Ards Cricket Club

The members of Ards Cricket Club were saddened to learn of the Death of their Friend Rodney Beverland. Rodney in the 3 years playing at Ards made many friends and will be sadly missed by us all.
His funeral will take place from his home at 146 Frosses Road, Ballymena at 2.00pm on Saturday to Drumreagh Presbyterian Church. The sympathy of everyone at Ards goes out to all of his family and friends.

www.cricketwrite.com a new website of cricket news and stories has just been launched. Budding authors and established writers are invited to contribute articles to the site. It may be accessed through links on our website or at the address above

Bangor batted first and their openers McKeown (55) and Wilson (32) gave them a massive start to a score of 100 for the first wicket.The appearance of Paul Cox into the bowling attack shattered the batting with his pace. The batsmen had no answer and he took 6 wickets for 19 runs and Bangor finished on 146 for 8. Andrew Savage (10) and Jonny Calvin (23) got Ards off to a good start but once they were gone only Burns (10) reached double figures. As darkness began to fall around 10pm Ards exited the 2008 Colts Cup.This was a good performance for Ards after losing the toss and a late start to the match considering that Bangor had won the Schools Cup only the week before. Ards were left wondering what might have happened if Coxy had not been the fifth bowler tried at just over 100 for 1. For full scorecard click on fixtures

To read current League tables click on Links

The Colts Cup match v Bangor will now be played on Wednesday 25th June at Bangor Grammar School grounds at Ballymacormick Road Bangor. Team to meet at Hospital Gates 5.30pm

Ards Cricket Club

Ards relinquish hold on Twenty20 Shield at Laurelvale

Ards entered a revamped NCU Twenty20 Shield competition on Sunday past as inaugural holders, having secured the trophy in dramatic style in 2007.

For 2008, however, Ards faced increased competition, both in terms of the number and level of clubs taking part which this year included clubs from Division 1 Section 2. Sunday saw the completion of the Group Stages where Ards were drawn in a group consisting of Section 2 team, Laurelvale (hosts) and Section 3 team, Cregagh. Following a series of round robin matches between the three teams, only the winning team would progress through to a Semi-Final and Final’s Day later in the summer.

Unfortunately Ards were unable to defend their title as they fell by 19 runs to Cregagh in their first match and by 9 wickets to Laurelvale in their second. In both cases, Ards came up against opposition professionals and ex-Irish internationals which were instrumental in their team’s victories.

On a good wicket, Cregagh batted first and got off to a blistering start by taking advantage of the short boundaries and tight fielding restrictions. 90 had been scored in the first 10 overs as the batsmen attacked the Ards bowling. Ards did however claim 4 wickets in this period, including their professional (Jarvis) for 30. Ards managed to restrict the Cregagh run rate quite successfully over the second half of the innings, claiming a further 6 wickets to dismiss Cregagh for 147 in the 19th over. Ex Ards professional Javed, was the mainstay of the Cregagh effort with a patient 50 whilst for Ards, David McCullough claimed 3 wickets, Ryan Patterson 2 and Anderson, Scott and Rodgers one apiece. Two run outs (by Peter Thompson and McCullough) completed the fall of wickets. The tidy wicket keeping of Paul Mawhinney was also a notable feature of the intensity of the Ards’ display in the field.

In response, Ards got off to a solid if unspectacular start, reaching 70 for the loss of only 2 wickets at the 10 over mark with Johnny Keenan making 27. The attempt by the Ards’ batsmen to increase the tempo in the second half of the innings was however their undoing as wickets started to fall at regular intervals, including those of key batsmen Neil Anderson and Ryan McClements, leaving the impressive Nathan Burns (33 not out) and the tail too much to do as Ards eventually fell 19 runs short on 128 for 8.

Against Laurelvale, who included ex Irish internationals Charlie McCrum and Bruce Topping and professional, Pande, Ards were always going to be up against it. Batting first Ards did well to retain their wickets against some lively and accurate bowling, losing only 5 batsmen, but failed to push the score along at a high enough run rate to really challenge their Section 2 opponents. The Ards’ score of 89 for 5 was based primarily around contributions from Peter Thompson (31 no), J Keenan (18) and Stephen Scott (16). In response, Laurelvale reached their target in 14 overs for the loss of only one wicket, taken by Brian Maxwell, as Pande (31) and Topping (51 no) saw the hosts home by 9 wickets.

Although their hold on the Twenty20 Shield has gone, this was an enjoyable day’s cricket for the Ards squad. Thanks especially must go to Laurelvale Cricket Club who were generous and welcoming hosts.

