�

However it doesn�t really work anyway� we still have 3 attempts in the 1st round so there�s Sundays taken up with the 2nd attempt on 1st round matches & if your in the crazy number of Cups & doing well then your Saturday League fixture that falls on the same day as a Cup is then moved to a Sunday.

So why not bin one Cup & only have 2 attempts for all League matches & if captains want to play on a Sunday that�s free with the 3 options available for the 2nd attempt then go for it, if not then play a T20 mid week. I still feel most would take the (3 option) Sunday option� certainly towards the end of the season when the title race/relegation zone heats up!

Plus all 2nd attempts to be able to play on Mats if umpires state or captains agree.

Failing all that� ?

It is with great sadness that I have to announce the passing away of our former Chairman and dear friend, Alwyn Orr. Alwyn umpired for many years in the NCU and will be fondly remembered for his dedication and support for the local game. NIACUS has lost a true friend and we will also remember him as the first editor of our newsletter, the Follow On and his work paved the way for our members to be kept updated on news and events.

Alwyn will be buried at Roselawn on Monday 8th August at 2.30pm.