Carrick make Ulster Cup exit at Strabane
Carrick are out of the O’Neill’s Ulster Cup after losing a closely fought contest by 19 runs at Strabane on Saturday. Carrick skipper Iain Parkhill won the toss and with weather threatening later in the day, asked the home side to bat first. After a fairly slow start they side upped the ante in the latter stages of their innings, finally making 214 for 6 in their 40 overs. Barry Scott made 22 at the top of the order before the momentum increased in a 70-run stand between Aaron Gillespie (43) and Ryan Gallagher (39). That stabilised the Strabane innings but the real impetus came from Kevin Pretorius. The young South African helped his side add no fewer than 47 runs in the final two overs of their innings, blasting a quick-fire 60 not out off 29 balls, with 30 of those coming in the final over! Ryan Eagleson (2-34) fared best with the ball for Carrick.
Carrick’s reply was given a solid if unspectacular start by Jamie Holmes (29) and Iain Parkhill (23). Gillespie and skipper Gallagher combined again to keep things in check however and were able to pick up wickets at key times as the Red Caps got their noses in front. Alex Haggan proved an altogether different proposition and he breathed new life into the visitors’ response before finally succumbing to the Strabane captain for 61 including seven boundaries. Eagleson (20), Michael Armstrong (19) and Richard Hood (18) battled hard to keep the contest alive but Gallagher (4-30) and Gillespie (3-46) had done enough to keep them at arm’s length, and they were still 19 runs short at the end of their 40 overs.
