There are always a number of things that divide opinion in any sporting organisation and it’s fair to say that there are a few in local cricket as well. Start times are a prime example, as are 8-team leagues, midweek replays, the T20 format and starring lists.

The problem of course is that there are always anomalies where local rules are in force- for example this season both Newbuildings and Burndennett are playing in the Championship while their second XI’s are playing four divisions below. Our old rule back in the day was that players were only allowed to drop down one division at a time, but that couldn’t possibly work now for either of those clubs.

The flip side of course is that any un-starred player from those teams could drop down tomorrow and play in Q4- something that is unlikely to sit well with genuine third, fourth and fifth teams.

Of all the keenly-debated rules we have however, one stands out much more than any other this season, and that is the Premiership/Championship play-off. I have to confess that I have completely lost track of where I stand on this issue personally. At the start it seemed like a strange idea that a team could win almost half of their Premiership matches and still have their status decided in a one-off game with a side from the division below.

Like many I warmed to the idea as it kept the season alive right to the end in the last couple of seasons but there was definitely a case for giving it a miss this time. The reason for that is that even though they aren’t involved, how fair would it be that Donemana get caught up in a 7th placed play-off having had to play half a season without Andy McBrine and the McClintock twins?

Bready have been affected too through Craig Young and Andrew Austin while Strabane, another team bang in the thick of it can claim that their badly diminished resources didn’t need to lose Aaron Gillespie.


The fact that quite a few players have also been on T20 “tour guide” duty isn’t as forceful an argument as these were jobs that people willingly applied for, but it didn’t help. All-in-all the general consensus is that the 7th placed play-off is still a good thing to have, but in years when we will be facing heavy International schedules it might do no harm to plan accordingly

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Michael Taylor penned an excellent article last week about the thinking, or more accurately the lack of it, that went into the scheduling of the on-going World T20 Qualifiers. As always the piece was well researched and thoroughly entertaining and nothing I could say would add anything to it, however I had one over-riding observation from my own minimal involvement at Bready last week.

Because while the dates of the games were bad enough, a 10 am start on a Monday morning for Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea shone a big bright spotlight on all that was wrong with the organisation.

Obviously the Qualifiers are a means to an end as far as the ICC is concerned but it makes no sense that the whole thing wasn’t made punter-friendly as well. The irony of me complaining about early starts isn’t lost either by the way but we’re comparing fish with custard here.

T20 is unlike anything else within our sport; it is microwaved cricket and is steeped in a social base that is a major part of the overall experience. T20 has attracted a new audience to cricket in recent years but it has its own, very clear brand. It appeals to the masses not on a corporate level but those looking for a few hours out after work or school. It is the sporting equivalent of going to the cinema. What people don’t want to do however is to watch it at 10 am; and especially 10 am on a Monday.

The fact that no play was possible in the HK v PNG match led to one of the week’s highlights by the way- an impromptu disco started by DJ AngelG which then carried on into the PNG dressing room for the best part of the afternoon.

Which brings me finally on to a couple of mentions that I hope you’ll forgive me- the first of which is the PNG boys who despite ruining Ireland’s script on Wednesday, have lit up this breakfast extravaganza everywhere they’ve gone. Their spirit and camaraderie is an example to all and, support for Ireland notwithstanding, I’d love to see them qualify from the event.

Similar comments apply to Hong Kong who although a bit more reserved have a very affable Aussie in Charlie Burke at the helm. A few chats with Charlie and with George Lamplough turned out to be really enlightening and added one more piece of practically unusable trivia to my locker- that Hong Kong, a region with a population of more than 7 million has the same number of senior cricket grounds as the stretch of road between Burndennett and Strabane.

And finally I would like to finish with a shout out to an old friend and former umpiring colleague, Mark Hawthorne, who, while a big Crusaders fan, remains no less a gentleman than he has always been. Mark has been flying the flag for Irish cricket in the umpiring ranks for some years now and hasn’t got there by accident. Refreshing the column this time was his call but lest I get any ideas above my station it came with the proviso “I hope you write a new piece soon because I’m sick looking at that old one…”