The inaugural Weekend T20 Divisions came to a close on Saturday 25th May and congratulations to:
T20 Weekend Premier Division winner
Crosby 1st XI
T20 Weekend Division 1 winner
Ramsey 1st XI
T20 Weekend Division 2 winner
Valkyres 2nd XI
The 2024 season saw T20 cricket played for the first time on a Saturday with a number of exciting finishes not least the Valkyres 2nd XI versus Cronkbourne 3rd XI with a Muhammad Muaz 6 hit off the penultimate ball to win the game chasing 178. The T20 fixtures also allowed a number of back-to-back games on grounds attracting a number of spectators creating a great atmosphere at grounds. The 40, 35 and 30-over leagues will start after TT on a Saturday.
Thank you to Vannin Photos.
Isle of Man 2024 League Fixtures Published
Fixtures have been finalised for the 2024 senior, junior and women’s leagues and the full league programme can be found on Play Cricket: iomcacomps.play-cricket.com/Competitions
Senior Cricket There will be a total of 15 teams playing in the 2024 week end competitions in the Premier League, Division 1 and Division 2. The start of the season will see T20 cricket played on a Saturday moving to the longer format fixtures on the 15th June. The Premier League will be played using a 40-over format while Divisions 1 will be 35-overs per side and Division 2 will be 30-overs. Saturday 27th April will see the start of the weekend season. A total of 19 teams will compete across the Isle of Man in the midweek T20 competitions with Wednesday 1st May the start of the T20 season. 2024 will see the start of the Isle of Man T10 league with total of 18 teams beginning on the 24th July.
Junior Cricket The junior leagues will see a total of 20 teams play in the U15 league on a Monday evening, U13 league on a Tuesday evening and U11 league on a Friday evening. The regionalised Kwik Cricket festivals will return to a Friday evening.
Women's Cricket The 2024 women's soft ball league will have 7 teams play in 10-a-side pairs format and then splitting into Division 1 and 2 mid season on a Monday evening. This year will see the start of the women's Super Series allowing those females to play in cricket ball fixtures on a Sunday with teams organised by the IOMCA.
First Victory in the European Cricket League
Crosby Cricket Club were the first Isle of Man domestic club side to enter the European Cricket League. On Tuesday 12th March , Crosby played two T10 fixtures. The first game was against 2023 Spanish champions Par-I-Care Badalona. Having lost the toss , Crosby were asked to bowl first. A quick start for the Spanish saw them 38 for no wickets, the first wicket fell to Rich Tarr with the opener caught by Tom Burrows, the second wicket then fell to Ed Walker. The Spanish continued to score boundaries freely and it wasn't until the last over where Rich Tarr picked up another wicket. The Spanish finishing on 156 for 3 wickets and Rich Tarr the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 19 off his two overs. The openers Carl Hartmann and George Burrows fell early and the middle order of Rich Tarr (24 from 16 balls) and Chris Langford (18 from 12 balls) scored some quick boundaries but Crosby eventually finished on 78 for 8 wickets.
Game 2 was against the Estonian champions Tallinn Stallions and Crosby once again lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. Straight from the first ball the Tallinn Stallions scored very freely punishing everything the Crosby bowlers tried and finished on an impressive 221-0. An improved batting performance from Crosby saw them finish on 151 for 6 wickets with Carl Hartmann impressing with 71 from 21 balls supported by Rich Tarr 39 off 18 balls and Jamie Brown 27 from 17 balls.
Day 3 and game 3 saw themselves play Independents Cricket Club from Guernsey and Crosby won the toss and elected to bat. Crosby lost four wickets in the first three overs, but the entrance of Christo Roelofse increased the boundaries with 28 from 13 balls. Other wickets fell cheaply and once Christo was gone, Kevin Kniveton and Tom Burrows added a further 20 runs for the last wicket with Crosby finishing on 88 for 9 wickets. An excellent start by the Crosby opening bowlers with Chris Langford 2 wickets for 10 runs and George Newton 2 overs for 18 runs restricted the Guernsey side. However, Independents CC kept on chipping away at the score and eventually winning with 9 balls to spare.