Ards Squad – I Mclean, D McCullough, J Keenan, N Anderson, S Scott, R McClements, N Burns, P Thompson, P Mawhinney, P Cox, G Rodgers, B Maxwell, R Patterson.

Ards Under 14 players Tom Donnan and Nathan Burns who have been chosen for the Belfast Under 14 team playing in the Lord’s Taverners Inner Cities Cup

Lord’s Taverners Inner Cities Cup
The Belfast squad has been chosen for this year’s qualifying round matches in The Lord's Taverners' Inner Cities Under 14 Cricket Cup sponsored by Ford Motor Company. Belfast have previously won the tournament on three occasions, the most recent being in 2005. They will again this year play two qualifying round matches, at home to Glasgow at Carrickfergus CC on Thursday 19 June, then away to Edinburgh at Watsonians CC on Tuesday 24 June. The group winners qualify to join seven other UK cities in the tournament proper, which as usual takes place at Arundel in West Sussex, from 11-14 August. The side will be captained by North Down all-rounder Scott Irvine, who was also a member of last year's squad.
The 13 man Belfast squad is:
Scott Irvine (North Down; captain)
Mark Berry (Lisburn)
Nathan Burns (Ards)
Ben Carr (Holywood)
James Cox (CSNI)
Scott Croft (Instonians)
Tom Donnan (Ards)
Peter Eakin (North Down)
Mark Gribben (Cooke Collegians)
Jordan McClurkin (Carrickfergus)
Jake Mellor (Instonians)
Alistair Shields (North Down)
Glenn Shimmon (Carrickfergus)

Post Script Nathan Burns was "player of the Tournament "and both boys are on their way to Arundel in August.. Congratulations

On a sun kissed afternoon at Londonderry Park Ards won the toss and put the visitors into bat. A nervy start from Dungannon yielded 2 quick wickets, Matt Hulbert continuing the season in fine form. Despite some stubborn resistance from the middle order, Ards restricted the visitors from scoring, and with the introduction of Ryan Patterson, polished of the lower order - Dungannon finishing on 151 all out. RP finishing with very creditable figures of 4-18. After tea Phil McCullough continued where he left off against Portadown. However when he fell for 20 Ards were in the precarious position of 40-4. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, cometh Dillon Osborne. Treating a now confident Dungannon bowling attack with contempt, he eased Ards' worries with some sublime stroke play. When he finally fell for 54. Ards were in a much healthier position. Paul Cox 25 n.o. and Matt Hulbert 16 n.o. kept their nerve to steer Ards home. 3 league wins from as many games for the II's. Donaghcloney up next up.

The II's made the trip to Chambers park on 31st May, to take on Portadown. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat, a decision they didn't take too long to regret. Fine bowling from P Devlin, P Cox and C Adams restricted the hosts to 160-8 off their 45 overs. Ards took little time in making inroads into their target As the sun shone at Chambers park, Phil McCullough made hay, thrashing his way to 65. If life truely does begin at 40, Phil McCullough will be quite a handful to play against in a few years! Every batsman contributed down the order as Ards knocked off the runs. 2 from 2. the perfect start to the league campaign.

Ards II's began the 2008 league campaign with a win. Posting over 200 for the first time this season with Dillon Osborne hitting a half century and Alan Conway weighing in with 37. Ards set Academy a formidable looking 202 for victory. Ards made the perfect start in the field as 3 quick wickets stunted Academy's reply with Ryan Patterson and Joe Osborne working well in tandem. A futher change in bowling brought Paul Cox into the fray and it was more of the same from the Ards seamer. When the resistance finally came came, with the visitors set to make a fight of it, a further change of bowling from the P.McCullough (who scored 136 last season, the highest score at the club by a non-professional), worked the oracle, with Matt Hulbert removing the last established batsman. Ards polished off the tail, for a comfortable victory. Sterner challenges will surely lie ahead this year, but its an encouraging start for the notoriously slow starting II's. (scorecard to follow)

Ards 1st XI bowlers struggled against the batting of PJWhyte and Cleland McCann for PSNI at Londonderry Park as they put on 208 for 3. Ards batsmen pulled off a superb win to take the valuable league points with 212 for 8. Top scorers for Ards were Neil Anderson and Paul Mawhinney. Roy Keenan returned to Ards expecting to play for the 3rd XI found himself a last minute replacement for the Firsts

Irish International cricketer and World Cup star Andrew White will be coaching Ards under 15 and Colts Cup Players (under18's) each Wednesday evening throughout the summer from 7.00 to 9.00pm. Make sure you don't miss this golden opportunity

Photographs of the 2008 Annual Dinner are now in the photo galleries on our Website

