Carrickfergus Cricket Club 1st XI clinched the Ulster Bank League Section 1 title, and a return to the Premier League after a two year absence, with a comfortable 7 wicket victory over Cliftonville on Saturday.
Chasing the visitors’ respectable total of 186 for 7, Carrick struggled to 31 for 3 after 10 overs. Jamie Holmes and Indrajeet Kamtekar then shared in the match winning partnership for their side. In the space of only 24 overs, they knocked off the remaining 156 runs required to give their side victory with 7 wickets and 16 overs to spare. Holmes hit a superb unbeaten 79 off 78 balls which contained twelve 4’s and a 6, while Kamtekar’s classy 69 not out was scored off 63 deliveries with eleven boundaries. Earlier in the day opener Neil Cahill and Warren McCully had given Cliftonville hope with a 115 run partnership for the second wicket, with Cahill hitting 65 including ten boundaries, and McCully 41. However once the partnership was eventually broken in the 38th over, they added only fifty runs in the last dozen overs to finish on 186 for 7.
Carrick finish a momentous season with a unique quadruple for the 1st XI, with the National Cup, the Ulster Shield, and the T29 Trophy to add to their league triumph. The Club has won an unprecedented total of 7 trophies, with the 2nd XI, 4th XI and Under 15’s all winning their leagues.