Larne v Dunmurry - Saturday 19th June 2004 |
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Larne 1st XI, who are sponsored by The Curran Court, entertained Dunmurry on Saturday looking to bounce back from their defeat the weekend before against Cooke Collegians. This they did with a solid 6 wicket victory based around an excellent bowling and fielding performance. Larne skipper Trevor Dempsey once again lost the toss and led his team out on to the field. Opening bowlers Robert McClean and Eddie Hunter provided problems for the opening batsmen and Hunter picked up the first wicket thanks to a sharp piece of work behind the timbers by Douglas Griebenouw. McClean went wicketless in his opening 5 overs but only conceded 7 runs. Gareth Gaw replaced Hunter bowling into a strong breeze blowing from the north. In his second over he had Irvine caught behind for 26 and in his ten over spell he only conceded 25 runs and caused all the batsmen problems with his turning left arm off spinners. Jonathan Craig had replaced McClean but he looked out of sorts and was removed from the attack after bowling only 3 overs. Larne's most consistent bowler recently, Greg Hill, was brought on for Craig and had success in his second over when Griebenouw took another good catch behind the stumps to remove David Connelly for 12. Dunmurry professional van der Merwe and N Connelly then put on a rescue act for Dunmurry as they added 31 for the fourth wicket in quick time before David Tweed took a great catch at deep point to remove van der Merwe for 31 off the bowling of Hill. McClean replaced the tiring Hill and Ian Hill was brought into the attack at the other end and this pair took 5 wickets in six overs for only 12 runs as Dunmurry were reduced to 113 for 9. It was a great return to form for Ian Hill as he returned figures of 3 wickets for 13 in 5 overs. Despite some late hitting from the last wicket pair as they put on 21, McClean finally found the right ball to remove number 11 Stewart and finish with figures of 3 wickets for 27 from 10 overs. Dunmurry had been dismissed for 135 which this season is about 85 runs below a par score at Sandy Bay so Larne's openers Griebenouw and Shad Ali Murad took to the field full of confidence. Murad has been scoring heavily for the seconds this season and deservedly was brought into open in the absence of Gareth Alexander. Both players looked confident from the start and the score raced along to 37 in under 9 overs. Both players hit sixes in their brief innings, Griebenouw hooked one into the car park and Murad drove one over long off that cleared the boundary by more than 30 yards. Griebenouw went first when he received a ball that keep very low and trapped him lbw for 26. Keith Aiston joined Murad and looked in better nick than he has been for a few matches. They took the score to 55 before Murad gloved one to the keeper off van der Merwe, who was causing problems with his left arm spin. David Tweed had scored 4 when he tried to clear mid off and Ross took a good catch. Aiston then was brilliantly caught by van der Merwe and Larne were reeling at 84 for 4 in the 26 th over. Jonathan Craig was at the crease and was joined by Ian Hill. Craig took charge of the situation and played the only way he knows as he attacked the bowling from the start. As the field was set back he took easy singles and bludgeoned the occasional four and one six. Hill played second fiddle and continually gave the strike back to Craig. The pair added 54 runs in 12 overs and Craig finished the match and brought up his fifty with his 5 th four of the innings. Larne achieved victory in the 40 th over ad picked up another vital 4 points. This Saturday they travel to Sullivan Upper School to play bottom team Holywood hoping to put further distance between both teams at the bottom of the table. Scorecard:- |
