Now that I'm in the big bad world of paying a mortgage I was delivered the last of my boxes from home. My Mother did seem very keen to get rid of my stuff so she either needs the space or is making sure I don't come back!!! So I spent an evening working my way through the contents not remembering what I had packed in there. That's where my journey down memory lane began. I don't think anybody would be surprised to hear most of the contents were cricket related! Castle Avenue was such a huge part of my life, I did try over the years to collect memories and keepsakes so I would have something to look back on.
So sifting through photos, match stumps and scorecards from the years gone past brought the memories flooding back. Without doubt the best and proudest day to date of my cricketing career was the World Cup match in 1999. It was such a huge occasion for Clontarf CC, and to be a part of that success is always something I look back on fondly and probably something that will never be matched for me. To see the ground transform from a club ground into an international cricket ground for the world to view on TV was fantastic! I have a large framed aerial photo of the ground on match day that will take pride of place on my wall.
Castle Ave hosted a lot of County games, and I always looked forward to them. There were a couple of great matches to reflect on. Beating Middlesex in 1997 was probably one of the hardest games ever. It went into the second day due to bad weather, I lost count how many times the covers went on and off, but we had a famous victory. Beating Surrey in 2004 was another great day, one which I enjoyed and will always remember as a big run chase on a good pitch. Another time I look back on with fond memories was the ICC Trophy in 2005 when we qualified for the World Cup in the West Indies. To host 3 matches in 5 days was a challenge in itself. I loved the intensity and pressure.
Those experiences gave me the desire to aim towards working at a higher level. With cricket in Ireland growing I got opportunities, with the help of then coach Mike Hendrick, to travel to England for work experience at Derbyshire. I met him again last year at the Rose Bowl and had a good chat and laugh. He looks back very fondly at his time in Ireland. Other opportunities to work further afield came about as well. Stints in Johannesburg for a couple of winters came about by Ireland playing there in the Under 19 World Cup. Another opportunity to work in Australia came about too when I met umpire Daryl Hair on one of his trips to Clontarf. He said to drop him a line if I was ever Down Under. I did that and I was working at a club two days later! And then Adrian Birrell organised me a spell at St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth for the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
So as much as the Ireland players are getting fantastic exposure to the world nowadays I feel I got the similar exposure too, and all that has helped me get to The Rose Bowl where I am very excited about my involvement in my first Test match this coming June. Thats the present for me, the fast approaching County Cricket season, an England Test match against Sri Lanka and an ODI against India, and my first view in person of Sachin!!
What does the future hold? Heres hoping to a successful Test match, and many more! A lot of where this venue wants to be depends on major match days and securing long term regular Test matches. But the reality is there is too many Test match venues in England. There is much debate about how Test matches are allocated. At the moment we bid for a package of matches, which may include a Test match, one or two ODIs, Twenty20 Finals Day, over the course of a couple of years. Is this bidding system fair? Some say no. Headingly lost money on the neutral Test match with Australia and Pakistan, they now say they won't bid for an Ashes match in 2013. So time will tell to see whats sustainable and whats not. There are numerous Counties releasing their financial figures at the moment, a lot have made a loss. So nowadays its not just a game, its a business, and a big business to us.
Finally, well done to the lads in the sub-continent, you did us all proud, and its especially great for me everytime I walk into work knowing we beat England! I can't wait to see Corky!!!
Follow me on Twitter for more regular comments and pictures @Karl_McDermott
Friday, 18 March 2011
Friday, 4 March 2011
Its That Time Of The Year Again......Pre-Season!!
I thought it was about time that I got back online and started up my blog again. Its been a while since I last blogged, and a lot has changed. I'm about to start my third season as Deputy Grounds Manager at The Rose Bowl, home of Hampshire County Cricket Club. It seems like only yesterday and not 3 years since I was saying goodbye to friends and family at my leaving party at Clontarf Cricket Club to start my new life at Worcester!
Its been a whirlwind time since my move across the pond. After a brief but enjoyable stint at New Road, including a flood, I got an offer to come down south to the Rose Bowl which was too good to turn down. The club had plans for extensive ground and stadium development,and with Test cricket coming this year it was a place I had always aimed to end up in. The development work has started, albeit slower than desired due to the economic downturn. We have two fantastic new stands that house 5000 people, a £650,000 free-draining new outfield that was laid 15 months ago, and the hotel that will house corporate boxes and media facilities at the northern end of the ground should be starting construction soon. Its an exciting place to be!
