News & Events

The MCU today announced the draw for the 2010 Munster Cup competitions.

Cork County face a tough trip to Plassey on the outskirts of Galway City in the Preliminary Round of the Munster Senior Cup in a repeat of last season’s draw when an understrength County side suffered a surprise two wicket defeat to the Tribesmen. County Galway went on to reach the Senior Cup Final where they were eventually defeated by Cork Harlequins. The 2009 Cup winners begin the defence of their Senior Cup title with a home tie against Co. Kerry.

In the Junior Cup competition, holders Cork County are faced with the prospect of a preliminary clash with a much fancied Co. Clare team as they set out to retain the cup. Waterford District take their junior cup bow and await the winner of the preliminary tie between Lismore and Limerick.

UCC, last year’s Minor Cup winners, take on the young Presentation side in the preliminary round and will consider themselves lucky to have avoided the strong Cork County and Cork Harlequins side of the draw.


The 2010 Draw as it affects Cork County is as follows:

Munster Senior Cup

Round One:

Co. Galway v Cork County

Munster Junior Cup

Preliminary Round:

Cork County 2 v County Clare

Munster Minor Cup

Preliminary Round:

Midleton 3 v Cork County 3

To see the full draw for all three Munster Cups please click on the link below:
Munster Cups Draw 2010

Cork County CC are delighted to announce that Kukri will be supplying the coloured playing kit and leisurewear for the 2010 season and beyond. The new Kukri kit is due to arrive in early April and will be used for the Irish Cup and all Twenty20 fixtures. It is also anticipated that coloured gear will be intorduced into Munster Senior league cricket in the near future.

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  Kukri Coloured Top €25

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  Kukri Coloured Trousers €25

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  Kukri Coloured Fleese €25

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  Kukri Baseball Cap €15

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  Kukri T-shirt €15

Kukri will also be providing tracksuits for the 2010 season and they are due to arrive in late April in time for our Irish Cup tie against CSNI at Stormont on the 8th of May.

If you wish to purchase the new coloured kit or would like further information about it, please don’t hesitate to contact Club Captain Robert Duggan at rduggan2000@yahoo.com

Cork County Cricket Club are holding a Season Opening Ball to mark the reopening of the Mardyke clubhouse after the damage caused by the severe flooding in Cork City last December and also to mark Cork County’s reintroduction into Leinster League Cricket for the first time in just over 10 years.

The season ahead is both a very exciting and challenging one for the Club and we would hope that you can join us on the 27th to celebrate the start of the 2010 cricket season.

Time: 8.00 p.m.
Date: 27th of March 2010
Location: Rochestown Park Hotel

A complimentary drinks reception will be held at 8.00 p.m. and the remainder of the night’s activities will commence at 8.30 p.m. Special guest on the night will be the current Irish cricket coach, Phil Simmons, who will be taking time out from Ireland’s Twenty20 World Cup preparations to be present at the Season Opening Ball.

Tickets for the event can be purchased from our event co-ordinators:
William J. Bradley (Social Committee): 086 3610711 or wb84zer@gmail.com; and
Robert Duggan (Club Captain): 087 6544728 or rduggan2000@yahoo.com.

Tickets are €35 per person and the dress code is strictly formal however we must stress that it is not black-tie.

We would be obliged if you could RSVP your attendance or non attendance to either William or Robert, respectively, and they will make further arrangements with you regarding your tickets.

If you require any further information regarding the Ball, please don’t hesitate to contact William or Robert.

Committee, Cork County Cricket Club.

The Club would like to thank the following sponsors for their continued support:

Ireland and Northants wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien was back in Ireland at the weekend taking part in coaching sessions at Cork County.

The visit was a huge success with Niall visiting the Presentation Brothers College gym in the morning to do a session with the schoolboys and then moving onto the Cork County senior practise session in Ashton School where he put the senior and junior squads through their paces.

The large turnout and huge interest in the visit just proves how the game of cricket is growing in popularity on Leeside.

Niall mentioned that “its an absolute pleasure to be coming down and help out. I have so many fond memories of playing in Cork as a kid with Railway Union and scored my first Irish ton at the Mardyke so it has fond memories for me.”

Dermot Giltinan, Cork County Youth Coach, said that “it was a fantastic day for Cork County to have one of Ireland’s leading cricketers down to put the lads through their paces. It is not often that our young players get to learn from an International cricketer of Niall’s class and his great personality and manner really rubbed off on them.”

