Cricket Update 1 - Saturday 19th April 2008

Following several indoor practices at all levels, the school cricket season eventually got under way with a full programme of matches against Campbell College this past Saturday.

The 2007 season kicked off with a comprehensive 8 wicket victory for the 1st XI against the same opposition this time last year, and I am pleased to report that the feat has been repeated, even bettered, by a ten wicket margin this time! Andrew McCulla has been reappointed captain of the 1st XI and on winning the toss, inserted Campbell to bat on a beautifully prepared pitch. Great credit was due to the ground staff for the wonderful appearance of the strip, particularly at this early stage of the season, but some doubts as to how it would play were well founded, and this was the correct decision.

The game began in spectacular fashion with Josh Stinson bowling the highly rated Campbell opener with his very first delivery. He proceeded to bowl with unerring accuracy, claiming another wicket and conceding a miserly 6 runs in his allotted total of 8 overs. This type of performance comes as no surprise from a player of considerable ability who trains and prepares extremely well for his role in the team. Michael Heaney and Ben McIlroy bowled seam from the other end, and they too proved to be very accurate, finishing with a wicket apiece. Paddy McKee bowled 8 overs of controlled spin on the trot, replacing Josh and keeping the run rate at about two an over! How he managed to keep his spinning fingers warm enough to bowl so well I don't know, but his figures of 2 for 15 were excellent into a bitterly cold breeze (gale?).

Congratulations to Oliver McCollum in fourth form who made his 1st XI debut in this game and bowled a few overs of fairly lively medium pace that promises much for the future. He also fielded very well. 'Steady Eddie', Ed Hamill, wrapped things up with two wickets for two runs at the end, and some rather ill judged running by the tail enders fell victim to our confident out fielding which had been sharp and accurate throughout. Andrew marshalled the resources very well and took two routine stumpings (by his standards!). He also dismissed another of the top order batsmen by a quick piece of thinking and underarm shy at the stumps. Our final target was 96 to win in our 40 overs.

After 8 overs of good seam bowling by the Campbell opening pair, we had reached the grand total of 13 runs but crucially had not lost a wicket. Andrew and Stephen Leckey were extremely vigilant in their approach and really applied themselves to the difficult task of accumulating runs on a slow surface and against a very lively and athletic fielding unit. Neither batsmen offered a clear cut chance early on and eventually Stephen began to grow in confidence, striking some delightful back foot drives and cuts to the very short boundary next to the road. Towards the end of his innings he also had the power to reach the massive boundary on the other side and his total of 65 not out contained 9 fours and a maximum flicked off his legs to the short side. He totally dominated the partnership of 96 without loss and importantly helped Andrew through a difficult time at the other end. Without ever looking fluent, Andrew scraped and scratched 20 not out, having been given a 'life' just before the end of the game. His stubbornness and determination to fight his way through the situation speaks volumes of his temperament and a lesser player may have easily succumbed with frustration.

The rest of the players sat huddled on the boundary trying to keep warm whilst Andrew and Stephen completed the victory in the 26th over. One of the unused batsmen was Hugo Diamond, a fifth former and another debutant who has batted very well in our practice sessions. All in all a very satisfactory start to the season and an important psychological blow as Campbell come to visit us in the first round of the McCullough Cup. The first round of the Ulster Schools' Cup has been confirmed for the 30th April, away to Wallace High School.

Elsewhere in the club, at Pirrie Park the 2nd XI bowled inconsistently to allow a well organised batting side to reach a healthy 130 in their 25 overs. Campbell also bowled well and we were never in the hunt to achieve this target, falling short at a total of 70. Mr Adair's strong Under 14 team restricted Campbell to a modest total of 68 and the star of the outfield performance was Richard McKee taking 4 for 7 with his spin bowling, pouching two catches and being instrumental in a run out. Mark Berry and James Leathem chipped in with two wickets each and Mark Best kept tidily throughout with one good stumping.

A solid opening stand laid a decent foundation for a good partnership of 42 by Mark Gribben (30 not out) and Mark Best (12 not out) to surpass the required total and gain a comfortable victory by 7 wickets. On the enclosure, Mr Creighton's 1st formers managed to donate 18 extras to the Campbell total of 70 runs! As his older brother made his 1st XI debut, the younger McCollum, James made quite an impact in this performance taking 3 wickets in his four allotted overs, his tremendous enthusiasm no doubt contributing to several no balls. Wolfie Diamond also claimed 2 wickets as Campbell posted a final score of 70. In the reply, James was once again leading the charge, this time with the bat scoring 20 before being run out off a no ball ... cardinal sin! A solid 17 from Andrew Patterson was the other major contribution but we ended up 55 all out, losing by 15 runs.

Back at the sprawling Campbell campus, the Colts XI won by 50 runs despite the Friday afternoon kidnapping of one of their key men to the 1st XI! A very good 60 from Adam Berry and 29 from Alex Fowler was the backbone of a challenging 120 total which proved well beyond our opponents who reached only 70 in the face of some accurate bowling and determined fielding. The pick of the bowlers was Chris Curry with 3 for 12.

Finally, last year's Centenary Cup runners up had the chance to avenge the comprehensive defeat inflicted upon them by the same very strong Campbell XI. Unfortunately, Mr Lyttle's crew were to go down again, this time by seven wickets. Our total of 40 all out was never going to be enough to threaten an impressive batting line up and despite great efforts from Matthew McIvor (2 for 13 off 3 overs) and Jordan Hodgen (conceding only 5 runs in three overs), the target was achieved with just over half the overs used.

This Saturday's block fixture is against Coleraine Inst with the 1st XI game at Pirrie, 40 overs duration. Details of pending cup matches at each age group will be posted in due course.

A. Watson
MIC Cricket


FOR FULL 2007 FIXTURE LIST, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Cricket update 1 - April 21st 2007 - Please click here
Cricket Update 2 - 28th April 2007 - Please click here
Cricket Update 3 - May 15th 2007 - Please click here
Cricket update 4 - June 1st 2007 - Please click here
Cricket update 5 - June 7th 2007 - Please click here
Cricket Update 6 - June 12th 2007 - Please click here
Cricket Update 7 - June 26th 2007 - Please click here