Waringstown captain Greg Thompson looks back on the 2019 campaign

It goes some way to explaining how good Waringstown have been over the past five years that you look back on their 2019 season and consider it a disappointment despite reaching two finals.

The Villagers have been the standard bearers for some time now, dominating the local and Irish scene by reaching five straight Irish Senior Cup finals and they came into the 2019 campaign as defending champions in four competitions.

Greg Thompson’s side lost out to a talented Pembroke side that could go on to reign supreme for years to come in the Irish Senior Cup decider while CIYMS defeated them in a nail-biting finish in the Lagan Valley Steels Twenty20 Cup.

They eventually finished sixth in the Robinson Services Premier League table, and Thompson looks back on the season with disappointment.

“If I’m being honest, it was a disappointment,” he said.

“Largely in the league we were poor and in the end the league table has us sitting in sixth. If we hadn’t been forced to play meaningless games at the end of the season in the middle of September with depleted teams, I think we probably would have finished third or fourth.

James Mitchell bowling for Waringstown. ©CricketEurope

“Regardless, that’s not a good enough result in the league. Cup wise, the highlights were the two finals. To get to those finals for the fifth time in a row for the T20 and fifth Irish Senior Cup final in a row was a great achievement.

“I wouldn’t look at it as a successful season despite those two achievements, which aren’t to be overlooked. On the whole, there would be a fairly negative reflection on how our season went.”

Constantly rising to the challenge year after year at the business end of every competition isn’t easy to maintain, and Thompson feels that may have affected the squad for the first time.

“It definitely is (tough),” he added.

“We have won four trophies in two consecutive years and that was a huge achievement. That was built upon other successes throughout the four years or slightly longer before that.

“It’s tough at the top and we definitely didn’t have our best season. There were a lot of factors in that.

“To be missing James McCollum as much as we did and I don’t think we played a single league game with a full strength team. James missed the vast majority, I missed a couple and there was the odd injury or unavailability.

James McCollum is now an established Ireland star. ©CricketEurope

“To be missing James, your number three batsman and while our professional performed well with the ball, he didn’t match our or his own expectations with the bat. That left us quite short when it came to runs on the board.

“The commitment that the guys have given to the last few years has probably took its toll for the first time this year and we will have to refocus and reassess our aims. If we want to remain in the top, we will just have to redouble our efforts again.”

Lee Nelson (531), Adam Dennison (702) and Thompson (759) all passed the 500 run mark for the season but it often felt that Waringstown were short of runs in 2019.

Any team will struggle missing a player of the calibre of Irish international James McCollum and there was also a gaping hole left by the departure of Shaheen Khan to Pembroke.

“Adam Dennison had a strong year again,” reflected Thompson.

“Lee Nelson was back in amongst the runs, I scored runs so we still had the batting talent. You’re missing two guys in the heart of the team there with James McCollum and a professional scoring 600/700 runs.

“You can tell from the statistics in the Premier League that there are a lot of teams who benefit from overseas guys scoring runs.

Adam Dennison had another good season for Waringstown. ©CricketEurope

“As a club, we have made a decision that it isn’t a route we want to go down which makes it tougher again to compete with these teams who are willing to put their hand in their pocket and go out and buy players. Every club is entitled to run in their own way.

“I spoke after the Irish Senior Cup loss to Pembroke about the fact they had won with a very talented overseas in Shaheen Khan who performed extremely well in the final, but other than that they had 10 local guys.

“I don’t think they all totally played their whole careers at Pembroke, but largely speaking that was a Pembroke team who if they weren’t totally homegrown, weren’t far off it.

“We would like to follow that and I know it’s probably a bit rich coming from me because I’m not born and bred in Waringstown. I think that would be a good model to follow for all clubs to be producing that amount of talent consistently and that is where our club would like to be.”

Thompson was Waringstown’s best performer, averaging 44.65 and his efforts were enough to break back into the Ireland squad again for a Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe during the summer.

