Forum

I would like to wish Judith a pleasant break from the game but hope that she comes back as she is one of the best scorers in local cricket. I enjoyed scoring with her at the recent ODI against England and she will be missed from our local game. Also the retirement of Peter Whyte which has came as a surprise. What more can I say but you are a true gentleman and cricket will be the loser when you hang your white coat up but hopefully you will continue to be involved in our sport as your experience will greatly assist our younger umpires.

To Stuart Heggarty

How can you simply suggest that all rearrangements must be played by the following Sunday or by the end of August, did you not see the state of the weather in the months of July and August!

Our cricketing season starts too early and goes on too long, if we experience any sort of poor weather during the summer trying to get an 18 game season into our weekends doesn't add up. Not taking into consideration a cup run.

I understand your initial point about sitting around and having a fee weekend, in all honesty I just dont see that happening, with an 8 team league you can then ensure that the rearranged games aren't squeezed in on a Friday afternoon, points already made by Mr. Alexander.

Had September not turned out to be such a good month most of the leagues would have struggled to finish their programmes.

Unfortunately I cant agree with Stuart Hegarty's comment ( But it's a forum and he is entitled to it )

Stuart - please read Gareth Alexander's and Stuart Catterson's comments.

They are much quicker at typing than I am.

EG. if we had 8 team leagues TCC would not have to play Larne CC on a scheduled fixture on 12th Sept

Note - in 2006 season TCC 1st XI had to play 10 fixtures in September. Thankfully the calendar threw up 5 weekends.

By 8 team leagues we are not suggesting we give ourselves weeks off.
Let's get the fixtures booked in early and then if they are off at least we have time to use up later.

Rather this than playing less cricket overs or playing Sat & Sun combined.

Oh dear - I don't normally comment on websites - have I fallen into a trap
Ah well ........... healthy debates with real names used can't be bad thing.

From small acorns........
Andy McCrea

Re: 8 team leagues and G McCarter posting.

Gareth Alexander has made the point very well regarding the benefits of having teams of similar quality playing against each other in the reduced leagues.

The other reason,I believe,that the quality of games will improve is that clubs will be able to field their full strength teams more often if the time demands on players are reduced.How many times do we see weakened teams being put out on Sundays,mid-week or Fridays.This is exacerbated when clubs have double headers two or even three weekends in a row, or as we have seen this month, some teams playing Friday,Saturday and Sunday.

I would also suggest that we look beyond Division One and particularly the top two sections, when we are considering the future health of the sport.There is a lot more cricket in the NCU than just the top tier.

8 team league is a very short sighted view to solving the fixture conjestion problem.
its sods law that any 'free' wkds in the season are gonna be the best days of the year, how stupid will we all look then?
if 8 team leagues come in without re-structuring of cup competitions, alot of teams could be sitting around doing nothing for weeks at a time, and then still have to cram there fixtures into a couple of consecutive wkds.
rearrangements r the problem! if all fixtures are scheduled before the end of august and all rearrangements must be played by the following sunday there should not be a backlog of fixtures.
i think the duration of games should definitely change. maybe 50 overs for div 1, 40 overs for div 2 and 30 overs for div 3?
8 teams sounds like a quick and easy solution, but unless you can predict the weather for the season, it could ruin things.

I'd just like to back up the sentiments of Andy and Stuart regarding the introduction of 8 team leagues.

It is becoming apparent that it is no longer sustainable to schedule a league match for every Saturday of the summer if you allow for a run in a cup and the fact that 6 matches are likely to be rained off. Players these days are no longer prepared to work all week and then play cricket all day on a Saturday and Sunday and to expect guys to take a day off work to play weekday matches in the current financial climate is just ludicrous. September cricket has also become a farce as the 11.30 starts have ensured that all kids who play rugby at school become ineligible to play along with guys who play rugby, hockey or football in the winter and this has led to the inevitable amount of walkovers down the leagues.

On top of removing some of the fixture congestion this should also lead to a more competitive standard of cricket throughout the leagues and within a year or 2 every team will have found the level to which they are suited. In the current league structure the difference in standard between teams at the top and bottom of the leagues is massive which has resulted in many hugely one sided games and has seen promotion and relegation issues settled with several matches to go for some teams. If the leagues as they finished were split into 8 team leagues then I think the result would be much more competitive leagues with teams of similar standards facing each other week in week out.

