Carrick lose by 1 wicket at Lisburn
Carrickfergus 1st XI lost their unbeaten Premier league record when they were beaten by the narrowest of margins in an exciting finish at Wallace Park.
Some eyebrows were raised when Lisburn skipper Adam Berry won the toss and asked Carrick to bat first. However, his decision appeared to be vindicated as only Jamie Holmes with a fluent 40 made any impression as Carrick slumped to 112 for 8 after 31 overs. However, the experienced pairing of Ryan Eagleson and Gordon Browne, got their heads down, and a determined effort saw them share in an invaluable 61 run partnership during the course of the next 18 overs. Eagleson was still there at the end of the Carrick innings, unbeaten on 42, as Carrick posted a more respectable 178 for 9 at the end of their 50 overs.
After a very slow start, Lisburn began to score more freely, and at the 25 over drinks interval, the match was evenly poised with Lisburn 91 for 4, with Ashwin Shetty picking up a couple of wickets. South African professional Cody Chetty and James Magowan then began to take the match away from Carrick, adding 56 runs in a dozen overs. Carrick then introduced Alex Haggan into the attack, and he gave his side some real hope by bowling Magowan with his third delivery, and then struck the vital blow when he had Chetty, who had just completed his fifty, caught at cover. With 32 runs still required it was up to the experienced David Simpson if Lisburn were to get over the line. Eagleson, Haggan and Botha chipped in with 3 more wickets, and the last two batsmen were at the wicket with 3 runs still required. In a tense finish the home side just managed to hold on, getting home in the 49th over, with Simpson unbeaten on 20.