He was very unfortunate to be left out of the touring party that departed for the T20 World Cup qualifiers (via a five-team series in Oman) on Monday.

“It was a bit of a purple patch at the start of the season,” said Thompson, who scored 149* and 153 in consecutive days back in May.

Thompson batting for Ireland earlier this summer ©CricketEurope

“The weather was good and the wickets were flat and my own batting form was good at the right time. I scored enough runs to force my way into the Ireland team again.

“If I’m being critical, it was all too brief. I didn’t score the volume of runs I was capable of having gave myself such a head start.

“A lot of guys will say it was a disjointed season given the weather and the breaks with Inter-Provincial cricket, so there are factors there but overall I would be quite happy scoring the runs I did but I would prefer to be winning trophies.”

Thompson has a variety of commitments away from the cricket field, including his role as hockey coach and he is set to become a father later this year.

He has had a very successful run but will his stint as skipper continue into 2020?

“That isn’t something I have discussed,” he added.

“For the past few weeks there I had the World Cup qualifiers in my sights but I didn’t get picked.

“I needed to then refocus and I have a lot going on outside of cricket in terms of being back to work, I do a lot of hockey coaching and we are expecting our first child in November.

“There’s a lot of other factors and it isn’t a conversation I have had with the club yet.”

Following relegation, Muckamore need to rebuild

After suffering relegation from the Robinson Services Premier League, it will be a case of going back to the drawing board for Muckamore as they look to bounce back at the first attempt.

The Moylena side were relegated to Section One on net run-rate after picking up three wins from 14 matches.

It brings an end to their three year stay in the top-flight and in the most brutal of ways after losing by just one run to Waringstown on the penultimate day of their campaign when even a draw would have been enough to stay in the Premier League.

They also lost to the Villagers by three runs at the start of the season before a one wicket loss to Lisburn.

David Miller was Muckamore’s standout player with the bat. ©CricketEurope

“It just killed me with the way it happened,” said captain Neil Gill.

“I said at the start of the season in this league you need to win your close games and we started off with a three run defeat at Waringstown, which I still can’t believe we lost. We followed that up with a one wicket defeat to Lisburn.

“So when you talk about winning close games, there is two from two to start off. We went to Comber and had them on the ropes but we threw that one away.

“The Waringstown game sort of summed the season up for me and the writing was on the wall after that. We went to Carrick and with no (Jacques) Snyman and them not playing for anything we thought there was a good chance, but of course the rain comes. In my mind it just wasn’t meant to be.

“It wasn’t for a lack of trying from our boys. Everyone turned up to training and they worked so hard even before the season getting fit. The big problem there is lack of experience and cricketing nouse.

“When you’re in those winnable positions it’s just about having the nouse and know how to get over the line, and that’s where we struggled.”

With the Premier League now perhaps better than ever and teams only improving on a yearly basis, the task of competing is becoming harder.

Jamie Rogers signed for Muckamore from Armagh for the 2019 season. ©CricketEurope

Picking up defeats on a regular basis can be damaging to a side, but Gill was full of praise for how his men dealt with the tough situation.

“It does get tougher and in fairness to our guys they kept their heads up,” he added.

“It’s hard to keep the team spirit up and you’re turning up knowing it’s going to be tough. You’re playing against semi-professional and professional cricketers every week and it’s a tough league. There are no easy games in it.

“It’s where you want to be as a player but it’s tough when you’re coming up against those teams.

“I can’t knock our guys because the craic remained good and we knew a couple of wins would have saved us, but we just couldn’t get over the line.”

The prospect of bouncing back from relegation isn’t a new one for Muckamore, who were promoted back to the Premier League for the 2017 campaign after dropping down in 2014.

Perhaps the hardest part about suffering the drop is keeping a group of players together, and there will be a few clubs sniffing around for talent in the Muckamore squad.

