I'm under strict instructions this week not to mention the war (or to use its official title, re-arranged cup ties due to stuff falling out of the sky) so, for one week only, you can forget the monsoons in Magheramason and the floods in Fox Lodge ans in my mind's eye at least today's piece comes to you "live" from San Antonio bay.

OK that's maybe wishful thinking but the brief thought of sunshine has brought to mind an issue I felt should have been tossed into the melting pot anyway. In a few short weeks our under-19 team will set off on the trip of a lifetime to the World Cup in Australia with a training camp aimed at acclimatisation no doubt thrown in for good measure. The squad will be suited and booted (well track-suited at least) and have flights, accommodation and probably a daily allowance as well all provided by ICC/Cricket Ireland, and kudos to them for that.

Parents and families will also have to contribute heavily of course; it is difficult so send your son or brother on a month-long trip to the other side of the world with empty pockets but I have no doubt it's a price they willingly pay for such an experience.

Cricket Ireland's bill has obviously become a heavier one in recent years and coupled with the expense involved in running the A and senior squads, theirs is a multi-million pound operation these days. One of CI's goals over the next 10 years is development from the grass roots up, but I would hazard a guess that they might be well served by starting to look at that end of the market sooner rather than later.

You see here's the thing - the majority of the current under-19 squad have come up through the ranks of under-13, under-15 and under-17 and no doubt the hope is that they are the next generation of senior Irish players. That means we need to be looking after the young squads now, especially with a few quid in the coffers, so I find it a bit strange that those under-13, under-15 and under-17 players have to pretty much fund themselves at present.

Maybe it is no longer the case but up until very recently being selected for Ireland at that level appears to have meant paying your own travel expenses to Belfast or Dublin and buying your own kit. Seriously? Picked to represent your country so long as you can pay for your gear?? I thought it was someone winding me up when I first heard it but I spoke recently to a parent who assured me that up until now at least, it was true. Regardless of their means, parents pay approximately £70 for their child's gear plus any associated expenses and apparently if they can't pay it then they pretty much don't get it.

My initial thought was "that's a bit much but at least we have the Bob Kerr Trust Fund for exactly this type of thing" however, and again I'm taking the parent's word on this, at least one person applied for assistance and was turned down. I know Mrs Kerr was very keen to ensure at the outset that the trust fund was being established for grass roots cricket and youth development in particular but there hasn't really been much publicity in recent times and I'm not even sure the fund is still going. Perhaps the whole issue has been addressed recently and I'm barking up the wrong tree but it's surely worth examining if that's not the case.

And on the subject of money, here's another one. Why is there no prize-money for winning domestic competitions? Some will say that prize-money would mean the cheque book clubs employing more hired hands but it wouldn't have to be earth shattering amounts. For example why not stick a £500 pot on the senior cup/senior league whereby it isn't going to be worth anyone's while to spend 2 grand to win it but conversely the successful clubs could probably well make do with the cash. A couple of seasons ago the man-of-the-match prize in the senior final was £50 and I know for a fact that it went down very well. At a time when we're trying to drive the game forward why not put a few extra incentives on the line and if we negotiate well enough with potential sponsors then there must surely be scope? The Northern Bank has been on board for the best part of 20 years now and I don't think Herbie and the team would be averse to freshening things up. Perhaps its something that the Finance Committee could look at in due course, so long obviously as they can attract finance to subsidise any changes.

Also this week there has been much discussion about last Monday night's abandonment of the Bready v Strabane game when the players were taken off for bad light after 17 overs. I was at the match and was enjoying Bryan Scanlon's innings as much as anyone but there has been suggestions this week that the teams came off for no reason when they were able to play a full night up the road at Ballymagorry. I think if you ask Davy Scanlon however he will confirm that it was very dark when the umpires took the teams off and it was absolutely the correct decision at the time.

That the umpires decided there and then to abandon for the night was their decision alone and they made it on their own grounds. The umpires have sole responsibilty for the decision on whether or not conditions are fit for play and that was the outcome of their deliberations. It is not my place to reason whether they were right or wrong as I wasn't in the middle and therefore unaware of their considerations but I do know that it seems a little unfair to point the finger at Strabane as has been happening in places.

The accusation seems to be that Strabane were reminding the umpires about the poor light and maybe they were, but having had the pleasure of umpiring up and down the country for the best part of a decade I can assure you there isn't one team I've come across that won't test the umps when they feel they have a hint of a reason. Quite a few of them would put Strabane in the shade at it too but it seems that it is fashionable to have a pop at the Red Caps at the minute no doubt on the back of the issue over the Faughan Valley game against Donemana. I can't see that they did anything that any other team in the country wouldn't have done in that they held on to whatever they could find when Bready pinned them to the ropes.

Yes, it was desperately frustrating for the home side who were well on top throughout the game but it was the umpires who abandoned proceedings on Monday night and you can't blame Strabane for that.

And finally for now the Ulster Cup always highlights a bugbear of mine and once again I haven't been disappointed. Normally I try to steer clear of pointing fingers directly but as a Civil Servant by trade myself I can never fathom how some other parts of the Civil Service don't know what a tea break is for. I know that there are varying degrees of hospitality in all the Unions but one name keeps cropping up year on year. In my umpiring days there were two grounds that I went to where I always kept a few nibbles at the bottom of my bag, because, as you might have noticed, I like my grub and they weren't often renowned for having much.

How hard is it to buy a couple of packets of biscuits and a bag of scones for people travelling 70 miles both ways and sitting in your ground? In the meantime, anyone wanting the low-down should send me a stamped addressed envelope and I will forward you a (short) list of venues where you need to bring a packed lunch.