Welcome to the Civil Service North of Ireland Cricket Club Web Site

Civil Service North was formed in 2004 by the merger of the Civil Service C.C. and the North of Ireland C.C. and played its first season in 2005. The Club is always ready to welcome new members at any level of the game. The Firsts play in the Premier League of the NCU, the Seconds in Section 1 of Division 2 and the Fifths and Sixths play a bit further down.

NET TIMES Under 11 - Mondays 5.30 - 7.00 Under 13 - Mondays 7.00 - 8.30 Under 15 - Tuesdays 6.00 - 7.30 Ladies _ Tuesdays 7.00 - 8.30 SENIORS Club Night - Wednesdays from 6.00 1st XI squad - Thursdays

2009 Season

© John Boomer CricketEurope The 2009 season featured more wretched weather, and, once again, heroic efforts by the captains to get their fixtures completed. Both the Thirds and the Fourths won promotion in their League campaigns, and now the top three teams in the Club are playing in the top section of their Division. The 1st XI finished fourth in the Premier League. A slow start to the season left them unable to make up ground in a highly competitive League. It was, however, a strong fourth place. Had they been a little more fortunate in two or three close games they would have been challenging at the top of the League. In the Challenge Cup the team's recent inability to put runs on the board at Wallace Park saw a rather ignominious end to their title defence. The ClubTurf Ulster Cup, on the other hand, produced a number of outstanding performances. Wayne Horwood against Donemana, Regan West and the Skipper against Fox Lodge. The final produced one of the best games of this or many other seasons when the batsmen, notably Regan and Club pro. Kieran Noema-Barnett chased down 250 runs at Comber, Kieran finishing the game with a six in the last over to take his own score to 98 not out. Nigel Jones can take great credit from the year for his performance both as Captain, and as a player, accumulating over 1000 runs in the season, and bringing another trophy to Stormont. He will continue as Captain next season, and Kieran will return as professional. At the NCU dinner Nigel was presented with the Larry Warke batting trophy for the second year in a row, and this year he also won the Jack Bowden Trophy for his all round performance. As a team the Firsts are now well set to continue to develop and present an effective challenge to any opposition. Neil Holmes's Seconds struggled a little in Section 1, but held on to avoid relegation, and will benefit from the experience gained this year. Robert Morrow will take over as Captain, and he has around him a group of assistants and advisors who will, no doubt, galvanise the team into a formidable unit for next season's campaign. The Thirds, under Michael Graham, won promotion to Section 1 of the Third Division. This was an important step in the development of the Club, as it is essential that the youth and emerging talent within the Club play at the highest level possible to hone their skills. Next season Richard McFeeters will lead a team with a growing pool of young players competing for places. After four years as a captain Ian Gordon has stepped down, wisely 'quitting at the top' (well, nearly) as he lead the Fourths to second place in their League, good enough to win promotion. The Fifths will be captained by Kieth Gibson next season, and together with Peter McMorran's Sixths will no doubt maintain what is becoming the lower teams' proud tradition of maximum enjoyment paired with minimum publicity, emerging tired but smiling somewhere in mid table at the end of the season. The Junior section goes from strength to strength. Under the watchful eye of Junior Convener Nigel Rountree, with the guidance of Kieran and their team managers, and with the assistance of a whole hat full of parents and willing volunteers the Junior Section continues to thrive. The Under 11s won the Quoile Cup for the third time in the Club's short history, and they and the Under 13s will both play in their deferred League Cup finals at the beginning of next season. Next season, for the first time, the Club will field a Ladies XI. Nigel Rountree has been busy behind the scenes, and has already arranged fixtures for the ladies to make their debut at Stormont. Hopefully they will be able to complete their games without being distracted too much as the Club photographers jostle for places round the boundary. On the ground new gravel based drainage channels have already been laid between each of the pitches, as part of the progress towards a full ring drainage system. With the poor weather over the last few seasons groundsman Phillip McCormick has found pitch preparation a constant battle against the prevailing sogginess, and it is anticipated that the new drainage will go some way to alleviate these difficulties, with the added hope that the weather will be kinder next season. The Club has now made its mark in League and Cup competitions at all levels and, with a vibrant support network, players and, indeed, all members can look forward to an enjoyable and successful season in 2010. The Ulster Cup winning team

