Larne v Bangor - Saturday 14th August 2004 - Minor Cup Final |
Larne's Fourth eleven travelled to Lurgan on Saturday for the Minor Qualifying Cup Final, and they lost a close game by 27 runs. The opponents were Bangor, who have dominated local cricket this year at all levels and are unquestionably the strongest club in the country. The local side lost the toss and were asked to field, and they made a nervous start. This was perhaps not unexpected after a journey fraught with difficulty. Despite arriving in town an hour and a half before the scheduled start of play, the side became hopelessly lost in the baffling maze of sectarian-tinged estates colloquially known as Lurgan. To make matters worse, the locals seemed totally clueless as to the whereabouts of the cricket ground. Gangs of inebriated idiots roamed the streets, and they helpfully took a break from vomiting up their alcoholic breakfasts to supply a shockingly inept series of directions to the increasingly panicky cricketers. Eventually, more by luck than design Larne arrived at the ground and began preparing for the biggest game of the season. Not quite all the team had successfully negotiated the maze though. By foregoing the mini-bus and travelling in individual cars, the team had preserved their dignity but sacrificed their unity...Now, the opening batsman and opening bowler were lost, as well as the scorer and the two players who could have made up the eleven. The umpires cheerfully suggested starting early, only to be informed that Larne had only nine-men at the ground, with just ten minutes left before the scheduled start of play. It was a grim reminder of the days of old, when incomplete Larne sides were left praying their captain would win the toss and bat to get the thrashing over with. This time though, Larne at least had the expectation of two quality players arriving, and William Graham and Neil Hodge eventually arrived with tales of how they had bravely pursued the lead cars at over 100 miles per hour only to lose them just outside Larne. They had foolishly listened to the locals with regard to directions, and had also managed to become embroiled in a confrontation with a security guard at Lurgan Park. In defence of the town of Lurgan, it should be pointed out that there was a festival at the Park, a soccer match and then a march of some sort to follow that evening, and so the presence of such famous names as comprised Larne Fourths was not the biggest event of the day. At five to one, Larne speedily sharpened up for the start of the match with a spirited discussion on the subject of the late-arrivals which could also have been categorized as a fight, another sad echo of year's gone buy. Fortunately, this tête-à-tête occurred in the dressing room, and there were very few public lapses of etiquette during the day that followed. There was the occasional expletive and helpful suggestion as to the quality of the Larne bowling from the direction of fine-leg/mid off...but even this un-helpful director's commentary was muted out by clever field-placement, as Lyle brilliantly place his most loquacious fielder as far away as possible from the visiting dignitaries. This is the sort of masterful field placing (often un-noticed to the casual observer) which has earned Larne many a quiet day this season. Unsurprisingly perhaps, Larne began the match with a sickening succession of three wides. Bangor, who arrived in an air-conditioned coach complete with toilet, a drinks-bar and a small living-room/study area, had utilized their satellite navigation system and arrived promptly and without distraction at a reasonable time, now cruised to 112 for 2 in the 26th over. Darren King and Ryan Hamill both grabbed a wicket each, both wickets owing something to a little extra bounce provided by the wicket. But Bangor appeared on course to record a huge total. William Graham bowled an extremely quick spell, but Campbell weathered the storm and went on to hit a man-of-the-match winning 49.However, the introduction of two leg-spinners brought Larne back into the match. Neil Hodge and Simon King both bowled superbly, with Hodge in particular extracting considerable turn from the pitch. He dismissed one batsman by bowling him around his legs, a classic dismissal which left the batsman totally bemused. It was reminiscent of the famous "Gatting ball" delivered by Shane Warne, and it helped Larne made inroads into the Bangor batting. They slipped to 136 for six at the second drinks interval. The young King appeared quite nervous, but dismissed the top-scorer Campbell in his first over, and perhaps with hindsight he should have been tried earlier in the innings. Brother Andrew King now helped finish the innings off with a fine spell of seam bowling which left him figures of 3-20 off six overs, and brought flattering comparisons with Paul Ramsay from the crowd. The Bangor batting, which was incredibly strong at the start of the innings, now began to take on a more traditional Fourth eleven feel. Darren King also returned to bowl an important second spell, and Bangor were actually bowled out in the 48th over. The young Larne side had recovered from a bad start and put themselves in with a fair chance of victory, as they needed 197 off 50 overs. They made a fantastic start with Neil Hodge and Ryan Hamill putting on 66 as Larne reached 77 for 1 in the 17th over, with Allan the man dismissed. Hamill hit eight well-timed boundaries in his innings of 43, but he was dismissed attempting another nonchalant flick through the leg side. Hodge was now cruelly dismissed by a full toss which he hit to square-leg. He was one of several batsmen who all made promising starts without going on to record a match-winning innings. Burke, McKinty and Lyle were the others who perished as Bangor’s impressive strength in depth of bowling came to their rescue. Although Larne had kept up with the required run-rate, the regular loss of wickets proved to be their undoing. Which was the key wicket? Certainly Hamill could have won the match in another ten overs, whilst Hodge could also have got himself a man of the match award had he stayed in. With cruel irony, he was to dismiss a batsman with a full-toss the very next day, only to have the delivery erroneously called "No-ball"...a closer inspection of the rule revels that a spinner can indeed dismiss a batsman with a full-toss, and only the beamer should be called off the slow bowlers. Then Burke could also have played a match-winning innings had he not been caught behind. McKinty, Bangor confessed, was viewed as their "key" on the basis of his past performances. The most frustrating dismissal was Lyles, who passed 20 before being stumped off a wide as he attempted to manufacture a boundary and overbalanced, only to be greeted by one umpire raising his finger whilst the other signalled wide. Graham and Simon King gave some late hope, but the match was over in the 45th over when Larne were bowled out for 169 to lose by 26 runs. It was a disappointing result in what has been an eventful cup-run. The Larne team though were much younger than Bangor, and the next time these young players reach a final, they will surely have benefited from experiencing the unique atmosphere of a cup final. The policy of sticking with the young-players who had helped the side to the final will surely help the club in the future. The match was kindly sponsored by Larne Harbour Company. Special thanks should be extended to the travelling supporters, especially Frank Parkinson and Malcolm Ewing. Chris King also kindly kept score, whilst Jonathon Graham had a quiet day as the unlucky 12th man. One difficult issue that has divided the club and has been discussed at the highest level concerns selection and in particular the issue of the team's mascot. Marty the Dog has now performed disappointingly at two consecutive cup finals, and his role in these defeats cannot be overestimated. Why did Larne permit him to travel to the second final? Surely Lewis the Dog, who has performed ably in practice, could have been called up to replace him. Although Lewis has spent most of the season with the firsts and seconds, his presence at the expense of his bitter rival Marty could have turned the match in Larne's direction. There are already calls for a motion to be tabled at the AGM compelling the selectors to pick the more thoroughbred dog without regard to form or previous performance in the competition. These people would have dropped Marty and picked Lewis, even though Lewis did not particularly want to be there. Where is the sense in that? |