The Annual Dinner

Guest speaker at the Annual Dinner in Roma’s was the new Northern Cricket Union General Secretary Bryan Milford. He presented the Club trophies for the 2007 season to Darren Hetherington 1st XI batting Cup, Ryan Patterson 1st XI bowling Cup, Paul Cox 2nd XI bowling Cup, Phil McCullough 2nd XI Batting Cup.
Phil McCullough also got the highest individual Score in the Club during 2007. In fact he got the highest score ever in the history of the Club for any team when he scored 136 runs for Ards II against Victoria II at Londonderry Park. This score is definitely a record by an Ardsman for any team. This score has only been surpassed by Javed a professional player with Ards in the 1980s
Ryan Patterson won the Young Player of the Year Award for 2007.
Andrew Savage won the 3rd XI Bowling Cup and took the greatest number of wickets in an innings in the 2007 season for any team. 14 year old Andrew bowling for Ards 3rd XI against Carrick IV had the incredible figures of 8 wickets for 28 runs off 7 overs. Club historian Rab Dunn checked the record books to find the last time this was done. A young Billy Adams had 8 for 22 in 1986. Billy went on to have a very successful Senior cricket career at Ards, Downpatrick, North Down and Ulster Town. Michael Foster won the 3rd XI Batting Cup
Nathan Burns won the Under 13 XI and under 15 XI batting Awards and the most promising under 15 player award. Peter Devlin was winner of the under 15 Bowling Cup and the under 13 Bowling Cup went to Tom Donnan who was also presented with the most promising under 13 player.

Ards Cricket Club Notes

Kwik cricket.

Club Chairman Les Jones has announced that the annual Newtownards and Area Primary Schools Kwik cricket tournament will be held in Ards Leisure Centre on Friday 16th May 2008. This is an all day event being run to introduce local Primary School boys and girls to the game of cricket. The Mayor of the Ards Borough will present the Trophies.
As in previous years the tournament is being sponsored by Trophies by Design and the Ards Cricket Club. This year eight teams are competing with the Model, Londonderry, Abbey, Regent House, Victoria, Castle Gardens, Brooklands and West Winds entered. The Ards Club are keen to have Girls as well as boys playing cricket and the rules of the competition ensure that teams are of mixed gender.

Annual Dinner

The Club Annual Dinner will be held in Roma's Regent Street Newtownards on Friday 22nd February 2008 at 7.30pm for 8.00pm. Last minute bookings should be made as soon as possible from Rab Dunn 91813974 or by email rabdunn@yahoo.co.uk Guest of the Club will be Bryan Milford the newly appointed NCU General Secretary.

The Cricket Club web.

The Ards Cricket Club website www.ards.hitscricket.com is now fully operational and can also be accessed on a link from the Northern Cricket Union site www.cricketeurope4.net/ulster/index.shtml The Ards’ site features Club news items and a number of photo galleries are linked to the news items whilst others feature the Club team squads.
All 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI fixtures for the 2008 season are now available on the site and the under age fixtures will be available shortly.
The main function of the website is to keep members and friends of the Club informed. Regular Club newsletters are emailed and so it is important that the Honorary Secretary is aware of these email addresses and notified when they are changed. They may be entered directly by members. Once the season starts all results and match details will be on the site with batting and bowling averages automatically calculated and displayed. The NCU link enables league tables to be seen each week.
As with all web sites, the Ards one will only be as good as the information entered on it. Support of at least one member of each team in the Club is essential to keep information up to date. Anyone wishing to contribute to these pages should contact the Club Honorary Secretary. Registered club members may logon and contribute directly to the discussion pages.

Club Indoor cricket practices

It is hoped that all Club members will make a special effort to attend these sessions in Ards Leisure Centre and get the new season off to a winning start. Leagues are often lost by a few lack- lustre performances in early season. These sessions are expensive to book and become very expensive if poorly attended. If you know of anyone interested in joining the Club, invite them along to the practices or pass their contact details on to one of the team captains, Ian McLean. Phil McCullough and Phil Ferguson
Practices continue each Sunday throughout March (except Easter Sunday) and the first three Sundays in April from 3.00 to 5.00pm. New members to the Club will be very welcome at these sessions.

Coaching opportunities

This season Ireland and World Cup star Andrew White will be taking a coaching session one evening each week at the Club throughout the summer. Usually we have 2 sessions per week for school age players plus their matches.
For the 2008 season, Ards will have under 11, under 13, under 15 teams playing in their respective NCU league Competitions. In addition, they will be playing in the Quoile (under 11), Banoge (under 13), Graham (under 15) and Colts Cups (under 17). New players whatever their ability or experiences are very welcome at Ards, even if you have never played cricket before.

