Carrick beat CIYMS in Premier League
Carrickfergus extended their unbeaten run to five matches with an excellent 29 victory over a strong CIYMS side at Middle Road on Saturday in a match sponsored by MG2 cricket.
Carrick skipper Iain Parkhill won the toss and batted first, and his side struggled against CI’s formidable 4 man pace attack, and had only managed to reach 55 for 3 after 20 overs. Pat Botha and Alex Haggan then revived their fortunes with an 81 run partnership in 13 overs, before Botha, having just hit two big 6’s, was bowled for 45 off 44 balls. Haggan contributed a very useful 44 runs before he was caught with the score on 172, and 7 overs still remaining. Ryan Eagleson and Michael Armstrong then took it past the 200 mark in the penultimate over, their partnership of 46 enabling Carrick to ppost a respectable 219 for 7 at the end of their 50 overs.
Carrick reduced CI to 89 for 3 after 20 overs with Ashwin Shetty who bowled a tidy 10 overs, taking 2 for 28. Ryan Eagleson chipped in with the vital wicket of former South African Test player Justin Kemp, and after 30 overs the score had moved on to 115 for 4 with the game very much in the balance. Skipper Nigel Jones, who had been there since the fall of the first wicket, and the aggressive Johnny Thompson then appeared to be taking it away from Carrick as 61 runs were added in a dozen overs. Alex Haggan, having his first bowl of the season, then claimed the vital wicket of Thompson, caught behind for 31. Pat Botha trapped Chambers lbw first ball, and then struck the vital blow when he bowled Jones for 54. The remaining batsmen put up little resistance as the visitors last wicket fell in the 48th over with the total on 190, to give Carrick another excellent win.
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Carrick’s unbeaten run finally came to an end on Sunday when they lost their Irish Senior Cup 2nd Round match to a strong Merrion side in Dublin. Thanks largely to a superb innings of 143 from 131 balls with 22 fours and 2 sixes from the prolific Irish international batsman John Anderson, the home side posted a formidable 300 for 7 in their 50 overs. Carrick were reasonably placed at 51 for 2 in 11 overs, before Anderson struck again, this time with the ball, taking two wickets in his first over. A further wicket reduced Carrick to 52 for 5 and the game was effectively over as a contest. South African professional Pat Botha completed his first hundred for the club, his fine innings of 107 containing 12 fours and 3 sixes enabling Carrick to reach a more respectable 196 in 47.1 overs.
