Cliftonville Cricket Club – Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Members

 

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Cliftonville have announced the first members of the Hall of Fame at their Reunion Dinner on 16th April 2011

1945-1972

J W McCleary – Ernie McCleary was a talented right hand early order batsman. He came to Cliftonville from Lurgan in 1958 and made an immediate reputation for himself as a confident competitor who was a consistently high run scorer. He was also an astute captain of the 1st X1, captaining the teams that won the Junior Cup in 1961; gained promotion from the Senior Qualifying League in 1966; and that won the Senior League (Section II) title in 1968.

J Wilton – Jimmie Wilton was an exceptionally good wicket-keeper. He had progressed from boys cricket, winning the Graham Cup with Cliftonville in 1928 and 1929, to become a member of the team that won the Senior League title in 1938. He represented Ulster at senior inter-provincial level and earned himself a high reputation with the gloves. In one season he allowed only 23 byes out of a total of 2068 runs conceded. He captained the 1st XI in 1947 and remained a mainstay of the team until the end of the 1940s.

 

1970-1990

S McComb– A club member from the 1960’s Sam followed in the footsteps of his brother and became a regular 1st XI player in the early 70’s and quickly developed into one of the best left arm spinners in the NCU for the next 20 years. He spun the ball considerably regularly taking over 40 wickets in a season and also taking over 50 wickets on a number of occasions. He was also a winner of the NCU bowling award. Served as both captain of the club and on the club committee.

R Millar– Roy has been a club member from the 1960’s and played on the Section 2 winning side in 1968 but really came to prominence in the 1970’s and 1980’s when as a right hand batsman he was a consistent run scorer and brilliant fielder. Roy was also an outstanding captain for most of this period which saw the clubs transition from the Cliftonville Road to Mallusk. He along with Frank Thomson and Crawford McCully were largely responsible for the survival of the club during this period and indeed the eventual move to Greenisland. Roy served as a committee member for many years and on Frank Thompson’s retirement became chairman of the club continuing to look after the clubs interests. Was recognised in the Queens Honours List in 2010 with an MBE for his services to both football and cricket.

 

 

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1990 – Present

K McCallan – Kyle’s international achievements are well known as the Irish Cap record holder and former Irish Captain receiving a MBE in 2010 even with his outstanding international record he did not shirk his Club responsibility. Kyle was an integral member of all three league winning teams. As captain from 1997 to 2002 Kyle captained the Club to their last Section One title in 1997 and the Irish Cup Final in 2001. During his time with the Club he won the NCU batsman of the Year on one occasion, Bowler of the Year on two occasions and All Rounder of the Year on two occasions.

A Neill –Alan has been a stalwart of the Club for three decades. He captained the Club with significant success in the 1990s lifting the Section One Trophy on two occasions and playing a significant role with the bat and ball in all three league wins. During this period Alan was a regular in the Ulster Town team at representative level. He holds the distinction of being the only player in living memory to have scored centuries for the 1st XI in three different decades. Alan continues to turn out for the Club umpiring commitments permitting.

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