A group of parents of young sports people are looking into the posibility of organising a screening programme carried out by Cardiac risk in the young (C.R.Y.). Screening initially consists of an ECG.
Individuals may be tested from 14 until 35.
Screening is able to detect the majority of cardiac abnormalities most likely to affect young people. It must be stressed that undetected heart conditions are rare.
For more information ring Barbara Scott 91817373 or 07773686222
The Group are interested in finding out if there is sufficient interest to make the screening financially viable. Need to know by 1st February
Approximate cost £35

The Annual Dinner will be held in Roma's Regent Street Newtownards on Friday 22nd February 2008 at 7.30pm for 8.00pm. Please book your tickets ASAP from Rab Dunn 91813974 or by email tickets £15 (steak) £10 (burger).

Club 2007 AGM.

The Annual General Meeting heard that 2007 had been a very mixed year for Ards both on the field and off. The two most senior teams had good seasons with the 1st XI being third in their league and the 2nd XI coming fifth. The 3rd XI unfortunately ended up one from the bottom of the league and is relegated. On the brighter side, the Boys XI’s had their most successful seasons for a number of years. Les Jones organised once again the highly successful annual Kwik Cricket competition for Primary Schools and this resulted in an influx of young players to the Club. Eight local Primary Schools competed in the Competition jointly sponsored by the Ards CC and Trophies by Design. Boys and Girls from Victoria, Brooklands, Model, Castle Gardens, West Winds, Donaghadee, Londonderry Primary Schools and Regent House Prep each played three games in the daylong tournament to qualify for the final. In an exciting final, Victoria Primary School Newtownards narrowly defeated the favourites Donaghadee.

Club Secretary Rab Dunn called for a greater commitment from everyone to make 2008 the season when Ards returned to proper senior cricket. He said that there was no doubt that Ards lost vital points in their quest for promotion by the unavailability of key players. The NCU decision to introduce a system of two teams being promoted and two relegated each season should have given Ards a great chance of promotion. This opportunity was missed by coming third in the league.

In the Election of Office bearers it was a matter of much the same again as Les Jones was re-elected Chairman, Rab Dunn Honorary Secretary and Billy Shaw as Honorary Treasurer.
For 2008 Captain of the 1st XI will be Ian McLean with David McCullough his vice captain. Phil McCullough continues as captain of the 2nd XI and Ian Conway will be his vice captain, Phillip Ferguson continues as 3rd XI captain with Darren Patterson as vice captain.

Les Jones will coordinate the under 11, 13 and under 15 teams and will be assisted by Billy Shaw, Phil Ferguson, Peter Thompson and Stewart Poole. Les Jones called upon senior players in the Club to give support to the coaches. Brian Maxwell, David McCullough, Ian McLean and Steven Scott are to undertake courses to achieve ECB qualified Coaching status. Rab Dunn will continue to coach the Colts Cup team. 2008 will be the first season that Ards have had an under 11 XI team and the players will have an exciting season playing in the Quoile Cup and the NCU under 11 league. If they win their league, they would enter a play off against the winners of the Leinster Cricket Union Cup. If they are successful, they will then play for the All Ireland under 11 Championship against the North West Cricket Union Cup winners. What an opportunity! Former Ards player and World Cup Star Andrew White has kindly offered to assist at some club coaching sessions

The members of the Executive Committee elected at the AGM were President Mr. John McErlean, Chairman Les Jones, Honorary Treasurer Billy Shaw, Honorary Secretary Rab Dunn, Brian Maxwell, Ian McLean and David McCullough.

The major trophy winners for the 2007 season were announced as 1st XI batting Darren Hetherington (highest score 63) and bowling Ryan Patterson (best bowling 5 for 19), 2nd XI batting Phil McCullough (hs 136) and bowling Paul Cox (bb 4 for 15), 3rd XI batting Michael Foster (hs 37) and bowling Andrew Savage (bb 8 for 28). Highest score by a player on any team in the Club went to Phil McCullough and the best bowling figures to Andrew Savage. Phil McCullough’s 136 is believed to be the highest ever score by an amateur Ards player, only surpassed by Javed the Ards professional player of the 1980’s. These trophies will be presented at the Annual Dinner, which will be held in Roma’s on Friday 22nd February 2008.The Club is running a ballot to raise additional funds for the under age teams. The Draw will take place at the Annual Dinner. Tickets are available from Club members. Members still holding Tesco Sports vouchers are asked to get them to any committee member by the end of the first week in January so that the sports equipment may be ordered

Some copies of the club history “More than Sixty Summers” written by Rab Dunn are still available from Insport, Topshop, Easons/NPO or the Club and would make good Christmas presents for sports enthusiasts. Rab has starting researching the Seventies to the present day with a view to completing the Club History with a second book. Players and Friends of that era should contact Rab (91813974 or rabdunn@yahoo.co.uk) with any relevant information or photographs. Old scorebooks would be particularly valuable.

