Carrickfergus lost the final match of their championship-winning season on Saturday when Laurelvale comfortably chased down a revised target of 111 in 20 overs, to promote them to second place in the table.

It could be enough for them to win promotion to the Premier League next season – if they want it – as this year’s Section One winners have left their fate in the hands of the Northern Cricket Union.

The ruling body has said a decision will be “made in the coming weeks” but speaking on behalf of the club on Saturday, Carrick captain CJ van der Walt said the NCU was aware of “their circumstances and their position. They know where Carrick stand. At the end of the day it’s not our decision”.

It is widely known that Carrickfergus would prefer not to make an immediate return to the Premier League – following their relegation last year, after winning only three of their 18 games – with van der Walt explaining that the club is still in a rebuilding phase.

“The team right now looks good on paper in Section One but there are boys not ready to play at the higher level. If they had to play in it, it would be a shock to the system. The players on the Twos and Threes aren’t ready to replace the young boys. The club is going through a rebuilding phase and they don’t have enough players ready to play in the Premier League.

“We rocked up at Waringstown last season with (Ireland international) Graham Hume bowling to two 14-year-olds. I know that’s not their problem but it showed the club that we weren’t ready to compete. We finished bottom of the table and it showed everyone we were not good enough at that stage. This year a lot has improved and players have got more exposure (in Section One). They have grown a lot, they have performed well but the difference in standard between the two sections speaks for itself.

“Even within the Premier League, the top three were so far apart from the rest of the league. What were teams in sixth, seventh and eighth at the split even playing for. It is so diverse.”

Van der Walt says it helped that Carrick’s top four batters scored almost 4,000 runs between them – “that won’t happen every year” – but if the club gets their wish to stay in Section One next year he insists it will be a one-off request.

“Talking from the club perspective, you have to do what’s best for the club to compete and if they do decide to stay down and gets the opportunity to stay down it will be a one-off. The club’s mission is to go back up and put out a competitive team into the Premier League. That is the end point. We do not want to stay in Section One every year and try and win the trophy every year. That is not the plan.  We need one more year to build. Will they be ready?  That question will be answered next year.

However, there was never any question of Carrickfergus ‘throwing matches’ to deny them a chance of finishing in first place – certainly not under van der Walt’s watch.

“I go out there and play my best every time. I know I am capable of playing Premier League cricket and would love to play Premier League cricket but there just isn’t enough of us at Carrick. So do we want to go up, spend a lot of money with the risk of coming straight back down again, when that money could be used to improve the club’s players by getting in extra coaches.

“We would have to reform the whole team if we go up because there are some players a bit older who are not interested in playing Premier League cricket again and youngsters who are not ready.”

The fact they lost three Section One games this season – each of the other nine teams lost at least five - probably highlights Carrickfergus’ reasoning for staying put, although there were mitigating factors for Saturday’s rain-affected defeat. Laurelvale would have been chasing 188 for victory in a full 50 overs game.

But with Templepatrick due to come the other way – having won just one of their 15 Premier League games this season and apparently keen to return to the lower grade - the NCU certainly have a decision to make this month.