Carrick complete double over North Down
Carrickfergus completed a double over North Down this season with a 3 wicket victory in a closely fought Ulster Bank Premier League at Middle Road on Sunday, which was kindly sponsored by Martyn Industrials.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first, and their openers Graham and Mulder got them off to a solid start with a 52 run partnership before Pat Botha got the initial breakthrough when he had Mulder caught behind in the 16th over. Prolific South African professional Pieter Malan then came to the wicket and the runs continued to come at a steady rate, with the hundred coming up in the 31st over. Soon afterwards Ashwin Shetty picked up the wicket of Graham in his first over. Malan continued to accumulate runs, but Shetty and Ryan Eagleson both bowled very accurately in the later overs, and the final 10 overs yielded only 34 runs, and Carrick were satisfied with the first part of their day’s work when North Down had reached a fairly modest 176 for 8 at the end of their 50 overs. Their innings was dominated by a fine knock of 73 from Malan, but he lacked support from the middle order, as Shetty and Eagleson helped themselves to 7 wickets between them.
Skipper Iain Parkhill and Michael Gilmour got the Carrick reply off to an ideal start, batting very sensibly and setting a solid foundation for their side. They shared an opening stand of 80 runs in 23 overs, before Gilmour was bowled by North Down captain Marty Moreland for 46. Jamie Holmes increased the scoring rate with a breezy 25 off as many deliveries before he was caught at mid off with the total on 118 off 29 overs. Carrick then lost four further wickets in the space of six overs including Parkhill for 36, and at 142 for 6, the visitors felt they were now in with a chance. The experienced Ryan Eagleson and 17 year old Jack Burton steadied things for their side, adding a further 18 runs before Burton was bowled for 12. Robert Smith, batting lower in the order due to an injury sustained in the field, and Eagleson then saw Carrick home in the 47th over without further loss.
