Deryck Vincent's low-key retirement from cricket is typical of a modest young man of 36 who has been one of the most gifted players produced by the Clontarf club in its 125-year history.
His figures with bat and ball in senior club cricket are enviable and if, according to his own view, he didn't make a "significant contribution" at international level, he played for Ireland 21 times between 1986 and 1991.
He was also a scrumhalf of great guts and commendable talent. With The High School, he played in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Schools Cup in 1981 and went on to play for Old Wesley at senior level before early retirement at the end of season 1992/93.
He says he has retired from cricket for "partly family and partly cricket reasons". Vincent and his wife Fiona have a 14-month old son, Andrew. "Fiona never had a problem with my playing, but I started to resent leaving them in the morning and not getting home until 8.30 in the evening; there's little enough time when you're working without taking an entire Saturday off and besides, I've been playing senior cricket for 18 consecutive years.
"I always needed to practise and recently I've been practising only once a week and that's really not enough," he says.
In his career in the Leinster Senior League and Cup combined from 1981 to this year Vincent played 314 matches, had 311 innings, was not out 31 times, his total of 9,508 runs (average 35.21) included 13 centuries (highest 161), 49 fifties, and he scored 500 runs in a season 11 times.
In the same competitions, Vincent took 141 wickets at an average of 21.36, held 112 catches and in a brief wicket-keeping spell had four stumpings. In the Irish Senior Cup his records are: 31 matches, 28 innings, 724 runs (average 26.81), highest score 101 not out, 13 catches and 22 wickets at an average of 26.54.
For Ireland, Vincent had 31 innings, and was not out three times. His highest score was 52 not out and he hit 534 runs for an average of 19.27.
With Peter Prendergast against Old Belvedere in 1990, he shared in Clontarf's best partnership for the first wicket with an unfinished 205.
Jeremy Bray has been named captain of the Ireland team which will contest this week's A international tournament being played off at Deventer in Holland today, tomorrow and Thursday. The other competing countries are Scotland, Denmark and Holland.
The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) got clearance to select Australian-born Bray, who does not yet reach the standard of being a resident here for five years, from the European Cricket Council.
Ireland A: J Bray (Phoenix) capt., J Thompson (Donemana), D Smythe (Merrion), N O'Brien (Railway Union), C Armstrong (North County), J Mooney (North County), R McDaid (Limavady), J Stevenson (Instonians), J Gardiner (Donemana), J McGonigle (Donemana), M Dalzell (Instonians), P Shields (North Down), R Haire (North Down), P Tait (Downpatrick). Manager: A Rutherford. Coach: H Wallace.
