Larne’s recent good run came to an abrupt end on Saturday as the Curran Court sponsored team sunk to a crushing 128 run defeat at Derriaghy.

The day began badly when Larne lost the toss and the beginning of the Derriaghy innings was to set the tone for the match. The bowling from Robert McClean and Jonathan Craig was unusually wayward and South African pro Van Niekerk was cashing in with a series of boundaries. Craig dismissed his opening partner but Van Niekerk was looking ominous until good fielding from Johnny McElhinney resulted in him being run out for 39.

Derriaghy were now on 58-2 after 10 overs but from here Larne managed to put the brakes on and were able to drag the run rate down. This was achieved by McElhinney and Conrad Du Toit who bowled superbly in tandem and made life difficult for the batsmen. Du Toit in particular was excellent and was barely conceding a run, and the pressure finally told as he got 2 wickets at the end of his 10 overs which cost just 13 runs.

A run out by Gareth Alexander soon followed but Derriaghy were able to pull away again at the end of the innings and closed with an imposing 223 on the board. Keith Aiston came on at the end to get a wicket while Craig returned to bowl well at the death and finished by claiming 5 wickets.

Even with such a large total on the board, Larne thought that it was an achievable target on such a small ground, but they were never in the hunt and surrendered tamely as they were dismissed for just 95. Only Du Toit performed to any level and looked in great touch as he stroked several 4s and smashed a massive 6, but he got no support and was the 9th wicket to fall for 35.

Larne will need a dramatic improvement in all areas of the game for a weekend which sees them play promotion favourites Carrick and Cooke Collegians. Saturday’s match ball was kindly sponsored by the Bank of Ireland.