What with the Eurovision Championship and the LHW Twenty20, I never got the chance to comment on the removal of the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup Final from its far from neutral venue of Malahide to its equally far from neutral venue of Strabane.

Why not go the whole hog and play the match at the Holm? If BBC Northern Ireland were to televise it, there would no need for any North County supporters to travel north. They could watch it by video link at their own ground. We don't want them spending all that money unnecessarily!

And should County do the dastardly deed of winning the match, they should start again with new rules. Only players born north of Aughnacloy would be eligible, except for those born in Pakistan. What a farce!

While we're on the subject of farces, what about this Ireland (North) A team? Kenny Carroll doesn't make the side because he's not available because he was told he wasn't being picked so he didn't bother to ask for the time off work. And John Mooney isn't playing because . . . he's John Mooney?

I'm reminded of the time I worked in the UCD Geography Department. We were often stuck for really talented students. Half of us just got our heads down and tried to do the best we could with what we'd got, and in the process we produced some top class students. But it was never enough. It never is.

So some of our colleagues went in for academic alchemy, making silk purses out of sows' ears. Whilst these students weren't duffers, and were often very capable, they were never much use beyond the confines of UCD. Their only real function was to boost the egos of the people who talked them up.

But seeing as Dublin is regarded as the cricketing basement of Ireland, I thought I'd better rid myself of any notions of high standards, and go along on Saturday to a bottom drawer match from the WMK Senior B section, YMCA v Munster Reds.

There had been rain around in the morning, and one of the run-ups was very soggy. So the umpires delayed things for half an hour to dry out, and play started at 1:30 with no loss of overs. YMCA had asked the Reds to set a score.

Robin Russell and Mike Martin started off very carefully against some decent seam bowling from Paul Beacroft and Ehtesham Ahmed. As Beeker and Shammy tired, the scoring opportunities multiplied, Russell favouring sporadic drives while Martin worked the ball into the gaps.

The seamers gave way to the off spinners Ben Dunk and Rob Nandi, the former with a high action, the latter with a crab-like delivery in which everything seems bent. The bad balls were put away, the singles nurdled, and drinks were reached at 90/0.

Captain Warwick Amstrong introduced himself to the attack ('Hi, I‘m Wazza'), and very soon swung one from leg to middle to beat Martin's bat and raise the digit of Senior umpire debutant Azim Ali Baig. Martin's well-made 48 had taken only 60 balls.

Morné Bauer played a couple of nice shots to reach double figures, could have been run out and next ball miscued Dunk to Gus Dunlop at short mid on. Simon Willis joined Russell, but progress slowed until Russell was lbw for 52 off 110 balls swinging across the line at Nandi.

Santos Kulkarni managed to inject a little urgency into the Munster batting, until he was bowled for 24 trying to force Rob Nandi when the score was on 173. Keith Banks, Mike Reid and James Duggan perished quickly to make it 183/7.

Duggan was unlucky, being stumped off a leg side wide that rebounded from keeper McCoy's pads. The fortunate recipient of that wicket was Shammy, who then bowled Willis for 34. Oscar Cotter and Nicky Murphy eked out a few singles as the Reds closed on 198/8.

There were 20 extras, including 12 wides. All the bowling figures were reasonable: Beeker 1/32; Shammy 3/35; Dunk 1/38; Nandi 2/46; and Wazza 1/42. Even on a low slow track, Munster really should have made 220+ with the start they got.

The Reds started with two left-arm seamers, young James Duggan and the experienced Keith Banks. Both bowled tidily, and Mucker McCoy decided to hit out. He had made 16 out of 18 when he flaked Duggan straight up in the air. Banksie had already spilled a return catch, but held on to this one.

Ben Dunk didn't take long to get the drive working, and kept the scoreboard moving, unlike Simon Wilson-Moore, who eventually nicked slow-left armer Simon Willis through to Mike Martin for 8 out of 54.

What did I say last week about pros not playing across the line when Joe Connolly is standing at the bowler's end? Ben Dunk did to Willis, and was on his bike for 32. (The fact that it was a straight ball didn't help his case!)

Next Gussie Dunlop played down the wrong line to the persevering Banksie and was duly and correctly chunged. That was 67/5, and time for living legend Alan Lewis to flash his Pepsodent smile in the company of the unusually stilted Carl Hosford.

They ground out a Heinz 57 varieties of runs before Hosford was well taken, caught and bowled by Mike Reid. Beacroft struggled to 5 when he was bowled by Reid. Rob Nandi joined Lewie, who was quietly picking up the pace with the odd boundary trip down memory lane.

When he was lbw to Bauer's trundlers two short of his umpteenth fifty, YMCA still needed 44 off 8 overs. Ehtesham Ahmed immediately started working the singles, and with Nandi reduced the asking rate to fours. A couple of boundaries brought the rate down to twos.

A slog through mid wicket took Shammy to 28* and the YMCA score to 199/7 off 47.4 overs; Rob Nandi was unbeaten on 19; there were 22 extras, 13 of which were wides. Banksie finished with 1/37, Willis with 2/34 and Reid a creditable 2/27.

