Cricket needs to deliver on rich resources

SHOULD anyone doubt the strength of local cricket, then the answer is with our back page image today (see above).

Dozens of all-green clad boys through to the senior men's squad pictured at the brilliant new indoor centre at Hougue du Pommier underlines the robust health of the sport which is enjoying untold financial riches when poor old football, and others, struggle.

These are golden times for local cricket and they must not waste the opportunity which is presented to them by the ICC monies, the generosity of Jon Ravenscroft, who has got the ICG Centre up and running, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, long-term supporters of cricket development.

The trick will now be to turn that unparalled financial support into a significant raising of standards and commitment to the game.

As the cricket season gets into full swing with a new evening league campaign next week, we can but hope that some of the rich potential in the junior ranks begin to challenge the Friths and Savidents of this world for star-billing.

VALE REC needed a kick up the pants at senior level and they just might get it from new coach Phil Corbet.

It's good to see the former island boss back in club management at senior level and knowing him as well as I do I suspect he will want to shake things up at the ground he shares his name with.

He knows his stuff and with Carl Le Tissier the club has a coaching team to match that of any in next year's Division One championship.

It will be intriguing to see if the new combination can rapidly change the club's fortunes but I would not bet against it.

WE Guernsey football fans are getting very accustomed to losing big games to the sister isle, so last Saturday's Upton defeat for North should not be a big surprise.

And, naturally, with less of the surprise comes less of a disappointment.

What was sad, though, was Mick Le Prevost's cheap shot excuse at losing the game.

The North manager's finger-pointing at the GFA and, without saying it, their hard-working fixtures secretary Gary Cortez, was needless and should not be seen as a worthwhile reason for the chocolate-and-blues losing the game.

Le Prevost's excuse that his team lost the game because of a lack of competitive action and that, as a consequence, his team were tired, does not impress me at all.

If they were tired then why did he not freshen things up from the subs bench. He had a choice of seven subs and did not use one.

It was, unfortunate, that North went without a competitive game for so long but GFA opted to play their two major domestic cup finals in the closing weeks of the season for good reason and the champions failed to make either.

And imagine the moans had North had both those finals to contend with plus outstanding league games to play when, at the same time, the island manager is trying to prepare a Muratti team. That should not be forgotten.

Might Mick have then groaned that his players were too tired at the end of a long season?

The North suggestion that the league should continue deep into April sounds fine on the face of it, but I can recall many a time in recent history that due to a long list of rearrangements there has even been talk of putting back the Upton.

No, Mr Cortez's fixture list and handling of it over the course of the season has been superb.

His commitment to the game extends far beyond the part-time role for which he is paid.

If North wanted a game so badly then why did they not stage one themselves. If they had asked me I'd have got a side out against them.

Mick . . . you've had a superb season and have done a great job to get your team where it is today, but blaming the GFA for losing at Springfield was as wrong as Dave Rihoy's red card against Alderney.