2XI Lift the League Trophy in Style

Having already secured the league title and promotion the previous week, the 2XI faced Lisburn 3XI in their final game of the season on a glorious Saturday afternoon at Upritchard Park. With a joint trophy presentation with the 1^st XI to follow, Bangor were seeking their 12^th league victory of the season over the only side they had not yet defeated. With this in mind, no extra motivation was required to right this wrong and finish the season on a high.

Lisburn won the toss and elected to bat on what looked like a typical batting paradise of a wicket prepared by groundsman Stephen Burns. However, as has been the case throughout the season, Bangor welcomed the task of fielding first and were confident in their ability to chase anything. Skipper Conor Cox and young star Myles McNaught shared the new ball and kept things tight in the opening overs, yielding an early breakthrough in the form of a runout after a mix-up between the batsmen in the middle. With the ball swinging, wickets two and three soon followed in the seventh over. With his second delivery of the over, Cox drew a leading edge from the bat of Neil Anderson,which was gobbled up at backward point by Andrew Pyper, before trapping opener Ian Marsh LBW with his fifth delivery,leaving Lisburn in trouble at 30-3 after seven overs. 

Lisburn provided some resistance in the middle overs in the form of a 63 partnership between a fluent Alexander Magee (45 from 33 balls) and Carl Williams (28), who safely brought the side to drinks at 84/3. The momentum was beginning to shift in Lisburn’s favour, with Magee’s boundary hitting in particular putting pressure back onto the Bangor bowlers and leading to a couple of half chances going down in the field. It was fair to say the drinks break had come at a good time for the home side. 

Bangor emerged from the drinks break with clear minds and a renewed vigour, with a target of restricting Lisburn to below 150 from their allotted 30 overs. This rejuvenated spirit almost immediately paid off, as Bangor took two wickets in five balls post drinks. Golden arm Pyper got the prized wicket of Magee when he had him well caught in the deep by Ross Garrett, before Vishnu Jayakumar joined the action, dismissing the new batsman Harry Walker for just 4, Ross Garrett again supplying the catch. These quick wickets took the wind out of Lisburn’s sails, and Bangor took wickets at regular intervals for the remainder of the innings to restrict their opponents to an under par 147 all out. Cox and Jayakumar both concluded with three wickets a piece, with Paddy English also picking up a two-fer to ensure Bangor were the much happier side at the tea interval.

In reply, the Lisburn bowlers toiled away in the Upritchard sun but unfortunately were no match for the experienced left-handed duo of Johnny Keenan and Mark English, who never looked phased by the task at hand. They saw off the new ball with ease, before going through the gears to chase down the target of 148 at a canter, with Keenan rounding off the win in fine style by hitting a boundary off the final ball of the 24^th over. He finished on an assured 52*, with English striking a stylish 68*, to secure a dominant ten wicket victory and a great way to end what has been a fantastic season for the club. 

Season Round-Up

After an extremely disappointing 2023 season which ended in relegation to Junior League 3, the 2024 season for the 2^nd XI could not have gone much better. Promotion back to Junior League 2 and the League Title were clinched before the final week of the season in what was a year to remember.

In what was a commanding season where we did not lose when fielding first, we recorded seven victories by 8 wickets or more. The season was characterised by taking early wickets with the ball and recording large opening partnerships with the bat. In what is true in any good side, runs and wickets were shared across the team, with Andrew Pyper, Conor Cox, Myles McNaught and Michael Skelly all picking up 10 plus wickets in the league and Johnny Keenan, Paddy McMillan, Myles McNaught (again!) and Mark English all averaging above 50 with the bat.

Not only has it been a victorious year, but it has also been a really enjoyable one, which along with promotion, was one of my main targets for the season. Although it is likely that doing a lot more winning than losing had a big part to play in this, I also believe the fact we had a core group of players who played the majority of the games contributed greatly to said enjoyment. For this, I must thank the Chairman of Selectors Paddy McMillan for consistently rallying the troops via the medium of Spond. With this strong core, we got better as the season went on, ending the season playing some great cricket. I hope we can carry this form into next season and consolidate our position in Junior League 2.

I would like to thank all players who represented the 2XI this season, my fellow captains, and members of the committee for the work they have done this season. This has been one of the most successful seasons I can remember in my time at the club, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of everyone mentioned above. Long may it continue!