As CricketIreland announced their amibitions to be playing text cricket by 2020, they also released the names of the 23 players who will be centrally contracted for the coming season. Delightfully for Pembroke, young Andrew Balbirnie is included in the third tier. 

Ed Dwyer, controller of all things cricket, has announced that pre-season training has now started. The First XI trained last Sunday in St. Andrew's College and now the opportunity has arrived for players not in the First team squad to dust off their pads and put their whites in the wash. The First XI are usually finished at 3:15 and the hall is then available for the others to start their season. January is early to start, but some people will be having withdrawal symptoms that need relieving. However attendance does come with responsibility. If you are attending please remember that the nets have to be put away at the end as well as the mats and in fact everything. We are guests of St. Andrew's, and as such need to leave the hall ready for lessons on Monday morning. There must also be arrangements with regards to locking up the building, but you can find out more from Emmett Whaley on the day. 

Many congratulations to Faran Ahmed Khan who has announced the arrival of a baby girl (name not known at this time) on Jaunary 17th. Faran who topped the wicket takers in all Leinster cricket last year, obviously had some spare time outside his cricket committments last season. It will be interesting to see how much spare time he has this season!!

The young lady shares her birthday with Pembroke's Steve McCarthy, who reached his half century on the day of her arrival. Symmetry eh!