Further information regarding events and contacts may be obtained by logging on to the club website www.ards.hitscricket.com New members to the Club are always welcome irrespective of ability or experience. Club Indoor practices will be held in Ards Leisure Centre each Sunday in March (except Easter Sunday) and the first three Sundays in April 2008. New members will be very welcome at these practice sessions.

The NCU League tables may now be accessed directly from the Home page. Just click on League tables in the side bar.
NB The 2nd XI table is incorrect Ards won 6 matches not 5

Dates for your Diary

The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held on Thursday 25th October 2007 in Romas at 7.30pm. Members are asked to make a special effort to attend this meeting which is after all the most important Club meeting of the year.

The Club Dinner will be in Romas on Friday 22nd February 2008

The Northern Cricket Union AGM will be held on Wednesday 24th October 2007 at 7.30pm. This will probably be the one of the most important Annual General meetings for many years as the NCU Development Plan is up for adoption. If adopted this will radically change the whole administrative structure of the Union by abolishing the Executive Committee and replacing it with Directorates.

The NCU Annual Dinner will be held this year in the Holiday Inn, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast on Saturday 20th October 2007 at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £25 and may be ordered from Club Honorary Secretary Rab Dunn by Thursday 4th October at the very latest.

Seconds skipper Phil McCullough scored 136 runs for Ards II against Victoria II at Londonderry Park. This score is definitely a record for Ards II and is believed to be the highest score ever by an Ardsman for any team.Well done Phil!

Having beaten Academy in the previous round Ards took their place in the first Twenty20 Shield finals day in a format which mirrors the highly successful county competition. The local side were to take on rivals Donaghadee at Seapark in Holywood in the afternoon while BISC simultaneously entertained Portadown at Belmont, with the two winners meeting that evening.

With an excellent surface prepared Ards captain Hetherington opted to bat first on calling correctly. Inexperienced in the shortened version of the game, many Ards batsmen were guilty of a kamikaze approach and after 8 overs the score was 50 for 5. Needing to ensure all 20 overs were used, Phil McCullough and Hetherington adopted an attacking but sensible approach and their partnership put Ards in a commanding position. Darren hit 3 glorious sixes in a superb 63, two of which were effortless drives over extra cover, while Phil timed the ball excellently in an invaluable 24 before being run out trying to steal an overthrow. The total of 136 off 20 overs appeared a challenging target.

Unfortunately the black clouds which had gathered to watch the first innings couldn’t help themselves any longer and after Rodgers had opened up with a maiden they proceeded to empty their entire contents on the Seapark oval. The rain actually became so heavy that the bowl-out to decide the match was delayed.

Similar to a penalty shoot-out, 5 bowlers from each side bowl two regulation deliveries each with the objective of hitting the stumps. Always tense affairs, McFeeters (twice) and Maxwell saw Ards through to the final 3-1.

With Portadown overcoming BISC by 7 wickets in the other semi-final, Ards travelled to a miserable Belmont to contest the final. Unsurprisingly invited to bat on losing the toss, Ards struggled early with the unpredictable but dangerous Courtney returning figures of 3-19 in four overs in damp conditions which quickened the pitch. Scott played some excellent pulls in his 17 while the returning Michael Anderson was beginning to find his feet before being bowled for 12. Jo Osborne also looked in good touch in an assured 15 not out. However, that aside, Ards struggled to 66 for 8 in 14 overs before the weather intervened for the final time.

With conditions dangerous for all 22 players, the only option was another bowl-out. With greater experience in deciding games in this manner, the local side fancied their chances even after falling 1-0 down early. Maxwell once again came up trumps and with the scores level Ryan Patterson struck the decisive blow to make Ards inaugural winners of the Twenty20 Shield.

While both matches were decided in an unsatisfactory manner due to the inclement weather, the day itself is a welcome addition to the local cricket calendar. Next year Ards hope to defend the trophy in much different conditions.

John McMillan

Ards Club members were saddened this week to learn of the death of their esteemed former member and friend John McMillan. John first played for Ards Boys in 1955 against Holywood in the Graham Cup. In the first boys’ game of 1956, he began to demonstrate his considerable batting ability when he scored 21 runs against the Dee. This was an Ards team which showed tremendous promise and was to provide a number of players including John who in the future were to give many years of service to Ards 1st XI .
In 1957, they went on to win the Graham Cup for the first and only time in the history of the Club. John McMillan was man of the match in the semi-final and final when he managed to keep his head in the face of monumental batting collapses. He top scored in the Final against Killyleagh with 19 not out at the end. This ability to hold his nerve when others around him were losing theirs was to become a feature of his successful batting career for Ards Senior teams. John was an exceptional fielder particularly close in on the leg-side taking many outstanding catches off the bowling of Walter Montgomery and Rab Dunn. He made the position of backward short leg his own.
John was a quiet man who will be sadly missed by his many friends. The sympathy of the Club goes out to his sister Jean, brothers James and Tom and all the Family circle.

