Batting for Bonds Glen

How long have you had this...love for the game.

(Laughs) Oh jeepers! I'm at least 50 years in cricket...

Really?

Aye. In the early days I was in Ballyarton Cricket Club...

Was it a family thing, cricketing?

Not really, no. None of my family ever played cricket, but Bonds Glen had no youth policy and they packed up and we came up to play then at Kildoag in a field belonging to Ernie Hamilton, and it was great to get, but it wasn't the best for cricket, so after that we went to Bonds Glen. Now, Bonds Glen has had a team but then they closed up. We must be 20 years in Bonds Glen now, and the field there came up for sale and we bought it ...

Were you a member of the committee at that stage?

No I was only Captain then. I had the Captain's job then, and after my back packed up and I had a couple of back operations...well. There was no constitution back then, it was just three or four of us who organised this and that, so to make things legal we had to get a constitution and we had formal posts for secretary, treasurer, chairman, president and I got the chairman's job - that's about, at least 50 year ago. So it went on from there and about six or seven years ago, the facilities weren't great so we had no clubhouse or anything - just a wee shed - in fact the shed's still there.

What do you use it for now? Storage?

Aye, a bit of stuff just. But we built new facilities.

Had you much work to do to try and generate the funds for that?

We had a lot of bother now. We had, but we got a grant from the Lotto, the Sports Council Lotto, and we done the work ourselves. We have carpenters, an electrician and a plumber in the club.

Right, so it was a labour of love then, really?

More or less. I took on to organise it and Jack McFarland, the vice-chairman, he said he would look after the money end, and I think he drew the short straw - or maybe I drew the short straw - but Jack was good; any time I needed money I just said 'Jack I need whatever pound for bricklayers or whatever' or two hundred or whatever, and there was no hassle, and we came out debt free.

Completely debt free?

Completely.

How much did it cost you to do the build at Bonds Glen?

Around...63,000, aye.

What facilities do you have there now?

Well, there's just very good facilities. Good changing rooms, showers, disabled entrances...

It's a bit of a change then from a shed...

Oh, it's big, big, big changes!

A wee bit warmer too, maybe?

A lot warmer! Aye, we have heating now where we never had heating before!...well, we had a Superser, but half the time it would break. The ladies there now have great facilities. Where in the past you would have maybe duck outside to take your tea outside, there is a great kitchen there now and the ladies can do hotdogs and sausage rolls and we can do barbecues...

Despite being involved with the club for 50 years, are you still an office bearer with the club or have you knocked that into touch?

Aye, aye, I'm still a member, and I am still chairman, aye.

How long have you been doing that?

Oh, 15 years I've been chairman. They haven't got fed up with me yet.

You must be doing too good a job for them, are you?

Well...I like to see a thing moving on. We have a great youth policy now.

Do you think that there has been a revival in the interest levels of younger people in cricket in latter years?

They have been...there is a lot more youth involvement now.

Why do you think that is?

Well, it is just a push from the Captain and Vice-Captain. They bring the young fellows in there and Noel McGuinness is very good with them. They have actually two boys' teams there and they spend a lot of time with them and hopefully we might get the both of them into the Bonds Glen...

De ye think?

(Laughs)

There certainly seems to be a renaissance because 20 years ago the sport dipped in popularity quite a bit, didn't it?

Very much so. Aye. I remember teams...ehm...Convoy, Raphoe...Dullerton over here, and Cumber Claudy...quite a few...Ballyarton is another one, that went down the shoot. Greysteel had a team...ehm...quite a lot of them...

Why do you think that was?

I don't think anybody took any interest at that time. The TV was coming out and football was a big thing and the seasons ran into one another, y'know?

Do you think people just got lazy and watched it rather than played it?

Aye. TV was the biggest bug bear. They didn't want to come out to practice. We find it hard with a lot of people working. A lot of people who are working now are having to work on a Saturday to get a decent wage. There used to be a team at Kildoag, I'm remembering a fair number of years ago, and I remember they wore Fairisle jumpers, did ye ever tell of Fairisle jumpers?

Yes.

They wore coloured jumpers, and they called them the Fairisle Rogues.

Were they 'rogues' to play?

Not really, no. They were nearly all a family concern, the Riddles and the Heaneys. I think there were about five Riddles and they were all brothers, but they wore these very colourful jumpers and the other teams usually called them the Fairisle Rogues. Decker Curry started his career with the Bonds Glen. I remember him coming there to play with the boys. He was one of the best cricketers - I would say he was one of the best cricketers the north west ever produced.

Right.

But the way things went - the professionals came in. On the committee for the north west at that time I voted for it thinking they were coming in to coach, but certainly for the first couple of years they coached. The first professional who came to Donemana he did a wonderful job, and the young ones looked up to him and they followed him down the street like penguins.

Looking back do you think money is destroying amateur sport?

Aye. In my opinion, but I don't think I'm speaking just for myself, a lot of people have said there is no loyalty now, whereas before if you played for Bonds Glen then you stayed with Bonds Glen 'til you were dropped.

So sport is like a career now? You progress and just keep moving?

Aye. If a good player comes through the ranks now one of them big clubs poaches them and you can't fault them if they are offered 5,000 or 6,000 for playing cricket on a Saturday. At the end of it you are playing for the love of a cup or to say 'Aye we won the league' or something. I reckon 10,000 is better spent on getting up-to-date facilities or maybe extending the club so we can be self-sustaining by being available for hire for birthday parties or whatever.