“The visit has given the game in Cork a huge lift and just highlights the potential that Cork County has at it’s disposal especially with our participation in Leinster Division 2 this season.”

A full selection of photographs from Niall’s visit can be viewed by clicking here.

The annual Cork County Charity 6-a-side Cricket Tournament 2010 will be taking place on Friday the 2nd July and Saturday the 3rd July, 2010. The charity selected this year is the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind . It is hoped we can raise more than we did for the 2009 nominated charity – Marymount Hospice and provide much needed support to the Irish Guide Dogs.

We hope to grow the tournament in the future to attract more international based clubs and players.

Throughout the years Cork County has seen many a notable cricket visitor from Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight, Niall O’Brien, Derek Pringle, Peter Such, Stuart Surridge, Robin Smith, John Stephenson, John & Simon Francis, Mark Waugh, Hansie Cronje and countless more have added to our great tradition of quality cricket and quality opposition. Cork County has even had the late great WG Grace visit the club in 1903 when he visited with the London County side.

Weekends Schedule:

• Friday’s activities are a BBQ and drinks for all entrants and their touring party. Along with entertainment to get the festival atmosphere going;
• Saturday morning – Registration 9am to 10am;
• Saturday morning – Games start 1030am;
• Saturday – Final 7pm approx; and
• Saturday Night Events – TBC.

The matches are played with wind balls so cricket pads etc. are not needed. Also the bats used are not dissimilar to Kwik Cricket bats this is to ensure the safety of novice cricketers as well as experienced cricketers. Throughout the day there is music, and other entertainment for the spectators accompanying the teams.

Last Year we had a mixture of teams (both male and female), old veterans, novices and part timers, Munster Rugby Team and the eventual winners Kilbrittain GAA Club. We hope that you will join us this year for what promises to be a great weekend.

For further details regarding entrance fee’s, etc. please don’t hesitate to contact :
William Bradley at wb84zer@gmail.com; or
Robert Duggan at rduggan2000@yahoo.com

Very reasonable accommodation can be organised at the Rochestown Park Hotel www.rochestownpark.com. Prices for entering are 150Euro for a team of six.

Photograph’s from last year’s event can be found by clicking here.

Sixes Sponsors 2009:
Irish Examiner
Nestle Kit Kat
Rochestown Park Hotel
Heineken
Club Classic
Moylan Mulcahy & Co.

The new senior squad player profiles for the coming 2010 season are now available to view by clicking here.

The following is an extract from Cover Point’s Match Report on the 2008 Munster Senior Cup Final played on 30th May 2009 after being held over from the previous season.

“The 2008 MCU Cup final (finally staged yesterday at the Mardyke in Cork) ended in dramatic fashion with Cork County defeating the holders, Cork Harlequins by two wickets with four balls remaining.

After 49 overs and over 7 hours in uninterrupted sunshine, County were 186 for 8 needing 5 runs to win. With the experienced ex Irish international Ted Williamson about to bowl the final over and with 16 year old rookie Chris Banon facing, it seemed that ‘Quins were on the verge of pulling off a remarkable victory to retain the Cup.

It wasn’t to be however. Banon kept a cool head and smashed the first ball of Williamson’s over into the off side. Despite a desperate dive it pierced the field and County were able to run two. The next ball Banon confidently lifted over the infield to the long off boundary and County were home.”

The young Banon clearly rose to the challenge on that occasion!

On 29th June 2009 at Fox Lodge, he scored 96 out of a Munster total of 211 all out against Leinster U15s in an interprovincial series. Though Leinster won the match by 100 runs Banon was named Man of the Match.

With Cork County joining the Leinster League in 2010 there will be more opportunities for the now seventeen-year-old to showcase his talent and demonstrate that he can mix it at a higher level.

It is a challenge that his captain at Cork County, Robert Duggan is confident that Banon is ready for:

“My first real glimpse of Chris’ talent was when he hit the winning runs with only a few balls remaining during the rescheduled 2008 Munster Senior Cup Final at the beginning of last season.

2009 was a real breakthrough season for him especially when scored 96 against Leinster U15 during the interprovincial series.

I had heard a lot of good things from our youth coach Dermot Giltinan about Chris and since he graduated into the senior squad at the beginning of last season I have seen for myself his great attitude and willingness to learn from senior players.

Chris is a popular member of the squad and his great sporting attitude is the perfect example to are other up and coming young players.

It is hoped Chris will form a major part of our side for coming season particularly with the challenge of competing in Leinster Division 2, a tough Irish Cup tie away to Civil Service in Belfast and also in local Munster competitions.

