A passion for cricket keeping sport alive
DAVID GOULDEN TALKS TO MUHAMMAD ASIF OF COUNTY SLIGO CRICKET CLUB ABOUT THE CHALLENGES HIS ORGANISATION FACES.
COUNTY Sligo Cricket Club last weekend kicked off their season against Cork side Middleton in the first round of the Irish National Cup.
Now in its ninth year in existence, the club continues to survive against the odds and it’s all down to the hard work of a small number of volunteers.
Established by Jonathan Walsh in 2009 after he posted a note on a wall in Sligo University Hospital, the club’s formation bridged a gap of approximately 80 years since the last functioning cricket club in the county.
Their first game was a friendly match away to Athlone on June 21s that year, which Sligo won.
Plying their trade in the Connacht League alongside Ballaghadereeen and both Ballyhaunis first and second teams, the club also battle it out in both the Connacht Senior Cup and the afore mentioned Irish National Cup.
They are affiliated with the Connacht Cricket Union, who are in conjunction with Cricket Ireland, the governing body of the sport in the north west of Ireland.
In a county where sports like football, GAA, rugby and athletics take precedent, it can be hard for the less popular sports like cricket to take any sort of spotlight.
Several obstacles have already been surmounted. In 2011, the club came to an agreement with Sligo Racecourse to allow them to stage their training and home games there.
While some small sponsorship and financial assis- tance, particularly from the Sligo Sports Partnership has been greatly received.
Speaking to the Sligo Champion, County Sligo Cricket Club Secretary Muhammad Asif explains: “It can be a nightmare to try and play cricket here. Especially without any external financial help. Because Cricket Ireland can’t really do anything - they are a small union.
“We are very thankful to Sligo Sports Partnership. They have supported us for the last few years and have organised coaching in the schools and open days. Also Sligo County Council have cut the pitch a few times for us so we’re really thankful for their support.
“We got that Cleveragh ground in 2011 but we couldn’t really develop it because funding was a problem.
“We had to lay an artificial pitch which cost us almost € 7,000.
“We also still have no changing or storage facilities but things are improving. Now we have our mat and ground and we are renting the ground there and they have been helping us a lot.”
The club relies mostly on those who are not indigenous to Ireland. There are a few Irish involved including the aforementioned Mr Walsh who is Club President while Sligo man Paul Mercer is Chairperson.
Asif continues: “It’s always up and down really because people who are permanently based here, they play constantly. But most of the people who play for example doctors, they come here for a few months, maybe a year. Then they go and new people come but the club keeps going on. But you always have 13 or 14 guys around so there’s always enough to make up a team.
“We had a few Irish in the beginning but at the minute we have only two Irish, Paul and Jonathan. We did have South African brothers, Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and English.
“A lot of families came here in the early 2000s from Pakistan and a lot of their kids are growing up in Sligo and now they’re showing interest in playing.”
One drawback of trying stage any sort of outdoor sport in this corner of the world is the unpredictable weather.
Cricket is generally a summer sport in Europe and games fall foul to the conditions here more than often. This means that should the conditions not suit, the game cannot be continued and the winner of the game is decided by a bowl out, similar to a penalty shoot- out.
“In the last five years”, Asif explains, “only one match was finished in the proper way because of the weather. All other matches were decided on a bowl out.”
“If the weekend’s match hadn’t gone ahead because of the weather then we would have had to travel to Cork on the 28th. So we lose home advantage.
“The games must be played on either team’s home ground. There’s no meeting half way, it’s the rule of Cricket Ireland.
“When that happens, it takes a lot out of you. It happened last year against Limerick.
“Team comes up, umpires come from Dublin but when both teams are at the ground, showers also came! So the game was called off and we had to play down there.
Also, when you play in bad weather you destroy our equipment and your kit and it costs a lot to buy new equipment. The bats can be up to € 600!”
Training every Wednesday evening between 6pm to 9pm at the racecourse, Asif says they are always more than willing to welcome new players and members.
He says that even on training nights, the Sligo public takes an interest in what is going on.
“A lot of people might be walking or running on the track around the racecourse and they will come over and see what’s happening. They chat about cricket.
“A lot of people here don’t know anything about the game so we’re always happy to tell them what’s going on.
“A lot of people think it’s an English game or a foreign game and they can be hesitant to come along. Sometimes when we tell people it takes up to a day to complete the game it can put them off. But once we tell them what’s going on and they take part, they enjoy it.
“You can’t know until you play. If you want to swim,
you need to get into the water! You won’t know by sitting in the sand.”
Asif was part of a coaching team which visited Carbury, Mercy NS and St Edward’s.
The days were organised by the sports partnership and Asif, who is based in Manorhamilton says he saw plenty of potential.
“The kids were extremely enthusiastic about playing. Irish kids can be very good cricketers because from an early age, they see hurling and hurling has a way of hitting the ball so they sometimes already have the ability to hit the ball - they can be very good batters. “So it’s about teaching them the technique. “There could be an underage team in Sligo because I saw the talent there.
“We’re still trying to get something going. We may have a team in a year or two, it’s possible but hard to know.”
Sponsorship is tough to come by no matter the code and County Sligo Cricket Club are no different.
There are a small number of local sponsors but Asif is keen to see more businesses become involved.
“It’s very hard to get sponsors or cricket because it’s not a very common game here”, he says.
“We have small sponsors in town like Poppadom’s, Armin Lowe and the sports partnership. They’ve given us great support but we want to get more people on board.”
Another obstacle in the club’s way is their lack of changing facilities.
Asif is hoping that one man’s unwanted portacabin can be Sligo Cricket Club’s treasure.
“Two years ago we asked that if somebody had a spare portacabin they did not want anymore then we’d be more than happy to take it. So far we haven’t got one so we’re still searching.
“We have to change at home and in our cars. For a toilet, there’s an open area beside the ground that we use but it’s not ideal.
“We have to tell the other teams an umpires to stop somewhere for the toilet before they arrive in Sligo. It’s a bit embarrassing really!”
“Sometimes the racecourse are good enough to let us use their toilets but there are issues with safety and insurance.
“The toilets are a bit of a touchy issue because we can’t build one because of rules and regulations.
“We could hire them but these companies charge big money.”
“If we got a portacabin we could use it as a training an match facility.
“Then at least that’s another one of our big obstacles overcome.”
Anyone who is interested in getting involved either as a sponsor or as a player can visit the County Sligo Cricket Club’s Facebook page to find out more.
IT’S VERY HARD TO GET SPONSORSHIP FOR CRICKET BECAUSE IT IS NOT A VERY COMMON GAME HERE