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Having attended both the NCU Dinner and AGM I feel NCU cricket is in a great place . Two evenings of great positivity with fun and banter at the dinner and cricket lovers be they players or officials mingling young and old. It was also great to see Ladies cricket well represented.

At the AGM a lot of good positive debate with a mood to play more cricket, facilitate longer games when possible and an acceptance of the electronic era we are in. The Union's finances are healthy and the quality of the people in high office would be welcome around every boardroom in Northern Ireland.

The announcement of a full time Cricket Development Officer and the work of the others on the development team can only be good for club cricket with help now readily available to clubs with their own development plans , grant availability etc.

The excellent work of the coaches at underage level and the announcement that this Sunday sees the start of the winter youth coaching weekends with 220 boys and 50 girls nominated by clubs will raise standards over the next five years.

I see at Muckamore that every player who went through the NCU under age system emerged a far better player.

Andy Clement in his three years in charge did a great job and I'm sure his good friend Alan Waite can build on that over the next three years.

Clubs should be confident to look to the future. We can grow the sport and improve coaching and grounds. At Muckamore we are working towards new sight screens, new flat covers to protect us from the rain during the season and a major overhaul on our back pitch for the start of next season and I know the youth development committee will be working away at devising coaching courses, weekends and camps.

Roll on cricket in 2017

Offering congratulations to John McCormick on his award tonight. As we say up here in the country ' no better man'!

Hi Editor

Previous post re Jeff Maguire was from me not Jeff as I have entered myself.

Apologies.

Good luck to all those attending tonight's AGM and please, if you never heed a word I say, I pray you'll read & digest this?

Vote for the good of the game and not just for the good of your club, for if not, you may invoke a very unwelcome and unsettling presence into your domain....

Mañana Mañana

Mañana Mañana, Moneyhill's resident ogre
settled into the townland some fifty years ago
a nasty, surly brute, who took trenchant root
and ceased the winds of progress to blow

Like a vulture looming large, he grabbed the opportunity
when a once prosperous farm, lacked leadership
for great uncle Bill, never considered a will
affording malevolent Mañana, his chance of courtship

Aware, the devil makes work for idle hands
eagerly, the ogre set about his contrived task
with no air to the throne, he threw the dog a bone
preying on Bill's propensity, for the bottle and hip flask

Then sure as night follows day, Mañana got his foot well in
as things gradually fell into disrepair
and when Bill passed away, folk knew but dare not say
that now dishevelled farm, had a monster made it's lair

With hedges high and unkempt, pasture, thick in thistle
on land no longer farmed nor worked
next of kin came to the door, who hadn't been seen before
but that odious ogre, still, would not be usurped

Like a pack of hungry wolves, relatives, fought between themselves
as Mañana stoked their flames of greed
just as the infamous Marquis de Sade, knew his bed was made
when he played upon his victim's wanton need

Legal battles wrangled on, only lawyers profiteering
while beleaguered fields cried out for cultivation
but if an ogre walks the ground, all that can be found
are stinging nettles, sharp blackthorn, neglect and degradation

And today it's still the case, fools blinded by indifference
Mañana Mañana, they cannot eradicate
for what they do not know, is pure as driven snow
and will evict an encamped ogre, consigning it to a lonely fate

To harvest all through life, yet never plant a seed
invites a nasty ogre into ones' abode
but it will not frequent, where a child plays innocent
because in loving hope, a little seed was sowed!

( Mañana Mañana is Spanish for tomorrow or some other time )

Jeff , I have no problem with a club who if they wish want to pay someone to do their coaching in any sections...I believe tho that any club below Premier league should have not paid pro playing for them...you will find that most clubs in Section 3 and 2 treat the cricket as social hence the reason the NCU were looking at introducing a invitational league and restructuring section 3...

Jeff Maguire & Mark.

Having been of an anti pro stance for most of my cricketing life I have to now say I agree with many of Jeff's points.

If an overseas player is used to help build or enhance coaching structures within a club and not just to win games on the pitch then I think that should be encouraged regardless of the standard played.

We can all give up our time outside of work hours but as Jeff points out someone who is free to go into schools or run summer camps is invaluable.