So couple all of that with our first Test Match that we are hosting in July its a busy time ahead. Putting all of that to one side there is still the 'bread and butter' county cricket season to prepare for. The season starts earlier and earlier over here. Our first 'friendly' fixture is on the 30th of March, with our first 4 day Championship fixture 9 days later! So whilst the players spend 3 weeks in the West Indies for their pre-season, we get to sit on a roller in icy cold temperatures trying to get some pitches firm. Who said life isn't fair!!!!
In preparation for all that the first pitches were cut out today, the 4th of March! We've been covering the squares for the last week to enable us to work on them. The problem this week hasn't been rain but frost! With the season approaching quickly we can't afford to let the cold nights eat into our working day. We have 5 squares here, the main square has 20 pitches, the nursery ground has 16 pitches, and 3 net blocks that cover about 280 feet wide so theres a lot of preseason rolling to do!!! We've cut out and started to prepare 5 pitches across 3 squares for practice and pre-season matches against Surrey and Middlesex. The players will be keen to get outside as soon as they get back from the West Indies no matter what the weather as they hate being stuck indoors!!
Anyway all this talk is making me cold, so lets move on. My plans are to update the blog as regular as I can with news, views and pictures. As I've said its a hectic year ahead with an England vs Sri Lanka Test match, an England vs India ODI and plenty of other cricket including our defence of the Twenty20 Cup with a team of current and ex-international stars like South African players Imran Tahir and Neil McKenzie, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, England players Michael Lumb, Michael Carberry, Dominic Cork and Simon Jones, and England A players aplenty!. Hopefully we will be fighting for trophys on all fronts this year.....lets hope we can get the pitch right!! :-)
Thats all for now folks. Feel free to leave a comment or just say hi, its always good to hear from home.
Follow me on Twitter for more regular comments and pictures @Karl_McDermott
Its been a whirlwind time since my move across the pond. After a brief but enjoyable stint at New Road, including a flood, I got an offer to come down south to the Rose Bowl which was too good to turn down. The club had plans for extensive ground and stadium development,and with Test cricket coming this year it was a place I had always aimed to end up in. The development work has started, albeit slower than desired due to the economic downturn. We have two fantastic new stands that house 5000 people, a £650,000 free-draining new outfield that was laid 15 months ago, and the hotel that will house corporate boxes and media facilities at the northern end of the ground should be starting construction soon. Its an exciting place to be!
So couple all of that with our first Test Match that we are hosting in July its a busy time ahead. Putting all of that to one side there is still the 'bread and butter' county cricket season to prepare for. The season starts earlier and earlier over here. Our first 'friendly' fixture is on the 30th of March, with our first 4 day Championship fixture 9 days later! So whilst the players spend 3 weeks in the West Indies for their pre-season, we get to sit on a roller in icy cold temperatures trying to get some pitches firm. Who said life isn't fair!!!!
In preparation for all that the first pitches were cut out today, the 4th of March! We've been covering the squares for the last week to enable us to work on them. The problem this week hasn't been rain but frost! With the season approaching quickly we can't afford to let the cold nights eat into our working day. We have 5 squares here, the main square has 20 pitches, the nursery ground has 16 pitches, and 3 net blocks that cover about 280 feet wide so theres a lot of preseason rolling to do!!! We've cut out and started to prepare 5 pitches across 3 squares for practice and pre-season matches against Surrey and Middlesex. The players will be keen to get outside as soon as they get back from the West Indies no matter what the weather as they hate being stuck indoors!!
Anyway all this talk is making me cold, so lets move on. My plans are to update the blog as regular as I can with news, views and pictures. As I've said its a hectic year ahead with an England vs Sri Lanka Test match, an England vs India ODI and plenty of other cricket including our defence of the Twenty20 Cup with a team of current and ex-international stars like South African players Imran Tahir and Neil McKenzie, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, England players Michael Lumb, Michael Carberry, Dominic Cork and Simon Jones, and England A players aplenty!. Hopefully we will be fighting for trophys on all fronts this year.....lets hope we can get the pitch right!! :-)
Thats all for now folks. Feel free to leave a comment or just say hi, its always good to hear from home.
Follow me on Twitter for more regular comments and pictures @Karl_McDermott
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