Steve Lazars impressed in his first season at Muckamore. ©CricketEurope

“It’s nothing new for Muckamore,” said Gill.

“I think that’s the longest we have been in the Premier League – we were up three years and we were trying to build year on year. Unfortunately that just didn’t happen and the league is just getting tougher.

“Fair play to Lisburn coming up and staying up. They have a top professional that was able to help them win a couple of games and that’s what it takes.”

Away from league cricket, Muckamore reached the Gallagher Challenge Cup semi-finals, beating Bangor and Templepatrick before losing out to Instonians.

They were eliminated in the group stages of the Twenty20 Cup after finishing third in Group B behind North Down and Instonians, while they were knocked out of the Irish Senior Cup by Malahide in the first round.

Carrickfergus captain Michael Gilmour reflects on 2019 season

It was another year of progress for Carrickfergus as they reached their first ever Irish Senior Cup quarter-final and finished third in the Robinson Services Premier League.

Having started their league campaign with just two wins from seven matches, Michael Gilmour’s side ended the season with six straight victories to propel themselves into the top half of the table.

It was the same position they finished in 2018 but 12 months later they are four points better off and with a wave of young talent coming through at Middle Road, something special could be on the horizon for Carrickfergus.

“I think we need to be happy with the overall outcome of the 2019 season,” reflected Gilmour.

“We had a lot to be proud of this season. After some disappointing results, we showed some great resilience and fought very hard to finish the season in a positive way.”

After picking up impressive victories over YMCA and Clontarf in the Irish Senior Cup, Carrick progressed to a historic quarter-final clash with Phoenix, and although they eventually went down by five wickets, it was yet another sign of their potential.

Jamie Holmes, who scored 566 runs this season, batting for Carrick. ©CricketEurope

Overseas professional Jacques Snyman, who will be returning next season, played a huge role in their success by hitting 1,085 runs at an average of 54.25 alongside his 24 wickets.

The South African registered the highest score of the season when he smashed 190* against Instonians at Shaw’s Bridge and sensationally ended his maiden NCU campaign with five centuries and four fifties.

Another player that impressed in his maiden campaign was all-rounder CJ van der Walt, who averaged over 50 in the Premier League and scored 653 runs in all competitions to add to 30 wickets.

“These guys have been great additions to the team this year and are both ambitious individuals who worked tirelessly throughout the season,” added Gilmour.

“They’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of Carrick Cricket Club so it’s incredible to have Jacques coming back again to build on what he has already achieved.”

The next step now for Carrick will undoubtedly have to be turning this potential and promise into silverware, and Gilmour admits they are very motivated to do just that.

CJ van der Walt ©CricketEurope

“We have a very determined squad of players who are craving some silverware,” he said.

“We’re fortunate to have great balance of experience and youth in our team and we have shown that we are capable of beating anyone.

“It was very positive to see a better run in the Irish Senior Cup and on another day things could have gone our way. We will continue to keep improving like we are as a club and hopefully we can continue to build on what we have shown on the field.”

Fazal set for Lisburn return

One of the standout stars of the 2019 season will be back in the Northern Cricket Union next year after Lisburn announced the return of Faiz Fazal as their overseas professional.

In his debut campaign for the Wallace Park outfit, Fazal struck 608 runs in 12 innings at an average of 55.27 which also included two centuries and three fifties.

Fazal, who scored 55* in his sole appearance for India in 2016, scored 108 in a vital Premier League victory over Muckamore before a sensational Irish Senior Cup knock of 139 from 124 deliveries in a defeat to Bready.

The 34-year-old also picked up 14 wickets at an average of 32.29 with best figures of 3-26 coming against Instonians.

Fazal arrived in Northern Ireland with a huge reputation but his impact was also felt off the pitch, and captain Adam Berry is ‘delighted’ to have him back.

“Naturally, I’m delighted to have Faiz back,” he said.