In order to make it into Finals day and continue in the competition Crosby had to beat the unbeaten group leaders Donaustadt of Austria, with a bonus point. Crosby lost the toss and were put into bat. Carl Hartmann (39 from 23 balls) and George Burrows (33 from 17 balls) saw Crosby reach 75 runs from the first 6 over. A late flurry from Chris Langford 23 from 10 balls saw Crosby finish on 114 for 5 wickets. A good start from openers Chris Langford and George Newton bowling under lights reduced the Austrians to 15 for 1 wicket from 2 overs. a tidy over from Rich Tarr restricted Donaustadt to 33 for 2 from 4 overs. The next few overs saw the Austrians gain the upper hand with them needing 6 off the final over. Rich Tarr was asked to bowl the last over, two singles and a wicket set the match up for a a tense finish, with the Austrians needing 4 runs from 3 balls. A run out off the final ball saw Crosby win by 1 run and resulting in their first T10 European victory. Crosby 114-5 and Donaustadt 113-6. However, Crosby did not get the bonus point they required to progress to finals day for the knockout stage due to inferior run rate.
Crosby Cricket Club European Cricket League Debut
Crosby Cricket Club will be making their debut in the European Cricket T10 League on March 12th as the Cain champions in 2023. The European Cricket League, ECL, is the Champions League of European cricket. Played by European countries' domestic league club champions. The ECL brings all the domestic champions together in a Champions League format, providing the highest level of competition for European club cricket. The ECL runs over four weeks during February-March featuring day and night action, culminating in a moment which crowns Europe's champion of champions each year and is enjoyed by TV viewers at prime time across the world.
Crosby CC have been drawn in Group F which contains Pak I Care Badalona (Spain), Donaustadt CC (Austria), Independent CC (Guernsey) and Tallinn Stallions (Estonia).
IOMCA 2023 Season Comes to a Close
Congratulations to the following 2023 league and cup winners:
Congratulations to the following players who were top of the Isle of Man Honours Boards for the 2023 season:
The top three leading runs scorers for 2023 were:
Ollie Webster - 1103 runs
Christian Webster - 1100 runs
George Burrows - 975 runs
The top three leading wicket takers for 2023 were:
Fraser Clarke - 47 wickets
Spencer Clarke - 46 wickets
Ollie Webster - 36 wickets
The top three fielders for 2023 were:
Carl Hartmann - 41 victims
Phil Littlejohns - 31 victims
Juan Bellando - 29 victims
Isle of Man League 2023 Fixtures Published
Fixtures have been finalised for the 2023 senior, junior and women’s leagues and the full league programme can be found on Play Cricket: iomcacomps.play-cricket.com/Competitions
Senior Cricket There will be a total of 15 teams playing in the 2023 week end competitions in the Premier League, Division 1 and the newly formed Division 2. It is excellent news that Valkyres 2nd XI will be joining the week end Division 2 bolstering the numbers and competition. The Premier League will be played using a 40-over format while Divisions 1 will be 35-overs per side and Division 2 will be 30-overs. Saturday 6th May will see the start of the weekend season. A total of 20 teams will compete across the Isle of Man in the midweek T20 competitions with Wednesday 3rd May the start of the T20 season. A total of 8 teams will contest the Tinker Cup and 8 will contest the Blincoe Cup.
Junior Cricket The junior leagues will see a total of 19 teams play in the U15 league on a Monday evening, U13 league on a Tuesday evening and U11 league on a Friday evening. Retirement has now been introduced in U11, U13 and U15 junior league cricket to allow more people to get the opportunity to participate. The regionalised Kwik Cricket festivals will now be played fortnightly on a Sunday afternoon moving from a Friday evening. This year will see a new exciting T10 competition played in August as a culmination to the junior league season.
Women's Cricket The 2023 women's soft ball league will have 8 teams played in Division 1 and the newly formed Division 2. Division 1 will be played in a T20 format and Division 2 will continue to be played in an 8-a-side pairs format. The soft ball league will begin after TT on Monday 12th June with regional festivals on a Sunday afternoon and Monday evening leading up to the beginning of the league season.
Club Facility Developments in 2022
There have been exciting facility developments at Cronkbourne Cricket Club, Crosby Cricket Club, Peel and St John's Cricket Club and King William's College in 2022.
In April Cronkbourne CC after a delay due to Covid had an additional lane installed on their two lane non turf net system to create a three lane net system. This will hugely assist their Thursday evening training for their increasing number of junior and senior, male and female teams. King William's College also had a new non turf cricket pitch laid and repairs made on the non turf nets for the upcoming 2022 season.
After the 2022 season had finished Crosby CC and Peel and St John's CC had a new non turf cricket pitch laid on Wednesday 21st, Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd September. The final job for the season regarding pitches was the end of season pitch maintenance at Cronkbourne Cricket Club. A number of Cronkbourne volunteers were at Cronkbourne CC on Saturday 24th September and preparation for next season involved scarifying, sowerolling, seeding, fertilising and reloaming.
IOMCA League and Cup Winners 2022
Congratulations to the below league and cup winners for the 2022 season.
