On Saturday 30 August, Larne Second XI, sponsored by The Kiln, lost to Ballymena by 135 runs in League Division 2 Section 2.

Larne travelled to Ballymena in confident mood looking for another win to keep pace with Downpatrick and Armagh at the top of the league. Unfortunately it was of those days were Larne failed to take a succession of chances and when it was Ballymenas turn to field every single chance was taken regardless of the difficulty.

All the Larne bowlers bowled well with Neil Service and Jonathon King outstanding, however, as catchs went down regularly, and the ball fell between fielders, the Ballymena total kept ticking along until they posted a final total of 201. Although this was a large score the pitch was playing well and the boundaries were hard to protect, so Larne felt with a decent start they would be well in the game.

However, for the first time in several years, the entire Larne batting line up failed and they were reduced to 27 for 7 in only 15 overs. Neil Service managed to prevent total embarrassment with a spirited 24 that saw Larne past the 50 mark but a final total of 67 was the best Larne could manage.

Next week the Seconds host Cooke Collegians at Sandy Bay and will be looking to finish the season with a win in what is likely to be the last game of the season.

Summary:-

Ballymena II 201-7 (AJ Mitchell 76, A McKee 46, E Hunter 3-33)
Larne II 67 (A Frazer 4-21, A McIlroy 3-7)
Ballymena won by 134 runs