Carrick win at CSNI, but slip up against Derriaghy
Carrickfergus consolidated 3rd position in the Ulster Bank Premier League with a narrow 3 run victory over Civil Service North at Stormont on Saturday, but suffered disappointment when they went down by an even narrower 2 run margin against bottom of the table Derriaghy at Middle Road on Sunday.
Carrick won the toss and batted first at Stormont, and after a steady start on a slow wicket, Pat Botha’s fine innings of 49 helped them past the hundred mark in the 29th over. Jamie Holmes shared in useful partnerships with Alex Haggan and then Robert Smith and saw the 150 up in the 42nd over. When the final Carrick wicket fell off the penultimate ball of their 50 overs, the score had advanced to 180.
During the tea interval, rain began to fall, and it was 21/2 hours before they were able to resume. By this time, the second innings had been reduced to 28 overs, with the home side’s target reduced to 138. A wicket from Robert Smith, followed by three in 8 balls from Ashwin Shetty reduced them to 40 for 4 after 10 overs. Skipper Andrew Cowden and Shane Getkate then revived their side’s fortunes and with 31 runs needed off 5 overs, they appeared to be cruising. Cowden was then run out by Jamie Holmes, and ten runs later, Ryan Eagleson bowled Getkate with the final ball of his spell. Nine runs came off the 26th over to leave them needing 12 off 2 overs with 4 wickets in hand. Off spinner Pat Botha then struck the crucial blows for Carrick. In the 27th over he bowled three CSNI batsmen, to leave the final pair still needing 12 but with now only one over remaining. They only managed to 4 runs off the first 5 deliveries, and a boundary off the final ball of their innings left them 4 runs short.
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After a delay due to early morning rain, Derriaghy asked Carrick to bat first at Middle Road on Sunday, in a match reduced to 42 overs. Openers Michael Gilmour and Iain Parkhill got their side off to a good start, sharing in an opening stand of 49 in 11 overs before Gilmour was caught off a skier for 28. Carrick then lost the important wickets of Parkhill, Holmes and Botha in the space of 8 overs, to leave them struggling at 74 for 4. Ryan Eagleson and Alex Haggan then added a further 62 runs in 18 overs, but found the accurate Derriaghy spinners Hughes and Cummins difficult to get away. At the end of their 42 overs, Carrick had reached a total of 169 for 7, with Eagleson top scoring with 42.
Derriaghy’s young opening batmen Ross Bailey and Adam Jamison batted very sensibly, and despite using 5 bowlers, Carrick found it impossible to separate them as they took the score along to 80 after 25 overs. Alex Haggan finally got the breakthrough in the 27th over with the score on 83 when he had Jamison caught for 37. Dark clouds were looming, and although they had only lost one wicket, Derriaghy had been struggling to keep up with the required DLS scoring rate in the event of rain. Bailey hit a boundary, which edged them ahead for the first time in 4 overs, and after two balls of the following over, the heavens opened and the players ran for cover.
Within minutes the ground was flooded, and with the visitors having just got their noses in front, a first league victory since the opening day of the season was theirs.