All 2022 league and cup winners and family members are invited to attend the Celebration of Cricket on October 16th at the Villa Marina between 16:00 to 22:00. If you would like to attend, please communicate with with your club representatives. If they could then forward on those who wish to attend to [email protected]
After a very successful 2022 season the annual Celebration of Cricket has been expanded from previous years. This should allow people to congregate before and after the presentations (approximately 18:00). The Celebration of Cricket event showcases the full activities of Isle of Man cricket including league and cup winners, IOMCA squad awards and volunteer awards.
League Structure Changes Announced for 2022
The IOMCA have recently reviewed the recommendations put forward by the League Review Committee (we would like to thank those involved for their efforts) and put together a structure for league cricket for 2022 onwards.
There are some key areas to focus on for clubs before committing teams for 2022 like the introduction of the 7-4-2 regulations for junior players and the changes to midweek cricket.
These changes will allow cricket to be played across all formats in a more balanced and competitive environment and allow increased access to cricket for new players along with freeing up facilities for training and women and girl's cricket
There has been a significant amount of cricket played on the Isle of Man in 2021 with the introduction of the Forrester Division Two, the Women's Soft Ball League and Knock Out Cup and Division One increasing from four teams to eight teams. Congratulations to following league and cup winners for 2021: Premiership: Crosby 1st XI Cain: Peel & St Johns Midweek XI Division 1: Ramsey 2nd XI Forrester Division 1: Crosby T20 2nd XI Forrester Division 2: Castletown T20 3rd XI Tinker Cup: Peel & St Johns 1st XI Blincoe Cup: Ramsey 2nd XI Under 11 League: Cronkbourne U11s Under 13 League: Castletown U13 B Under 15 League: Castletown U15s Women's Soft Ball League: Ramsey Women's 1st XI Women's Soft Ball Knock Out Cup: Cronkbourne Women's 1st XI
Ramsey Win the Inaugural Women's Soft Ball League 2021
This year saw the first women's soft ball league made up of Ramsey, Cronkbourne and two teams from Castletown. After a delay to the start of the season due to high winds and rain six rounds of fixtures were played, with two fixtures per round played at Tromode, Ramsey Grammar School and King William's College.
Ramsey finished as winners of the inaugural soft ball league with 10 wins over the season. There were a number of close encounters with Cronkbourne including a tie with Cronkbourne finishing second and Castletown third and fourth respectively. The season has been great to watch with a number of close finishes and lots of competitive and exciting cricket played. The league has created the opportunity for 32 women and girls to play regular competitive cricket over the season with a number of new players joining clubs..
New Women's Soft Ball Cricket League 2021
Four teams have entered the inaugural women's soft ball cricket league - two teams from Castletown and one each from Cronkbourne and Ramsey. The new soft ball cricket league fixtures have been published on www.iomcacomps.play-cricket.com.with the fixtures played over six Sundays through the summer and the home ground will host all the fixtures with each team playing two fixtures. The games will be umpired by the clubs, scored and points recorded on Play Cricket.
Return of Grass Wickets at Cronkbourne CC
Work is well underway at Cronkbourne CC to prepare grass wickets for the 2021 season. A number of Cronkbourne volunteers as well as Cricket Development Officer Greig Wright were at Cronkbourne Cricket Club on Sunday 30th, Monday 31st August and Tuesday 1st September. Preparation for next season involved scarifying, sowerolling, seeding, fertilising and reloaming.
New Division One
In the newly formed Division one on a Saturday there are currently four teams - Crosby, Castletown and Ramsey. If anyone would like to play 40 over cricket on a Saturday and isn't currently getting the opportunity or would like to give cricket a go please email [email protected]
Division one is designed to provide a level of cricket for younger developing players, current club players who aren't getting regular first team cricket and any older or returning players who would like to give cricket a go. Players have to be 13 and above to be eligible.
League Fixtures Announced
Isle of Man league fixtures have been published and uploaded to Play Cricket. There are lots of opportunitie for all ages to play - Monday: Forrester T20 league Tuesday: U13 T20 league Wednesday: Cain T20 league Thursday: U15 T20 league Friday: U11 T20 league Saturday: Premier and Division 1 40 over league
The first game back is Monday 29th June in the Forrester. The women and girl's soft ball festivals and U9 Kwik cricket Friday festival dates will be published very soon. A huge thanks to all the clubs and everyone who has contributed to league cricket returning
Clubs Return to Training
Clubs across the Isle of Man have been returning to training since Thursday 11th June. Crosby juniors and seniors have been training since last Thursday 11th with Cronkbourne seniors also training Thursday 11th with their first junior session Tuesday 16th. The Castletown U13s and women and girls trained alongside each other on Tuesday 16th. All clubs have had positive feedback and good turnouts. If anyone would like information about any of the club's training please email [email protected].
