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re start times dont make laugh last year we wanted put senior cup back 1 hour so that we could play our best 2 schoolboys againest Waringstown who agreed but we wernt allowed and ive played cricket 38 years and ill get lot replies over this suggestion why not try all cricket below PREMIER league just 40 overs as its plain too me that the gulf between premier an below is a step to far and with 8 teams the smaller clubs imo will never break through unless they throw the cashbook and pay players. If say they try it for 1 year and if the clubs vote change it back then majority rules but i think you will find that the scores and enjoyment wont change alot and worth a try ? As i think that their never be stalwarts that all clubs have and never will be again unless we help try make the day a little shorter . ED I dont think anyone means awaste of time its just that 50 over cricket is aprox a 10 / 12 hour day example is if we play cliftonville away we leave 945 for noon start ,we try be early for warm ups etc an then game goes full 100 overs add tea stop for few beers( i dont drive so im always last too leave ) then negioate trafiic ill bet you we never back in Dundrum by 10 pm and im not complaining about that but the new players coming into the game and im speaking for outside the PREMIER think that is too long a day yes m8 it was lot different when me you ivan etc played but them days will never be repeated i personally would go for noon latest start and try 40 overs for one season then ask clubs stick with it or revert back to 50 overs ps im a gambler id say they try it the never go back to 50 in lower leagues but ive lost plenty bets before and will again

i think a complete overhaul of cricket is needed. but i will not bore everyone with my ideas of how things should be changed.
i will however say that school cricket on a saturday morning is a complete waste of time!!!
i know its a long time since i played school cricket but my memories of it were that half the team didn't want to be there because they were there purely to make up the numbers and the other half didn't want to be there because they were anxious to get away to their club matches.
i don't know why schools cricket is not played mid-week, these were the only school games i enjoyed.
i've always thought it madness to play club youth matches on fri nights...then school matches on sat morning and then play a club match on sat afternoon...and maybe even sunday?!?!

school cricket mid-week and earlier start times are crucial for our game to progress

yes, lashing in belfast now too... could be a fun three nights travelling up and and down for very little if any cricket. Still not sure if we start losing overs tonight or what the score is, any ideas??

Taito - dont worry about the floodlights, its the snorkel you'll need - torrential here in (usually sunny) Hillsborough!

simon- now your talking , i might play for a few extra years.

Just looking outside and wondering how the hell we are going to play a match tonight in that light, floodlights please.......

Re - Taito
pretty much agree with that...

Unfortunately cricket isn't that "Sexy" - we could sit and talk till we're blue in the face, but kids have bigger and probably tastier fish to fry...

What self respecting "stunner" is gonna be stood up by a plonker dressed all in white that has been playing rounders for the last eight hours...?

Maybe we should contemplate "Mixed Cricket" - just may save the day...

I think ultimately, by starting games earlier we might hang on to more young talent rather than lose them as they have other commitments (i.e partying with friends etc on a sat night). I think rather than catering for people who think they are wasting their time, i think its more a case of trying to keep as many people as possible interested in the game and possibly attract a few more. People unfortunately will want to enjoy their saturday nights so why not give them the opportunity to do both... play cricket and have their satirday nights to themselves?

Re ed...

I never said that - though when i'm skulking back to the hutch with my bat under my arm it does often feel like that...!

Either through obligation/loyalty or otherwise you turn out - there may be a million reasons why, just when you get a bit older you are maybe trying to claw a bit back...

I think Rodney maybe made the wrong choice of words - but his point is most perinent...

Re Rodney & ed's Response...!

Yes we do...

I work all week, i'm 40 years old and after 25 years do you not think my friends and family should be entitled to my exhillariting company when I'm only playing social cricket...?

If the senior leagues still wish to start at 1.00pm - crack on...!

Let the rest of us get done and dusted during the hours of daylight please...!

BTW schools cricket and people working Sat Mornings are two seperate issues - and should not be factored into this arguement

My view is that all senior games should start no later than 11am. Yes there is an argument that a lot of school cricket is played in the morning but I would be fairly certain that we are losing more people due to wasting a whole Saturday and Saturday night as opposed to being home at 6pm. If young players are good enough and they have the chance to play at a high club level then schools should allow them to play for their club side instead if there is an overlap in time.

Re start times

I can appreciate both sides of the argument but surely the rule book provides for the LATEST start time - there is nothing to stop earlier start times being arranged (just as our match at CSN was on Sunday) Does it not just require the 2 captains to agree?

is there not someting in the rule book that a game can start earlier than the "published" start time - provided both sides agree? I recall a couple of years ago that Muckamore 2s & Waringstown 2s had such an arrangement that benefitted everyone. As for late finishes, I don't believe that the "30 minutes" before overs are deducted is helpful - 1:30 starting time with the 1st innings due to finish round 4:40, 30 minutes tea interval and we end up with a finish time of 8:20 - forget about schoolboys - what about me having to get home to help Flossie get the hens in?

Davy McC Vistoria.

Davy I appreciate that you and others work on Saturday morning but I contend more people have quit playing for the reasons outlined by Billy Adams. I contend that if this Saturday every player in the NCU ( at all levels ) was handed a postcard with three options of start times of 11am , 12noon or 1pm that a vast majority would go for 11am. It would be great to see this done on an individual basis as a private ballot without any lobbying or discussions about school cricket etc. If my hunch is right then it's up to the Union/Schools to facilitate the wishes of the majority.
Spectators also need to be considered and getting home by 9pm isn't appealing to anyone. Those that want to spend two or three hours at the cricket and be home for tea or to go out that evening could get there for 2.30 pm and the game would be over by 5.30pm /6pm allowing them to see the game played to a finish.
A sport without spectators will never progress. I'm sure some of the young guys playing in our nets or outside the boundary on Sunday at the Muckamore v Waringstown game will have gone away thinking " I want to play in front of crowds like that ".
Selling cricket isn't easy. I was listening to Boycott on the radio today discussing the Rose Bowl's first test and he said " it takes time to build a test watching public ". When they struggle to " sell cricket " in Hampshire and in Cardiff you can understand how much work we have to do to get people watching NCU cricket.
Without spectators it is harder to get sponsorship or other revenues. Without money we can't have better facilities or better coaching. Without those we won't attract young players in to the game.Without the young players the game will die. So you can make an arguement that supporters are THE lifeblood of the game and we as clubs in the main treat them with contempt.
And just in case you haven't thought about it cricket in Ireland was dealt another heavy blow at about 20 minutes past midnight on Monday morning when Rory McIlroy was hailed as potentially the biggest sporting star on the planet. Well done Rory and I'm as proud of you as the next man but it needs to be " wake up cricket ".

if the NCU decide to start all games next season at noon this year will be my last playing, and as we have about 4 or 5 players that regularly work saturday mornings, it may well be a step too far for them as well, not to memtion the amount of players that will be lost as they will be playing for their schools.

On behalf of NIACUS I would like to extend our most sincere sympathy to the Irwin family upon the death of Mrs Irwin. We are truly sorry to hear of this and wish Brian and family every sympathy at this time. May they be comforted by the prayers and thoughts of the Officers and members of our Association. I only met Mrs Irwin last year at a fixture at Dunmurry and she was a very kind and charming lady and I really feel for Brian at this time. I am thinking of you and your family and with you every comfort from the words and thoughts that will be around you at this time.