Larne First Eleven, who are sponsored by the Curran Court Hotel, recorded their first win in Section 2 of the Ulster Bank League on Saturday when they beat Derriaghy by 23 runs at Sandy Bay. After having to postpone their match on Saturday the outfield had dried sufficiently to play on Sunday and it was with some relief that Larne opened their account in the league.

The day did not begin as Larne had wished with the Derriaghy skipper called the toss correctly and unsurprisingly putting Larne in to bat. The top order batting failed once again as Larne slumped to 35-4 on a pitch which was proving extremely difficult to score runs on. Progress was slow but the home side knew that if they could get the score to around 140 they would be in with a chance.

This looked likely as Keith Aiston was beginning to find his form with the bat and he got some good support, firstly through Alan McKee and then Jonathan Craig. Craig in particular was beginning to look dangerous when he hoisted a massive 6 but when the next ball shot along the ground and hit him on the ankle he didn’t need to look up to see the umpires finger being raised. Debutant Johnny Baxter was next man in and he looked comfortable at the wicket as he and Keith kept the scoreboard moving. When he was bowled the tail were unable to stay and Larne were dismissed for 127 in the 48th over.

Keith finished on 36 not out and showed how to build an innings in difficult conditions – he was able to nudge the ball about for well judged singles and when any loose balls were bowled they were despatched to the boundary in emphatic fashion.

Despite being slightly short of what they wanted Larne knew that they could make it difficult for Derriaghy, especially if they could remove their hard hitting South African pro early in the innings. This was achieved by Craig when he trapped him LBW in the 4th over for 14 and from this point Larne began to apply heavy pressure on the Derriaghy batsmen.

Rab McClean was struggling for rhythm but bowled the incoming No 3 batsman for 0, but the real damage was done by Craig who picked up four wickets from his 10 overs. He bowled the opening batsman middle stump and his other 2 wickets were courtesy of a sharp catch by Gareth Alexander close to the bat and lightening quick stumping by wicket keeper Trevor Dempsey.

McClean was replaced by Conrad Du Toit who was causing all sorts of problems with his spin variations and when he was awarded an LBW decision Derriaghy were reduced to 56-6 and were seemingly on the verge of defeat. However, a partnership of 30 followed between Fell and Kenny and Larne were beginning to get anxious until Du Toit gained a somewhat dubious LBW decision to remove Fell for 18.

Gareth Gaw was introduced into the attack in an attempt to mop up the tail but one of Derriaghy’s top batsmen had just come to the crease after injuring himself earlier and immediately hit Gaw over his head for 4. Gaw was unfazed and had his revenge next ball when a repeat shot was well caught just inches from the boundary by Du Toit. Gaw then trapped the next man plumb LBW and McClean returned to claim the last wicket thanks to a fine catch by Dempsey as Derriaghy were dismissed for 104.

This Saturday Jonathan Craig will take Larne to Eden Park to face Ballymena, the club which he represented for 6 years in the 90s.

Saturdays match ball was kindly sponsored by Larne Taxi Company.

Larne 127 all out (K. Aiston 36no, J. Torans 2-19, C. Lewis 2-14, I. Gill 2-12)

beat

Derriaghy 104 all out (P. Kenny 20, R. McClean 2-26, J. Craig 4-30, C. du Toit 2-24, G. Gaw 2-17)

by

23 runs