Forum

On behalf of everyone associated with the Ulster Cricketer congratulations to William Porterfield on his award of Associate Players of the Year. We have all watched his progress with great interest over the years and in reaching this pinnacle he's done Donemana, Ulster and Irish cricket proud. A genuine son of the soil.
Stand up if you're an Ulster man!

Maybe at Saintfield UTD do they have the waistlines you're describing

Would someone who supports league reduction please explain to me how a reduction of around 20% in the number of games played will help DEVELOP cricket. At a time when incresed active participation in sport is being encouraged by health professionals and certainly required when seeking funding from the funding agencies what sort of a message will we send out in reducing
the number of matches we play. It is very obvious when watching matches that the majority of players don`t play winter sports ..........the evidence is in their waistline measurements and fitness levels.Cricket has a small enough participative level in NI without reducing it further.

For those who only want to play 14 matches and do other things then do that,but don`t force those who want to fully committ to the game to miss out because you want to go around shops/socialize or whatever it is you will do with this "new found" time.

A few observations. If cricket was to run from the last week in April to the second week in September there are about 22 weekend fixtures. Take North Down as an example this year.
18 league games
4 ulster cup
4 Senior cup (plus a couple of gos at the final)
2 Irish senior cup
2 Twenty20

That is potentially 30 days out of 44 weekends. Take out this year probably 9/10 days with rain and what you find is you are playing cricket every single day that is possible at weekends for cricket and that is without progessing in the All Ireland beyond Round 2.

All Ireland should probably be 16-20 team with top 4 from NCU, top 6-8 from Leinster, top 4-6 from NW with previous years winners and winners of cups in each union qualifying.

Ulster Cup - started as top 4 from each union. Go back to that.

T20 - I like Peters concept on this.

League - NCU should follow the lead of NW and get game 2s played in 10 days. No game 3s in first half of season.

If the no of games are reduced, cricketers will start playing golf, water-skiing, shopping, etc on free Saturdays. Fourteen league games is not enough cricket from April - September. Also clubhouses are shut long enough during winter without closing them during summer as well.

Re: P McMorran posting

Unfortunately Peter seems to have overlooked that there is much more to the NCU than just the top tier. The fixture congestion occurs at many levels.

If we focus only on the Premier League then we run the risk of creating the same problem that is blighting local rugby where the number of players and volunteers at lower levels is decreasing because of the time and resources being directed to the elite.

Thanks Peter. We hope it continues to improve!
I've also been reading the emails on the 8-team leagues but I have to say your very detailed points for consideration are the best yet for 'thinking outside the box.' I can see opposition to some of them, but you have provided thought-provoking alternative ideas/suggestions that merit consideration. I agree that we need to rebuild our core league and cup competitions and we need to look down the leagues and make the changes there that are pragmatic and realistic. Their circumstances are very different than the premier league and should reflect this. Unfortunately we have moved into an era where the difference between senior and junior is a club's financial resources and look at football to see how that's destroying the game. In England only 2-3 teams can win the premiership, and in the Champions League probably only two and neither are English! Do we want our cricket to end up like this?

Reducing leagues from 10 to 8 teams.

My understanding is that the thinking behind such a proposal is to try and ensure that better players get to play against each other and to also reduce the fixture congestion.

Before voting on this issue last year our club Committee consulted with our Club Captain, Club Professional, playing members and other senior past playing members. The consensus (if not unanimous) was that reducing the number of teams in the Leagues would not improve the quality of play. No matter how many teams there are in a League there will always be a few teams at the bottom fighting off relegation. What are the consequences? Reduce the League to 6 teams the following year?

The experience of our Club Professional last year, Ewen Thompson , when a similar situation arose in New Zealand, was that a smaller League did not improve the quality of play rather it simply led to a reduction in the number of players playing the game at the top level.

If the objective is to reduce the number of games played whilst improving the quality of matches the solution I would suggest is to retain the strongest of the competitions eg Senior League and Challenge Cup and reduce the number of other Cup matches.

Could the Ulster Cup not become the Twenty/20 Competition. This would not only reduce the number of competitions played from 5 to 4 but also reduce the number of competition sponsors required. Why not even run the competition as a Festival of Cricket (during a closed long weekend or bank holiday weekend) rotating the venue between NW and NCU regions. Sponsors may be very happy to have a focal point for their sponsorship. It might even become a social event supported by wives and families!

