Cricket clubs drawn from the five Provincial Unions – Connacht, Munster, Leinster, Northern, and North West – have been shortlisted for the prestigious Butlers Club of the Year award at tomorrow night’s 11th Clear Treasury Irish Cricket Awards.
The award honours both on-field and off-field achievements, with clubs being nominated for consideration by each Provincial Union. Previous winners of the award include: Bready CC (2022), Limerick CC (2021), Pembroke CC (2020), Waringstown CC (2018), Waringstown CC (2017), and Cork County CC (2016).
Speaking ahead of the awards, Participation Director for Cricket Ireland, Elaine Nolan said:
“Club cricket is the heart of Irish cricket and many clubs would arguably be just as worthy of winning this honour as any of the clubs shortlisted. The Awards process, though, allows us to recognise and champion the many and meaningful contributions of club members, volunteers, coaches, players, officials, and supporters across Ireland.
“This year we have five strong nominations for Club of the Year – each acknowledging the importance both of performance on the field and the clubs’ impacts off the field.”
Lisburn Cricket Club (Northern Cricket Union)
- Lisburn Cricket Club have had a stellar year which can be directly attributable to the culmination of a decade or more of hard work behind the scenes to make their club the heartbeat of the local community. The last year has seen the club enjoy considerable success on the field of play with men’s, women’s and youth teams all celebrating successes. The club has also seen their junior section flourish into one of the biggest in the country, and in 2022 they introduced a disability cricket section.
- Off the pitch the club significant investment has seen the standard of the facilities improve and in 2022 the club played host to several Super Series fixtures.
- The club’s 1st XI men were the NCU Premier League winners and Irish Senior Cup finalists. It was the club’s first premier league title since 1996 and first ever Irish Senior Cup final. Their 2nd XI men were beaten Junior Cup finalists, 3rd XI men beaten Minor Cup finalists and 4th XI men league winners. They launched a midweek XI in 2022 and reached the semi-final of the league in their inaugural season. Their 1st XI women were the NCU league one winners, and they launched a women’s 2nd XI. Considering the club only started women/girls cricket in 2021, this has been a steep trajectory of growth in this section of the club. The U13 girls won the NCU league winners and were All Ireland semi-finalists losing on a bowl out, while their U11 boys won the NCU league and were cup finalists.
- The club introduced disability cricket in 2022 which was developed in conjunction with one of their community partners, Hillsborough Boys FC. They hosted the Northern Cricket Union’s T20 semi-finals day along with the Irish Senior Cup semi-final between Lisburn and Clontarf. 2022 also saw the club launch a new midweek team, a 2nd XI women’s team, a Girls youth teams, and an overall growth in youth numbers, and an increase in visitors / supporters / social members, while they made some improvements to their Wallace Park ground, including additional sightscreens, a new artificial pitch, additional sheets for the square, and new seating.
The Butlers Club of the Year award will be presented to the winning club at tomorrow night’s 11th Clear Treasury Irish Cricket Awards in Dublin.
Keep an eye on Cricket Ireland’s social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram on the night to see who wins these prestigious awards.
