I grew up in the Waterside area of Londonderry in Woodburn Park. At the end of the street where Kilburn Crescent met Acacia Avenue there was an expanse of ground that was simply covered in tarmac. The paved footpath ran around its perimeter and there were a very acceptable number of lamp-posts providing excellent lighting. I'm not sure whether houses were meant to be built there or if the developers simply messed up but for dozens of kids in the area it was our floodlit sports arena.

All winter we played football usually under lights due to the short evenings but in the summer it was cricket. We played with a tennis ball but then discovered the slightly harder plastic version of a cricket ball you could buy in the cricket sets you got when you went to Portrush. Eventually we discovered those half red half white plastic versions in the old storeroom in Brigade cricket club. They never noticed them going but smuggling out the stumps on the retractable springs was beyond our capabilities with the ever watchful eye of Joe McCarter. Thus we made do with a couple of crates strategically placed 22 yards apart. The point of the plastic balls was they could travel so much faster than the tennis balls. We wore no pads or gloves so getting hit usually hurt you but gave you nothing worse than a magnificent bruise. It also provided huge amusement to everyone else. Our tarmac pitch took no spin, always played true and was unaffected by rain. It also meant anyone, and I mean anyone, could bowl a bouncer. It was under these conditions that a generation of cricketers learned to play the game.

 That is why there are people out there who can hook when most Irish pitches are soft and slow. If you want a handy hint on how to tell a Gerry from a Gerhardt after watching them both hook magnificently, then wait until they hit the straight six. Gerhardt is perfectly balanced with both feet on the ground. Gerry from the Block has a curious flick of the back leg in the air. The explanation for this is simple. The inside edge onto back leg shin hurts with the plastic ball!

My first proper cricket match occurred at Foyle College in first form (now known as year 8) when the might of Belfast Royal Academy arrived to play at Springtown. They were all out for 7. From here on the school was responsible for my cricketing education. If you wanted, you could play boys cricket in July and August for a club but you were not released from your Saturday obligations for your school until you were 18. For years, clubs benefited from this arrangement. Although they grumbled about some of the more talented cricketers being unavailable until July, overall it worked well. Lots of players arrived at clubs from the schools many of whom were the finished article. They walked straight onto first or second elevens and immediately strengthened the teams. Instant cricketers with no effort required.

 Things change. A teachers strike affecting extra curricular activities meant no schools cricket. After it was over, many teachers realised their pay was unaffected and had no interest in going back to long Saturdays away with the cricket teams. They only were interested in Wednesday afternoon matches. Suddenly the conveyor belt of cricketers making their way to clubs had stopped. Clubs took a few years to realise this but then got proactive. Kwik cricket was introduced and children were encouraged to take up the game at Primary School level. Clubs gave up an enormous amount of time and effort developing those links. They provided the services of their Professional to those schools free of charge. By the time the kids get to Year 8 now they are attached to a club who have already made significant investment in their future.

The big traditional schools have returned to their traditional fixtures and are demanding the children play for the school. However in my mind they have lost some moral authority on the matter. The children are no longer school cricketers but club cricketers. The clubs have organised themselves and can provide them with a series of coordinated fixtures. The talented children even as young as 12 or 13 will learn more from a 3rd or 4th eleven fixture than bowling say, Coleraine Inst, Portora Royal or whoever out for 9 and spending significantly more time travelling to and from the game than playing it. The schools cup is the only meaningful competition and that is played on Wednesday afternoons. Saturday schools cricket is now a complete and utter irrelevance for the better cricketers and is doing significantly more damage than good to these players. These children have now got more affiliation to their club than their school and the clubs want them on a Saturday.

If schools cricket is to survive they must accept that this is now the reality and there is no point in complaining. Until clubs can see a benefit in Saturday schools cricket they will be putting more pressure on the better players to stay with them. Clubs do not like seeing matches scrubbed due to unavailability. Some sort of compromise needs to be found. Maybe competitive fixures down the leagues could be played from July onwards leaving the school calender free, or schools be incorporated into the leagues with separate competitions for each half of the year. Whatever happens schools are under pressure to release their best players on a Saturday and they have only themselves to blame.