Are people still cheering for this Thatcherite shower of cunts? Seriously?
Why are you so against a sport that was so prominent in Kilkenny and Waterford when you were growing up?
It was never prominent in Waterford.
[quote=“theLockes, post: 907391, member: 58”][/quote]
Spoken like a true Rod
On the last day of August in the shadow of Sligo’s iconic Benbulben, County Sligo CC hosted the highlight of the Connacht Cricket Union’s season, the Connacht Senior Cup final between Co. Galway CC and Ballaghadereen CC.
And a highlight it turned out to be as both teams showed plenty of the drive, determination and daring that not only makes for a great final but is also required to sustain and develop cricket in a province where the toughest opponent can often be the West of Ireland weather.
Ballaghadereen won the toss and asked Galway to bat and it looked a questionable decision as the Tribesmen progressed to 88-2 anchored by Danish Ali (37) and then pushed on to 131-4. In the Roscommon men’s favour was the fact that the run rate was under 4 an over but against that a heavy drizzle was persisting and scoring was not getting any easier.
It became an evenly balanced contest for the remainder of the Galway innings with number 8 batsman Tabish Ali (36) forging a number of useful partnerships with the tail whilst Ballaghadereen kept taking wickets, the last of which fell at the end of the 47th over with the Galway total on 179.
Ballaghadereen’s target of 180 at a rate of 3.6 runs per over soon looked like a very distant and unlikely one as brilliant swing bowling from Iliff and two disastrous run-outs reduced their reply to 34-6 after just 8 overs.
But Farman and Waqaas Ail Raja had other ideas and with Farman providing the big hitting and Waqaas the steady support they steadied the ship and then upped the run-rate but when Farman departed for a well-made 45 there was still 83 required with just 3 wickets left.
Now Ballaghadereen’s number 9 Ahmed joined Waqaas and started to take apart the Galway bowling and the 8th wicket pairingwere homing in on their target when heavy rain forced the players off with the score on 146-7.
Thankfully the rain relented after half an hour, the match resumed and the drama continued.
Ballghadereen’s 146-7 became 158-8 and then 8 balls later 159-9. 21 required to win but it was down to the last pair, Waqaas and Amar.
It was Waqaas who tipped the balance in Ballaghadereen’s favour with a masterful demonstration of how to farm the strike and protect the number 11 bat whilst picking the right ball to score off.
Fittingly it was Waqaas who hit the winning runs, a huge 6 over the midwicket boundary to bring the Ballaghadereen score to 185-9 to take the Senior Cup by just 1 wicket.
In his match summary the man-of-the-match adjudicator, Cricket Ireland’s James Doran, paid tribute to both teams for providing an absolute classic in tough conditions saying, “This final was a wonderful advertisement for the quality of cricket being played in Connacht” and he went on to commend the CCU officers, particularly the tireless Hon. Secretary, Muhammad Asif, and all the Connacht area clubs for, “the resolve and fortitude that they display not only in their playing of the game of cricket but also in fostering its development in the West of Ireland”.
The man-of-the match award was presented to Ballaghadereen’s Waqaas Ali Raja (49no) for his key batting performance in bringing his team’s score from 34-6 to the winning total of 185-9 following which the Connacht Senior Cup was presented to the victorious Ballaghadereen team by Co. Sligo CC’s Sajjad Hussain, deputising for the host club’s Chairman, Paul Mercer.
http://www.cricketireland.ie/news/article/thrilling-conclusion-to-the-west-of-ireland-cricket-season
Great to see a proper philanthropist generously donate to the future well being of one of our sports 
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/29236473
[SIZE=6]Irish cricket handed seven-figure cash boost by billionaire[/SIZE]
Irish cricket has been handed a seven-figure cash boost by signing a 10-year sponsorship deal with a group of companies owned by Ireland’s richest man, Indian-born Pallonji Mistry.
Mistry, born in 1929, has been ranked as the world’s 62nd richest man.
The deal, believed to be in the region of £2m, will see the country’s cricket academy being renamed the Shapoorji Pallonji Cricket Ireland Academy.
Shapoorji Pallonji is the name of the billionaire’s group of companies.
The Indian-born businessman is described by Forbes Magazine as having a personal fortune of £9.55bn with his group’s business interests including construction, motors, textiles, communications, energy and hotels.
