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2003 ö a record year with 10 wins out of 14 games played, including a 10-wicket win against a Test country, Zimbabwe.  Qualification for Under 19s World Cup in Bangladesh, our Ladies qualifying for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa, and with our European Tournament victories at Under 13s and 15s, all adds up to an historic year on the playing field for Irish Cricket.
 
The appointment in May 2003 of our first Chief Executive, Peter Thompson, was another momentous day for Irish Cricket and we wish Peter well in the coming months and years.  His Line Manager, Derek Brennan, will be reporting shortly.
 
The record financial loss is a major worry for all concerned with Irish Cricket.  The Hon. Treasurer will have a lot more to say on the matter.  The reduction of $66,000 in our ICC Grant due to commercial problems at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and the loss of our Independent Newspapers Sponsorship contributed to this serious situation.  This position was exacerbated with the news in October that we will be losing our £105,000 Sterling Grant from the English Cricket Board within two years, with a £35,000 drop in 2004, a £70,000 diminution in 2005 and no payment in 2006.  We are seeking a meeting with the Chairman of ECB when he returns to London to put our case for continuance of this long-standing Grant.
 
The season started with a 10-wicket victory against Zimbabwe, played in front of a good attendance.  The visitors batted first and Mooney and Neely had them in trouble straight away with three dismissals with only 12 on the board.  A fourth wicket stand of 98 saw Zimbabwe get to 182 all out.  Jason Molins 107 not out and Jeremy Bray 67 not out, saw Ireland to a wonderful victory in 33.4 overs.  This opening stand is only bettered by S.J.S Warke and M.P. Rea 224 against Wales at College Park in 1992.  This game was the first time Ireland played two players, Andre Botha and Jeremy Bray, as deemed nationals under the new ICC Eligibility Rules.
 
The second game at Eglinton saw the Zimbabweans gain revenge with an 8-wicket victory.  This time it was Ireland who batted first and with Streak and Blignaut at their most hostile. Ireland were 36 for 5 before a typical P.J. Gillespie innings of 56 helped by Paul Mooney 31 and Dom Joyce 29 saw us get to 196 all out.  The visitors hit off the runs for 2 wickets in 40 overs.  The North West Union and, in particular, Roy Torrens hosted the Zimbabweans for six days and the visitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves between the Test series and the start of the one day series with England and South Africa and, while not a financial success, was a well worthwhile exercise.
 
South Africa were due in England for the one day series and agreed to spend their warm up days in Ireland, including one game.  This was possible with the benefit of the North County Indoor Facility as we could guarantee that they could practice in the event of rain.  The game took place at Castle Avenue three days after the second Zimbabwean game.  
In a six-day period, we had a Test team play in our three main centres.  A good attendance saw South Africa score 294 for 9, with fifties from Dippenaar 76, Smith, the new Captain 61, and Rudolph 54.  Ireland was all out for 162 with Ntini, ÎMan of the Matchâ, getting 3 for 21.
 
There then followed a three-match series against English Amateurs.  Scotland, due to their NCL commitments, had withdrawn from the Triple Crown. In the first game at Malahide ECB were inserted and scored 213 for 6, with Neely our best bowler with 3 for 42 of his ten overs.  Ireland, without Jason Molins (unavailable due to work), struggled and was all out for 161.  C. Armstrong top scorer with 38.
 
The second game at Rathmines ECB scored 226 for 8.  This was a match that Ireland lost rather than ECB won.  At 192 for 4, with Gillespie 73 and McCallan 43 well set, and 7 overs remaining, it looked a straightforward task for Ireland to win and level the series one each.  However, Gillespie got out and in the same over McCallan also went to a catch at the wicket.  This meant two new batsmen were in, and the remaining 4 wickets fell quickly, in all 6 wickets going down for 18 runs.
 
The third game at Malahide saw Ireland bat first 212 for 8, Gillespie 61 and McCallan 43.  ECB were all out for 160.  This was not as competitive as the first two games, with ECB 2-nil up in the series.  It was, nevertheless, the start of a magnificent run by the team who went on to win the following nine remaining games.  It also saw the start of Ralph Coetzeeâs Irish career.  South African born, but with an Irish passport, he had fulfilled the ICC Development Criteria necessary for eligibility to be picked as a National.  Ralph now has seven caps and has yet to play a losing game for Ireland.
 
