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Is it true the Irish Cup final is going to be played in Strabane?
If so that's great for North-West cricket fans and I'm sure plenty will turn out to support Donemana. Despite what some ejits shout out at matches we love our cricket and I'd appeal to the organisers to put up signs and announce it regularly that we have zero tolerance for abusive and bad language. It is NOT the language of the working class despite what some people want us to tell us. It is the language of louts!

I'm pleased to hear that Andy and I have to admire you and your colleagues for the way you do your business. I'm too old to consider joining the white coat brigade but I have to add I don't think the modern players get half the enjoyment we got out of the game years ago. I'm sure umpires still enjoy their role or they wouldn't do it but I see more scowls than smiles on faces these days.
Contrast Greg Norman on Sunday. What a role model in defeat.

re Billy Pollock - have to disagree with you about games being played in the right spirit being the "exception". I have been closely involved in games for the past season and a half and I can say that with possibly one or maybe two exceptions all have been a pleasure to watch - that's the advantage of umpiring (I can hear some guys commenting poacher turned gamekeeper) - you get the best view in the ground. Would thoroughly recommend it.

Isn't it a sign of the times that the games played in the right spirit and within the laws are becoming the exception rather than the rule these days? I don't watch much cricket now because most games are not played in the right spirit and players only 'enjoy' matches when they win. Same with supporters who can't even applaud good performances by the opposition and the worst offenders? North West supporters by a distance!

Just read some emails on the other channel relating to foul and abusive language by a northern spectator at the ISC semi final match in Dublin. David Cooke says he's not excusing it but gives five excuses! Either you condone it or you don't David. It can't be that difficult to work out.
Also I thought it was against the law to be abusive at sports matches or is that solely for international matches?

hi Andy, well said. the match at woodvale on sunday was played hard with both teams giving 100% but within the laws AND the spirit of the game. congratulations to both skippers. a fine example to OTHERS!!!!

I agree with Simon that, whilst our pitches are getting better we still have some way to go. Scores of 200+ are almost the norm nowadays while 130-150 would have been a challenge 20 odd years ago.
I was also fortunate to be at two games over the weekend at Derriaghy (Sat) and Woodvale(Sun) that were played totally in the real "spirit of the game".

I was lucky enough to be at Comber on Saturday to see a good game of cricket played hard and fair by both sides. I was also hugely impressed with Gary Wilson's batting. He took a few overs to adapt to a relatively slow wicket, but then showed us how it should be done. Even the home supporters were applauding him. Playing regularly on good fast wickets has obviously helped him, and exposed the frailties of batting and bowling techniques locally. Whilst we may think our pitches are good, (and they are certainly a lot better than they used to be), we still have a way to go.

Stewart
Your posting covers a lot of the issues. As a club Ballymena have done no wrong. They have just taken advantage of the veto on Sunday cricket offered by the NCU. It's the NCU who I think need to re thnk this stategy. As looks likely next season your 1sts will play in Section One and that means more cricket and possibly more rearrangements. I can't see the difference in clubs being allowed out of playing on a Sunday because they have some players unavailable to the likes of Waringstown having to play league games with at least three players in the full Ireland squad. Can we expect the representative players to take more time off work to play league games on a Friday ?
I spent all day yesterday (Sunday) from 11am at Beechgrove watching three different 20/20 games. The ground was packed with a crowd that may only be bettered at the NW Cup final or the Irish Cup final. Great days fun and if the International 20/20 at Stormont is as good then all cricket fans should get along.
On the field Donemana looked a thoroughly professional outfit. Boyd,R McBrine,Olphert,Dunn,Britton and Dougherty are all fine young players while McGonigle and McGerrigle probably have their best years ahead of them but to me the stars were the McBrine twins .A couple of years ago I watched Birgade thump Donemana in a league game and I thought James and Junior were starting to show their age. Well yesterday both guys were sharp in the field, were as excited as any of the younger players when a wicket fell. I read in today's paper they are approaching 45 years of age well what odds (Jeff) on them still playing Senior cricket at 50. On watching Gary Wilson keep wicket surely it's only a matter of time until he's playing county cricket.

re the 20/20 - there's a bus going from Muckamore so at least we're supporting it.

To go back to a posting earlier in the month from Jeff re the Dundrum pro - had the pleasure of being at Dundrum on 14th and I can only say what a nice guy he is. Perhaps he could show a guy a bit further down the road from Dundrum how a cricketer SHOULD behave!!
P.S. you weren't there so Richard and I missed the coffee!!

