Review of the Season: August 2024

August 3rd – 9th

The Men’s 1Xl hosted Saintfield in their final regular league game with their top 4 place already confirmed, the race for the all-important top 2 come the season end was still the aim. All eyes were on the forecast though with rain set to make an impact at some point during the game. Bangor fortunately won the toss and elected to bowl to try and force through a result as quickly as possible before the rain arrived. Bangor made an excellent start with RVH picking up 2 early wickets and the wickets kept tumbling for the visitors with them 40-6 in the 19th over, Bangor’s race against the rain was going well. What had begun a few overs earlier though and throughout the rest of the innings were bizarre tactics from the Saintfield batters as they essentially shut up shop. From the 13th over onwards, just three overs registered over 5 runs scored as the run rate crawled along. The visitors managed to get the score to 86-9 at the end of their 40 overs, all but one of the Bangor bowlers going for under 3 runs an over. As forecasted unfortunately the rain set in during the innings break and the game was frustratingly abandoned.

With an urge to get the game played before the fixture split, Saintfield made the trip to Bangor again two days later in the rearrangement. Saintfield batted first and showed more adventure in their run scoring with Harrison scoring a quick-fire 51 off 28 balls which really gave the innings impetuous as they finished on 146-4, Bangor would have to bat well to chase down the total. Will Simpson the pick of the bowlers with 2-23. The visitors made a great start with the ball with the much inform Sam McMillan dismissed early doors. There was no panic though from then on as the two experienced heads in this batting line up of Hubby & Hutchy navigated Bangor through a tricky spell before upping the ante. The 50-run partnership came off 39 balls with Bangor nicely on track in their chase. Hubby took on the aggressor role with Hutchy happy to rotate strike and Hubby continued to find the boundary as he reached his half century from 37 balls. Hubby continued on his way, as he whacked 35 more runs from just 17 balls as Saintfield simply had no answer to his batting. Bangor reached the finish line with 14 balls remaining, Hubby finishing on 85* off 54 balls (one of the best innings of the season), Hutchy a run a ball 46*, a phenomenal partnership of 132 under pressure. The side were now top of the league with the three playoff league games remaining, two victories away from promotion.

The 2Xl made the long journey to The Mall in Armagh, Bangor won the toss and elected to bowl first and it was the hosts that made a decent start, but Bangor kept the run rate in check. The 19th over yielded two wickets with the score now 54-4 and from then on Bangor pressed home their advantage regularly picking up wickets. Armagh were bowled out for 130 with Bangor much the happier of the two sides. Andy Pyper the pick of the bowlers with 3-15 and skipper Coxy jr chipping in with 2 wickets. Raspo & JK opened the batting for Bangor and got the side off to a phenomenal start with the 50-run partnership coming up in the 8th over. Raspo very much keen to head back up the road took on the aggressor role as he started finding the boundary with increasing regularity, registering his half century off 41 balls. The two batters then crossed the 100-run partnership mark in the 14th over as Bangor eased their way to an easy win which was finally sealed two overs later. Bangor the winners by 10 wickets, a superb 131 run partnership from Raspo (67* off 49 balls) and JK (39* off 46 balls).

It was a simple 10 wicket win this time for the 4Xl at home to Ballymena 4XI. Bowling first they bowled out the visitors for 44 in the 15th over, Jack Irwin & Max Walker the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets and Josh McMillan chipping in with 2 wickets from just one over. There were no issues with the run chase with Phil Greenwood & Stephen Hamilton seeing Bangor over the line in the fifth over, Phil top scoring with 25* from 15 balls. Bangor 5XI took on Lisburn 5XI in a brilliant match at BGS, the visitors batted first and made 128-7 from the 20 overs, Max Walker continuing his great season with the ball in hand with 3-7. Bangor made a promising start with the bat and were on track to chase down the visitor’s total. The side though kept losing wickets with Oliver Haslam (20) and Max Walker (27) the only batters passing 20. When the ninth wicket fell, Bangor were 100-9 needing 29 of 22 balls, a tall order. Saydee Gomes coming at number 11 made a blistering start as she scored 9 runs off her first 4 balls and with a further 12 runs coming from the next 2 overs, Bangor needed just 8 from the last over. Tragically though Saydee was dismissed the next ball as Bangor were bowled out, a brilliant effort though from Saydee to get Bangor that close.

