It is, perhaps, somewhat ironic that while the Old Belvedere club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, it is simultaneously experiencing worrying problems, having difficulties fielding at full strength, or even, fielding at all, at least at top level.
No true sports follower will ever rejoice in the demise of any club, no matter what code it is involved in (though there are, I suspect, still a few hairy-legged neanderthals about who care not what happens to those who play what used to be known as "foreign games"), and it is to be hoped that Old Belvedere will avoid the fate which befell Carlisle last year.
Hopefully, next Saturday will mark the turning point in Old Belvedere's fortunes, both on and off the field. That is the day when the club will host the final of the Leinster Cricket Union's foremost competition, the Senior Conqueror Cup, which is invariably a great day, weather always permitting, of course.
A fine day, a big attendance, beer tents, corporate hospitality marquees, the vociferous rival supporters, the bunting, the colour and the over-all atmosphere combine to make Conqueror Cup final day a day to remember, an occasion when old friends meet to reminisce about the great finals of the past, and to compare them with the events unfolding as they speak on the field of play. So maybe next Saturday will provide the Old Belvedere club, its members and supporters with a new jumping off point.
The club has close links with the present committee of the Leinster Cricket Union. The LCU's genial president, David Williams, is an Old Belvederian, and so is the union's honorary treasurer, Brian Merrey; like their colleagues, they will be happy that their club on Saturday will be hosting the Senior Cup final for the first time in some 20 years.
At the time of writing, the aim of the LCU is to get Alec O'Riordan to adjudicate the Man of the Match Award on Saturday.
O'Riordan played 72 times for Ireland, between 1958 and 1977. In that time, he scored 2,018 runs, including three centuries and eleven 50s, highest score 119, for an average of 19.40. On top of that, his bowling feats are all but legendary.
He is Ireland's fourth highest wicket-taker, with 206, behind Dermot Monteith (326), the late Jimmy Boucher (307) and Simon Corlett (233). In his international career, O'Riordan bowled 1,950 overs, 621 of them maidens, took his 206 wickets for 4,503 runs, average 21.85, and captured five wickets in an innings seven times in all.
O'Riordan's best bowling performance for Ireland was in 1970, when he took eight for 60 against Holland at The Hague. He shared in an Irish record stand of 175 for the fifth wicket with Jim Harrison against Denmark at Castle Avenue in 1973, and is Ireland's top catcher, holding 57 in his 72 matches; all told, a truly magnificent career.
He was president of the Irish Cricket Union in 1995, an honour which his late brother Kevin, himself an excellent cricketer, had also attained four years earlier. All of which is not to forget the many great players produced by Old Belvedere over the years, among them the ebullient John Prior, who holds the record for the fastest century for Ireland, racing to the ton off 51 deliveries in 51 minutes, against Warwickshire at Rathmines in 1982.
The contribution made by Old Belvedere and its players and administrators to Leinster and Irish cricket over the past 50 years has been immense. Here's hoping that next Saturday will be the start of another half-century of excellence, for the club and its members, on and off the field.
Meantime, history will be made for North County this evening at Sydney Parade, when the club competes in its first-ever Alan Murray Cup final, the popular 20-overs competition sponsored by Telecom Eireann. Their opponents will be Merrion, and play begins at 6 p.m.
Ireland's Under-15 side defeated Holland in the European Championship at Merchison College in Edinburgh over the week-end. Ireland 162 for 9 (T Thompson 47, W Porterfield 29, J Neill 23). Holland 137 (2 for 28). Ireland won by 25 runs.
Yesterday's report on the Ireland cricket team's victory over the South African Development XI incorrectly stated that Jason Mollins scored 97 runs. It was Peter Davy who scored that amount.
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