Stewart, very good post and very fair all round. Pity about the last paragraph because cricketers should support the national team especially when the matches are in their area. The NCU has got enough stick in the past for not having closed dates so we can't have it both ways.
I like your idea to play cup games on Sundays but it would remove some very good players from the competition and perhaps that's unfair. As for too much cricket there was a time when we couldn't get enough of it. How times have changed.

Sunday cricket is always an issue no matter which league or country you play in. I have been fortunate in playing league cricket in the NCU (for Ballymena) Scotland, and two leagues in England. Out of those four different leagues the NCU is the only league I have played in that plays its main league games on a Sunday. Sunday cricket is played but it is a different league (40 overs a side). Leagues found that clubs had weakened teams playing on a Sunday as cricketers were not able or willing to take out a whole weekend to cricket. This was effecting the overall league. Clubs were putting pressure on individuals to play on Sundays as it was the main league competition and this was making people leave the game altogether as they either had beliefs to not play on a Sunday or had other family committments. I at that stage was single and was able to play Saturday and Sunday from end of April through to September and therefore benefitted. Now as I have a young family I would not want to play on a Sunday as one full day to cricket in a weekend is enough. When I played in England on a Saturday I would play either 2nd XI or 3rd XI cricket but on a Sunday I was always in the 1st XI. This was due to players choosing not to play on Sundays and it indicates the numbers of cricketers choosing to not play two days a weekend. There is never going to be an easy answer to this problem:-

1. No rearrangements of fixtures.

2. Cup cricket to be played on a Sunday only

3. Less teams in league leaving free Saturdays

None of the above is likely to be a solution and no matter what the rules are some clubs/teams will feel disadvantaged. I can certainly reinforce previous comments that within the Ballymena club there is always debate about whether we should play Sunday cricket. A few years ago while I was captain of the 2nd XI we gained promotion in a very tight league. We only managed to do that by playing some rearranged games away on a Sunday otherwise we would have not completed the fixtures. In total we only completed 16 anyway. As far as I can remember we did not have more than two of the non starred first eleven playing and had a few normal 2nd XI players missing and the teams we played against were in a similar posistion. Now as a club we cannot rearrange on a Sunday and that is fine as we were asked by the NCU to say if the club would play on a Sunday or not and democratically we decided not to. This may actually have an adverse effect on some other teams in the club but there you go we live with it and just get on. There is another point to Sunday cricket in that in the lower leagues there are quite a few instances of clubs having their initial fixtures on a Sunday. This may be so they can fulfill fixtures for the number of teams they have entered as if they were to try to put out full elevens on a Saturday they could not. This is probably a good thing as it will give clubs more cricket but there are disadvantages as well.

As a final note my team have a rearrangement to make again following a wet Friday last week a perfect date for that is the 2nd August but it is a closed Saturday so we cannot play. As a quick straw poll last Friday it seemd that we had no-one who was going to the 20-20!!

Danny , alive but not very well as still gutted that i was supporting Poulter as had backed him at real big odds to win 2grand ,but thanks too the english press starting which i think was scaremongering i backed Harrington at 64 1 on BETFAIR ,have too hand it too him he held his nerve again. Vanburn i actually tipped CISN too pul of the shock & you wont like this but will be supporting them as still have lot friends in the service side of your fine club . danny i was away england last too weekends thanks too ROYAL ASCOT & wasnt online so u will be sorry too hear that fancied Jargelle too win sat &duly obliged at 20 1 (betfair 36 1) mighten no a lot bout Cricket but still fancy making a few £ on the nags.PS vanburn i will buy you a couple as i will put it on HOLMSEY TAB .it will be cracking CUP FINAL & has too be said what fantastic job Holmsey& the DOWN DEMOCRAT have done promoting it.

Fantastic effort by Donemana yesterday. Regarding the venue the final has been in Dublin for years now. North County are a fantastic side and it will be a real David v Goliath encounter. Let's even the whole thing up and have the final in the North West. Cricket fans will come out on mass and Donemana will be emptied. Even at a neutral ground in the North West they will be underdogs but they will go in to the game believing they can win. There was a real buzz going round the North West yesterday when the scores were coming through from Merrion. Fantastic stuff.

Massive win from CSNI yesterday in the Challenge Cup as well. If only they could have Gary Wilson all season it might change the landscape in the NCU. North Down have had the indian sign over Waringstown so now they will believe they can win it too. Going to be a great NCU final.

Vanburn

Its a pity you weren't a betting man as you might have got good odds from Jeff on csni beating north down yesterday!

Congratulations to CSNI on their well deserved victory.

Ps.Jeff you still alive?