Not only would a new square at Eaton Park become one of the best in Ireland, with senior inter-provincial matches and junior international fixtures becoming commonplace, but the club’s playing strength continued to grow. In 1964 Ballymena CC joined the elite ranks of the NCU (the Northern Cricket Union) for the first time and was awarded ‘senior’ status. Ten years later, the club reached the final of the NCU Senior Cup, for the first time, and despite losing to Waringstown, this was a remarkable achievement for what was, at the time, a Section III club. This feat was to be repeated, as a Section II club, seven years later but this time it was North Down who overcame Ballymena. Between these two fairy-tale cup campaigns, Ballymena eventually had come to play in the top flight of the Senior League in 1977.
This ‘Section I’ status has, since that time, been the Holy Grail for Ballymena Cricket Club; frequently the club was too weak to command a strong position in the top league, yet was too good for the sides in Section II. Barely a year has passed since the 1970s when avoiding relegation or gaining promotion was not the 1st XI’s main objective. One such year was 1998 when, having secured promotion from Section II only the year before, Ballymena CC put out its strongest XI ever and lifted the NCU Senior League title for the first time. This was a remarkable achievement, especially given that it was achieved without the services of an overseas professional; only Yajuvindra Singh in 1981-2 and Abi Satham in 1983-4 have been employed by the club as ‘pros’ since the 19th century!
1998 was without doubt the annus mirabilis of Ballymena Cricket Club; not only did the 1st XI win the NCU Senior League, but it also reached the final of Irish Senior Cup, only to fall just short of Strabane’s total. Additionally, two of the club’s other three mens’ sides won their own league competitions and at the end-of-season ceremonies, Ballymena walked away with almost every prize going; David Kennedy was the NCU’s batsman of the year, Alistair McKee the most successful bowler, inspirational captain Neil Fullerton was the best wicket-keeper, and club stalwart Neville Neill received the Umpires’ Fair Play Award. The 1st XI was also named ‘Team of the Year’ by Ulster cricket’s premier sponsors, Britannia Insurance, and Ballymena Borough Council.
Inevitably such success was impossible to sustain and, as professionals came to increasingly dominate local cricket, Ballymena eventually found itself relegated to Section II of the NCU. Indeed, if Ballymena had employed a professional on a full-time basis, as did almost every other cricket club of note, it is likely that it could have become one of the more dominant forces in Ulster cricket over the past twenty or so years. Not too many other clubs have fielded four competitive Saturday sides on such a consistent basis and the club’s youth system has certainly provided no shortage of talented local players; between 1997 and 2004 no other club in Ireland won more youth leagues and cups than Ballymena. This success has been further reflected by the talented young players who are currently helping the club’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs to challenge for the very top honours in junior league cricket. read more
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