Cliftonville Academy use pressure-free campaign to blood next generation

Cliftonville Academy may have finished seventh in the Premiership, but a season without the threat of relegation allowed the north Belfast club to take a longer-term view and give valuable senior exposure to a number of their younger players.

Five league victories ensured there were still plenty of encouraging moments, even if their final placing left them outside the leading group.

With no relegation battle to worry about, Academy were able to experiment, rotate personnel and offer opportunities which could prove important in the seasons ahead.

The outstanding individual performer was overseas professional CP Klijnhans, who enjoyed a spectacular campaign with the bat. He amassed 988 runs at an average of 58.12, striking at an extraordinary 147.46. His season included four centuries, three half-centuries and a highest score of 165, while his 67 sixes underlined just how destructive he was.

Skipper Matty McCord provided excellent support with 590 runs at 32.78, including a superb 168, while also finishing as the club’s leading wicket-taker. McCord claimed 20 wickets, with a best return of four for 31, to complete a highly productive all-round season.

There were useful batting contributions elsewhere from Dave O’Sullivan, who scored 306 runs, Dawood Khan with 290 and Anwar Khan with 216.

The bowling was more evenly spread. Ben Kane, Dave O’Sullivan, Alfie Wylie and Klijnhans all collected 12 wickets, while Anwar Khan took nine. For a side to be really successful you need a bowling unit of five taking 20 wickets, so there's clearly a lot of work to be done there. Kane’s 12 wickets came at an impressive average of 19.42, while O’Sullivan returned his dozen at 24.33 - the paceman unable to bowl for a large chunk of the campaign through injury.

A campaign free from relegation pressure gave the club the chance to look beyond immediate results and invest in the development of younger players, exposing them to Premiership cricket without every defeat carrying potentially damaging consequences. There were inevitably inconsistencies, but there was also enough individual quality to suggest the foundations are strong.

Five wins and a seventh-place finish may not have represented a headline-grabbing season, but for a club intent on building for the future, the experience gained by the next generation could prove more valuable than the table alone suggests.

The real test will come in 2027, but with a 12-team top flight league, there will hopefully be enough battle hardened campaigners to ensure another top flight season.

CLIFTONVILLE ACADEMY BATTING

CLIFTONVILLE ACADEMY BOWLING