The North West Cricket Union will hold the first of its two General Meetings this coming week and although the (A)GM’s are an integral part of every calendar year, you sense this is the most important close season for some time.

It was a fairly fragmented summer on the pitch, granted mainly due to the weather, and while progress certainly continues to be made off it, there are obvious issues that need to be addressed in the coming months.
The Union can take heart from the fact that we now have a full-time Administrator, and while David is already getting his hands dirty meeting clubs, his main job between now and April will be to shore up a rule book that is woefully unfit for purpose.

I got a glimpse of the proposed rule changes down for discussion this week and hopefully some of them at least will go through. Without wanting to bore anyone with my personal thoughts on a 10-team Championship it is surely a chance for the Union to back up the help and support they are currently offering to struggling clubs. It will give those like Sion, Limavady, Creevedonnell, The Nedd and North Fermanagh something to shoot for and it will cost the rest nothing with a bit of work on the T20 scheduling.

Also down for decision is a rule to have postponed games replayed within 15 days. In each of the last two seasons we’ve had games in the senior divisions outstanding for 2 months and you would spend some time coming up with a decent excuse for that. The number of matches eventually scrubbed out, particularly in the lower divisions was staggering. There was one “no result” in the Premiership this year and one in the Championship; however in the Qualifying leagues there were 30!

Obviously the fact that Q2, Q3 and Q4 are responsible for re-scheduling their own games contributed to that figure, but it tells its own story. At least if there is now a deadline in place everybody knows where they stand rather than getting to the last fortnight of the season with six matches still to play.

There is also a proposal going forward that Premiership and Championship bowlers are permitted two bouncers per over from 2016 in line with ICC guidelines. I’d love someone to explain to me what we expect to gain from bowlers (particularly in the Championship) bowling two bouncers an over at 9, 10 and Jack, and what sort of message it’s sending out.

It seems very strange that the Union would have people working in schools all over the region trying to attract new players to clubs only then to have them dodging short-pitched bowling for a third of the season. Not that if we get the weather we usually get there’s more danger of the ball sinking than injuring anybody.

It should all make for an interesting night but if one thing, just one thing comes out of the meeting, it has to be to make the rules and stick with them. If the rulebook says that clubs will be docked points and/or fined for not turning up, then that’s what has to happen. Don’t put a rule in unless you’re going to enforce it every time because the first time you bend, you might as well tear the pages out.

Getting the rules right will also make the proposal for an independent Protest and Appeals committee very viable. We can’t keep running to Cricket Ireland to sort out our in-house issues and the sooner this committee is re-invented, the better.

On the plus side, the Development work being undertaken by Brian Allen, Colin Manson and Trevor Hamilton along with a plethora of devoted coaches is another massive bonus; however the glaring absence of a Warriors’ Head Coach is a major concern.

It would appear that CI are currently looking at the Head Coach role generally across the country, but hopefully an appointment will be made sooner rather than later because continuity is key for Andy McBrine’s men.

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Friday’s awards ceremony in Dublin saw two North West winners as Roly Black won the Official of the Year and Varun Chopra picked up the Young Player.

Varun had a magnificent season for Ireland having been selected for the under-15’s, under-17’s and under-19’s and looks like a young man with a massive future. His selection shows the depth of talent emerging in the North West at present considering that the McClintock twins, Aaron Gillespie, Ryan Macbeth are also among a generation of teenagers making an impact at senior level,

Roly’s award was also thoroughly deserved and not just for a string of quality performances on the field. His calm, assured nature has also extended into the Umpires and Scorers Association, where he is Chairman and indeed into the North West itself where his services are also being utilised.

Congratulations are extended to both winners and it seems fairly certain that these won’t be the last plaudits that either of them will receive.

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Finally for now I would like to extend congratulations to John McMillan on his first year as North West President. As a Union we have been very lucky with our former Presidents and John took on the role after another very popular figure, Alan Montgomery, decided to step down.

John gave the role his full attention this season and travelled to matches all over the country with both club sides and the Warriors. He happily agreed to help out with presentations and was on hand when asked to perform any official role.

Very few people see more North West cricket than John and it didn’t go unnoticed that he was very much a “hands on” President.

Like many others I sincerely hope that he agrees to accept the role heading into 2016 and beyond.