2008 Season

The season started brightly enough, and for the first few weeks games were played in warm sunshine. On what was described officially as the first day of Summer the rains came, and they stayed. No league games were completed during June and the 1st XI only managed to complete their league program on the last Sunday in September. Skipper Nigel Jones led the 1st XI to a win in the Challenge Cup in a tensely contested final against Waringstown, bringing the Senior Cup to Stormont for the first time. In the League the Firsts won the same number of games as North Down, but were denied a share of the title as a result of a time penalty during one of the last games of the season. At the NCU dinner Nigel was presented with the Larry Warke NCU batting cup, and Allen Coulter won the Sonny Hool bowling cup. Worthy winners after a long tough season. Nigel will be Club Captain again next year, seeking to consolidate the Firsts position as one of the leading teams in the NCU Premiership, and perhaps beyond. Ewen Thompson, the professional for the last three years, will not be returning next season. His performance both on and off the pitch during his time with the Club has been outstanding. As a player he pushed through some minor injury and health worries in his first season to emerge as a formidable strike bowler, and developed his skills with the bat to become the Club's established opener. As a coach Ewen showed exceptional dedication to the task of bringing on the junior players, and the Club will reap the rewards of his efforts for years to come. Everyone at the Club will, no doubt, wish him well as he pursues his ambitions in New Zealand. The Seconds marched on. Neil Holmes lead them to promotion for the second season in a row. Next year, with Neil remaining in charge, they play in section one of the second division, and will challenge for the Junior Cup, which has not been seen at Stormont since the Civil Service 1st XI won the cup in 1963. (Although North 2nds have won it four times since then!). The Cup will be a target for another first for CSN next year. The Thirds suffered more than most from the weather, and would probably have challenged for the league title if they had been able to get more games played. Captain Michael Graham has gamely volunteered to have another go next season. Ian Gordon starts his fourth year on the trot as a captain next season. The fourths continue to nurture the young talent in the side, and Ian, along with a few other old hands will, no doubt be kept on his toes by the rising stars. The fifths and sixths continue on their merry way. Fathers and sons, old and young, talented and not so talented, all are welcome, and, if results are not always publicised widely, the undoubted enjoyment of the players is always evident. The Juniors, all seven teams, continue to thrive. With dedicated assistance from Club members and parents their enthusiasm for the game is unabated. Their league and cup programs were affected by the terrible weather, so no silverware this year. Once again special thanks are due to the groundsman, Philip McCormick, who not only had a successful season as a player with Holywood, but also won a trip to Lords to collect the award for European Groundsman of the year, a considerable achievement. Philip will be leading the Club in hoping for better weather next season. Two more Surrey loam pitches have been laid on the main square. The Club now has eight new club pitches available, as well as occasional use of the international standard pitches. It is hoped to have the bottom pitch graded next season as work continues to raise the standards of the playing areas available to all the teams. The dedication of all those involved with the Club, in whatever capacity, over the last four years is now beginning to pay dividends, and the membership can look forward to continuing the development next year. © Richard Crowe

