LIMAVADY TO APPEAL CURRY BAN AS UNDER 15's LIFT THE NORTH WEST MOOD

Whether the decision of CricketIreland's disciplinary committee last week signalled the end of the most prolific cricket career that this region has ever witnessed remains to be seen but there can be little doubt that the whole sorry episode has left a very sour taste in the mouths of many people. It is common knowledge at this stage that Limavady's Des Curry has been banned from all levels of the game for 12 months with immediate effect and that his club are none to happy about it.

The whys and wherefores of the case took several weeks to unravel but at a hearing in Coleraine last Monday night the three- man Cricket Ireland committee reached their decision and in a phone call to Limavady secretary Johnnie Hunter on Tuesday morning the verdict was delivered. Despite spending way too many hours around the cricket grounds of the North West I would have to confess at the outset that like a great many others, I don't know much about Des Curry other than they broke the mould as a player when they made him.

It would be pointless to eulogise about that magnificent career run-fest or the endless centuries that marked close on 30 years at the very top of his sport. Pointless to remember too that it was a career that also had a fair sprinkling of controversy along the way both at International and club level. And that is probably why the decision to impose a 12-month ban has met with a very mixed reaction in the North West. There are those who feel that the length of the ban is outrageous whilst others reason that it has been on the cards for a while.

There are plenty who believe that Dekker should have been hit with this type of ban two years ago but that the North West disciplinary committed bailed on its responsibilities and even at Limavady you will find few who would argue with that. Regardless to what has happened in the past however, we have to remember that two wrongs don't make a right. Those who pull the strings at the Hunter Grounds are incensed, not at the fact that a ban has been imposed, but at the length of the sanction and at what they feel was a pre-conceived verdict.

The club has appealed the decision of the disciplinary committee and therefore we can't go into it in any depth but a Limavady spokesman said that witnesses that they provided were not invited to attend and in their opinion the panel decided simply to take one man's word against another.

Curry appears to have been cited on four charges in relation to the abandoned game with Instonians and those involved knocking over the stumps, foul and abusive language, the threat of physical assault and actual physical assault. He admitted the first of those, the umpires report confirmed the second, but the latter, more serious charges were wholeheartedly disputed by both player and club. Had they found Curry guilty of one or both of the more “minor” offences the player would probably have been looking at a ban of up to six games however the decision to ban for a year undoubtedly suggests that the committee looked beyond those.

We said last week that CricketIreland doesn't mess around when it comes to discipline and the fact that they didn't hold back in this instance was in keeping with the standards they have set in recent years. Donemana felt that their three-year home ban in the Irish Senior Cup was over the top but the parent body has made it perfectly clear that they are not prepared to tolerate any misdemeanours and whilst the Roesiders' appeal is already under way the onus now appears to have been put on them to have the verdict changed.

In the meantime both the player and the club have remained upbeat and for now at least the two parties are insisting that this is not the end regardless of the outcome of the appeal. Strangely however, Dekker has been contemplating hanging the boots up for a couple of seasons now and if they fail to have the ban overturned, or at least reduced, it is very difficult to see him continue.

The timing of the ban means that instead of missing a season he will instead be sitting out two halves and it will be much more difficult to motivate himself next April knowing that he has little or no time to get his match sharpness back before that ends too. In essence, he's been handed a two season ban and brilliant though he has been you can't see him being able to just hit the ground running after such a lengthy lay off.

A career that has set him apart despite being dogged by difficulties along the way doesn't deserve to end or be remembered this way but Des Curry will have to pull off one of the most remarkable achievements of his brilliant sporting life if it is to be remembered in any other.

And as the old guard struggles to come to terms with the unenviable situation, the North West Under 15's proved at the weekend that the new kids are getting ready to step up to the plate. Despite the suggestion that standards overall continue to struggle it is fantastic to see that the new breed of headline grabbers are alive and well and already starting to strut their stuff.

The youngsters took part in a four-way tournament at Bready that lasted three days and came out on top in an event that also featured the best that the NCU, Leinster and Munster had to offer. The local side boasted players who have just started to make their way into the periphery of senior domestic cricket although one or two including Coleraine's Rishi Chopra have been involved at that level for some time now.

Eglinton's Ross Allen was also the fore; he and skipper Chopra proving a potent “twin spin” threat, while the Donemana trio of William McBrine and twins Gary and William McClintock were also heavily involved in the local boys' success. Stephen Kennedy had a very good tournament and looks a real prospect as well while much is expected from the likes of Jamie Millar and Aaron Gillespie over the next few seasons.

Champions Strabane are very keen on Gillespie's chance of keeping the flag flying when his turn comes and he is expected to be given his opportunity in the senior side sooner rather than later. Others to keep a very close eye on as their careers develop are Peter Harrigan, Conor Olphert, Dylan Waterstone, Ross Hunter and Matthew Douglas but it was clear from the celebrations that this was a squad victory in every sense.

Under their hard-working coaches Noel Dunn and David Scanlon the North West lads overcame Leinster by a nervy three wickets in the decider to claim the trophy and show that with the proper development opportunities, the region is well capable of mixing it with any other. The tournament was a huge success on the pat of CricketIreland and of Bready Cricket Club and hearty congratulations go out to all, but to the boys themselves in particular.

And finally today, when we're on the subject of congratulations, they go out in the sincerest form to both Brigade and Bonds Glen on magnificent performances at the weekend. The Beechgrove side's batting has been letting them down a little in recent weeks but a fairly obvious situation has been staring them in the face since the start of the season and that is promoting Gareth McKeegan up the order. The wicket keeper/ batsman continually opened the innings in his Killymallaght days and is a confidence player and hopefully his match-winning knock will kick start his season in time to see Mark Simpson's men go all the way in the Irish Senior Cup.

And what about those Bee Gees? There was a sizzling atmosphere at the Glen on Saturday as the home side won a match that now has one or two sides around the lower reaches of the table looking anxiously over their shoulders. Not only that but it was a thoroughly deserved win too and no-one knows what impact it could have as the season enters the second half next Saturday. Interesting times indeed....