Eight local Primary Schools competed in the Annual Ards Cricket Club Kwik Competition jointly sponsored by the Club and Trophies by Design Frances Street Newtownards. Boys and Girls from Victoria, Brooklands, Model, Castle Gardens, West Winds, Donaghadee, Londonderry Primary Schools and Regent House Prep each played 3 games in the day long tournament to qualify for the final.
In an exciting final Victoria narrowly defeated the favourites Donaghadee.

14 year old Andrew Savage bowling for Ards 3rd XI against Carrick IV had the incredible figures of 8 wickets for 28 runs off 7 overs. Club historians are searching the record books to find the last time this was done. Early results indicate a young Billy Adams who had 8 for 22 in 1986. Billy went on to have a very successful Senior cricket career at Ards, Downpatrick, North Down and Ulster Town

Congratulations to Garry Stewart and his wife Jayne on the birth of their son Hayden James who weighed in at 7lbs on 7th May. Another batsman of the future for Ards!

Due to the phenomenal numbers turning up for under 13 and under 15 practices it has been decided to have 2 practices instead of one.
UNDER 13----Tuesdays 7.00 to 8.45pm
UNDER 15----Wednesdays 7.00pm---8.45 pm

Senior Practices will be held on Monday and Thursday evenings at Londonderry Park 7.00 to 9.00pm

With the final senior indoor session taking place on Sunday 15th April, first outdoor practice will be on Thursday 19th. Practice was well-attended last year and a similar turn-out is expected this year. Practice normally starts at 7pm, however, to take advantage of the early season light some might prefer to start at 6:30pm.

Junior Practices
These will start on Tuesday 24th April and run from 7.oo-9.00pm

Ards Cricket Club Annual Dinner.
Ards Cricket Club celebrated a very successful 2006 season at their Annual Dinner which was held in Roma’s on Friday 16th February 2007. The decision of the Club to invite ladies to the Annual Dinner proved to be a very popular one. Members and friends from all eras of the Club right back to the 1940’s were present. A very special welcome went out to Mrs. Edna Jones who has been a wonderful supporter of Ards Cricket. Special Guests Dennis Nash and Ards Sports Development Officer Emma Hingston commented on the number of young cricketers now playing at Ards.

Newtownards Chronicle Junior soccer correspondent Dennis Nash entertained the members with stories of the exploits of notable players who had played important roles in various sports down the years. He was delighted. to see Ray Mowat one of the outstanding players to turn out for Ards FC, “The Legend” Davy Trolan Ards FC, Alfie Wright Bangor FC and Glenford and Ards Table tennis, Billy Shaw Cliftonville FC, Ards Rugby Club and Glenford Table tennis, Rab Dunn Ards Rugby Club and Ards Cycling Club, and Archie Moore Ards RFC; all of whom had made major contributions to Ards Cricket.

Dennis now making his name as a magician in addition to a raconteur left the members mystified by his card trick which involved Alfie Wright using a mobile phone to call someone in Belfast to name the playing card chosen in Roma’s in Newtownards by Emma Hingston!

Emma presented the Junior Prizes to
Paul Cox under 15 batting, Ryan Patterson under 15 bowling
Paul Mawhinney under 13 Batting, Peter Devlin under 13 Bowling
Most Promising under 13 player Nathan Burns.

Dennis presented the Senior Trophy winners
1st XI Batting Jonathan Montgomery, Bowling Richard McFeeters and Ryan Adair
2nd XI Batting Ryan Adair Bowling Jonathan Osborne
3rd XI Batting Paul Mawhinney, Bowling Ryan Patterson
Highest score of the season Richard White
Best Bowling Richard McFeeters
Young Player of the season Ryan Adair.

Club Indoor Practice
Indoor practices will be held in Ards Leisure Centre from 3.15 until 5.15pm every Sunday afternoon in March and on Sunday 1st and 15th April. A special practice for under 13 and under 15 players only will be held on Sunday 22nd April from 3.15 until 5.15pm. All players are asked to make a special effort to attend these sessions and get the teams off to a good start in the 2007 season. New members to the Club are particularly welcome at the practices.

