A Yorkshireman from Luxembourg visits Cricket Leinster
Growing up in Yorkshire in the 1960s, when Yorkshire CCC were Yorkshiremen and all other counties very much joint second-best, I was cricket-mad from an early age. Once I realised I wasn’t going to be good enough to be Yorkshire’s next wicketkeeper-batsman I decided that the best alternative would be umpiring, and, aiming for the best, I became a Bradford League umpire at the tender age of 17. Present-day umpires may be interested to hear that all I had to do was answer a few questions about LBW and no-balls. There was no training, I simply learnt on the job. It was quite a long time later that I passed the ACUS’s exam to become a “full member”.
A few years down the line I found myself living in Luxembourg. The country’s main club, Optimists CC, joined the Belgian League when it was formed in 1991 (and won the title 3 times in the first 5 years). As just about the only qualified umpire in either country I got the job of setting up an umpiring organisation and training the first umpires. For quite a few years nearly all Belgian League umpires were trained by me, later supplemented by courses given by ICC Europe instructors. I organised the umpiring and appointments in both countries for several years before handing over Belgium, but I still look after Luxembourg.
Anyway, earlier this year I decided to visit my old friend Roland Bradley, with whom I once umpired at the European Club Championship in Osnabrück, Germany, and who is now of course President of Cricket Leinster. As luck would have it, the Saturday I was over saw four Division 1 matches taking place within a cricket ball’s throw of each other, at Merrion, Pembroke, Railway Union and YMCA. So we spent a very enjoyable day watching cricket of a much better standard than in the Luxembourg or Belgian Leagues (where many clubs have a few good players, but strength in depth is a problem).
I was impressed. Not just by the quality of cricket, but also, when Roland told me how many clubs, teams and cricketers of both sexes and all ages are active in Leinster and the rest of Ireland, by the quantity. And equally by the enthusiasm and the perceptive and humorous discussions on the benches around the boundaries and in the clubhouses. And also of course by the facilities. The fields and pavilions were far superior to anything in Belgium or Luxembourg (where we have a big flat field with an artificial pitch, a wooden hut and a “pavilion” provided by the local council 200m away from the field). I also had the privilege of sampling the excellent tea provided by the good ladies of Railway Union (arguably, the highlight of the weekend!).
Next day we watched a Division 7 match at Bagenalstown, where I assessed the standard as roughly comparable to Belgian Division 2, and still very much superior to the Luxembourg League. We then visited the Carlow ground, which unfortunately seemed to be out of use, at least temporarily. Our final visit of the weekend was to Roland’s home ground at Portlaoise, where the visitors were a youthful YMCA team captained by Alan Lewis. It was pleasing to see such a man doing such a job, thus setting an example both to his young protégés and to other top players, more of whom should stay in the game and pass on their knowledge and skills instead of disappearing off to the golf course never to be seen again as soon as their best playing days are over.
By the way, I heard a few people complain about having to travel perhaps 50 km or more to an away game. Luxembourg Optimists CC’s nearest away game in the Belgian League is 220 km away. And even within Belgium grounds may be 120 km apart. If Optimists were in Division 1 there would be 400 km each way trips to Ostend!
All in all I very much enjoyed my visit to a country whose cricket tends to be underestimated by the “bigger” cricketing countries ? and not least by the ICC.