The Northern Cricket Union held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday evening at The Pavilion, Stormont, with 80 attendees representing clubs, officials, and directors from across the Union. The meeting reviewed the past year’s activities, confirmed several key appointments, and considered several important motions relating to governance and competition rules for the 2026 season and beyond.
Board Appointments and Acknowledgements
Callum Atkinson provided commentary on the Annual Report and Financial Statements.
The following appointments were formally confirmed:
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President: Ian Houston
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Vice President: Andrew Clement
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Chair: Andrew Cowden
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Vice Chair: Alan Waite
The meeting also acknowledged the conclusion of Michael Humphreys’ two-year tenure as Chair of the NCU. Michael was warmly thanked for his outstanding leadership, commitment, and professionalism throughout his time in the role. His guidance helped steer the Union through a period of further development and positive change, and his contribution was recognised by all in attendance. Michael will continue to serve the organisation as a Director on the Board.
Richard Booth was formally appointed as Finance Director.
The Union recognised long-standing service within the game, with outgoing NCU President Bryan Milford elected as an Honorary Life Member.
Ian Houston presents Bryan Milford with his Honorary Life Member certificate
Domestic Director Alan Waite provided an update on domestic cricket operations, including potential bye-law changes. Upcoming events were also highlighted, including the NIACUS Level 1 Umpiring Course and NCU Grounds Day.
Notices of Motion
A number of Special Resolutions and Competition Rule motions were presented to the membership. The outcomes were as follows:
(a) Special Resolutions to amend Articles of Association
Serial 1 – Proposed by Board – PASSED
Article 34(3) – Replace ‘nine or more years’ continuous service’ with ‘twelve or more years’ continuous service’.
[This would extend from nine to twelve years the maximum period of continuous service by a director.]
Serial 2 – Proposed by Board – PASSED
Articles 28(1) and thereafter wherever the titles appear – Replace ‘Chairperson’ with ‘Chair’ and ‘Vice-Chairperson’ with ‘Vice-Chair’.
[This would adopt more succinct and modern titles for the two offices.]
Motions to amend General and Competition Rules
Serial 3 – Proposed by Ards and Donaghadee CC – PASSED
Competition Rule A31 – Delete Rule.
Competition Rule A32 – Renumber as A31 and replace ‘Section 1 or 2’ with ‘Section 1, 2 or 3’.
[This would enable a team in Section 3 of the Senior League to field one non-resident player on the same basis as teams in Sections 1 and 2.]
Serial 4 – Proposed by Derriaghy CC – PASSED
Competition Rule G16 – amend sub-sections to read:
(a) Premier League – 50 overs;
(b) Senior League Section 1 – 50 overs (which teams may agree in advance to reduce to 40 overs);
(c) Senior League Sections 2 and 3 and Junior League Section 1 – 40 overs.
[This would enable teams in Senior League Section 1 to agree in advance to reduce the scheduled maximum duration of a Match 1 from 50 to 40 overs a side.]
Serial 5 – Proposed by Domestic Cricket Directorate – PASSED
Competition Rule C12 – Replace ‘20’ with ‘5’.
[This would remove an anomaly that currently specifies 20 overs rather than 5 overs as the minimum second innings length in a 20-over Challenge Cup rearrangement.]
Serial 6 – Proposed by Dungannon CC & PSNI CC – PASSED
Competition Rule F2 – In the second sentence, delete ‘for a period of up to three seasons or until the club enters a second eleven’ and delete third sentence.
[This would allow the first eleven of a new or developing club to continue to play in the Junior league without time limit, even after entering a second eleven, in order to find a suitable playing level, where the Domestic Directorate deems this to be in the interests of the wider development of the game.]
Serial 7 – Proposed by Board – PASSED
Competition Rule F3 – At end of fourth sentence add (twelve from 2027). Amend the first part of the fifth sentence to read ‘From 2027, all other Sections shall comprise eight teams’.
Competition Rule F18 – After ‘Section 1 of the Senior League’ add ‘(first and second in 2026)’.
Competition Rule F19 – Add at end ‘There shall be no relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2026 season.’
[This would increase the size of the Premier League from ten teams to twelve and reduce the size of Senior League Section 1 from ten teams to eight teams with effect from the 2027 season.]
Serial 8 – Proposed by Domestic Cricket Directorate – PASSED
Competition Rule F9 – Replace the existing list of competitions after ‘final of’ with ‘any domestic or all-Ireland cup competition’.
[Where a club’s first eleven is due to play in a cup final, its junior teams are allowed to postpone their league matches on that day. This would avoid the need for the rule to specify each such competition by name and the associated need for it to be amended whenever a competition name is changed or a new one launched.]
Serial 9 – Proposed by Board – PASSED
Competition Rule F18 – Amend first two clauses to read ‘The teams finishing first in Sections 1 to 3 of the Senior League and Section 2 of the Junior League’.
Competition Rule F19 – Amend second clause to read ‘the teams finishing bottom of Sections 1 and 2 of the Senior League and Section 1 of the Junior League’
[This would bring all promotion and relegation between sections of the Senior League into a ‘one up, one down’ format.]
2026 Promotion & Relegation
Premier League – No Relegation
Section 1 – 2x teams promoted / 1x Team Relegated
Section 2 – 1x Team promoted / 1x Team Relegated
Section 3 – 1x Team promoted /
Serial 10 – Proposed by Domestic Cricket Directorate – NOT CARRIED
Competition Rule F18 – In the final sentence, after ‘any such team’ insert ‘or the club, for reasons acceptable to the Directorate, does not wish the team to be promoted’.
[This would permit a club to opt for a team that finishes in a league position that would qualify it for promotion to forgo promotion and remain in its current section provided that the club’s reasons are acceptable to the Directorate.]
Serial 11 – Proposed by Domestic Cricket Directorate – AMENDED
Competition Rule F20 – Delete ‘on the following basis, ‘(i) in the Senior League’ and sub-section ii.
[This would extend to the Junior League the use of net run rate over the current season (rather than the immediately previous season’s league placing) as the initial basis for determining promotion and relegation where teams are tied at the top or bottom of a section.]
Amendment – Serial 11 will extend to Junior Leagues 1-4 Only
Serial 12 – Proposed by Domestic Cricket Directorate – PASSED
Competition Rule H5 – Add at end ‘The home club may defer these times by up to two hours where a morning league match has also been arranged to be played on the same ground that day.’
[This would allow afternoon matches in Junior Leagues 2 and below to start up to two hours later than the currently specified latest time where the ground was also accommodating a league match in the morning. The primary intention is to encourage more intensive use of artificial pitches to relieve the growing pressure on ground availability.]
The AGM concluded with strong engagement from club representatives and the approval of several significant updates to governance and competition structures. These changes reflect the Union’s continued commitment to supporting club development, enhancing competition integrity, and ensuring sustainable growth of cricket within the NCU. We look forward to seeing you all in 2026.