It is impossible to put into any sort of context the contribution that David Holmes has made to the promotion of NCU Cricket.

Winter and summer he worked tirelessly, a lot of it in his own time, to ensure that cricket was being kept at the forefront of the sports news agenda.

One of his great attributes was that he recognised that a club under 11's was every bit as important as the senior interprovincial team and he reported accordingly.

Photo right shows David interviewing current NCU President Clarence Hiles for last years Challenge Cup Final preview video.

One look at twitter tells its own story – acknowledgements from  every club in the union and from hundreds of individuals involved in Irish cricket.

Social media had become his medium. I was talking to him on Saturday night about two different projects he had been helping with, and he was speaking with such enthusiasm about the benefits the potential outcomes could provide for the promotion of the game.

It is rare in my involvement with local cricket that someone's passing from within the cricket community has been greeted with such shock – a mark of the esteem in which David was held.

David – We will all miss you, you have left an indelible mark on the game and a void that will be almost impossible to fill.

Alan Waite
Chairman
Northern Cricket Union