The next game against the Club Cricket Conference at Waringstown Ireland won on run rate.
 
There then followed a four-match tour of England.  The quality of the opposition did not match the grounds where we played ö Arundel, Lordâs, Eton and Shenley.  At Arundel, the Duke of Norfolk XI could not cope with Paul Mooney, Ryan Eagleson and Andre Botha being all out for 61, which Ireland got for the loss of 3 wickets.  The score of 61 is the lowest ever against Ireland in a limited over game.
 
The second game against MCC at Lordâs, Ireland won by 7 wickets.  The MCC side contained two Test players, Peter Such (England) and Hamish Marshall (New Zealand).  Ireland won the toss and asked MCC to bat.  They were all out for 212 in the 49th  over, Andy White the best of our bowlers with 4 for 28.  Jeremy Bray was out for 94 with 7 required for victory.  Andre Botha scored 55 on his first visit to Lordâs.  It was our first victory at Lordâs since 1987. Garfield Harrison, still a regular for Waringstown and holder of 118 Irish caps, was a member of the MCC team.
The third game against Free Foresters at Eton saw the introduction of Eoin Morgan to the Senior Team.  Twenty-one days short of his 17th birthday, he is the youngest player ever to appear for Ireland.  He was, unfortunately, run out without scoring.  Eoin is currently playing for Middlesex 2nd XI and has a wonderful career ahead.  The game also saw the inclusion of Boyd Rankin, another member of our Under 19 team due to play in the World Cup in Bangladesh.
 
The game was a low scoring match.  Ireland won the toss and batted first on a difficult wicket and were all out for 172.  A.R. Whittal, former Zimbabwe Test player taking 4 for 16 from his 10 overs.  Free Foresters were eventually all out for 159.  John Mooney was our most successful bowler, 3 for 26.
 
The final game of the tour was against Club Cricket Conference at Shenley.  Ireland won the toss and batted.  Eoin Morgan opened the innings and scored a fine 71 in his second game.  A whirlwind 66 not out off 44 balls by Paul Mooney saw Ireland reach 266 for 7.  C.C.C. were all out for 142 in 34 overs, Boyd Rankin getting his first wickets for Ireland, 2 for 24.  The tour ended on a high note, four games and four wins.
 
The team was back in England the following week for the Cheltenham and Gloucester game vs. Hertfordshire.  Ireland was entitled to two non-qualified players plus two deemed nationals.  In the end, we played one non-qualified player, Gerard Dros, who had played three games for us in 1999, and two deemed nationals, Jeremy Bray and Andre Botha.  This was a match full of records.  Irelandâs total 387 for 4 was their highest ever in Limited Overs Cricket, and only the second time they had topped 300 in such a match.  It was their fifth highest total for an innings in all cricket, and the highest since 1923 when 418 was scored in a three day match against Wales.  An Irish player had never scored a century in this competition since we entered what was the Gillette Cup in 1980.  Andre Botha 139  and Gerald Dros 124 became the first players to score centuries and Jason Molinsâ 84 also beat the previous individual record in this competition.  Bothaâs innings lasted 110 balls and contained four 6âs and sixteen 4âs.  Drosâs lasted 81 balls and contained seven 6âs and eleven 4âs.
 
The match went into the second day, due to rain that came on the first day when Hertfordshire were 283 for 7 off 37.5 overs.  They were left, therefore, needing 105 off 12.1 overs.  In fact, Mooney and Botha wrapped up the tail on the second morning for 29 runs in 5.3 overs.  By winning this game, Ireland has secured a home draw against Surrey on 5th May 2004 at Castle Avenue.
 
There then followed a series against Denmark.  This was the best of three qualifying matches to gain the third spot in the European Section of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.  This is a new ICC competition which will involve three teams in each of the four continents playing the other in a three-day match, one opponent being played at home and the other away.   
The winners of the four sections will then come together at a neutral venue later in the year for two semi finals and a final.
 
In the European Section, Scotland and Holland were clearly two of the top three.  Denmark had been ranked ahead of Ireland in the ICC Trophy in Toronto and Ireland ahead of Denmark in the European Championships in Belfast.  Accordingly, it was decided to have a best of three match series to decide the third qualifier.  Ireland won the toss to host these matches.
 
