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HOLYWOOD 1st XI v MUCKAMORE 1st XI
On Saturday Muckamore travelled to Sea Park for the second time this season to play Holywood in a Senior League match, missing regulars Brian Dunlop and David Cardwell along with Jason Van Der Merwe who is on Under 19 International duty. Jordan Mairs, Sunson Stephenson and Gary Nicholl were their capable deputies.
Captain Andy McCulloch won the toss and asking the local side to bat first gave Neil Gill and Gary Nicholl the task of opening the bowling against Holywood batsmen Daubney and Sharkey. With Gill’s first over yielding 3 runs it was Nicholl who struck first when he bowled Sharkey with the fourth delivery of his first over to get the early breakthrough. McCormick joined Daubney and they took the score to 45 runs, before McCulloch, who had replaced Gill, dismissed them both in consecutive overs. He had McCormick caught behind by wicketkeeper Mairs in the 15th over and in his next over he had Daubney well caught by deep mid off fielder Ralph Coetzee as he raced right to left across the pitch.
Kerrigan and Lynam were the new batsmen and they steadily added 35 runs in the next 13 overs before, two more wickets fell in consecutive overs when Nicholl removed the former’s leg stump with a beautiful out swinging delivery and McCulloch trapped new batsman McIntyre lbw to leave Holywood on 82 runs for 5 wickets in the 31st over.
Indrajeet Kamtekar bowled one over before he dislocated a finger, attempting to catch a rocket drive through his mid off position, forcing him to leave the field, to receive hospital attention. Fortunately Leslie Allen who was a spectator at the match came on to act as a capable substitute fielder for the remainder of the Holywood innings.
Moore was the new batsman but he only scored one before he was run out when mid off fielder Allen’s throw was deflected on to the stumps by the alert McCulloch. Ironically his partner Lynam suffered a similar fate in the next over when a silly mix up with Best, the next batsman, allowed wicketkeeper Mairs to run him out from Nicholl’s accurate return throw. The home team looked demoralized as Hazzard joined Best to take the score to 108 runs before he was bowled by Drummond who came on to replaced McCulloch after he had finished his allocated 10 overs.
Cardy was the next man to the wicket and another 7 runs were added before Best played the ball past deep mid on fielder Gill and set off for a run. Gill looked disinterested but as soon as the batsmen turned for a second run his mask of indifference dropped and as he fired the ball back, the panicking batsmen somehow found themselves standing together at one end leaving wicketkeeper Mairs the easiest of tasks to remove the bails and end Cardy’s innings. In the same over Drummond then bowled Best to bring the 117 run Holywood innings to an end.
Wayne Horwood and Trevor Neill opened the Muckamore innings and they steadily took the score to 52 runs before the former was well caught on the deep mid off boundary by Moore for a steady 31 runs. Then as Craig Drummond joined Neill in the same over the latter was trapped lbw by a Cardy delivery after scoring 12 runs. Sunson Stephenson was the new batsman and he scored 7 runs before he was run out going for a second suicidal run to leave Muckamore on 65 runs for 3 wickets.
Bryan Baguley came to the wicket and immediately his skill and experience showed as he took control of what was happening at the wicket. With Drummond happy to defend his wicket and score when he could, it was the skilful Baguley’s turn to shine as he confidently took his personal score to 42 runs and take his team’s score past the Holywood total to clinch this easy 7 wicket victory for Muckamore.
C Daubney top scored for Holywood with 31 runs and D Cardy was their best bowler with figures of 2 wkts for 14 runs. Wayne Horwood with 35 runs and Bryan Baguley with 42 runs not out top scored for Muckamore. A McCulloch took 3 wkts for 24 runs, C Drummond took 2 wkts for 14 runs and G Nicholl took 2 wkts for 33 runs to be Muckamore’s best bowlers.
This was Muckamore’s last away league match of the season as the ground improvements at Moylena have been completed and it will be available to play on for the 6 remaining matches starting on the 7th of August with a home match against Armagh.
ARDMORE 1st XI v MUCKAMORE 1st XI (Ulster Shield)
On Sunday Muckamore were on their travels again, this time to the North West to play Ardmore in the semi final of the Ulster Shield in a 40 over match. Indrajeet Kamtekar suffering from a damaged finger on his left hand had bravely decided to play and with Johnny Kennedy replacing Bryan Baguley, the team was the same as played against Holywood on Saturday.
Captain Andy McCulloch won the toss and choosing to bat first sent Wayne Horwood and Kamtekar in to open the innings. With Horwood taking the lead the Ardmore bowling was battered all around the ground as he cruised to his half century of runs in only 8 overs. The score reached 99 runs in the 12th over when Kamtekar mistimed a shot and was easily caught by mid off fielder T Brolly for a valuable 38 run innings. Craig Drummond joined Horwood and another 12 runs were added before the latter was caught on the long on boundary by C Brolly off a McDermott delivery. Wayne had scored 68 runs, faced 46 deliveries hitting 8x4s and 3x6s in his 64 minutes at the wicket in another remarkable innings.
