If you cast your mind back a few weeks you may remember that we had a bit of a drive going in the campaign to have International cricket brought to Bready but I must confess I left out a key ingredient when discussing the virtues of such a contest. Obviously we are desperate to see any type of high-profile games played at the magnificent venue but one key aspect is that it would help to send two teams who actually want to play.
After the success of the Ladies' T20 European Qualifiers there was a well documented County Championship game between Ireland and Scotland which, well, which wasn't played at all. It seemed as if every time the hard-working ground staff cleared up a problematic area ready for play, the teams found another one and in the end the umpires cried enough and abandoned for the day. Curiously, a point apiece suited both teams but what a pity the beleaguered ground staff were put through their paces in the most pointless of exercises.
You may have seen that the vandals were at work over the weekend as batting lane netting and wheeled covers were targeted at the Rectory early on Saturday morning. I have no intention of giving the idiots involved any credence by discussing the matter beyond that other than to say that in these financially tough times I hope Glendermott get the matter resolved as best they can. There was a good atmosphere about the place on Sunday for the Brigade game and hopefully the Bonds Street venue will continue to be one of the better places to play and watch cricket.
It's probably fair to suggest that one of the play-off places is all but sealed for September's promotion/relegation shoot-out and the Cricket Operations Committee have now confirmed details of the crunch game. The Division 2 winners will play the team finishing in eight place in the top flight in a one-off 50 over match however should two or more teams be tied on points for either of those places, it is believed that the matter would then be decided on their head-to-head results against each other. If they still cannot be separated after that a preliminary play-off would then be employed to resolve the matter.
Hopefully however there will be no need for any protracted qualifying process and we can go straight to the main course which will he held at Burndennett Cricket Club on Saturday 15 September at 12.00 with the following day held as a reserve. The appointment of Burndennett is seen as a fitting acknowledgement of the club's collective efforts this season including among other things their offer to help out when other grounds were unavailable due to the inclement weather. There is little doubt either that Burndennett will be in it's usual pristine condition for the occasion.
Finally for this week a get well soon message for ever-popular umpire and groundsman DW Caldwell who was laid up over the weekend after fracturing his ankle. It will come as no surprise that Davy was working on the ground at Bready when the accident happened; slipping on the small banking during the Ladies' T20 Qualifying Tournament. Davy has done a superb job on the Magheramason venue this season and he will be sorely missed for the remainder of the summer if 6-weeks on crutches is able to keep him away.
At least he was in good spirits when I chatted to him over the week-end but he admitted that he would find it very difficult to rest up as he had been instructed. Time will tell of course but I have no doubt he'll have someone drive him to his second home to oversee the end-of-season work but in the meantime best wishes are extended Davy for a speedy recovery.