The first game at Clontarf Denmark batted first and scored 224 for 9 off their 50 overs, with Adrian McCoubrey, released by Essex, taking 4 for 41.  Ireland scored the required runs in 45 overs for the loss of 3 wickets.  A. Botha 88 and J. Bray 77.
 
The second game at Malahide saw Ireland score 363 for 5.  Jeremy Brayâs 145 was a record for Ireland in limited over cricket.  Andre Botha 89 and Jason Molins 85 also contributed handsomely.  Denmark finished on 204 for 7 in their 50 overs.  Ireland had a two-nil lead, so the third game was not played.  We will play Holland in Holland in July 2004 and Scotland in Castle Avenue in August in 3-day games to decide who goes to represent Europe in the Finals.
 
Some personal achievements ö Andre Botha topped the batting with an average of 46.75 and a strike rate of 97.22, followed by Jason Molins on 44.78 and a strike rate of 84.43 and Peter Gillespie on 41 and a strike rate of 68.91.
 
Last year, only one bowler got over 10 wickets.  This year five did.  Botha 22, Mooney 21, McCallan 17, White 15 and Neely 11 took in excess of 10 wickets.  Paul Mooney had the best average with 21 wickets at an average of 17.38.
 
There were three new caps ö R. Coetzee (641), E.J.G. Morgan (642) and W.B. Rankin (643).
 
At the other end, W.K. McCallan reached 100 Caps.  Kyle also become only the third player to score 2000 runs and take 100 wickets for Ireland, joining A.J. OâRiordan and G.D. Harrison.
 
Our congratulations to our team and National Coach.  2003 was a good news year for Adrian Birrell and we wish him every success in 2004.
 
Our ÎAâ Team had a disappointing season.  After two warm-up matches, they failed in the European Under 23 Tournament in Belfast to win a game.  This competition has now been changed to an Under 23 Tournament with no restrictions but equally no overage exemptions.
Our Under 19s had a very successful Tournament in Deventer, Holland.  Captained by William Porterfield, they were the only team to beat England Under 17s in a pre Tournament warm-up game.  They then went on to remain undefeated in the Tournament.  Gary Wilson was the ÎPlayer of the Tournamentâ and four of the team were nominated to a Notional European Team ö Gary Wilson, Gary Kidd, John Pryor and Kevin OâBrien.
 
They have a difficult programme in Bangladesh, but they are a dedicated and talented group.  Last time we played in the Under 19s World Cup in Sri Lanka, nine of the thirteen players that played were picked for the Senior Team within two years.  We will watch with great interest their progress.
 
The Under 17s in Denmark, Manager Brendan OâBrien and Coach Michael Quinn, were hampered by unavailability and injuries and failed to retain the Under 17 Trophy, being beaten in the crunch match by 28 runs against Scotland.  The match against Holland was a very one-sided affair, with Holland all out for 57 which Ireland got for the loss of two wickets.  Against Denmark, the Danes batted first and got 169 for 8 which we got in 47 overs for the loss of 6 wickets.
 
They then played two games against ECB Under 15s, losing both heavily.  This is in contrast to our Under 19s who beat ECB 17s in Holland and, last year, gave a good account of themselves in a 2-day game in Oakham against ECB.  Hopefully, a good omen for Bangladesh.  The one good aspect of our game in Bradfield was a century by Gary Wilson. There was a disciplinary problem on the trip to Bradfield and in spite of enquiries, no charges were made.  A revised Code of Conduct has been prepared.  
 
The Under 15s, Manager Gary Blair and Coach, John Semple, won the European Tournament in Dundee.  The first game against Holland, Ireland won easily, Ireland 183 Holland 118.  E. Delany 5 for 19.  Ireland vs. Scotland was a close game with Ireland getting home by 13 runs.  The last game vs. Denmark was very much a walkover, Ireland 217, C. Geraghty 104, Denmark 45 all out.  Eoghan Delaney was ÎMan of the Tournamentâ.
 
Our Under 13s also won their Tournament in Copenhagen.  Coach, Gordon McKenzie, and Manager, Ray Taylor.  In the first game, affected by rain, Denmark scored 77 for 8 in their 34 overs which Ireland chased in 24 overs for the loss of 2 wickets.  In the second game against Scotland, Ireland batted first and scored 204 for 6 in their 40 overs (J. Shaman 55) and Scotland 180 all out.  In the third and final game, Holland scored 153 for 6 in their 40 overs which Ireland passed in the 37 overs for the loss of 3 wickets, P. Sterling 65 not out.
 