“He’s a quality player which he demonstrated last season and an even better guy. Faiz brings a great sense of professionalism to the team and he’s someone we can all look up to and learn from.

“I have no doubt Faiz will make another positive impact at the club through his coaching and performances on the field.

“Everyone at Lisburn is looking forward to welcoming him and his family back next summer.”

Fazal has a batting average of 41.29 in First Class cricket, scoring 7888 runs in 202 innings.

Obus Pienaar reflects on 2019 season with CIYMS

South African overseas professional Obus Pienaar had quite the first season back in the Northern Cricket Union, helping CIYMS win a club-record four trophies.

Pienaar, who had previously spent two seasons in Northern Ireland with Waringstown and also enjoyed time in Leinster with Clontarf, won’t return in 2020 after it was announced he will be joining Lancashire League outfit Lowerhouse.

The 29-year-old helped the Belmont side to defend their Robinson Services Premier League crown while also adding the Gallagher Challenge Cup, Lagan Valley Steels Twenty20 Cup and a first ever All-Ireland T20 title to the club’s ever-growing trophy cabinet.

Looking at the statistics, Pienaar scored 749 runs in all competitions at an average of 53.50 and also collected 28 wickets with best figures of 6-29 against Muckamore in July.

“I really enjoyed my season at CIYMS,” he said.

“I enjoy the people in Northern Ireland and it was good to catch up with some old friends.

“It was obviously a very successful season for us and I don’t think they should take it for granted, because no matter how talented the team is, it’s always hard to be consistent and be up for the game every weekend even when you sometimes play three games in a weekend!”

If you take batting averages from just the Premier League and Challenge Cup, no one averaged more than Pienaar (66.12) from his 13 innings in which he scored 529 runs.

He was well-known for his scoring power after smashing a record 244 against CIYMS back in 2011 for Waringstown in a season where he averaged 100 and followed it up with another 800 runs in 2013 at The Lawn.

This season ranks just behind those two in terms of runs, but such was the form of John Matchett and Chris Dougherty at the top of the order, there wasn’t much left to do for Pienaar when he came to the crease on many occasions.

“I’m happy with my performance,” he added.

“I obviously would have liked to have done a bit better in some games, but that’s how cricket goes.

“Most of the games I wasn’t really needed as the top three did the job.”

Many believe that the standard of cricket in the top-flight is better now than it has ever been with the star-studded line-up’s some clubs have put together, but how does 2019 compare to six years ago?

“I think the standard has definitely got better since my last stint,” said Pienaar.

CIYMS will have started their hunt for a new overseas professional as they look to be as dominant again next season and go in search of a maiden Irish Senior Cup title.

JM Sport 2019 End of Season Awards

The 2019 season is drawing to a close and it has been four months of exciting,
dramatic action in the Northern Cricket Union.

CIYMS picked up four trophies, Muckamore were ultimately relegated from the Robinson Services Premier League and Woodvale secured promotion to the top-flight for the 2020 season.

It is that time of year again where we hand out the JM Sport End of Season
Awards in a range of categories. Let’s begin.

NCU Player of the Year

Winner – James Cameron-Dow

Honourable mentions: Jacob Mulder, Chris Dougherty

This was maybe the toughest category to decide out of all that you will see in this
article due to how well CIYMS played this season and how many contributed to
their success.

Cameron-Dow, just like Mulder, picked up 47 wickets throughout the season in
all competitions while Dougherty scored a wonderful 916 runs while playing a
part in 43 dismissals behind the stumps.

With overseas professionals excluded from this (their own category coming up), I opted for Cameron-Dow who picked up his wickets at an average of 14.32 in 29 matches with a strike-rate of 22.

His economy was also 3.91 and he rated just slightly better than his spin twin
Mulder in those categories, but there was barely anything in it which is further
illustrated by the fact his best figures were 4-10 and Mulder’s were 4-11.