[SIZE=5]Pallonji Mistry’s Irish background[/SIZE]
His wife is Dublin-born and he took out Irish citizenship in 2003 and his sons Shapoor and Cyrus both hold Irish passports
With his wife Patsy Perin Dubash having been born in Dublin, Mistry took out Irish citizenship in 2003 and their two sons, Shapoor and Cyrus, both hold Irish passports.
Mistry’s wealth makes him Ireland’s richest citizen and while his permanent residence remains Mumbai, he is understood to spend regular amounts of time in his adopted country.
In addition to holding the naming rights to the Cricket Ireland Academy, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group will also become an official partner to Cricket Ireland.
Young Ireland players will benefit from the sponsorship deal
In a message delivered at the Dublin announcement, Shapoor Mistry said that as “Irish citizens”, his family viewed the deal as a “small contribution as a token of gratitude towards Ireland”.
Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom made clear his delight at securing the sponsorship deal.
“The development of our next generation of international cricketers in the national academy is one of our most important tasks, and requires significant investment, understanding and an ability to take the long view,” added the Cricket Ireland chief.
“In the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, we are immensely proud to have found the perfect partner to share that vision, and help us mould our nation’s cricketing future for at least the next 10 years.”
The sponsorship deal was officially announced at Trinity College by the Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe.
Tremendous news…
Ireland Invited To Participate In Under-19 World Cup
January 5th 2016 |
Following Australia’s decision to withdraw from the ICC Under-19 World Cup the ICC has invited Ireland, as the runner-up in the qualifying event in Kuala Lumpur in October, to replace them in the 19-day tournament in Bangladesh.
Cricket Ireland is currently assessing the implications of Ireland’s participation in the event based on the logistics and security arrangements for the tournament, and is liaising with the relevant authorities in this regard.
Cricket Ireland hopes to make a statement on Ireland’s participation in the tournament as soon as possible.
Why did Australia pull out?
Because they are a bunch of flamin’ Sheilas…
Australia have pulled out of the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh starting on January 27 due to security concerns. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the decision was taken after advice from the government stated that the threat to Australian interests in Bangladesh was as high as when the senior team had pulled out of their tour in October last year.
The ICC has invited Ireland, who were runners-up in the qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur in October, to replace Australia in the tournament.
No other team is known to have similar plans. New Zealand Cricket confirmed that they would be going ahead with their tournament preparations as scheduled.
“For some time we have been working closely with ICC security advisors and monitoring the security situation in Bangladesh and have been keeping our players, officials and the players’ parents as up to date as possible,” Sutherland said. "Regrettably, the advice from our Government suggests that the security threat to Australians travelling to Bangladesh remains as high now as it was when we postponed the Test team’s tour of that country late last year.
“Included in that is reliable information suggesting there is a high threat to Australian interests in Bangladesh and the knowledge that the Australian Government has authorised the dependents of posted diplomatic staff in Bangladesh to return home to Australia. In the end, with all of the information and advice we have received, we feel we had no alternative other than to make this difficult decision.”
The ICC said it respected CA’s decision but was disappointed by it. “The ICC takes its responsibilities around the safety and security of ICC events extremely seriously,” its chief, David Richardson, said. "And taking into consideration the full and unequivocal support of the Bangladesh government that has been afforded to us at the highest level and through all local security agencies, the advice we have received from our own and independent security experts, and the robust security plan that has been developed, the ICC remains of the view the it is appropriate for event planning to continue as scheduled.
“Security plans associated with an event of this size and stature are always subject to continual review to ensure that they remain appropriate and fit for purpose, and this event is no different.”
Too dangerous for the Aussies but shure maybe Paddy will go to make up the numbers.
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Thank God the Danes didn’t have this attitude in 1992.
Its hardly Paddy that makes up the cricket team. Just wanna be Brits. Let them over and take a few Rugbee players with them.
In those days only 8 teams qualified for the Euros, the Danes were a decent side. The Irish will be going as cannon fodder.
The Aussies are some windy fuckers.
Did we just lose to the Isle of Man 
Blew it against Oman, disgraceful!
Niall O’Brien won’t be able to sleep tonight after letting that last delivery slip through his legs.
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