Too many draws in new system

THE SUN rarely shines in Cabra not at the Cabra Oval at any rate. Normally it rains. For most of the cricket season, a grey blanket of cumulo-nimbus hangs overhead and we pray that the rain will either stop completely or else bucket down and put us out of our misery. It seems that the Almighty was having an off day when he came to creating this part of north west Dublin.

But last Saturday was one of those rare exceptions a sweltering day when tubes of factor 25 were dredged from the bottom of the kit bag and sweaters were redundant, one of those days when, if the skipper wins the toss, you know you're going to bat. At least you hope so.

Unfortunately, there are no such certainties in the Leinster Senior League, sponsored by the River House Hotel. The current regulations allow the team batting second the option of holding out for a draw and so captains who win the toss will invariably insert the opposition, even though they will receive fewer points in the event of a stalemate.

So it went on Saturday. It seemed immoral to bowl first in such conditions but the captain believed the rules of the competition left him with no viable alternative. Merrion made 254 for 4 from their allowance of 60 overs a huge total in Cabra and once Old Belvedere lost a few early wickets, the game headed inexorably towards a draw. The visitors came away with 19 points to Old Belvedere's eight but had been denied the 40 that would have markedly increased their lead in Section B.

There have been too many drawn games since the league began a month ago. Exactly half the games in Section A have ended inconclusively and the story hasn't been much better in Section B.

The provision of a draw is, of course, well intentioned. Bowlers must be able to attack, rather than merely wheel away to defensive fields bats men are often given a more rigorous technical examination than in the most runs wins format and captains are forced to be imaginative all essential components of the game. Unfortunately though, we are attempting to play real cricket in too short a space of time and it's not really working.

There are a couple of alternatives. One would be to scrap the draw option altogether and play a 50 overs, win/lose format for the entire season, as is the case in the NCU and North West leagues. The cricket might lose something in subtlety but would at least provide better preparation for youngsters to make the leap to senior representative fare, where this type of game predominates.

The successes of the senior international side in the Triple Crown and the European Cup, should act as an incentive.

Otherwise, it's back to tampering with the regulations. Any club purely intent on survival in Section A might be encouraged towards more positive cricket with a `two up, two down' system. The points system could also be changed, yet again. The 30 points on offer for a win have acted more as disincentive, with teams more afraid of losing than intent on winning. Perhaps a return to last year's system (20 points) would work.

The cricket at Sydney Parade this evening should be a little less complicated. Merrion meet Clontarf in the Notts Sports Cup final, a 20 over bash, where the batsmen should dominate. The sides managed 600 runs between them in last year's Conqueror Cup final, when Clontarf won with ease.

They are favourites again this time around, especially since Merrion have lost Ed Joyce, Michael O'Herlihy and Joe Morrissey, all playing for the Irish Schools against England in Belfast. Ian Synnott is the sole Clontarf representative.