It seems as though change such as this has always been opposed by clubs who annually hover around the bottom of their league and there is a fear of being relegated but surely if we are all playing good competitive cricket (hopefully only on Saturdays) then what does it matter what league we are in - there are no financial rewards in local cricket for being in a specific league.

Further to Andy McCrea's comments regarding how many votes each club has. I thought the rule was 1 vote for each team, last year we were given 4 votes however we only have 3 teams - can anyone shed any light on this?

Ulster Bank League Averages

Clubs in Division 1 Sections 1, 2 & 3
If clubs would like to send details of their players stats to ncu.pro@btinternet.com I will compile leading batsmen and bowlers for each section.

Full details required would be:
Batsmen - Innings / Not Out / Runs / High Score
Bowlers - Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wkts / Best Bowling

re; 8 team leagues

I don't see reducing the amount of teams in the league making much difference.

Perhaps if the amount of overs per game was reduced to 40 and perhaps even 30-35 for 3rd 4th XI games there would be more young players prepared to commit themselves to the game.

It's hard to get guys to play a game thats perhaps an hours drive away, starts at 1 o'clock and is 50 overs, knowing they might not be home until 9pm

Social lives and part time jobs seem to come 1st these days

Re. the forum trawler.

Opinions may be right or wrong, but at least I am content to put my name beside whatever I submit rather than hiding behind assumed identities. Why I would have to share a similar opinion with someone of the same surname is unclear too.

Keep trawling!

Re. 8 team leagues.

Unfortunately I fail to see how reducing the amount of cricket played will have a beneficial impact on the overall quality of the local game. What I can see happening from the change if and when it comes about would be a broader gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" with the clubs who can afford more hired guns those most likely to rise to the top of the pyramid. Is that going to have a positive effect for Cricket Ireland? While the NCU teams may struggle in the Irish Senior Cup, the make-up of the Ireland team suggests that the standard of play and players in the NCU isn't maybe so bad after all.

Saying that, it seems to be that the restructuring of the leagues is something that will come around because the Union are pushing for it, so they might need to carefully consider the new regulations for this new league to ensure that the leagues below Premier level don't die off.

8 team leagues

Have to agree with Stuart Catterson regarding reasons in favour of 8 team leagues

In addition my club ( Templepatrick CC ) are also in favour of these as surely they lead to healthier, stronger leagues and as Stuart says add in flexibility of getting leagues fully completed on the field of play.

As regards a phrase I have heard “Turkeys won’t for Christmas” – I believe a majority of clubs are in favour. If I remember correctly, voting on this subject at the AGM last year was only defeated by approx 4 votes.
My own club had 4 votes to use but only 3 members attended, a club beside me were in favour but had only 1 vote in attendance rather than their allotted 4 and I know another club in favour who had no members there to vote.

So come on lets take action …………use your votes at the AGM.

Let’s not be short sighted and care for our own club, lets ensure healthy, vibrant cricket and if your club is progressive, up for it and healthy they will benefit.

Cheers
Andy McCrea

Interesting point Andy.
I think cramp has to be viewed as an injury. After all he didn't have it before a game and anyone who has had it knows how painful it can be. The next point is whether you allow a runner or not as it is not compulsory. In this instance Strauss didn't because he wanted to win at all costs and that may not be breaking the rules but it is certainly not in the spirit of the game. There are plenty of local cricketers who would do the same!

Many readers of the forum will remember Warren Ferguson, a popular player with Cooke Collegians who sadly died last year from Motor Nuerone Disease. The club has attempted to raise funds for the Motor Disease Association which is committed to finding a cure and in the meantime supporting those suffering from the illness and their families.

Warren's wife Jane is organising a Quiz Night in the Shaws Bridge Clubhouse on Friday 9 October at 8.00pm as a fundraiser.

Anyone who knew Warren and indeed anyone who simply wants to support the event will be warmly welcome.

"I also find it rich the sportsmanship of the Armagh team being questioned after letting a team field with ten, after seeing a key player sustain a injury during the game certainly not in the Spirit of the Game in my opinion." - Mr R McCarter - Sept 2008
"I'm not sure that the decision to not allow a runner is against the spirit of cricket, in fact it surely wouldn't be allowed by the umpires given that although it hurts really badly (as if I have ever batted long enough to get it), I would doubt it could be classed as an injury gained in the match. Perhaps Graham could steer clear of the 'braai' and give himself a better chance of getting through the innings!" - Mr G McCarter Sept 2009

Very differing views by Messrs McCarter.