A Win and a Loss Against the Top Two in the League
5 min read
Templepatrick vs Bangor – 14.07.22
Bangor produced a performance of unparalleled brilliance on Thursday evening at the Cloughan to defeat the previously unbeaten league leaders Templepatrick by ten wickets. It was a scintillating display by the young Bangor side that swept aside their high flying hosts in just 23.1 overs for both innings. Jonny Parker’s men will now be able to draw on such a complete performance to start charging up the league in the second half of the season.
Templepatrick won the toss and elected to bat on an over cast and rain threatened evening thinking that they could post a score and test the Bangor batting. The Bangor opening partnership of David Kennedy and Ben Escott had other ideas looking to pile on the pressure. Ironically, it was the hosts that appeared to win the early exchanges. The Templepatrick opener Taylor took the game to Bangor and the home side had raced to 19 from only 11 deliveries.
The final ball of Escott’s first over was to change the course of the match. Escott pushed the final delivery of the over through and Taylor couldn’t get through his shot in time, but it still looked like the ball would clear the skipper at mid-off comfortably. Parker had other ideas running at full speed backwards he was able to cling on to the ball and give Bangor the vital breakthrough and leaving the score at 19 for one. This wicket would set the tone for what happened over the course of the next 12 overs.
It’s fair to say that I have an above average vocabulary but it is very difficult for me to find the words to describe the events that followed. Escott continued to unleash unplayable deliveries to the Templepatrick professional and in this sheer unrelenting pressure told in the sixth over of the match. Gautam had been visibly trying to get off strike for the whole over before Escott got one to move away snicking off to a cat like Griffin behind the stumps. In his next over, the young Bangor paceman dismissed the other opener, Greer, who panicked and miscued the ball for young Sam McMillan to take an outstanding catch on the long-on boundary. Bangor were rampant and the hosts were reeling.
What happened next may well go down in Bangor folklore as one of the most outstanding spells of bowling the club has witnessed. Chris Pyper entered the attack and took the wickets of Thompson, Davis and Whiteman in the space of five balls. When Pyper took his fourth wicket in his next over, a fine catch again by Parker, he had taken four wickets in seven balls and Templepatrick had crumpled from 49-3 to 57-7. Adam Simmonite, now bowling from the Ballyclare end, was in no mood to release any of the pressure and he got the crucial wicket of Bryans. One more wicket for Simmonite and yet another for Pyper, bringing home his five wicket haul, was enough to see the end of the Templepatrick innings – a total capitulation on 61.
The Bangor batting matched the fielding performance as Kuda Samunderu and Kris King destroyed the Templepatrick attack. King was the aggressor, smashing balls to all parts of the ground and playing with a level of freedom that is the hallmark of the talented batsman. Samunderu was balletic in his poise and acted as a gracious foil to the brutality if King. The partnership was relentless, remorseless and pounded Templepatrick into the ground. After ten short overs the total was reached and Bangor had the most famous of victories.
Tem 61ao 13.1 overs
B Escott 2-23, C Pyper 5-11, A Simmonite 2-3
BCC 66-0 10 overs
K King 37*, K Samunderu 22*
Bangor vs Derriaghy – 16.07.22
After a strong showing and victory mid-week versus a Templepatrick Bangor entered Saturday’s fixture with the hopes of another 4 points. However, this would mean beating a Derriaghy side who are battling for the league title and have recruited into an already strong squad during the season. But Bangor being Bangor don’t know what underdogs or the term ‘form book’ really mean so the scene was set on at a barmy Upritchard Park afternoon for an intriguing fixture.
The first victory of the day went to Bangor’s Captain forsuccessfully winning the toss and electing to have a bat first. This was on a pitch that, as ever, was expertly prepared and there was some debate as to what would to do if the toss was won. However a fresh pitch at Upritchard always teases you into batting first. With the colossal runs already accumulated this year on the 2nd XI Patrick “Raspo” McMillan found himself out of the whites and in colours opening up with Johnathan Keenan for the 1st XI. However, both opening bats were undone but the opening bowlers of Derriaghy, Morne Venter and Craig Lewis. The score was 2-21 after 6.5 overs in with Kuda Samundera and Sam McMillan ready to build again. This was the start of a fantastic innings by Kuda managing to anchor the Bangor innings throughout against a well drilled attack. Kuda scored 95 off 117 with 10 fours and 1 six. Craig Lewis the pick of the bowlers with figures 4-44 off 10 overs had Kuda lbw in the 47th over. Wickets fell with few other Bangor batsmen troubling the score board apart from James Griffin who scored 34 in his 55 run partnership with Kuda which seemed to help stem the flow of wickets and give Bangor’s bowlers something to bowl at. Bangor battled to 175-9 off their 50 overs.
Now it was the turn of Derriaghy to bat and with a target of 175 it was important they didn’t give away early wickets which would encourage Bangor and give hope of a surprise win. Bangor had other ideas. Both openers removed and the score was 2-21. Could this be the second time this week that Bangor’s seam attack steam rolled a team? Not if Morne Venter and Sam Gordon had anything to say. They set about calming the storm and regaining control of the chase with a well-played 55 run partnership before Gordan skied the ball of a top edge to only find Griffin’s gloves waiting. The game,the hosts thought, was still in the balance if they could get a few more quick wickets and the pressure would definitely be on Derriaghy. Then in a classic heat wave that could only be experienced in Northern Ireland rain began to threaten. But this only for shadowed a storm of runs. Craig Lewis set about dismantling what was left of the hopes of Bangor with quick fire runs. 54 off 30 balls in a 92 run partnership with Venter saw the visitors on their way to a well-deserved 6 wicket victory.
A great days Cricket played in the right spirit and left all playing and spectating content. Bangor will look ahead encouraged if not slightly disappointed but knowing that big opportunities await. The next one of those is on Saturday at home to Ballymena with all support welcome with the game starting at noon.
BCC 175-9 50 overs
K Samunderu 95, J Griffin 34
C Lewis 4-44, M Venter 2-32, C Moorhead 2-26
Der 177-4 24.5 overs
S Gordon 27, M Venter 57*, C Lewis 54
