Last year I picked my County Teams for 2007 and hoped to instigate a little bit of debate. By and large I tried to pick balanced teams and concentrated on picking the players who I felt deserved to be in the team on performance rather than reputation. However good players are good players and not unsurprisingly the same people are there or thereabouts each year. However as an exercise it is still useful to put a team together reflecting on what they have added to the season as a whole and I have therefore maybe compromised slightly on balance to select one or two individuals who deserved recognition for 2008.

So my selections in the end up are a compromise between picking the best cricketers and the people who have done enough to be selected. I have started with Londonderry.

It must be pointed out however that the dominance of North West professionals in the averages has not lessened. The news that Brigade and Limavady are not bringing a professional over in 2009 will weaken the chances of either of those sides making an impact outside of their Union in the ClubTurf Ulster Cup or Bob Kerr ISC.

However if it develops younger players by giving them time in the middle batting and bowling it will help their clubs in the long run. The decision on whether or not to hire a Professional is about the benefits of being able to pass on their experience, approach and know-how along with the obvious playing performances balanced against the cost of vital resources diverted from improving the clubs facilities and the fact that you learn little watching someone else perform.

The County Derry team has 3 changes for 2008 and is dominated by Limavady. I've selected Decker as captain as it would take a strong personality to captain the team.

Ian McGregor (Limavady)
Iftikhar Hussain (Brigade)
David Cooke (Limavady) wicketkeeper
Desmond Curry (Limavady)
Stephen Smyth (Brigade)
Andrew Riddles (Limavady)
Richard McDaid (Limavady)
Johnny Thompson (Glendermott)
Gordon Cooke (Brigade)
Simon Dunn (Limavady)
Richard Stewart (Eglinton)
12th man
Mark McDaid (Limavady)


The three players brought in from 2007 were Richard McDaid, Simon Dunn and Richard Stewart.

There was never any doubting the class or ability of Richard McDaid, but he is fitter and focused and has made a real difference to Limavady. I've talked recently about wanting to see more quick bowlers and as a unit Richard McDaid, Andrew Riddles and Chris Moore were quite a handful for a lot of teams. McDaid is quick and can still be quicker and his batting is good enough to make this team in its own right.

Simon Dunn is not unlike Marty Moreland in the North Down team, in that he is a bit of a forgotten man. When teams arrive at the John Hunter Memorial Grounds, Simon Dunn is not the one people are worried about yet more often than not he picks up three and four wicket hauls. Man of the match in the 2007 Cup final his 2008 haul of 41 wickets at 14.80 a piece is hard to ignore.

Richard Stewart has been the spearhead of the Eglinton attack for a few years now. He has always had that ability to swing the ball and cause endless problems for the opening batsmen but his problem was consistency. I think he has definitely improved that area of his game. In 2008 he took 28 wickets at 18.61 meaning the Eglinton man only had Johnny Thompson ahead of him in the averages for an opening bowler from the County. Exalted company indeed! ‘Flick' missed a few games this year so it was a pretty impressive season for him and deserves his selection.