The Schools, with Chris Harte as Manager and Ray Daly as Coach, had another successful trip to the North of England.  The team was picked after a two-day Interpro.  This Tour, unfortunately, clashed with the Under 17s trip ö a symptom of the amount of cricket played in July.
The Tour started with a game against Lancashire Under 19s.  Ireland batted first and reached 179 having been 45 for 5.  Peter Blakeney 62, Bill Coghlan 27, David Scanlon 25. Lancashire passed the total without difficulty, 180 for 3 off 38 overs.
 
The second game against Yorkshire Schools, Ireland won with 7 overs to spare.  Yorkshire batted first and were all out for 189.  B. Rankin, D. Scanlon, R. McDonald and R. Gallagher all bowled well.  A Captainâs (B. Coghlan) innings of 64, helped by R. Gallagher 32 not out, T. Shorten 25, P. Blakeney 19, saw Ireland home at 192 for 8.
 
On the third day vs. Cheshire Under 19s, Ireland were all out for 139. R. Sterling 43, F. McAllister 29, D. Scanlon 20.  Cheshire passed easily 143 for 2.
 
The Manager, in his summary, would like to see us travel at full strength and have the National Coach present for some of the trip.  But again looking at next yearâs fixtures, it is hard to see, with our best intentions, how we can facilitate his wishes.  While there was consultation at Under 19s, the Manager suggests some cross-reference at Under 17s would be appropriate.  I am sure Jim Bennett, Youth Chairman, will bear this in mind.  The general standard of the fixtures is very good and compared with our European Tournaments these are, undoubtedly, better development games.  But we are committed to ECC for our overall development funds.
 
The Womenâs Senior Team had an excellent season with two warm-up weekends in England, followed by a very successful World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Holland.
 
On their first weekend, with Peter Johnston, Coach, Sandra Dawson, Manager and Claire Shillington, Captain, they beat Yorkshire, the County Champions, 203 for 9, played 172 all out in the first game but lost the next two competitive games.  There then followed a tour in Manchester.  Again, they played three games, losing two, one against ECB Development XI and one against Lancashire and winning the second game against the Development XI.
 
Then on to Holland.  The opening game against West Indies was a low scoring affair.  Ireland scored 84 and then some magnificent bowling saw them bowl West Indies out for 52.  There then followed an easy win against Japan.  The third game was against Pakistan.  Unbeaten at this stage, Pakistan scored 143 for 7.  An unbeaten partnership between M. Grealy, 61 not out, and Catriona Biggs 35 saw Ireland home. I was present for this innings and was very impressed by the manner these two set about their task, taking singles at will.  Victory over Holland saw Ireland qualifying for South Africa.  Congratulations to Judy Cohen, Manager, Peter Johnston, Coach and Claire and the Team.
 
The last game against Scotland the Ladies also won, emulating the Under 19s with 100% winning record.  Barbara McDonald was awarded ÎPlayer of the Tournamentâ.
 
The Unionâs thanks are due to all the Managers, Coaches and Parents, without whose dedication and commitment we could not achieve year after year such fantastic results.  Our congratulations to all concerned.
 
On the domestic front, the Inter Regional was helped by the weather and a very competitive Tournament ensued.  The first weekend was, unfortunately, a washout.  The second weekend in the North, North Leinster won both their games.  With North West beating Southern XI and Southern XI beating NCU, North Leinster eventually won the Trophy with three wins.  Two wins for NCU, two wins for Southern XI and one win for NWCU.  The Union thanks Roy Torrens, Tournament Co-ordinator.
 
For the second year in succession Royal Liver had an all-Leinster Final, with North County winning the Cup for a second time in three years, defeating Railway Union in the Final.
 
Off the field, disappointment came early with a decision taken in March to postpone the Tournament in Los Angeles due to financial cutbacks.  Various problems had arisen on the commercial side and the ICC decided to reduce our funding from the expected $120,000 to $54,000.  This had the effect of denying us an opportunity of getting into High Performance.  This is a programme funded by ICC for the top six Associates Countries.
 
On a happier note, we were successful in getting ICC to change their rules to allow players qualifying for a Test Nation to continue playing for their home country until they actually play for the Test country, e.g. Joyce and McCoubrey.
 