20/20
Good News for players interested in playing more cricket, particularly midweek. The NCU has decided to extend 20/20 cricket to Section 3 and 4 Clubs and Ards has entered a team. Unfortunately there are very few teams and it is a knockout competition.

Club Ballot.
Winner of the Club ballot was Glenn Stevenson who won the superb limited edition framed print of a match between ‘Dee Boys and Ards Boys in the 1980’s painted and donated by Les Jones. Jonathan Montgomery won the sports voucher.

email addresse
In this age of emailing, members should keep the Club fully informed of changes of e -mailing addresses.

Rab Dunn

Ards Cricket Club Notes
Cricket Club AGM.

A well-attended Annual General Meeting heard that 2006 had been a very successful year for Ards both on the field and off. All three senior teams had good seasons with the 1stXI being runners up in their league and the 2nd XI coming third. The 3rd XI and the Boys XI’s had their most successful seasons for a number of years. Les Jones had organised once again the highly successful annual Kwik Cricket competition for local Primary Schools and this had resulted in an influx of young players to the Club.

Club Secretary Rab Dunn called for an all out effort from everyone to make 2007 the season when Ards returned to proper senior cricket. The NCU decision to introduce a system of two teams being promoted and two relegated each season should give Ards a great chance of promotion.

In the Election of Office bearers it was a matter of much the same again as Les Jones was re-elected Chairman and Rab Dunn Honorary Secretary. Honorary Treasurer Rowland White decided to call it a day after 8 years and Billy Shaw took his post. With the team captains it was all change with Richard McFeeters becoming Captain of the 1st XI and Darren Hetherington his vice captain. Phil McCullough takes over the captaincy of the 2nd XI and Ian Conway will be his vice captain. It was decided to leave the positions of captain and vice captain of the 3rd XI to be appointed by the Executive Committee at the start of the new season.

Les Jones will continue to coordinate the under 13 and under 15 teams and will be assisted by Billy Shaw, Phil Ferguson and Stewart Poole. Les Jones called upon senior players in the Club to give support to the coaches. Rab Dunn will continue to coach the Colts Cup team.

The members of the Executive Committee elected were President Mr. John McErlean, Chairman Les Jones, Honorary Treasurer Billy Shaw, Honorary Secretary Rab Dunn, Archie Moore, Ian McLean, David McCullough and Richard McFeeters.

The major trophy winners were announced as 1st XI batting Jonathan Montgomery and bowling shared between Richard McFeeters and Ryan Adair, 2nd XI batting Ryan Adair and bowling Jonathan Osborne, 3rd XI batting Paul Mawhinney and bowling Ryan Patterson. These trophies will be presented at the Annual Dinner, which will be held on Friday 16th February2007.

The Club are running a ballot, which will be drawn at the Annual Dinner. The major prize will be a valuable framed limited edition print of a match between Donaghadee Boys and Ards Boys in the 1980’s by Les Jones. Tickets are available from Club members.
Some signed copies of the club history “More than Sixty Summers” written by Rab Dunn are still available from Insport, Topshop , Easons or the Club and would make good Christmas presents for sports enthusiasts. Rab has starting researching the Seventies to the present day with a view to completing the Club History with a second book. Players and Friends of that era should contact Rab (91813974) with any relevant information or photographs. Old scorebooks would be particularly valuable.

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Rab Dunn

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Ards supporters photographed at various cicket events. Ards v The 'Dee Jul 2006, Ards supporters, Colts Cup, Family Day and BBQ

if anyone needs a pair of whites we were able to get hold of a few pairs.
trousers and 3/4 shirts £10 each
short sleeve and long-sleeve fleeces £6 each

phone Kate Osborne: 91 857 483
email: oswos@btinternet.com

Andrew White of Northants and Ireland was the Guest of Honour at the Club Annual Dinner held in Romas in Newtownards.
Andrew who started off his career at Ards before playing for North Down and then Instonians enthralled the Ards' members with his description of the life of a county cricketer and playing for Ireland.
In only his first season at Northants he was declared Young Player of the Year. At the University of Ulster he was awarded the honour of Sports Star of the Year. But it has been for Ireland he has really excelled in the past year.
He played every game for Ireland that saw them qualify for the 2007 World Cup which will be held in the West Indies. In the match against Kenya in the ICC Inercontinental Cup Andrew was awarded the Man of the Match award. Back home again in September he was delighted to win the prestigious Blair Mayne award for Supreme Excellence.
Andrew presented the Club Trophies to the following players,1st XI Bowling Richard White,
1st XI Batting Richard White, 2nd XI Batting Jonathan Osborne, 2nd XI Bowling Dillon Osborne, 3rd XI Batting: Jo Osborne, 3rd XI Bowling Jo Osborne, Best Individual Bowling D. Osborne,
Highest Individual Score Gary Stewart, Young Player of the Year Ryan Adair/Jo Osborne. Under 15 XI Batting Ryan Patterson, Under 15 XI Bowling Rodger Scott, Under 13 XI Bowling Jonny Jamieson, Under 13 XI Batting Peter Maxwell, Most promising under 13 All rounder: Paul Mawhinney.