Ralph Coetzee was the new batsman and the run chase continued as this pair added another 41 runs in 6 overs before a slight hesitation in going for a quick single saw a disappointed Drummond run out for 15 runs. Trevor Neill was next and with Coetzee they took the score to 209 runs before the former was smartly stumped by Murphy off a Brolly delivery. Neil Gill came to the wicket with 9 overs of the innings remaining. In 6 overs another 53 runs were added before Coetzee was also stumped by Murphy off a Brolly delivery. Ralph had batted for 89 minutes, faced 70 deliveries hitting 9x4s and 2x6s in his 88 run innings.
The score moved on to 269 runs into the 39th over before Gill, who had scored 38 runs, played on to a G Brolly delivery. Then Sunson Stephenson was caught at long on and Gary Nicholl was run out to leave Jordan Mairs and Johnny Kennedy to take the final Muckamore score to 280 runs for 8 wickets.
P Brolly and McAllister opened strongly for Ardmore taking the score to 30 runs into the 6th over before the former was dismissed by a brilliant Mairs catch as the ball flew to his right. Murphy, Ardmore’s Caribbean professional joined McAllister, the run rate increased and the Muckamore pace bowlers took a hammering as the score raced to 62 runs in just 10th overs. Then despite an injured finger on his bowling hand Kamtekar replaced Nicholl and his deceiving spin had an immediate effect when McAllister skied the ball off the top edge of the bat, to be well caught by slip fielder Neill as it fell behind the wicketkeeper.
McCauley was the new batsman and the fast run rate continued as the dangerous Ardmore professional quickly took his score to 34 runs until he too skied the ball off a Kamtekar delivery. This time it fell in front of the wicket, where, in spite of being blocked by the batsman, wicketkeeper Mairs managed to grab the ball, much to the relief of the Muckamore players.
Ardmore’s aim had been to try and score 140 runs within the first 20 overs which would have ensured a victory if rain had brought the match to a premature end. Now that their hard hitting professional had gone they were falling behind in their run chase and their plan fell apart when they lost their next three wickets inside 4 overs for only 20 runs. In the 16th over McCauley edged a Kamtekar delivery into Mairs’ hands; new batsman McDermott was run out from a direct Gary Nicholl throw in the 17th over and McDowell was bowled by Kamtekar in the 18th over. With the score on 103 runs for 6 wickets after 18 overs, the batsmen at the wicket Chambers and C Brolly added another 10 runs before Coetzee bowled Chambers and then trapped new batsman G Brolly lbw in successive deliveries. T Brolly now partnered C Brolly for 8 overs as they stubbornly took the score to 131 runs until the latter couldn’t resist having a go at a Coetzee floater to be caught by mid off fielder Stephenson.
The last of the 5 Brollys came to the wicket and in the highest partnership of the Ardmore innings another 34 runs were added in 5 over taking the score to 165 runs before Nicholl bowled T Brolly who had scored 30 runs to clinch the 115 run Muckamore victory to see them through to the Ulster Shield Final against the North West side Bond’s Glen on the 15th August on the ground of Fox Lodge.
INSTONIANS v MUCKAMORE (T20)
This successful Muckamore team was on its travels again this week when they played Instonians in the 20/20 Technology Cup Semi Final last Tuesday evening. Muckamore batted first and scored 148 runs for 6 wickets in their allocated 20 overs. Jason Van Der Merwe top scored with a 50 deliveries innings of 63 runs which included 8x4s and 1x6. Bryan Baguley scored 33 runs. S Price (2 wkts for 22 runs) was the best of the Instonians bowlers. Instonians could only reply with 124 runs to lose the game by 24 runs. Only a contribution of 59 runs from David Moffett in an Instonians 10th wicket stand saved his team from a much heavier defeat and he was finally run out in his desperate chase to catch the Muckamore total. Muckamore’s next match is on Sunday when they travel to North Down’s ground in Comber to play CIYMS in the final of the 20/20 Technology Cup starting at 3pm.
INSTONIANS 3rd XI v MUCKAMORE 3rd XI
The Thirds travelled to Cranmore Park in Belfast on Saturday to play Instonians Thirds in a League match. After being beat by Instonians a few weeks before, this Muckamore team were determine to seek some revenge. Stand in skipper, David Irvine got off to the best possible start by winning the toss and elected to set the bar high by batting first. Irvine and Clement were the opening batsmen and they found runs hard to come due to some tight bowling by the Instonians opening bowlers. Irvine was first to fall edging a swinging delivery back to the bowler bringing Michael Kennedy to the middle.
He immediately set about increasing the run rate with Clements holding up his end, however this only lasted 5 overs, when Clement was caught for 19 runs, bringing new batsmen Jonny Gordon to partner Kennedy. The pair looked comfortable against the change bowlers and Kennedy was soon sending the ball to the boundary.
