Templepatrick Cricket Club is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club in

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,953 according to the 2011 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It sits on the river Six Mile Water. The town ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, playing in Section 1 of the

NCU Senior League The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) Senior League is the provincial cricket league within the NCU jurisdiction in Ireland, which covers counties Antrim, Armagh, Down and south Tyrone of Northern Ireland. The league was formed in 1897 and is curre ...

. The club was founded in 1969. The club joined the

Northern Cricket Union The Northern Cricket Union of Ireland, more usually referred to as the N.C.U., is one of five provincial governing bodies in Ireland. Along with the Connacht, Leinster, Munster and North West unions, it makes up the Irish Cricket Union (now known ...

in 1976.

On field progress

The club was founded in 1969 and played for two years in the Boys' Brigade 20 Overs Evening Cricket League before gaining admittance to the now defunct Belfast Cricket League in 1971. After using Belfast City Council owned pitches for their entire history, Templepatrick found a permanent home of its own in 1996 when they were invited to join up with Ballyclare Rugby Club at Cloughan Lane in Ballyclare. For many years, Templepatrick played in the bottom rung of Northern Cricket Union senior cricket before finally gaining promotion in 2003.

Ground development and coaching

The club is noted for its efforts in youth cricket and coaching, achieving accreditation through the Clubmark NI programme of Sport Northern Ireland. The leader of the coaching team, Andy McCrea, was awarded the Outstanding Coaching Award at the ECB Sky Sports Coach Awards 2011. Their efforts in coaching have been matched by major ground improvements, laying a new cricket square at their Cloughan Lane ground, drainage work and developing a four-bay outdoor practice facility.

References

External links

Templepatrick Cricket Club
Cricket clubs in County Antrim NCU Senior League members 1969 establishments in Northern Ireland Ballyclare {{Ireland-cricket-team-stub