Report to the Leinster Cricket Union

Annual General Meeting – November 2012 

In the second season of existence for the OCC the committee set about addressing some areas that were in need of attention in the regulations and the running of competitions. The first area was that of starring lists and their operation. The main difference introduced was that Cup starrings were abolished and there would be only one set of lists in operation per club at any one time. This was done for two main reasons; to reduce some administration for clubs and to simplify the starring process overall. 

At the same time the full existing regulations for league starring were applied. The main difference for clubs was that any player who had not played regularly over the previous 4 weeks was to be removed from the list. This was possible due to the significant technical advances of the website and scorecard administration. It was quickly apparent that some clubs grasped that a little work in advance would pay serious dividends. Other clubs realised that they were short of players to field the teams they had entered in competitions – those clubs spent most of the season scrambling. It is important to note that these were not new regulations, merely the full application of regulations in place for many years. The area of starring lists and policies is one that remains under review by the OCC, but one thing is clear: Clubs think that their own starring list is fine and every other club’s is incorrect. 

The other major area of change to regulation in 2012 was that of refixing of matches. It has long been the case that all matches called off for reasons other than weather should be refixed. This season saw the introduction of stiffer penalties in order to incentivise clubs to actually make refixtures. There was also the option of a reduced duration match at some levels. Really every opportunity was given to the clubs to comply with the regulations. However some did not, and were penalised at the end of the season. Given that one of these penalties affected both ends of the league table, all clubs are put on notice that these penalties will be applied as required. It is a measure of the success of the initiative that there were fewer matches that should have been refixed but were not than for a very long time. Clearly the ability to refix matches is there if the clubs try hard enough. 

The committee spends most of its time adjudicating on starring lists, player registrations, fixtures, cancellations and the like. None of this process would be possible without the bedrock of work undertaken by Paul Reynolds. He was solely responsible each week for the receipt and collation of match results and umpire reports, for the cross checking of player registrations and starring lists, for statistical analysis in relation to starring issues, league tables, penalties and monitoring the refixing of matches and cup draws. There are many other things as well – for example correspondence with clubs – and this work often took up more time that Paul actually had to offer. 

The OCC wishes to thank many individuals for their assistance during the season.

• Leinster Cricket Club provided facilities for our meetings, and was always co-operative when needed. Meetings were also held in Paul’s house – at least once some people had found it!
• The Leinster Cricket Umpires & Scorers Association provide umpires to matches at many levels. Their Appointments Secretary Peter Thew has a thankless task, one that was expertly managed this year
• All clubs who host Cup Finals are due generous praise. It is acknowledged that this provision is not always easy for the clubs involved, but without it the competitions could not proceed
• Gerry Byrne provides a vital statistic role for the top four divisions and this is greatly appreciated

The members of the OCC itself are also due thanks, for an often unrewarding job that would be easier left to others. Previous versions of this report have given extensive lists of batting, bowling & fielding performances. With the storage of all this information on the website this is no longer required, but the following winners of Cup & League competitions should be noted.

Looking Forward

Already since the end of the season much work has been done in the areas of league structures and fixture dates. In particular the attempt to harmonise the fixture list across Ireland has been protracted. However this is very necessary in order to avoid any adverse effects to the club game from the impending Interprovincial Series.

We welcome the entry of at least 4 new clubs to league & cup competitions in 2013. With the further entry of 5 additional teams from existing clubs there is no doubt that the game is continuing to expand in the province. This is due to the significant efforts of our development officers across the province.

As neither the Chair nor Hon Secretary of the OCC is standing for re-election it remains to see what shape the OCC will take into the future. There is no doubt that the administrative workload has reaped significant benefits across the game however this benefit must be balanced by the difficulty for volunteers to meet this workload. This is a very significant issue for the Union as the game moves to a different footing in a national sense.

Finally it is worth repeating the input of Paul Reynolds in the past two years. Paul has the task of chairing the committee, but more importantly also acts as the first point of contact for results, starring lists, complaints, comments and moans. It is difficult to appreciate the impact that this has on him on a daily basis during the season. He deserves the appreciation of the rest of the OCC and the entire cricket community for this work.