Mark ,TOTALLY DISAGREE as how do junior clubs build for the future without a professional ? Very few have time to do schools etc lets take look at my club Dundrum i buried my head in the sand saying overseas coaches shouldnt be allowed in junior sections , but 8 years ago we started with a coach or we be folded now as between schools and every night at at club he does 40 /50 hours week(slave labour for 100£ week ) we now go to ten schools and i hope 12 next year and now we have thriving minis 11/13/15/17 teams but getting them play 100 overs on sat after school cricket is hardest task for me .But the point is without getting the overseas coach Dundrum would possibly be folded as unless you allow the smaller clubs to build for the future what signal is that sending as everyone knows the big clubs all pay pros even local players(and thats their prerogitive ).Lets look at few facts people forget that Ciyms Derriaghy worked there way up from the bottom of section 4 and fair play to them (its now section 3) as who knows if NORTH had not joined with Civil Service were would they have been ?. The point is every club in every section should be allowed to get coach in to build from the bottom up and not just keep it for the big clubs as we all pay same fees for the union and should be treated the same ? Just use clubs Drumaness or Dunmurry and Millpark who like ourselves have small membership and want to rebuild our great clubs surely we are as important as any PREMIER club ?Instonians beat us in play off many years ago in section two look at them now fantastic set up and think you will find that the NCU will help any club no matter what section they are in the right to getting overseas coach helping to promote cricket in schools and help get kids playing at their clubs .Think most clubs see now its not just about getting a HIRED GUN but its about time they proved they are in schools coaching as that proves money is well spent .

Just read the article on CIYMS signing of SA underage star Aiden Markram. Looks like a very astute signing from them.

Any other clubs going to be changing their pros this year?

So much for the 'Wow-factor' signing at CIYMS. They had us all fooled there!

Gary Wilson makes a great point on Twitter in regards to the upcoming NCU AGM. No proposal to amend the short pitched delivery over shoulder height????? Which is subsequently a no ball, free hit. Looking forward to another year of complaints about that stupid bloody rule as most quick (ish) bowlers refer to it as. But then again you had your chance!!!!!!

Totally agree in regards to the pro situation...there should be no paid players ( pro ) below premier league...I have heard that there is a section 3 club who at their AGM will discuss about getting a pro player in!!...not sure if this would be within the rules

i agree andy but surely it would make sense
i read andy nixons article a while back about the demise of cricket in the lower leagues
surely all teams playing without pros would be sensible for a few reasons
1-put a couple of young club players on ncu coaching courses and pay them to coach,saving your club a few thousand which could be put into youth section or the ground
2-10 teams playing without a pro would prove who has the best team and not who has the best pro to win games single handed...or is it a case of teams being too reliant and scared of being relegated ??

James - if you get off the couch and look out the windows you'll see those pigs flying past!!

NORTHERN CRICKET UNION OF IRELAND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016

In order to help speed up proceedings at the upcoming NCU and answer any questions clubs may have, here are the motions proposed by Templepatrick Cricket Club.
Please feel free to ask on here or contact me by email secretary@templepatrickcc.co.uk.

SERIAL 16 – Proposed by Templepatrick CC

Competition Rule G12(b): replace ‘rearrangement’ with ‘first and second rearrangements’; add new sub-section ‘(d) the first rearrangement of any other fixture’.

[This would provide for a second attempt to play each rearranged fixture in the Premier League, Sections 1 and 2 of the Senior League and Section 1 of the Junior League as a Match 1 where this does not already happen, with a further rearrangement if necessary as a Match 2.]

SERIAL 19 – Proposed by Templepatrick CC

Competition Rule H7: insert at the start of the second sentence ‘Unless adjusted by the teams in accordance with H9’

Competition Rule H9: insert ‘increase or’ before ‘reduce’ and change 5 to 10.

[This would allow teams to agree in advance to increase or reduce the maximum innings length in Match 1 fixtures in Section 3 of the Senior League and Sections 2 – 9 of the Junior League by a maximum of 10 overs.]

SERIAL 21 – Proposed by Templepatrick CC

Competition Rule H17: replace ’20 overs’ with ‘that stipulated in H7’.

[This would increase the maximum innings length in Match 2 fixtures in Section 3 of the Senior League and Sections 2 – 9 of the Junior League from 20 overs to the Match 1 level for the relevent section.]

All feedback is welcome.

Any truth in the rumours of Pros being banned below prem lge ??