In a wonderfully tense finish at The Mall on Friday, Carrickfergus' young Under-17 team pulled off a superb 2 run vistory over a talented Ballymena team in the prestigious Colt's Cup final. A solid all-round batting performance saw virtually everyone make contributions with no single individual really taking the opportunity to go on. Top scoring on 19, however, Philip Ritchie's knock proved to be of vital importance to the cause. Chasing 108, Ballymena undoubtedly would have fancied their chances of overhauling the Carrickfergus total. A superb performance by the Carrickfergus bowling unit dashed any hopes of that and, within just two runs of victory, Carrickfergus dismissed Ballymena in a mesmerising finish. Stephen Ingram led the charge with a superb spell netting 4 for 18, young Michael Gilmour again weighed in with 3 for 22 and Andy Wilson picked up 2 for 15. Honourable mentions go to other key contributors through the cup run, without whom the victory in the final would not have been possible. Man of the match in the semi, all-rounder Greg weir, Trevor Kane who made a couple of vital contributions with the bat in the quarter and semi-finals and Mark McCrae whose 39 in the quarter-final made up more than half of Carrickfergus' total. This talented group of young cricketers deserve every credit and whole-hearted congratulations for bringing home the Club's first silverware of the year. The prestigious Colt's Cup is viewed within the local game as an important barometer of the future strength of Clubs and their win has undoubtedly helped further Carrickfergus' credentials. There's no doubt that all of these young players have the potential to make their mark as Carrickfergus players.