The amalgamation of the International Cricket Council with the International Womenâs Cricket Council is proceeding, but at a much slower pace than originally envisaged. South Africa 2005 is now the expected time for the amalgamation to take place.
 
Work on preparing for hosting the ICC Trophy 2005 has started. Over the coming three months most of the major decisions will be made, e.g. format of the Tournament, venues, and number to qualify for West Indies.  With so many outside people, (ICC and Global Cricket Corporation are not noted for making decisions in a hurry) involved this will be a difficult number of months to put the basics in place.  I am heartened by the following from Ian Stuartâs, European Development Manager, Final Report:
 

ãAs with a number of sporting bodies / institutions, there has been some initial reluctance to embrace new tournament systems and procedures, where the philosophy of Îif it ainât broke, donât fix itâ exists.  However, with the passage of time and experience of successfully run tournaments using these systems and procedures, the vast majority of the membership has adopted and embraced the changes.  The European Championships of 2002, hosted by the Irish Cricket Union, represented a watershed in this respect, demonstrating a leading Associate nation embracing the modern management systems and procedures in partnership with the appointed European Development Program staff, resulting in a highly professional and hugely successful tournamentä.
 
The Patronsâ Scheme, while perhaps not reaching the level of support initially expected, nevertheless made a significant contribution to the Unionâs finances and our thanks to all who have contributed and encourage all who can or in a position to get a contribution to do so.
 
While disappointed in our reduction of grand aid from the World Cup, I would, nevertheless, wish to thank the ICC Development Programme for its aid over the year, the total for the year 1st April 2002 to 31st March 2003 being $75,314.  If Youth were not in receipt of this money it would be hard to justify the expense of the tournaments.  I would also wish to thank European Cricket for their support of our players in South Africa last year.  We have a further three players there this year ö Brian Allen (Fox Lodge), Dean Simpson (Lisburn) and John Mooney (North County).  Unfortunately, two good friends of Irish Cricket, Andrew Eade, Development Manager and Ian Stuart, European Development Manager, did not renew their contracts, being replaced by Matthew Kennedy from Australia and Richard Holdsworth ex ECB, respectively and we wish those who have left well and look forward to working with their replacements.
 
Today we say goodbye to David Griffin, Chairman of Finance.  David has served as Munster delegate, Chairman of our last Structuresâ Review Committee and, lately, Chairman of Finance.  Taking over in 1991 from Eoin McCann, David has been the voice of Munster Cricket for thirteen years and has served the Union with distinction in all the jobs he fulfilled.  We wish him well.  Robin Walsh departs the scene, having joined the Executive in 1997 as P.R.O. North.  Robin quickly became an integral part of the Executive serving on Sponsorship and Finance.  Chairman of the newly formed Communications Committee, Robin has been responsible for our Annual and started our Newsletter.  He has offered to continue with the P.R.O. work in relation to 2005 and I am sure the Committee will be pleased to take him up on his offer later today.  Today, Simon Corlett steps down as our President.  Simon was completely dedicated to the job and served the Union with great distinction.  I do hope we have not lost him completely as he brought a bit of sanity to our after hours activities.  He is succeeded by Bob Kerr, who comes to the job with an impressive record of service.  
I first worked with Bob on the Disciplinary Committee, then as NW Delegate, Chairman of the Union in 1999-2000 and, finally, Chairman of Grounds.  I am sure Bob will have a very successful and enjoyable year.
 
My thanks and the thanks of the Union to all the members of the media for their support.  My personal thanks to my fellow Officers and all who helped during the year.  I would like to make special mention of Chairman of Youth, Jim Bennett who, in his first year, has enthusiastically taken on all he has been asked to do, plus in the past months put in place a new, comprehensive Code of Ethics and Best Practice for our Under Age Teams, which I am sure will be of great benefit to Managers and Coaches in the performance of their onerous duties.
 
We look forward to 2004 with Bangladesh to kick off the season, then Surrey in the C&G; Trophy in May.  On to West Indies and MCC in June and then July is Holland and Intercontinental Cup, followed by European Championships.  The last game will be against Scotland in Clontarf and, who knows, off to Dubai for the Finals of the Intercontinental Cup.  Our Women can look forward to a visit from New Zealand and European Under 21s.
 
 
John P. Wright
Hon. Secretary
January 2004