Cooke Collegians to fight on after attack on pitches

The club are playing at Fullerton Park in Dunmurry and have had two of their wickets burnt in recent weeks.

A large hole was burnt on the artificial towards the end of April before another attack on the ground on May 17.

But the club have worked extremely hard alongside Dunmurry Cricket Club to ensure no matches have had to be cancelled.

“Cooke Collegians are disappointed at the damage caused to our ground in the past month,” the club said in a statement.

“Our vision is to provide facilities and a welcoming environment for cricketers of all abilities and backgrounds.

“As such, we are probably one of the most diverse clubs in the country.

“These incidents are a direct attack on our values and we will do everything in our power to ensure that we continue to provide these facilities now and in the future.”

Cooke’s 1st XI are currently playing in Robinson Services League Section Two while their seconds are joint-top of Junior League Four and thirds playing in Junior League Nine.

Their anniversary celebrations will include a fixture against a NCU President’s XI on Sunday June 30 and the club say they are looking forward to enjoying it with ‘the wider cricketing community’.

“2019 is a special year for us as we celebrate the 20th year since our formation,” they said.

“The key event will be a fixture against a NCU President’s XI combined with a number of cultural events which will celebrate the richness of our membership.

“We look forward to enjoying that as a club and with the wider cricketing community.

“We are delighted to have been going for so long and we are determined to keep moving the club forward in the right direction,” it added.