With the score at 81 for 2 after 18 overs, Gordon was run out due to some very smart fielding by the young Instonians player, bringing Richard van der Merwe to the crease and with Kennedy set about attacking the Instonians bowling. It wasn’t long before Kennedy past his half century and the run rate was ticking at 6 an over. In the space of 3 overs Muckamore lost both Kennedy for 67 runs and Van der Merwe for 38 runs bringing Benji Cathcart and Moonson Stephenson to the middle with just 4 overs remaining. With wickets in hand the Muckamre batsmen threw caution to the wind and tried pushing hard for every run. Stephenson was run out at the beginning of the last over leaving Peter Heyburn to face the last handful of deliveries and see Mucakmore’s innings close at 188 runs for 6 wickets.
Muckamore’s opened with pace bowlers, Peter Heyburn and Supreet Jayaprakash and immediately had the Instonians opening batsmen on the back foot. Nether batsmen could cope with the pace and accuracy of the Muckamore attack, and although they managed to remain at the crease, the run rate was soon falling way behind the required amount. Stephenson replaced Heyburn and his in-swinging pace bowling was no relief for the home batsmen, who were finding it even harder to get the ball away for runs. Stephenson soon got the break through with Higgins edging the ball behind to wicketkeeper Irvine. There was no let up in the quality of bowling as Niall McCulloch replaced Jayaprakash and Instonians soon found themselves with 2 wickets down as McCulloch got just rewards for some great bowling as Dominic Rowan took a nonchalant one handed catch at mid wicket.
Instonians began to wobble as Stephenson took another wicket in his next over and McCulloch taking 2 wickets in his next over. New batsmen R.Brown steadied the ship somewhat but with the Instonians batsmen seemingly happy just to be at the crease, the run rate was up to 10 an over by the 20th over.
Rowan replaced Stephenson, who ended his spell with figures of 2 wickets for 13 runs, and at the other end, Kennedy replaced McCulloch who ended with figures of 3 wickets for 26 runs.
With only 5 overs remaining Muckamore looked home and dry with Instonians needing almost 90 runs from the remaining deliveries. However, Muckamore didn’t let up, with Kennedy taking 2 wickets in his first over, followed by 2 wickets in his next to leave him with career best figures of 4 wickets for 4 runs with Instonians finishing their innings for 108 runs, giving Muckamore and impressive 80 run victory.
Muckamore 3rd XI have no game next week, but with their remaining 6 games of the season all at home, they still have one eye on promotion.
MUCKAMORE 4th XI v TEMPLEPATRICK 4th XI
Muckamore Fourths entertained near neighbours Templepatrick Fourths in a League match at Parkhall College on Sunday. Muckamore Captain Raj Sharma won the toss and with damp conditions decided to bat first.
Opening pair Sharma and Clement were both wary of the conditions in the opening exchanges and Sharma himself was first to fall in the 3rd over being clean bowled by Webber. This brought Irvine to the crease to partner Clement and he wasted no time in get the innings back on track, smashing opening bowler and Templepatrick captain Peter Shepherd for a huge 6 over the long on boundary.
With gaps beginning to open in the field, Muckamore found it easy to come by singles, but hard to come by boundaries with the long outfield. A change of bowling saw Clement clean bowled by a full swinging delivery, bringing Tom Kennedy to join Irvine, but this partnership only lasted 3 overs as Kennedy was clean bowled by Webber.
Alan Wilson was next to partner Irvine and succeeded were previous batsmen failed, by holing up an end to let Irvine loose on the change bowlers. In a one over flurry Irvine pasted his half century hitting 15 off the one over while Wilson supported well. With the score at 98 for 3 in the 25th over, Wilson then lost patience and had a swipe at a full delivery only to miss and see the ball rattle his off stump. Muckamore wobbled as their middle order then fell apart with the last 5 wickets falling for a combined total of 11 runs. Muckamore managed to see out the full 35 overs with David Irvine top scoring with 80 runs not out. Templepatrick’s I Webber took 5 wkts for 17 runs and J Hall took 2 wkts for 21 runs.
Templepatrick got their innings off to a solid start with the visitors racking up 35 runs in the first 6 overs. Muckamore soon got back on top with a couple of quick wickets, but a resilient Templepatrick middle order saw them score at well above the required rate. The Templepatrick batsmen began to dominate, with all-rounder Webber pushing hard for runs at every opportunity and soon pasted his half century.
With Templepatrick needing 16 runs from the last 10 overs and having 5 wickets in hand, they were confident of victory, however Muckamore weren’t defeated yet! In an amazing 9 over spell, Muckamore bowlers managed 5 maiden overs and took 4 of the Templepatrick wickets for only 10 runs, leaving Templepatrick needing 6 runs to win off the last over. The task of bowling the last over was given to young leg spinner Sam Gordon and with the skill of someone much older he brought the result right down to the last delivery of the game where Templepatrick needed 2 runs to clinch the victory. However in an exciting end to the game, Templepatrick batsmen could only scramble a desperate single to end the game with the most rare of results, a tie.
I Webber (58 runs not out) and M Brown (21 runs) were Templepatrick’s top scorers. B Morrison (2 wkts for 31 runs); P Clement (2 wkts for 23 runs) and K Falls (2 wkts for 12 runs) were Muckamore’s best bowlers in this uniquely tied game.
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