Promotion joy for Cliftonville Academy

Formed in 2018 after the merging of Cliftonville and Academy, the Castle Grounds outfit won the Section Two title a year later and in their first proper campaign back in the second tier that wasn’t shortened by Covid, they have reached the pinnacle of local cricket.

It’s an incredible story made possible by a glorious season as they won 15 of their 18 matches, but even that form wasn’t enough to secure the title outright before the final fixture of the last weekend.

Cregagh went into their game with Saintfield yesterday knowing a win would secure their spot in the Premier League alongside Cliftonville Academy but that a quick victory could leave them in top spot despite starting the weekend in third.

They won by seven wickets but didn’t chase 134 quite sharply enough to leapfrog Adam Kelso’s side, but after achieving a long-term dream, Cregagh won’t spend too much time reflecting on that.

A key player in Cliftonville Academy’s success was Max Burton, a 20-year-old all-rounder that took the league by storm and scored 992 runs in the process.

He arrived from Premier League side Carrickfergus ahead of the 2020 campaign alongside Matthew McCord and the pair have played a crucial role in bringing their new club back to the highest level.

“It’s been four years since the two clubs amalgamated and talking to the boys who have been around longer, there was a five-year plan put in place,” said Burton.

“It was expected that in five years we would be aiming for promotion, so to do that a year earlier is even more special.

“I know when the two teams amalgamated that there were a lot of questions asked about if it was worth it and how it was going to work. I know a few people have said they are happy to be proven wrong that we are going up.”

Section One has a reputation for being the most unpredictable league in the NCU with teams who want to make it to the top required to navigate their way past a challenging test almost every weekend.

Cliftonville Academy lost their second game of the season to Saintfield and were beaten by Derriaghy in late-June, but either side of those defeats they were able to put together impressive winning runs to achieve what was a pre-season goal.

“Our goal ahead of the season was definitely promotion,” added Burton.

“We’ve made a few good signings this season and last year. We added Richard Hood which massively improved our bowling attack and Matthew McCord and I signed last year, so we knew we had the team to do it. I think we had the best bowling attack in the league.

“At the start of the season we were expecting to go up but the competition was so big between the three teams and we are all good enough to go up, so it was just a case of who could get the job done.”

There’s little doubt that Burton, who has a Premier League century to his name and helped Belfast Royal Academy win the 2019 Schools Cup, belongs in the top-flight.

He has proven that with his performances this season but as he explains, it was necessary to take a step back before propelling forward once again.

“I have never enjoyed cricket more than I have this season,” he said. “I’ve been working very hard on my game and every week I’m just excited to go out there and play with the guys.

“I just felt at that point two years ago I stopped enjoying cricket. Academy would be the old boys of the school at BRA, so I was going back to play with my mates and that has given me another chance of going back into the Premier League.

“I was eight short of the milestone of 1000 runs which I would have loved to have got, but if you’d offered me more than 900 runs at the start of the season I would have bitten your hand off for it.

“It definitely exceeded my expectations. We have a really good group who have been pushing each other. It’s good to get runs myself, but it’s even better to do it for the team and to help us win the league.”

The challenge for Burton and Cliftonville Academy now is to rise to the gargantuan task of adapting to life in the Premier League.

Won by Waringstown this year, the standard and calibre of cricket in the top-flight has once again shot through the roof, but Burton is more excited than fazed by that prospect.

“The standard is way higher than what it was probably when I was playing two years ago, so we are all very excited,” he added.

“I’m looking forward to testing myself in the league again and as a team, I think we are excited to get going.

“There’s already talk of indoor nets starting in November so it shows how hungry we are as a squad that even though the season has just ended, we are looking to get back going again and get better for next year.”