Cameron-Dow also chipped in with some important runs down the order – none
more so than in CIYMS’ first league meeting with North Down that had a big say on the title even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

Cameron-Dow helped CIYMS to four trophies in 2019

 

Innings of the Year

Winner – Greg Thompson (153 vs CSNI, 12 May)

Honourable mentions: Andre Malan (145* vs North Down), Jacques Snyman
(190* vs Instonians)

I can only judge this on the innings that I witnessed personally throughout the
season and because I wasn’t present at Middle Road when Snyman blasted190*
against Instonians, I can’t go with that although I’m sure it was brilliant.

At Stormont in early-May, three of the seven highest run scores throughout the
whole season were complied with Greg Thompson (153) and James McCollum (140) scoring centuries in the first innings before Andre Malan (136) notched up his own in a 50-run defeat.

Thompson was fresh off hitting 149* the previous day at The Lawn against
Instonians and was in superb form, hitting 153 from 118 balls with 16 fours and six maximums.

I tweeted very early on that Thompson was going to go big on that sunny Sunday
because of how good he looked from ball one and that proved to be the case as
Waringstown motored to 347-7 despite being 25-3.

Thompson has had an impressive season so far, hitting 757 runs at an average of
47.31 with Waringstown scheduled to face North Down on Saturday.

Bowling performance of the Year

Winner – Josh Manley’s first spell against CIYMS – Challenge Cup final

Manley had a wonderful debut season in the NCU and his run in the Gallagher Challenge Cup was something special.

After dismissing four of Waringstown’s top five in the quarter-final to knock the
reigning champions out of the competition, he fired in the final to dismiss CI’s top three and leave the favourites reeling at 12-3.

It took some special batting from Jason van der Merwe and Obus Pienaar to get
them out of it before Mark Adair took over late on, but that opening spell from
Manley was incredible.

In the end, he picked up figures of 4-42 from 9.2 overs which doesn’t tell the
whole story and he is set to have a big impact in the coming years with the
Northern Knights and potentially Ireland.

Overseas professional of the Year

Winner – Andre Malan

Honourable mentions: Jacques Snyman, Ruhan Pretorius

Copy + paste from the 2018 season.

Malan was brilliant last season but somehow found a way to be even more
impressive in 2019, hitting a league-high 1,238 runs at an astonishing average of
65.16 with six fifties and five centuries in 23 innings. Truly insane.

If that wasn’t enough, he would also take 41 wickets for CSNI with a strike-rate
of 23.02 before jetting back to South Africa where he is set for another busy
period.

He has been the best player in the NCU for the past two seasons and I’m sure he
will have no shortage of offers to come back in 2020.

Snyman smashed 1,085 runs in his first season for Carrickfergus and also took 24
wickets while Pretorius averaged over 50 for the fourth consecutive season and
made his mark on the Inter-Provincial game with the Northern Knights.

Andre Malan batting in the Premier League against North Down

Captain of the Year

Winner – Nigel Jones

Honourable mentions: Alistair Shields, Adam Berry

I feel like this is a straightforward answer considering how the season unfolded
with Jones leading CIYMS to four trophies.

He has the best squad of players at his disposal but he is the one that holds
everything together at Belmont and it is clear to see he has created a real team
culture there and they’d been building up to a season like this.

Jones has also tried to give youth a chance when possible with the likes of Zach Solomon and Carson McCullough playing on a regular basis and when it comes
time for him to leave the club, they are going to have an almost impossible job
replacing him which pretty much sums his impact up.

Alistair Shields turned North Down from a sixth-placed side into title contenders
in the space of a season and he will be looking to add one or two more to his
squad for 2020 as they look to take that next step.

I know Lisburn lost their last eight in a row, but staying in the Premier League
after being promoted isn’t an easy task in this day and age, so Berry deserves
credit for that and Lisburn’s early season form.

Breakthrough player

Winner – John Matchett

Honourable mentions: Ollie Metcalfe

Matchett has been opening the batting for CIYMS for a few years now but this felt like the season where he really broke through and showed what he is all about.