James Duggan in his second spell, Oscar Cotter and Morné Bauer couldn't exert enough control on Lewis, Nandi and Shammie, allowing the YMers a victory that at one stage looked unlikely. Both sides played good cricket as they fought hard.

I realise that such fare would be dismissed as substandard north of the border, what with all these world-beaters they have. (Funny how they never do much down here.) But I enjoyed it, and as someone trying to help raise umpiring standards I was delighted with the performance of rookie Azim Ali Baig.

There was no Senior cricket on Sunday, and on Monday I made the trip out to Kenure to see Rush take on Clontarf in section A of the WMK. For Clontarf, two internationals were sidelined (Alec Cusack because he was playing for Ireland, Greg Molins because he is injured), and Adrian D'Arcy was away with the U19s.

But they should think themselves lucky they're playing in Dublin, because they're probably not good enough for the NCU. Anyway, Rush won the toss and batted. Dan van Zyl soon departed, reluctantly, lbw to Joe Morrissey's Punjabi-style appeal ('Howzaat?' is close, 'Howzaataat?' is very close, but 'Howzaaaaaaataaaataaaat?' is out).

Fintan McAllister has lost some of his early season fluency, and one observer pointed out that he's playing with too much bottom hand. But he and Lionel Jansen took the score easily to 99, when McAllister (36) miscued Poynter to Ropu Islam at mid on.

Nazeer got his feet moving quickly and kept his front pad out of the umpires' way. Favouring the drive, he helped Jansen take the score to 192, by which time both had become a bit bogged down against Poynter and especially Hokin's leg breaks.

Jansen was then bowled by Poynter for 76 off 108 deliveries. Nazeer had rediscovered his fluency and pinged a couple of sixes when he was bowled by Islam for 72 off 73 deliveries with the score on 229. Tipu Gull hit 34 off 30 balls before slogging Joe Morrissey to Islam.

Shahid made an excellent 37* off 16 balls to see Rush to 285/5 off their 50 overs. There were 22 extras, 14 of which were wides. Morrissey took 2/58 off 9 overs, Poynter 2/51 off 10, and Rod Hokin a very canny and creditable 0/28 off 10.

285 was a stiff task to overcome, but it was by no means out of sight if ‘Tarf kept wickets intact. Despite Rush's best efforts, they did just that. 18 off 3 overs was pulled back by good bowling from Gull and Shahid to 28 off 8.

Then Eoghan Delany was dropped in the 9th over when the score was 30: a full toss was driven to mid on, where Chris Carthy let it between his hands and onto his nose. A sub fielder was called for. In the 11th over, with the score on 36, Dom Rigby was dropped - a tough chance high and wide to McAllister's right (would it have been better left to Nazeer at slip?).

Then tension mounted as Rigby and Delany ground out the runs, sneaking singles at every opportunity. Delany looked out when the bowler's end wicket was thrown down with the score on 60, but the umpire didn't agree. Dan van Zyl took this personally, and had to be calmed down.

Dom Rigby was well in when the striker's end wicket was thrown down, but that didn't stop the Oooohs and teapots. When Rigby (29) miscued Nazeer high to Sean Monks running round to mid off, the Russians at last had something to celebrate: 68/1.

Rod Hokin worked the ball around nicely, and at drinks the score was 98, leaving 188 to get off 25 at seven and a half with nine wickets in hand. Tough enough. But Hokin missed Nazeer's first ball after drinks, and Andrew Poynter played out a maiden. Even tougher.

Delany was batting really well, and perfectly prepared to ping anybody, especially Nazeer, back over their head. Poynter is expert at working the ball into the gap, and had accumulated 43 good runs off 36 deliveries when he gashed at Naz and lost his leg stump.

172/3 was 172/4 one ball later, Redser O'Reilly playing down the wrong line to fall lbw. Bill Coghlan helped a rapidly tiring Delany to 92 off 108 balls when Eoghan fell to a smart return catch by Jansen in the 41st over. 198/5 became 198/6 when Ropu Islam was lbw to Jansen's next ball.

90 had been required off the last ten, and this became 80 off 8 as Joe Morrissey got his bearings. But the big left-hander drove 39 runs in 31 balls to put Clontarf back in the match. He was bowled by Jansen with the score on 267.

Coghlan saw his side home with a well-paced 55* off 42 deliveries, losing Dick Forrest in the process. With scores level, the fifth ball of the last over was nurdled to square leg. Coghlan and Niall Delany scampered two before the ball rolled over the boundary line. One was all they needed and all they got!

The Rush bowlers all bowled well, but were unable to prevent being hammered in two or three of their overs. The fact that skipper and sixth bowler Niall Mullen was off the field for a while with Delhi belly didn't help. Nazeer took 4/56 and Jansen 3/47. There were only six extras.

I was fortunate to witness two well-contested matches over the weekend, each played with no little skill and each with plenty of drama (and the odd drama queen). On that evidence, there's not a lot wrong with cricket in the south. Perhaps the Cricket Ireland selectors should take a closer look at it.