It’s not Deadline Day, but.....
According to the Cricket Leinster website there are now been 78 players changing Clubs within the Province. Without resorting to the over-the-top reporting by Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Sports News and without reporting directly from the various Club grounds here is the minimalistic version of Deadline Day.
Without doubt the headline news is the departure of Munir Khan from Civil Service to near neighbours Clondalkin. Munir was the top fantasy point scorer for the entire Civil Service club in 2015, and no doubt his presence will be missed in the Park. However he will probably enjoy his time in Porterstown park with Clondalkin and will be aiming to score more runs than last year’s 540 and take more than 2015’s 36 wickets.
Clondalkin have been very busy in the “transfer market” this winter and will see six new players in their ranks. Three of them make the move from Civil Service and all three finished in the top 126 of the fantasy league. Civil Service have also seen 5 players join them from other clubs but none managed to score as many points or finish as high as those who have left.
Phoenix have seven players joining them, although they have come from five different clubs, with only one moving from the other side of the duck pond. Two have moved from Dundrum and two from Malahide, including high profile mover R Strydom.
Sandyford have lost the most players with six members moving to six new clubs. This can in part at least be because of the dropping of their third team. It is a shame to see Clubs dropping teams, but sometimes you must consolidate before pushing forwards again. Sandyford have survived a lot more than this and I expect them to return to net recruitment in the near future.
Richard Forrest heads back across the river and joins Clontarf where he will provide competition for the gloves with his brother. Dinners in the Forrest household could be interesting. Another keeper on the move is Nic Pretorius who has left The Hills and moved to Phoenix. The attractions of the Park are many apparently. Heading out to The Hills is Albert van der Merwe from previous club YMCA. YMCA however will be gaining Sean Terry soon enough. Sean decided to declare for Ireland and is pursuing his goal by playing in Ireland in the tradition of Trent, Jeremy, DLS and others and is great to see. I look forward to seeing him play for Club, province or Country.
Robin Russell has returned to the capital having moved to Cork County last year from Pembroke. He has registered for Railway this season, although questions remain over his long term availability. Certainly one of the longest transfers is terms of distance. It is matched nearly to the metre by Sean Cawley whose registration has changed from Pembroke to Cork County.
Not quite as long but still a decent distance is Thomas Ryan who has left Dundalk and moved to Civil Service. I hope his residence has moved too or that he has a method of commuting that does not rely on public transport.
There are many reasons for changing clubs. I did so at the turn of the century leaving Pembroke for three years to join Sandyford. It provided me with the highest standard of cricket for my career and more importantly Sandyford did not have their own bar. Others move to play with friends, some move to get away from former friends. Some move for geographical reasons and others for a greater chance of batting or bowling. I suspect some move for the teas as well as other facilities that may be available. Whatever the reason, at least these people are still playing cricket. That is the important thing isn’t it?