Awards Dinner Photo's

At the Annual Dinner Club Secretary Rab Dunn presented a set of Club Cuff-links to Davy Trolan,who has become a legend in his own lifetime. The award completed the presentations made during the Ards 60th Year Celebrations to players who had played for Ards more than 50 Years ago and were present at the Celebration Dinner.
Davy had first played in the 1956 Graham Cup team. During his career for the 1st XI he had a number of outstanding performances with 7 for 12 in 1966 and 7 for 13 in 1968. As a schoolboy he had the amazing bowling analysis of 5 wickets for 3 runs against the Dee.
Although not known as a batsman he featured in a last wicket partnership with Lawrence Scott which got Ards up to 133 runs in the 1967 Junior Cup Final against Carrick. At one point it looked as if Ards were falling short of a reasonable target but were saved by the famous "Troly trickle". Incidentally the man of the match award went to Walter Montgomery, now a well known umpire,who had the incredible figures of 8 wickets for 3 runs to bowl out Carrick for just 44 runs. Something of a record must be the fact that Walter dismissed no less than 7 Carrick batsmen for ducks in a Cup final!

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Rab Dunn was Chairman of the Club for 5 years and Honorary Secretary for 25 years. As part of Ards 60th Year Celebrations he published a book on the history of the first 25 years of the Club called "More than Sixty Suimmers"

The Third Recipient was Archie Moore. Archie was elected Captain of the 2nd XI in 1981 and so commenced one of the most successful eras of that side in the Club History. He captained the team affectionately known as "Archies Army" for the next 12 years. During that time they won their league twice, were runners up 4 times and were promoted 3 times.They also reached a Cup semi-final. In more recent times Archie has become Grounds convenor and has looked after the square at Londonderry Park. He has carried out this often thankless task with great dedication and some measure of success.

The fourth Recipient was Ian McLean. Ian has played for the Club since 1967. A hard hitting batsman and useful occasional slow bowler he showed right from the start that he was capable of making big scores. In only his first season for Ards 2nd XI he had an innings of 73 runs.

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Ian McLean has won the 1st XI Batting Cup twice and also the 2nd XI trophy on 2 occasions.
He has the distinction of being one of only two Ards players who have scored 2 centuries for the Club. Norman Lilburn scored a century way back in 1948 and again in 1963.
He has captained the 1st XI 10 times starting way back in 1979 and again in 1985 when Ards got to the final of the Junior Cup and lost to Dunmurry in a match which strretched over a couple of weeks due to appalling weather. He then captained the 2nd XI from 1997 to 1999 before returning to the Firsts as captain from 2000 to 2004.
Richard White the 2006 1st XI captain presented an engraved Rose-Bowl to each of the Club stalwarts.

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At the 2006 Club Annual Awards Dinner, much to the surprise of the four recipients, Billy Shaw announced that the Club had decided to honour 4 of its' members who had given outstanding service down the years.

The first recipient was Les Jones who joined the Club in 1965 and has been a leading member ever since. As a player Les played mainly for the Seconds and won the batting Cup 9 times.
He was elected Captain of the 2nd XI in 1967 and held the post for the next 5 years and later for another 4. Perhaps his greatest gift to Ards in the 80's and 90's was his ability to establish new teams further down the Club and then lead them. In 1984 he founded the Third XI and captained it for 4 years and then in 1987 he started the Fourth XI and and captained it for 7 years.
His contribution to Boys' Cricket has been immense, looking after teams for over 20 years.The highlight perhaps of Boys' Cricket came for him in 1994 when the Under 13 XI under the captaincy of Andrew White won the Greenwood Cup. In the Final played at Ballymena Andrew White scored 54 runs.
In 1975 Les Jones became Chairman of the Club and has now held the post for 31 years.

The second recipient was Rab Dunn who first played in Boys' cricket for Ards in 1953 and went on tour with the senior teams in 1955. Now in his 54th season he still turns out for the Thirds.
He holds all of the 1st XI bowling records with best figures of 9 wickets for 8 runs in 1963, he has taken 72 wickets in a season, and won the 1st XI Bowling Cup for 26 Years. He is the only player in the Club to have taken 9 wickets in an innings on more than one occasion.
Rab has captained all of the teams in the Club with the 1st XI four times, 2nd XI twice and the 3rd XI five times.

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