A Win and a Loss for the Men’s 1XI
5 min read
Larne vs Bangor
Bangor 1st XI were once again on the road as they travelled to Sandy Bay on Thursday night to face Larne in a re-arranged fixture with four important league points up for grabs. Bangor’s tag as favourites was enhanced as the game was to be played as 20/20 match; a format where the 1st XI enjoyed much success last year.
Captain Jonny Parker lost the toss and Larne elected to bat. Robin Van Hart opened the bowling, getting the men in blue off to a good start, bowling Christopher Keenan for none. Sam McMillan then took the key wicket of keeper-batsman Chris Dempsey as Bangor reduced the home side to 11 for 2. Spinners Simpson and Patterson, who played a pivotal role in the one-run win at Dundrum the previous week, were again vital cogs in BCC’s attack as they reduced the hosts to 21 for 4. Larne consolidated with a partnership of sixty-four before Sam McMillan took two more key wickets as the home side found themselves 93 for 7. Chris Pyper showed good patience as he went for just twelve runs off his four and coach, Robin Van Hart, was once again his economical self. Rob’s presence is already proving to be a huge asset for the club both on and importantly off the pitch where his high-quality coaching is evident. James Patterson finished with impressive figures of 4-0-13-1 as Larne set Bangor 102 to win in their allotted twenty overs.
Bangor’s innings did not get off to the ideal start as they found themselves none for one, when third ball Sam McMillan was adjudged to be LBW. It was a disappointing blow for McMillan as he is a quality player at the top of the order who will score heavily for the 1st XI this year. From this point Andrew Kirkpatrick and captain, Jonny Parker, dominated the game with exceptional tempo and aggressive running between the wickets. Kirkpatrick looked every inch the class act that he is with an unbeaten 55 off 42 balls including three fours and one six, while Parker finished on 32 not out as Bangor won by 9 wickets with 5.4 overs to spare.
It was a satisfying win for Jonny Parker’s men and continues the momentum of their league campaign. Bangor have been fortunate to experience Larne’s first class hospitality twice in a matter of weeks with wonderful food and the game played in the right spirit, from both teams, on the pitch. We wish them well for the season.
Waringstown 2XI vs Bangor
The The Men’s 1XI began their Junior Cup campaign with an away trip to Waringstown, a cup competition they came runners up in to Lurgan at last years showpiece event at Upritchard Park.
Bangor won the toss and elected to bowl with an experienced Waringstown opening pair set about building an early totals, as the Bangor opening pair of Skelly and Pyper battled valiantly. George Prince, with his tricky medium pace made the breakthrough dismissing the Waringstown opener James Hall. Shortly after Prince would find another wicket removing the second Waringstown opener, tempting him into a flighty shot which found the grasps of Michael Skelly, with the returning student’s mullet in full flow. At this stage, Waringstown began to accelerate cashing in on what was an excellent pitch.
Daly and Nelson, the Waringstown batsmen, showed poise, style and powerful hitting ability as they built a formidable partnership. Boundaries flowed and the Bangor men let themselves down in the field with numerous mis-fields and dropped catches. Eventually, Pyper returned to bowl, fuelled by his hatred of batsmen and all that they stand for, he produced an outswinger that removed Daly on 99 as Andrew Kirkpatrick cooly took the catch behind the stumps. Pyper celebrated at the thought of a batsman dissatisfied and then proceeded to take a wicket with the very next ball removing Snell for a duck as Mark Hutchinson showed immense skill to snare the catch at mid-wicket.
This set up a hat trick ball, Pyper’s request for some fielders to don helmets and stand close to the bat was immediately rejected by his skipper and he had to make do with a couple of slips and a tight field. Charging in Pyper delivered a full ball that clattered into the front pad of the batsmen. An intense appeal followed which was turned down by the umpire, Pyper’s luck running out. On review and on another day it might have been given out with how marginal the call was, Pyper buoyed by nearly picking up a hat trick finished his spell really well, one of the few highlights from the bowling / fielding side of things. Another wicket would fall as Nelson departed for a well made 82 at the hands of James Patterson’s bowling. A late flurry of hitting would mean that Waringstown ended on 310 off of their allotted overs, setting a formidable target for the Bangor side.
Hutchinson and McMillan strode out to the middle, knowing there was a good deck to be capitalised on and with the full backing of their team they still believed in producing an almighty chase. They got off to a strong start until McMillan was out caught behind for 11.
This brought skipper Jonny Parker to the crease. He and Hutchinson created a strong partnership carving and caressing shots like two masters of their craft. Parker, understanding that the required run rate was rising, looked to become more aggressive. He attacked the Waringstown leg spinner only to be out caught after not fully connecting well with the shot. The senior citizens of the squad Hutchinson and Kirkpatrick were now at the crease and battled away for a few more overs, until Kirkpatrick departed once again trying to up the run rate in the face of good bowling.
Orr, Simpson, Skelly, Patterson, Belshaw and Prince all gave valiant efforts near the end as Bangor battled on but the game was up and the visitors fell short of their target by 98 runs. It would be remiss to not mention the excellence of Hutchinson. Despite wickets falling around him, he displayed expert shotmaking, as all around him had the appearance of neophytes in awe of the poise they saw before them. Hutchinson totalled 83 in the end and was received with rapturous applause.
Although it was not be for Bangor, falling short of a strong Waringstown total, against a team featuring ex-Ireland internationals, the Bangor men can take pride. They never buckled and fought right to the end. As the team headed for home and one by one arrived back on the gold coast. They gazed at the sunset as it touched our beautiful city and a realisation occurred. No matter where Bangor lose, they still come back to Bangor, meaning they will always be the winners in some respect, even if the cricket doesn’t go their way.
