Larne 1st Eleven travelled to Muckamore on Saturday, and on a glorious day of sunshine, a less than glorious display resulted in an 88 run defeat for the Curran Court sponsored team.

Vice captain Gareth Alexander called the toss correctly and elected to bowl first, a move which backfired when word came through that skipper Jonathan Craig had been held up in work and would be late arriving. The new ball was taken by Keith Aiston and Chris Erdis and during an excellent first 10 overs, few runs were conceded and both were unlucky not to get any wickets.

Aiston generated some good pace which troubled the batsmen and was almost rewarded when a difficult chance at slip was put down. Erdis bowled a superb line and passed the edge of the bat on numerous occasions with his away swing but neither bowler got the little bit of luck they deserved. They were replaced by Gareth Gaw and Paul Ramsay and it was the latter who made the breakthrough when he trapped the opener LBW.

Ramsay bowled his 10 overs through with great accuracy, ensuring that there were no easy runs for the batsmen and he conceded just 25 runs. Gaw was bowling well but anything slightly off target was being dispatched to the boundary and Larne were struggling to contain the batsmen Dunlop and Baguley.

Graeme Leitch was brought into the attack in the hope that he would break the partnership and this he duly did when a magnificent catch by the recently arrived Craig saw the departure of Dunlop for a fine half century. Conrad Du Toit was now bowling his spin but was unable to stem the flow of runs and with 10 overs remaining Muckamore were in the strong position of 179-2.

It was then that Craig was permitted to bowl and he showed what might have been when he took 3 wickets and conceded just 15 runs from his 5 overs – the pick of which was the wicket of Baguley for 78 thanks to a spectacular diving catch by David Tweed. Aiston returned to finish his spell and again had no luck but a good effort in the last 10 restricted Muckamore to 218.

Although chasing a big total, Larne were hopeful of challenging on a pitch which was excellent to bat on but once again, a poor batting display meant that they were never in the hunt and were eventually dismissed for 130. Alexander was joined by Du Toit at the top of the innings and although Du Toit looked comfortable against the new ball, Alexander was hopelessly out of form and was eventually dismissed LBW for a painstaking 7.

Steven Hamilton soon followed, as did Tweed and Leitch who had been promoted in an attempt to increase the run rate. The in-form Aiston was unfortunate to perish when a powerfully hit cut shot was well caught and when Craig was bowled Larne were now in the hopeless position of 70-6. Du Toit was still batting well and could have had more than 34 runs if many fine shots had been able to pierce the field. He was never in any trouble and it took a brilliant run out by Baguley to remove him.

Trevor Dempsey also looked in good nick and hit several class boundaries before he perished going for a big hit. It was left to Gaw at the end of the innings to get Larne within 100 runs of the Muckamore score as several flowing drives saw him finish unbeaten on 24.

The match ball was kindly sponsored by Hunter Campbell Estate Agents.