Could the Irish Senior Cup not be contested by the top 5 or 6 teams from each region qualifying for entry based on the previous seasons’ league positions. Clubs therefore effectively obtain a seeding based on the previous year’s performance not unlike entry into the Rugby Heineken Cup. This should lead to the better sides and thus players competing against each other for what should be the prestige Cup in Ireland.

I’m not suggesting the above ideas are solutions but they are worthy of further consideration.

A decision not to vote for a reduction of the League to 8 teams should not be seen as support for the current status quo. There is a need to reduce the fixture congestion and improve the general quality of cricket at senior level but the proposal to reduce the number of teams in your strongest competitions is not the solution.

The development of cricketing talent at the highest level is ultimately the responsibility of Cricket Ireland and maybe a reduction in the number of Cup Competitions and thus fixtures could free up a few weekends for the Cricketing Development Authorities to organise Ireland A fixtures or Development Squad Training Sessions.

A few suggestions for consideration.

PS. Clarence your editorial efforts to improve the transparency of comment on the forum are to be applauded.

Now that we have entered October I hope all those who wish to take their wife/other wives/partners etc etc out shopping, or away for weekends get on with it..............there are only 31 weekends before the next season when you will be able to start blaming cricket for interfering with your family/social life...........in other words if you REALLY want to play a sport or do something in life you will always find a way

I would hope that if a motion for restructuring leagues was passed at an AGM then the clubs would be given a seasons notice of any change. vis-a-vis clubs that think they have been promoted or staved off relegation , don't suddenly have the goalposts moved.

Re 8 team leagues:

I have read the differing opinions on this matter and I have to say I am very much in favour of the 8 team leagues.

There are a few reasons for this:
1. Eight team leagues should make for more competitive matches and will make each section stronger not just the Premier League.
2. I have to agree that I beleive teams will be able to put out their strongest side more often. I know how difficult it is to get boys to play two games in a weekend but if they only had to one to play they would be available more often than not. Also for those who like to go away for the weekend or spend time with their wife's at least there might be the odd free weekend available or at least one day of the weekend where this can happen.
3. Surely it will encourage some of the younger players to continue to play cricket rather than fading away and losing interest as is the case at the minute. (for the same reason as point 2).
4. There will be less strains on umpires if there are fewer games to cover.
5. The standard of cricket should improve with the best playing the best.

Why can't the season be extended to the very end of September! This talk of teams not being able to fulfill fixtures due to other sports is a cop out in my view. If clubs and players are serious about their cricket, they will want to play as long as possible and anyway its the same for both sides if players are away doing something else !
Besides all that,the weather plays a big part in it as well. After this post I'm going for a bowl up the park and looking outside the skys are again blue and its the 1st of October. My point being that the last three summers have been aweful during the cricket season, but as has been the case, once we hit September the weather takes up !
And this has been the case for the last few years anyway.
So lets get it on,its really that straight forward is it not?

Now Gerry, don't be taking the wrong end of the stick, anybody's welcome to come up and join in with 'old Vic' here and have a bowl or a bat !!

Would some of the people who refer to "junior" or "senior" clubs please define what these are as I thought this distinction between clubs disappeared 30+ years ago..........perhaps not in everyones mind

Regarding the league structures, if you play less cricket and shorter matches at 1st XI standard you will hasten the demise of cricket..............there are plenty of other activities which will attract and occupy potential cricketers ..................2nd/3rd XI is a different situation where committment may not be as high but be assured if you don`t give the range of opportunities to potentially gifted players and let them choose what committment suits them then they will find another sport/activity.

As mentioned in my original post not only do we need to move to 8 team leagues but we also need to fix the current re-arrangement rules below Division 1 Section 1. As Neil Cahill has correctly pointed out , below this level games are continually re-scheduled until they are played which in a wet season can be quite a number of times.Both areas need to be considered together.

r.e Forum "trawler"

Lets hope some new European quotas will see your vessel grounded.... get a life.

The two incidents you have mentioned at varying levels are extremely different.

I say fair play to Strauss, he was totally within his rights to deny the runner in those circumstances - cramp is not an injury.... cant understand why didnt Smith just didnt pull up and claim he had pulled his hamstring!