Over the past month he has shown incredible form to end up with 838 runs at the top of the order at an average of 34.

He played a massive part in winning the All-Ireland Twenty20 Cup, sharing two
century stands in a day with Chris Dougherty and was named man of the match in the final for his half-century.

Matchett will be on the verge of Northern Knights selection if he can carry this
sort of momentum into 2020 and seems to be the future of CIYMS.

Ollie Metcalfe is the best teenage batsman in the union and has scored 543 runs so far with his highlight being an Irish Senior Cup century against Cork County.

Matchett being awarded Man of the Match in the All-Ireland T20 final

Unsung hero

Winner: Ryan Hunter

A new category for this season and it is awarded to someone that had a big say in
even bigger matches but perhaps was overshadowed by the performances of
those above him.

Hunter didn’t have as many opportunities this season for CIYMS but always stood up when his side needed him in the games that mattered.

Just this past weekend, he scored 30* of CI’s 113 to set a reasonable total against
North Down in a game that all but secured the league crown and was there at the end against Instonians in the deciding match as they reached 192 for a tie.

Hunter also scored 39 in the Gallagher Challenge Cup final in a 110-run sixth
wicket stand with Mark Adair .

Best signing of 2019

Winner – CJ van der Walt

Honourable mentions: Josh Manley, Murray Commins

Van der Walt kicked his 2019 season off by picking up a five-wicket haul for
Carrickfergus in the opening Premier League game and didn’t really look back
from there.

Batting in the middle order, van der Walt scored 653 runs at an average of
almost 40 as Carrick reached their first ever Irish Senior Cup quarter-final and
rounded the league campaign off by winning six in a row.

He also took 30 wickets to cap off what is the ultimate all-round season and with
the likes of Snyman, Jamie Holmes and van der Walt, Carrick have a team going
forward that should be capable of winning trophies.

They have all the potential and have added firepower, so a couple more additions during the winter could see them take that next step.

Umpire of the Year

Winner – Alan Neill

Honourable mention: Michael Foster

When deciding this category I looked to who officiated the biggest matches, and
Neill was in the middle for both the Irish Senior Cup final and Gallagher
Challenge Cup final alongside Phil Thompson.

It has been a big season for umpires with four of them (Neill included) receiving
contracts from Cricket Ireland and the standard is seemingly increasing and
participation also healthy enough in the NCU.

Foster stood in his first Irish Senior Cup final alongside Neill at Milverton this
season between Pembroke and Waringstown which is a fantastic achievement.

It is a great advert for our officials that two of them were doing the biggest club
game of the season while another, Jareth McCready, was on third umpire duties.

Women’s Player of the Year

Winner – Alison Cowan

Honourable mentions: Abbi Leckey, Amy Caulfield, Suzi Morrison-Keates

The women’s game has continued to improve year upon year and the Challenge Cup final at Stormont between CSNI and Muckamore was a great, exciting spectacle that went down to the final ball.

Captain Abbi Leckey held her nerve in the final over as CSNI secured their first
cup title after falling at the final hurdle against Lurgan last season while also
picking up the Premier League crown.

Cowan has been the star of CSNI’s team throughout the season, finishing not out
in five of the six league matches that they played, scoring three half-centuries in
that span.

She also scored another half-century in the Challenge Cup against Waringstown
while registering 42 in a semi-final success against Lurgan in what was a special year for CSNI’s women’s side.

Coach of the Year

Winner – Simon Johnston

When you talk to any player that has spent any amount of time in the company of Johnston, they are so enthusiastic about his love for the game and how brilliant he is as a coach.

The Knights haven’t had the luck with injuries or the squad to truly compete on
all fronts before this year, but everything seemed to click in the Twenty20 side of things and they also showed a lot of promise in the 50-over competition, beating Leinster in Dublin.

