2008 could go down as one of the great years in the combined history of North of Ireland and Civil Service clubs. Because this could be the year of the domestic treble. They have won the Senior Cup and even though it is almost October thanks to NCU administrators they could still pick up another two trophys. The now annual mess known as the league title will be sorted in the committee rooms after CSNI and North Down finished deadlocked on 16 wins and 2 losses each. However the NCU have docked CSNI a point and given the title to North Down. But subject to appeal they could still share the league title.

CSNI are also in the final of the 2008 Twenty/20 competition which the NCU have decided to play in 2009 as well as the 2009 competition, unless of course the 2009 competition is competed for 2010. Did you get all that? Yes they didn't want the Finals day ruined with a bowl out which is of little consolation to the teams that crashed out of this years competition. Apparently it is ok for them to go out on a bowl out.

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. The NCU have yet again painted themselves into a corner and whichever way they step it's going to cause a mess.

Every set of results that could go against the NCU this weekend happened as everyone including the administrators knew they probably would. North Down are outright league winners due to an obscure bye-law which left CSNI with a point docked. CSNI will appeal it and quite rightly so. However the deadline for the season has now passed and the committee rooms will see the final conclusion to an excellent league battle. If CSNI win their appeal then North Down who are celebrating their triumph will be outraged as it will appear to them that the rules have been flouted. If CSNI lose their appeal a whole season of hard work and superb performances will be ruined by the pernicious timekeeping of the umpires. As the legendary and much lamented broadcaster from Test Match Special, Brian Johnston would declare; 'Oh I say, what a splendid cock up.'

There is much talked over the years about the gap in understanding between players and umpires. I think the reporting of CSNI for being one minute over the deadline shows that for some officials it isn't a gap between players and umpires it is a chasm. Did the umpires know the implications of reporting CSNI? If not they certainly knew there was a difference between 3 hours 15 minutes and 3 hours 16 minutes. For that time is the cut off point where a club is fined and in the case of CSNI and where a point was deducted.

I wonder should umpires be issued with peaked caps for next year and spend some of their winter training with traffic wardens, car park attendants, TV licence detection teams and people who work in golf clubs. You know the ones, 'I'm sorry old chap, you can't wear those trousers, they are bad form!'

Can every detail of the 196 minutes be accounted for and timed correctly? Are the umpires convinced that it couldn't possibly be 195 minutes for CSNI to bowl their overs? For example how many seconds elapsed from the last dismissal until the umpire looked at his watch? Was it 195 minutes and 33 seconds and rounded up to 196 minutes? The rule book doesn't specify seconds so one must assume the innings didn't end on 196 minutes exactly and some sort of rounding took place. Did the umpires shout play for the first ball of the innings whilst hitting the stopwatch? Was that stopwatch stopped for every hold up that could not be blamed on CSNI for example a lost ball, batsman tying his laces or getting an additional drink, player injuries? There is always a hold up for sawdust to be put down on slippery footholds, and drying the ball on a dewy outfield in late September.

Perhaps on a number of occasions the scorers were too slow in acknowledging the umpires signal. You know what I mean, someone ‘creams' a four and the fielder is trying to hail a taxi to get the ball back, and the scorers are busy marking four in the book and chatting about the sort of things scorers talk about (I'm not sure what scorers talk about, they're an odd bunch; car engines or bat droppings or something) and the umpire is still standing there waving his hand from side to side. I am sure that it has been scientifically proven that the umpire will actually stand there until the scorer waves his little white bat or dies of starvation. Which in my mate Pete White's case might take a while! (Only joking big fella, I owe you a Jameson.)

Anyhow, were all those little incidences added up I am sure that 60 seconds could easily be found. I also suspect that somewhere along the proceedings the ‘peaked cap' gene kicked in and the umpires were secretly hoping the 3 hours and 15 minute cut off point was passed. Whatever happens from here is a mess.

Some people will blame the NCU. ‘One week to go and they announce this.' They could have kept the docking of points quiet until after an appeal but now they have no wriggle room.

Some people will blame CSNI. ‘It's their own fault they should have got a move on.' Have you ever tried setting a field to the North Down batting line up? It's not easy.

Some people will blame the umpires. Seriously guys would anyone have known differently if you had reported 3 hours 14 minutes and 50 seconds? CSNI would have paid the fine but the deduction of a point was cruel.

The NCU have to address the issue of punishments. I sound like a broken record on this point but the rulebook is now virtually impossible to understand. People are falling foul of its rules almost every week and most offences go unreported because no-one is aware they have infringed. Any infringements reported are dealt with ruthlessly. Cup and league matches are voided which in itself is very unfair as it only hurts the winner of the game.

This particular ruling on slow play is yet again dealt with in the sledgehammer to nut approach. Also the seriousness of the first offence bears no relation to the punishment for the second. Let's say CSNI took 4 hours to bowl their overs at Bangor instead of the actual 3 hours and 5 minutes. Four hours would be a pretty serious offence but if that had happened they would have received no fine or point deduction as their first offence. The point deduction happened because it was a second offence AND it exceeded 3 hours 15 minutes. If CSNI had completed their league programme and had bowled their overs in 3 hours 15 minutes in all 18 league games, that would have been a pretty serious flouting of the law. In that case they would have received a hefty fine but no point deduction.

The first league game with North Down was the ONLY time this year that CSNI have exceeded the 3 hour 15 minute cut off time and bearing in mind the importance of the game and the fact they have a seam orientated attack it was understandable. But in the great scheme of things that relatively minor and understandable offence has been effectively met with the stripping of a share in the league title.

Or at least it has been for now. We will move onto the next stage which is the annual ritual of appeals and counter-appeals with our learned friends to allow us to work up an appetite for the NCU Dinner when the League titles are awarded. For an organisation that bristles with indignation at the merest hint of criticism they sure go out of their way to attract it. But it is a really sorry end to a marvellous season.