IOMCA Return to Cricket Proposal
The IOMCA have submitted a Return to Cricket Proposal with relevant risk assessments which have been put forward to the Isle of Man Government and relevant parties. The IOMCA has outlined a four phased return to play within their Return to Cricket Proposal which aligns with the recent Isle of Man Government's Medium-Term Response to Covid-19 - Stay Safe guidelines. Club representatives have been emailed the Return to Cricket Proposal to allow them to prepare for cricket recommencing as outlined in the proposal. However, it is completely at the discretion of the individual and club whether they wish to take part in the relevant phase of the Isle of Man Return to Cricket proposal. The IOMCA will work with clubs to reopen their outdoor facilities to meet the specified requirements outlined in each phase.
At present current measures are being relaxed with other sports returning to action with legislative frameworks being amended to allow this to happen. Our proposal is 100% based around a safe return to cricket with a staged and monitored approach that is controlled and robust. This would still allow players to get back playing the game they love improving their skills and maintaining their physical and mental health but in a safe and organised environment.
Please see below the IOMCA's Return to Cricket Proposal. We look forward to engaging with the Government soon -
Suspension of Cricket Activities due to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Chief Minister of the Isle of Man Government, yesterday (Friday) advised sporting organisations on the Isle of Man to reconsider their positions on holding events concerned with their sports. The Executive Committee of the Isle of Man Cricket Association discussed yesterday evening how we should proceed in the coming days. It was decided, that, with much sadness, all cricket activities on the Isle of Man will be suspended with immediate effect from today (Saturday March 21st, 2020) for a period of 30 days. This suspension extends to all National Squad training, pre-season Senior Player nets and any associated cricket activity organised by the Isle of Man Cricket Association.
The situation will be reviewed after 30 days (Monday April 20th, 2020), when hopefully the advice from the Isle of Man Government will allow normal activity to resume. It is very important that Isle of Man Cricket plays its part to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to protect everyone in the sport, be it players, coaches, supporters, their families and the rest of the Isle of Man population. I know that many of the players and coaches have worked incredibly hard and invested a lot of emotional effort for a long period of time. The Association thanks everyone for their hard work. We will try to keep everyone updated in the best way that the Association can with regard to future plans. Thank you for your attention and patience in these difficult times.
New Pitch for Finch Hill in 2019
Finch Hill Cricket Club had a new pitch installed on Saturday 15th June 2019. Preparation work was completed by Neil Clarke which involved removing the old pitch and digging out for the new one. The new mat and shock pads from Durandt Cricket were then installed with more good work from Neil Clarke and Mark Burrows who assisted the qualified contractor to instal the new pitch. A number of Finch Hill volunteers assisted on the Sunday clearing the debris away with the youngest volunteer being two years old!
Games commenced week beginning June 24th.
2018 Domestic Season Closes
After another season seeing more games, runs and wickets it is worth acknowledging the individual performances of players.
Isle of Man Cricket 2018 Roll of Honour This list of players acknowledges the achievements of players who have scored over 1000 runs, taken over 50 wickets as bowlers or completed over 20 fielding dismissals. Batting: Eddie Beard 1855 runs (ave 41.22) Under 17 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads Nathan Williams 1496 runs (ave 36.49) Under 12 Castletown/IOMCA Development squads Luke Ward 1377 runs (ave 25.04) Under 13 Ramsey/IOMCA Development squads George Burrows 1317 runs (ave 36.58) Under 18 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads Joseph Humphrey 1159 runs (ave 22.29) Under 12 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Ollie Webster 1144 runs (ave 45.76) Peel & St Johns Carl Hartmann 1125 runs (ave 23.44) Under 14 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Charlie Beard 1085 runs (ave 49.32) Under 15 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads Tom Ward 1061 runs (ave 25.88) Under 11 Ramsey/IOMCA Development squads Bowling: Jacob Butler 99 wickets Under 13 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Nathan Williams 77 wickets Under 12 Castletown/IOMCA Development squads Edward Walker 64 wickets Under 14 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Toby Poole-Wilson 62 wickets Under 13 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Fraser Clarke 53 wickets Under 13 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads Kieran Cawte 52 wickets Peel & St Johns Fielding: Carl Hartmann 46 (33 catches, 3 stumping & 10 run outs) Under 14 