2007 Season

The villain of the 2007 season was the weather, the heroes were the team Captains who managed to field sides through one of the wettest seasons in memory. Special mention should also be made of groundsman Philip McCormick who coaxed playable pitches out of what were sometimes almost impossible conditions. The Firsts struggled at times to show what they are capable of, but under the steady hand of Nigel Jones they stay in the top flight and face the 2008 season as a more settled side with Nigel once again at the helm. The highlight of the season must have been Ewen Thompson's 137 at Comber. Those who saw it were treated to a wonderful exhibition of batting, capped with 5 sixes and a four in the final over of the 20 over game. Neil Holmes' Second XI achieved promotion back into Section 2 and reached the final of the Intermediate Cup. Despite a wholesome start to the day at La Mon they didn't manage to bring home the silverware, but their promotion in the League was an essential part of the development of the Club. The other senior teams fielded a mixture of youth and experience which made for enjoyable cricket. At times, in closely contested Leagues, there were glimpses of promotion and, briefly, relegation but all the teams concluded the season in fairly satisfactory positions. The junior section continues to thrive. This year it was the Under 15s turn to shine, winning their League title. Under Ewen's tutelage and with members and parents lending support the youngsters' enthusiasm is unabated, and it was a 5ths team with only one senior member (the Skipper) who posted the highest team total of the season. Looking forward to the 2008 season, work on resurfacing the nets will be completed on schedule, and a slip cradle will be available for catching practice. Both the 1st XI and 2nd XI captains will be unchanged, giving a more settled feel to the top tier, and with Regan West joining the Club both teams must be looking forward to challenging at the top of their leagues. Junior members are beginning to establish themselves as real prospects for places in the senior teams, and the old hands are still gamely available to bolster things up early in the season before the school holidays. The Club members can look forward to a season where all teams are in a position to enjoy a successful campaign in 2008.

2006 Season

The 2006 Season turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag for the Club. The Firsts recovered from an uncertain start, finishing the season strongly to maintain their position in the Premier League. The Seconds suffered from the loss of their Captain in the early part of the season. John Neill stepped in, but in spite of all their efforts to get games played the team was unable to complete its fixtures and was relegated to Section 3. The Thirds, Fourths, Fifths and Sixths all finished the season safely. No silverware, but no relegation either. On a grim day in the middle of the season in unusual circumstances the Thirds were deemed not to have fulfilled a League fixture. As a result the winning performances in their Cups of the Fourths, Fifths and Sixths on the same day were held to be invalid. A blow to the Club and a ruling which left many members somewhat bemused. In Junior Cricket it was, for the second season in a row, the Under 11s who stole the limelight from the other junior teams. This year they won the NCU Quoile Cup, progressing to take the Ulster Cup, and then went on to win the All Ireland Cup, with a convincing win over Pembroke at Stormont. Looking forward to 2007, the Club will continue to field six senior teams. The Firsts will be under the Captaincy of Nigel Jones, and fellow Kiwi Ewen Thompson will return as Club professional. Neil Holmes takes over as Second XI captain, and veteran Kevin McConville takes up the reins of the Thirds. The lower teams will continue to foster the junior talent in the Club, and those who put in the performances can look forward to places in the senior teams. Two new Surrey loam pitches have been laid for the use of the Club, and these will come into use during the latter part of the new season. The Sports Association has plans for refurbishment in the pavilion in the early part of the new year. All in all things look well set for an enjoyable and successful season in 2007.

2005 Season

The 1st XI, under the Captaincy of Wayne Horwood, had a successful season, winning their League and gaining promotion. The chase for the League was a close one. Two consecutive losses in the middle of the season meant that the team needed to win nine games in a row to get into a tie with Muckamore. The play off against Muckamore at Carrickfergus was a closely fought affair, but CSNI came out winners by 14 runs. The 2006 season will see Section One Cricket at Stormont for the first time, a prospect to relish for both players and supporters. The Seconds, Thirds and Fourths all finished Second in their Leagues. The Fourths also reached the final of the MQ Cup, narrowly beating the Sixths in the semi-final. A creditable effort in the first season of a merger, and very promising for future seasons. The Fifths and Sixths didn't get very close to winning anything, but had quite a jolly time in the process. They fielded a blend of youth and experience, giving some young players their first taste of playing at such venues as The Lawn (Thanks Waringstown!) Juniors The Junior Section was, for the most part very busy this season. The Colts only played one game, but the Under 15s reached the final of the Graham Cup, and the Club fielded two Under 15 League teams. The Under 13s played pretty well too. So many Under 13s turned up for nets that they had to be given a separate night for practise! It was the Under 11s, however, who won the new Club's first Trophy, winning the NCU's Quoile Cup. They went on to win the Ulster Cup, and were narrowly beaten, by 2 runs, by Merrion in the final of the All Ireland Cup.