Derriaghy v Larne - Saturday 25th July 2004 |
|
Buoyed by their win against Armagh the previous day, Larne 1st XI, who are sponsored by the Curran Court, travelled to Queensway in Belfast on Sunday to take on joint league leaders Derriaghy. The match had to be finished on Monday evening due to the bad weather late on Sunday evening and it turned out to be a thriller as Derriaghy’s Alan Lewis smashed the last ball of the innings over the pavilion for six to win the match for the home team by 1 wicket. On Sunday Larne skipper Trevor Dempsey won the toss and decided to bat first in the damp conditions. The pitch itself had been well covered and was completely dry but a wet outfield would hamper the bowlers and fielders. A confident opening partnership of 47 between Griebenouw and Alexander set Larne on the way to a large total on this small ground before a mix up in the running saw Alexander run out for 21. Griebenouw followed in the next over when he was well caught and bowled by van der Burgh for 12. From 52 for 2 Aiston and Craig rattled the score along with Craig in particular revelling in the extra responsibility he has been given by batting at number 4. They had added 56 runs when Aiston chipped one to Derriaghy’s pro Albert van der Merwe who took an easy catch. Craig had already cleared the railway line with one huge six and despite receiving a life when dropped by van der Burgh when on 31 he continued to take on the bowling and on his way to his fifty he cleared the ropes another 2 times. Meanwhile Ian Hill and David Tweed and come and gone cheaply and it was left to Leitch once again to keep the innings going in a 44 run partnership with Craig. Leitch was stumped by Michael Fell and then Craig was finally dismissed lbw for 61, the ball keeping very low. When Gaw followed in the same over for 0 Larne had slumped to 156 for 8. Once again sensible batting from the lower order, with Dempsey once again leading the recovery, saw Larne get up to 182 before they were finally all out in the 50 th over. The Derriaghy reply started off solidly enough with Robert McClean or Ian Hill unable to make the early breakthrough. Change bowler Steven McDonald did the trick when he bowled Derriaghy’s captain Hegarty for 19. Lewis was then run out without scoring and the team score was on 34. Sensible batting took the Derriaghy score to 81 before Ian Hill and Gareth Gaw nipped in with two wickets apiece, Hill claiming the wickets of van der Merwe for 25 and P Kenny for 0 and Gaw picking up the big wicket of opening Stevenson for 20 and van der Burgh for 15. Derriaghy were 98 for 6 and as the drizzle became heavier the umpires were left with no alternative but to abandon play for the day and return the following evening to finish the match. The following evening conditions had not improved much but at least the drizzle had stopped and both team carried on the match. Andrew Kenny threatened to win the match single handedly as he scored runs all round the park and reached a deserved 50. Larne had already picked up an early wicket and with the score on 130 for 7 the game was still in the balance. Kenny and Fell were scoring comfortable and it took a brilliant piece of fielding from Dempsey to break the partnership. He swooped on the ball at mid wicket and threw down the stumps with his left hand to have Kenny short of his ground by inches. Going into the last over Dempsey turned to Keith Aiston to bowl the last over with Derriaghy needing 10 runs to win. Five runs came off the first five balls and this meant that a four would tie the match whilst a six would win it. As Aiston bowled Alan Lewis closed his eyes and swung the bay and to the dismay of the Larne players and supporters he connected with the ball in the middle of his bat and sent it away high over mid wicket for six to win the match for Derriaghy in sensational fashion. Although bitterly disappointed to have lost the match Larne skipper Trevor Dempsey, speaking after the match, laid no blame whatsoever on Aiston. He said “On this small ground I was very reluctant to bowl our spinner so I asked Keith (who had not bowled in the match) to bowl his medium pace. He bowled very well in the conditions but he had trouble holding the wet ball and the shot to win the match was just one of those things where the batsman just swings and hopes he hits it cleanly.” Despite the loss Larne are in joint third place and this Saturday they entertain Woodvale at Sandy Bay. Scorecard:- Larne 182 (K Aiston 26, J Craig 61, F van der Burgh 3-29, A Lewis 3-35) Derriaghy won by 1 wicket. |