Crosby/IOMCA Development squads Eddie Beard 30 (22 catches & 8 run outs) Under 17 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads George Burrows 28 (15 catches, 8 stumping & 5 run outs) Under 18 Finch Hill/IOMCA Development squads Wasim Khan 21 (18 catches, 2 stumping & 1 run out) Valkyres Ollie Webster 20 (20 catches) Peel & St Johns This list highlights the top 5 batting and bowling performances over the season: Batting: Jamie Brown 189 Crosby vs Valkyres Christian Webster 152 Finch Hill U13 vs Cronkbourne U13 Ollie Webster 143 Peel & St Johns vs IOMCA Development XI Tom Ward 140 not out Ramsey U11 vs Cronkbourne U11 Jared Shepherd 139 not out Cronkbourne U11 vs Ramsey U11 Bowling: Edward Walker 7/21 Crosby vs Valkyres Ben Haworth 6/13 Cronkbourne vs Valkyres Ollie Eyres 6/17 Ramsey U11 vs Castletown U11 Ryder Spencer 5/8 Cronkbourne U11 vs Castletown U11 Harry Deering 5/8 Cronkbourne U11 vs Castletown U11
Improved Facilities in 2018
All clubs have updated their facilities in 2018 through the IOMCA and ICC funding. This has included -
Electronic scoreboard - Ramsey, Peel & St Johns, Finch Hill, Union Mills & Crosby
Knock up nets - Cronkbourne, Peel & St Johns, Ramsey, Crosby, Finch Hill, Union Mills & KWC
Boundary rope - Peel & St Johns, Ramsey & Crosby
Sightscreens - Ramsey, Crosby, Union Mills, KWC, Peel & St Johns & Finch Hill
Cricket cage - Crosby
Astro turf pitch - Union Mills
Bowdry water remover & inflatable pitch cover tube - KWC
Turf pitch development - Cronkbourne
IOMCA Club Update
The IOMCA have secured an increased scorecard grant due to the activity on the Island and as such have put together certain initiatives to benefit cricket and its growth. The following initiatives are in place and may be something you as a club would like to discuss.
Schools Coaching The IOMCA have invested through MSR into an initiative which will look to give every child (primary school age) the opportunity to play cricket and hopefully then join one of our clubs.
During the Primary schools sport partnership phase (Easter to TT) there will be 65 days coaching offered between schools where a specialist coach either Sally Green or George Burrows will go into primary schools and try to enthuse them into joining a club.
Outside of this we are also delivering in 2 or 3 schools per half term a 5 or 6 week programme which is targeted to reception and key stage 1 children with a view to develop their all round athleticism (physical literacy) and again see if we can get these children into clubs early. This will be using the CricKids initiative we have run for the last 3 years and all clubs are encouraged to sign up for this and become a host club. Training will be given to coaches or parents as to what to deliver at no cost and will hopefully bring a future generation of cricketers along.
Facilities To enhance the playing experience at clubs all clubs will look to have minimum standard ground requirements.
These will be confirmed in due course after consultation but it is likely to be sight screens, electronic scoreboard and boundary rope for premier league clubs.
The IOMCA will support clubs in buying these and will speak to clubs individually to assess their requirements.
All purchases will have to be through Durrant cricket as they have agreed to become our equipment supplier and will offer special rates to the IOMCA on their products.
New Activity Initiatives The IOMCA have allocated a sum of money which clubs can bid in to to cover the costs for NEW activities which may bring new players into clubs. Clubs can access between £200 and £1000 in supporting these initiatives.
Clubs will need to write an outline plan for these activities and at the end produce receipts etc to show the money has been purposefully spent along with numbers and details of the participants involved.
There will be annual priorities like Women and Girls, modified games etc.
Again more details will follow but please start to think how you can engage in this.
2018 will also see us starting to look at developing an indoor centre which can host all year round activity and cater for the growth we are seeing in our sport.
If you would like to discuss any of these initiatives further please contact Greig Wright and please share this info with your club members.
2017 Domestic Season Taking Shape
Following the reviews of the junior, senior and performance committee scheduling is already taking place for the 2017 domestic and performance calendar.
There was a common agreement from all clubs, junior and senior for more cricket. Increase in age groups and extending the season. To accommodate this there needs to be a slight adjustment in nights for certain competitions but these fall in with the requests by the clubs.
The weekly schedule is proposed as: Mondays - Forrester senior league Tuesdays - Under 15 league Wednesdays - Under 13 league and Cain senior league Thursdays - Club training nights Fridays - Under 11 league and kwik festivals Saturday - Premier league Sundays - Cup rounds (if required) reserve days, performance cricket.
This with the dates being from Saturday April 22nd for certain cup comps finishing on September 3rd with cup finals.
A full list of dates can be found by downloading the file below: