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Writer's pictureGlen Cinnamon

WEEKLY UPDATE

MUCKAMORE CRICKET


Muckamore entertained North Down in their next Premier League game at

Moylena on Saturday without their holidaying Captain Neil Gill. The visitors

won the toss and in the damp gloomy conditions Muckamore were asked to bat

first. They sent David Miller and Karthik Rajavelu in to open their innings

against fast bowlers R Pretorius and P Eakin and within 20 minutes the opening

pair along with Jamie Rodgers and Aditya Adey were back in the pavilion to

leave their team 4 wickets down with only 7 runs on the scoreboard. Rajavelu

faced Pretorius first and maiden over before he edged a delivery from P Eakin

into wicketkeeper Jamie Magowan’s gloves in the next over to be out without

scoring. Jamie Rodgers joined Miller and he could only watch the latter give a

simple return catch to Pretorius to be dismissed for 5 runs. Fahad Iqbal was

Rodgers new partner but in the next over the latter edged an Eakin delivery to

be caught by slip fielder A Shields to end his 2 run innings. Aditya Adey was

next but off his first delivery from Eakin he was given out lbw to leave

Muckamore reeling on 7 runs for 4 wickets in just the 4 th over. Fortunately

down came the rain to force the players off and give Muckamore some time to

regroup. When play resumed after 140 minutes, the game was reduced to 39

overs with Iqbal and Sam Gordon at the wicket. They slowly took the score to

42 runs into the 14th over before Iqbal was bowled by C Robinson to end his

disappointing 18 run contribution. Steve Lazars was Gordon’s new partner and

they added 2 more runs before the latter was easily bowled by Robinson after he

had scored 16 runs. Now 47 runs for 6 wickets Francis Collins came to the

wicket and with Lazars they steadied the innings taking the score to 107 runs

into the 27 th over. Then with his score on 48 runs Lazars mistimed his shot off

an Eakin delivery and was caught by ‘mid on’ fielder Pretorius to bring his

useful innings to an end. Luke Allen was next and lacking concentration he

lobbed his second delivery straight back into bowler Pretorius’s hands to be out

for a duck. Shane Henderson followed and the score progressed to 116 runs

until, as if mesmerised, he played an Eakin delivery straight into ‘point’ fielder

S Nelson’s hands before he had even scored. Last man in was Pavan Karthik

and the total reached 121 runs before he was clean bowled by P Davison to end

the Muckamore innings leaving Collins unbeaten with 23 runs. Best of the

North Down bowlers were P Eakin, who took 5 wickets for 22 runs, R Pretorius

who took 2 wickets for 24 runs and C Robinson who took 2 wickets for 28 runs.

The Duckworth Lewis calculation reduced the North Down target to 113 runs as

A Shields and S Nelson opened their innings against Muckamore pace bowlers

Pavan Karthik and Shane Henderson. They quickly took the score to 30 runs

into the 9 th over before Steve Lazars bowled A Shields, who had scored 15 runs,

with his very first delivery. P Eakin was the new batsman and with Nelson the

score slowly progressed to 61 runs into the 19 th over until the latter was caught


by ‘point’ fielder Allen off a Rajavelu delivery to be dismissed for 25 runs. R

Pretorius joined Eakin but two overs later he top edged a Rajavelu delivery to

be caught by ‘mid off’ fielder Aditya Adey before he had even scored. Now 65

runs for 3 wickets, a glimmer of hope for Muckamore as N Burns came to the

wicket to help add 27 runs in the next 8 overs before Eakin holed out to ‘long

on’ fielder Henderson from a Lazars delivery to end his 39 run innings. With

the score at 92 runs for 4 wickets it was former Muckamore player Ryan Haire

who was in next and with Burns the score reached 100 runs when he was run

out by a brilliant direct return throw from Adey after scoring 8 runs. A flicker of

life from the defiant Muckamore bowling when Adey clean bowled Burns for

just 6 runs in the next over to make the score respectable at 100 runs for 6

wickets but it was too late as R Ewing now teamed up with Jamie Magowan to

score the 13 runs needed to clinch this easy 4 wicket victory. Best of the

Muckamore bowlers were Steve Lazars who took 2 wickets for 20 runs and

Karthik Rajavelu who took 2 wickets for 27 runs. This weekend Muckamore

will play two matches at home. On Saturday they will play Lisburn and on

Sunday they will play Waringstown.

Muckamore Seconds had CIYMS Seconds as their opposition at Moylena on

Sunday in their Junior League game. The visitors batted first and scored 150

runs their top batsmen being A Maitland with 44 runs, J Beattie with 31 runs

and A Gupta with 28 runs not out. Best of the Muckamore bowlers were Arnold

Oduvelil who took 2 wickets for 24 runs and Richard Keates who took 2

wickets for 31 runs. In their chase to score the runs required to win Muckamore

steadily lost wickets and it was Captain Leslie Allen and David Steen who

finally scored the runs to clinch this close 1 wicket victory. Their top batsmen

were Leslie Allen who was not out with 36 runs and Sunson Stephenson who

scored 30 runs. Best of the CIYMS bowlers were C McCullough who took 3

wickets for 21 runs, H Auchmuty who took 2 wickets for 16 runs and E

Biggerstaff who took 2 wickets for 32 runs. This week is the game of the season

for the Seconds as they travel to Lisburn to play North Down in the Final of the

NCU Junior Cup a trophy they haven’t won for 21 years.

Muckamore Thirds had CSNI Thirds as the visitors to Moylena on Saturday for

their next Junior League game and batting first scored 181 runs for 5 wickets in

their allocated 30 overs. Their top batsmen were Jamie Jackson who scored 47

runs, David Irvine who scored 31 runs, Arnold Oduvelil who scored 23 runs,

Pavan Kumar who scored 26 runs and P Pawar who was not out on 26 runs. The

best of the CSNI bowlers was M Smith who took 2 wickets for 17 runs. Despite

the Muckamore captain using eight bowlers he couldn’t stem the flow of runs

from the first two CSNI batsmen as they smashed their way to a 9 wicket

victory in just 19 overs. Their top batsmen were A Pattnaik who was unbeaten

with 111 runs and K Minford who scored 62 runs. This week the team travel to

play Hollywood Seconds in their next league match.


Muckamore Fourths entertained Instonians Fourths at Moylena on Sunday.

Instonians batted first and scored a massive 231 runs for 4 wickets in their

allocated 30 overs. Their top batsmen were J Welshman who was not out with

108 runs and G Higgins who scored 69 runs. Best of the Muckamore bowlers

were Sanu John who took 2 wickets for 25 runs and Pravin Kumar who took 2

wickets for 18 runs. Muckamore replied to follow the visitors score closely and

needed 6 runs off the last over to win the game. Alan McCombe hit a boundary

off his first delivery and with Jamie Jackson were one run behind with one

delivery remaining. With a must run off the last ball Alan parried it and set off

for the other end and as Jamie made it to the crease Alan was left stranded half

way down the wicket. The ball was returned to the bowlers end and

unbelievably the fielders botched two attempts to break the stumps before Alan

made it to safety to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat. The top Muckamore

batsmen were Benny George who retired on 60 runs not out, Dileep Jose who

scored 40 runs and Praveen Pawar who scored 36 runs. Best of the Instonians

bowlers were L Donnelly and G Robinson who both took 2 wickets for 35 runs.

An exciting game in which over 460 runs were scored in just 60 overs where

both teams couldn’t be separated and it finished in a very rare tie. This Saturday

the Fourths are at home to Lurgan Seconds in their next League match.

Muckamore Fifths travelled to Lurgan to play Victoria Seconds on Saturday for

their next league match but unfortunately due to two very late cry offs they had

to play with just nine men which in the end was the deciding factor in their one

run nail biting defeat. The home team batted first and scored 114 runs for 7

wickets in their allocated 25 overs. Their top batsmen were P Clarke who scored

44 runs, with K Maxwell and P McVeigh scoring 19 runs. Best of the

Muckamore bowlers were Marty Kane who took 3 wickets for 20 runs and

Chaitany Rane who took 2 wickets for 21 runs. Muckamore replied to just fall

short of victory to lose the game by one run. Their top batsmen were Marty

Kane who scored 30 runs, Chaitany Rane who scored 27 runs and Cliff Wilson

who scored 20 runs. Best of the Victoria bowlers were B Johnston who took 3

wickets for 15 runs and S Johnston who took 2 wickets for 11 runs. This week

the team travel to play Donaghcloney Mill Fourths in their next league match.

The Muckamore Midweek A team were in action last week, playing two home

matches, catching up on their backlog of fixtures. On Tuesday evening they

entertained Instonians who batted first and scored 115 runs for 7 wickets in their

allocated 20 overs. Their top scorer was R McKibben who was not out on 31

runs. Best of the Muckamore bowlers were Nikki Niblock who took 2 wickets

for 25 runs and Sam Magee who took 2 wickets for 34 runs. Muckamore

replied to win their first match of the season by 3 wickets, scoring 118 runs for

7 wickets. Their top scorers were teenagers Jude Keates and Sam Magee who


both retired with 30 runs not out and Cliff Wilson who scored 19 runs. Best of

the Instonians bowlers was N Skillen who took 4 wickets for 25 runs. Then on

Wednesday evening the Botanic team played their home match at Moylena.

Muckamore batted first and scored 107 runs for 9 wickets in their allocated 20

overs. Their top scorers were Philip Skillen who retired on 32 runs, Cliff Wilson

who was 23 not out and Gary Blair who scored 16 runs. Best of the Botanic

bowlers was E Hanna who took 3 wickets for 12 runs, J Telford who took 2

wickets for 12 runs and S Natish who took 1 wicket for 6 runs. Botanic replied

to score 110 runs to pass the Muckamore total with 3 wickets to spare. Their top

batsmen were E Hanna who scored 28 runs, J Telford who scored 29 runs and

M Rainey who was not out with 16 runs. Best of the Muckamore bowlers was

Mark McNeill who took 3 wickets for 20 runs. The A team travel to play

Woodvale this week for their last game of the season. Meanwhile the Midweek

B team travelled to Stormont to play CSNI on Wednesday evening in their next

match and batting first scored 172 runs for 5 wickets in their allocated 20 overs.

Their top scorers were James Jackson who retired on 35 runs not out, Mohan

Mohandas who retired on 30 runs not out, Dileep Jose who scored 28 runs and

Pravin Kumar who scored 24 runs. In reply CSNI could only score 119 runs to

give Muckamore the 53 run victory. The top CSNI batsmen were M Smyth who

retired on 35 runs, G Thompson with 25 runs and M Cherry with 21 runs. Best

of the Muckamore bowlers were Sanu John who took 4 wickets for 19 runs,

Gauguin Talwekar who took 2 wickets for 23 runs and Pravin Kumar who took

2 wickets for 38 runs. This week the B team travel to play Bangor on

Wednesday evening and as both teams are locked at the top of the league on the

same points the winners of this game will emerge as this season’s Midweek

League Champions.

The Muckamore Bluebelles travelled to play Lurgan Ladies on Sunday in a

league match and batting first scored 118 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets in

their allocated 20 overs. Their top scorers were Susie Morrison – Keates who

was not out with 49 runs and Amy Caulfield who scored 25 runs. The home

team replied to win the game by 7 wickets off the penultimate delivery of the

match to inflict the shock defeat on the Bluebelles. Their top scorer was H

Grieve who was not out with 66 runs and C Neville who scored 29 runs. Best of

the Bluebelles bowlers was Joanne Davis who took one wicket for 11 runs. The

most important game of the Bluebelles season in this Sunday when they travel

to Stormont to play CSNI in the final of the Gallagher Women’s Challenge Cup.


The Muckamore U11A team travelled to play Templepatrick A last Tuesday

evening in the play off for a place in their league semi final. Muckamore won

the toss and elected to bat but the wisdom of this choice was questioned after

the first two Muckamore wickets fell in the first two overs with only a handful

of runs on the board. But all was not lost when the new batsmen Luka Bates and

Connor McVicker, showed that they were in no mood to succumb to the

opening Templepatrick attack; both having to retire after scoring 30 not out.

The Muckamore total crept steadily along and after all other Muckamore team

were out, Luka, who had retired not out on 30, returned to the crease to continue

his innings as the rules permit. He was in fantastic form and in a short space of

time he smashed several 6s and 4s to take his total to 60 not out. Muckamore

finished their innings on 150 for 8 off 20 overs. Now, as Templepatrick

commenced their innings, Muckamore needed to show the same grit and

determination with the ball as they did when batting. They did just that and

Templepatrick’s Austin Adair was the only one who got into double figures

(scoring 15 runs) but Muckamore bowlers Connor McVicker who took 3

wickets for 9 runs and Finton McCarthy who took 3 wickets for no runs in his

first over, stole the show and Templepatrick were bowled out for only 46 runs.

A fantastic result for this Muckamore team who now face a home semi -final

against Waringstown, the date of which has yet to be fixed. Huge

congratulations to Luka Bates from all at the Club on scoring his half century.

What a stunning performance it was!!

On Monday evening last week, Muckamore U13s travelled to Uprichard Park to

play the Bangor U13 team. Muckamore won the toss and sent Sam Magee and

Callum Stewart in to open their innings and they played magnificently from the

off, taking the score to 59 runs before Callum was bowled after scoring 15

runs.  Sam continued to knock the ball effortlessly around the ground before he

was caught whilst going for a big hit over mid-off after scoring 33 runs. Aaron

Armstrong then hit a quick 14 runs (including 3 boundaries) before Alex Place

and Jude Keates saw the Muckamore innings to a close. Both youngsters not

only showed some great batting skills but were superb with their strike rates,

with Alex finishing on 25 runs not out and Jude 24 runs not out to give their

team a final total of 138 runs for 4 wickets from 20 overs. James Laverty and

Luka Bates opened the Muckamore bowling and their skill highlighted the

quality and talent that lies in the younger members of Muckamore youth. Whilst

both were unlucky not to take a wicket, James finishing with figures of 4 overs,

0 wickets for 12 runs and Luka’s figures were 4 overs, 0 wickets for 16 runs,

their ability to restrict the Bangor openers to so few runs from the first 8 overs


meant that they had to try and force the run rate, which undoubtedly led to the

fall of Bangor wickets. Alfie Bingham took over from James and he

immediately made the breakthrough, having a Bangor opener caught behind

with only the third ball of his first over and he finished with figures of 4 overs, 1

wicket for 22 runs. Next to take the ball was Peter Kane and he too delivered,

his good accurate bowling taking 3 wickets for 18 runs to help restrict the home

side’s total to only 95 runs for 5 wickets in their allocated 20 overs to give

Muckamore the 43 run victory. This was an almost faultless display from a

young side who demonstrated just how to work as a team right from the off.

They will now play away to Instonians in the semi final of the league this week

in a game that no one at Muckamore will want to miss!


Last Friday evening the U15s travelled to Jordanstown to play Cliftonville

Academy in a league match where Muckamore won the toss and elected to bat.

Cliftonville bowled accurately and made the Muckamore openers, Callum

Stewart and Dinesh Arunkumar, work hard for every run, a trend that continued

throughout the Muckamore innings with Karl Gribben being the exception, as

he knocked up 20 runs in short time. Muckamore finished their 20 overs on 88

for 4 with the best of the Muckamore batsmen being Karl Gribben 20 runs,

Aaron Gill 18 runs and Dinesh Arunkumar 15 runs. Cliftonville Academy also

got off to a slow start against the Muckamore opening bowlers but extras in the

form of no balls and wides hurt Muckamore's fight to keep the opposition's

score low. And when A Gooderham came to the crease things took a turn for the

worse for Muckamore as he smashed a quick-fire, match winning 30 runs which

included 5 boundaries leaving Cliftonville Academy only needing 8 to win. But

Muckamore heads didn't drop and they fought hard until the winning run was

eventually hit, only coming in the 19th over, with Cliftonville Academy

finishing on 89 for 3. Best of the Muckamore bowlers was Karl Gribben who

bowled 4 overs, 2 wickets for 23 runs.


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