A true reflection on a coach is how the players improve in their company and it is no coincidence that Mark Adair, Shane Getkate and James McCollum are now
established Ireland stars while Jacob Mulder, James Cameron-Dow, Greg
Thompson, Harry Tector and David Delany have all been involved/are set to be involved.

Johnston has a very exciting squad at his disposal now and it’s going to be interesting going forward to see how they perform.

(Fun fact: Johnty was once my coach at NCU Under-15 level and dropped me at the
final stage before the Inter-Pro’s. I’m not bitter. I promise. I’m fine!)

Section One Player of the Year

Winner – Stephen Bunting

Honourable mentions: Wayne Horwood

Woodvale were by far and away the best side in Section One this season and
were able to take that leap from contenders to champions.

Without having access to any statistics for the S1 campaign and having watched
limited action in the competition, I am relying a lot on scorecards and statistics
for this selection.

I played in two games for my home club Armagh this season against Holywood,
where David Kennedy took 8-29 in the first innings before Ross Adair smashed
70* from what felt like 30 balls, and a comfortable win against Ballymena.

Bunting features on almost every scorecard in some fashion, be that with bat or ball, with a couple of six wicket hauls scattered in there while Horwood played a great role at the top of the order setting a platform for the Ballygomartin Road men.

It is a big jump to the Premier League but they’ve two proven performers already
in their side and will need to recruit smartly.

One thing I would change for 2020?

Answer: White ball Premier League

Not really an award as such but it was included on Twitter so thought this was as good a place to answer it as any.

I am a big advocate for a 10-team Premier League but I don’t know if I want it put in place for the 2020 season because the team coming second in Section One didn’t know they were playing for that and mightn’t be ready, but if they are happy to be promoted then I’m all for it.

If we have 10 teams who all play each other once and then the league is split into two groups of five, I believe it would produce more competitive cricket with the last four games of the season being played between teams of the similar standard and could also help the need to spend big money knowing those teams who are looking to survive will be playing against each other in the remaining weeks.

One thing that I would really love to see tested is a white-ball, coloured kit
Premier League.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but turning up to watch a white-ball game is more exciting and it feels conducive to better games, more runs and a better spectacle.

The best times of the season are always big cup games (which are all white ball)
and I would be interested to see if that would translate into the league.

Could CIYMS be defending their title in a white ball league come 2020?

Facing Premier League champions CIYMS in the nets – JM SPORT

Before the 2019 season kicked off, I got into the nets to face reigning NCU Premier League champions CIYMS.

With the likes of former Irish international Nigel Jones and current Ireland star Mark Adair bowling, it was quite the challenge as you can see below!

The Johnny Mo Show – Episode Four

Like McCollum in episode three, James Cameron-Dow made his Ireland debut over the winter against Afghanistan, playing in the ODI series before being named in the Test XI.

On The Johnny Mo Show, Cameron-Dow talks about growing up in South Africa, playing for the likes of North Down, CIYMS and the Knights and also his international experience.

The Johnny Mo Show – Episode Three

Ireland international James McCollum joined me to play some FIFA 19 in episode two while discussing his Irish debut a few months prior including a Test match against Afghanistan.

At the time of recording, he was looking forward to the possibility of playing at Lords against England – a game in which Ireland created some history by bowling their hosts out for 85 before lunch on the first day.

McCollum has been one of the most impressive young stars in the country for the past few years and we spoke about his journey to where he is now, playing for the Northern Knights, Waringstown and more.

The Johnny Mo Show – Episode One

Here is episode one of The Johnny Mo Show, recorded back in March with CSNI and Northern Knights batsman Marc Ellison.

Ellison is an opening batsman for both teams and was captain of New Zealand’s Under-19 side at the 2006 World Cup, skippering the likes of modern greats Martin Guptill and Tim Southee.

The 32-year-old went on to make his First Class debut for the Knights in 2018 and in this interview he talks about all the experiences mentioned above, his journey to this point and looking ahead to the future.