One of the principal reasons for Cork County’s application to enter the Leinster league was to provide our talented younger players such as Chris with decent competitive cricket and a pathway to possible higher representative honours.

From what I know of him so far I am very confident he is up to the challenge. His eagerness to learn accompanied by his excellent fielding ability and natural eye for the ball all point towards a very promising cricketing career for Cork County, Munster and hopefully at Irish representative level in the not so distant future”.

Chris Banon- Profile

Date of Birth: 17/11/92

Place of Birth: Cork City

Club: Cork County CC

Bats: LHB, usually middle order

Bowls: a bit of medium pace (sometimes)

Interview:

CP: When did you start to play cricket?

CB: When I went into first year in school.

CP: What sparked your interest in the game?

CB: My dad is from India so he got me interested in it originally. I watched it a little bit on TV and found it interesting and when I got the chance to try it out in school I got hooked on it.

CP: Favourite cricketer and why?

CB: Sachin Tendulkar. He is just a class act. His technique and timing is second to none and he is just a genius in the middle.

CP: Biggest influence and why?

CB: Without a doubt it has to be Dermot Giltinan. He was the one who really got me into the game and was the one who showed me how to bat. He taught me all the basics when I first started playing and hasn’t given up on me yet, and is still helping me to improve as a player.

CP: Ambitions for 2010?

CB: I would like to get more consistent with my batting and start getting more runs, and to keep improving.

CP: Ambitions beyond 2010?

CB: To just keep improving and getting better, and like most people to play for an Irish team would obviously be a dream come true.

CP: Proudest achievement to date?

CB: Winning a Munster Senior Cup was exceptional, but it would probably have to be getting runs in the inter-pros against Leinster last summer. It was just a great feeling and my best innings to date.

CP: Biggest disappointment to date?

CB: Losing the 2009 senior cup first round to Galway after winning the 2008 senior cup final the day before.

CP: Area looking to improve in 2010?

CB: My consistency. I would like to start getting more consistent with the bat and to stop finding different ways to get myself out.

CP: What else are you passionate about?

CB: Sport in general really, especially rugby and GAA.

CP: What other interests have you / what other sports do you play?

CB: I play rugby and GAA so they keep me busy when I’m not playing cricket.

CP: What could Irish cricket be doing (if anything) that it is not doing already to make the sport more popular?

CB: Just keep doing whatever it’s doing now. The sport’s popularity in Munster is at a high and the numbers of young players starting in Cork County is rising each year.

Liam Rooney in cooperation with Chris Banon

Copyright: Cover Point

On 27th March 2010, Cork County will be hosting a ball to celebrate the start to this unique season. Cork County will be playing in Leinster Division 2 as a club for the first time in over ten years.

The upcoming season is a huge undertaking for the Club to step into the shoes of the former Munster Reds franchise. Over the last decade the Munster Reds have been the only vehicle for local talent to compete against some of the best players in Ireland. It is hoped that in future Cork County’s participation in Leinster will provide an ideal platform for our talented younger players to progress to further representative honours.

The event is to be held at the Rochestown Park Hotel and promises to be a spectacular evening.

Over the coming weeks members will recieve written and digital invitations for the ball.

Should anyone require further information regarding the event please contact William John Bradley at wb84zer@gmail.com

Photograph’s from last years End of Season Ball are available here.

The Irish International wicket keeper/ batsman Niall O’Brien will be taking time out from his busy pre-season schedule to visit a Cork County indoor training session. Niall will be taking training session for the Senior and Junior squad’s on Saturday the 20th of February at the Ashton School gym.

Earlier in the morning Niall will also be attending the Presentation Brothers College gym to take part in a youth training session with the Cork County youth coach Dermot Giltinan.

For any further details please contact the Club Captain, Robert Duggan at rduggan2000@yahoo.com

Cork County pre-season indoor training commed last Saturday, the 30th of January, at the Ashton School gym between 12.00 and 2.00 p.m. and will continue every Saturday until early/mid April. All senior and junior standard players are welcome to attend.

These indoor session will form an important part of Cork County’s preparations for the challenge of competing in Leinster Division 2 and regaining the Munster Senior League and Cup during the coming season.

Each player will have to bring €7 per session and the remainder of the cost of hiring the hall will be covered by the Club.

For any further information regarding these indoor sessions, please don’t hesitate to contact:
Robert Duggan (Club Captain) – 087 6544728
Ross Durity (Vice Captain) – 086 2022325