Away from the Senior side of the club, the second part of the U11 Boys side quest for a repeat of last year’s league-cup double took place at Wallace Park against Lisburn. Bangor batted first and made a competitive total of 125-8 with Oliver Campbell & Teddy Mcilwaine top scoring with 31* and 28 respectively. A tight game ensued with Lisburn looking at times of chasing down the target set but some great bowling & fielding from Bangor ensured they won in the end in a closely fought game by 7 runs. The league and cup double for the second year in a row for the side, an unbelievable achievement from all the players, congratulations to them and all the coaches on this incredible achievement!

August 10th – 15th

The first of three playoff games for the Men’s 1XI saw them take on Cooke Collegians who provided a real test for the side back in June at Pirrie Park. Focus was firmly on the game at UP, but an eye was also on the other game at Downpatrick where a Dundrum win coupled with a Bangor win would see both sides promoted. Cooke won the toss and elected to bat first at a glorious UP with a big crowd expected for our popular Corporate Lunch Day. Bangor exerted their dominance from the off keeping the visitors in check with the run rate remaining low but only picking up the one wicket through Michael Skelly’s initial spell of five overs. RVH was very hard done by to bowl his 8 overs straight through for no reward. The two change bowlers Will & Princer did reap all the awards though as they completely changed the game with a devastating spell of 9-32 between them as Cooke were amazingly all out in around 90 minutes for 61. Will the pick of the bowlers with 5-13 and Princer ending on 4-19. Bangor’s trusty pairing of Sam & Hutchy strode to the wicket on the crest of a wave and easily knocked off the target set, Sam finishing on 17*, Hutchy on 40* from just 6 overs. With the game finishing by around 2pm well ahead of schedule for the attendees at the Corporate Lunch Day, the players & umpires kindly gave up their time to play in a fun T10 match to entertain the masses on a sunny balcony. Thanks to all the players and especially the Cooke Collegians players for staying on afterwards. With the win in the bank attention turned to down the road as the Downpatrick vs Dundrum game neared a conclusion. Promotion though would have to wait at least another week with Downpatrick winning a tight game keeping alive their chances. Bangor though had destiny in their own hands, a win against Dundrum in their next league game would confirm them as league champions.

The 3XI hosted Cregagh 3XI in the league with the visitors winning the toss and batting first. Bangor made a great start with Vishnu & Andy Pyper picking up the early wickets before a big third wicket partnership propelled the visitors to 98-2 before Pittsy broke up the partnership. Another large partnership for the fifth wicket ensured Cregagh set a very competitive total of 187-4 from their 30 overs, Pittsy the pick of the bowlers with 2-17. Bangor got off to a phenomenal start with a 65-run partnership for the opening wicket the highlight being another quick-fire knock from Chappers scoring 33 from 22 balls. A cluster of wickets fell though to leave Bangor 111-5 and giving Cregagh a way back into the game. Bangor didn’t need to panic though with them way ahead of the required rate with Hamza & Carter providing a crucial partnership of 42 for the sixth wicket when Hamza was dismissed for 22. Carter was next to go for 34 but with the score 161-7, Bangor still fancied their chances. That was until two further wickets left Bangor in a precarious position with 1 wicket remaining and 22 runs shy. Andy Pyper & Stephen Skelly though provided the rearguard action as they seamlessly got Bangor closer and closer to the finish line through a chanceless partnership. It seemed inevitable Bangor would get over the line with them needing 2 runs for the win but disaster struck when Skelly was bowled giving Cregagh the most thrilling of victories, a disappointing loss for the home side given their large dominance throughout the run chase.

The 5XI were also involved in a thriller away at Saintfield 3XI. Bangor batted first and made 187 from their 25 overs, Dyllan Gomes top scoring with a brilliant 62 from 46 balls. Bangor got off to a great start with 4 early wickets before a sizeable fifth wicket partnership seemingly took the game away from Bangor. But the visitors fought back taking four more wickets to give themselves an outside chance of pulling off a great victory. Saintfield though managed to get over the line to win by 2 wickets with Smyth top scoring with 66*. The pick of the bowlers from a Bangor effort were Harry McMillan and Rich Carson each picking up 2 wickets. This proved to be the sides final game, but another great fun filled season for the 5XI, a great pathway for our junior members to get their first experiences of senior cricket alongside their dads and family members.

The Women’s 1Xl had two games during the week and first hosted Drumaness SK on a sunny evening at UP. The game was a special one too as Robbie’s daughter Chelsea was over in N.I visiting him at the time and played in her very first game of cricket. In Pairs Cricket, Bangor made a score of 84 with the two Emma’s scoring the most, Hutchinson with 21 and Rayner with 12 with everyone else chipping in. Drumaness made a solid start, but it was the ninth over that turned the tide in Bangor’s favour with three wickets, Holly Williams with two of them and a run out from Megan Stranaghan. Drumaness kept chipping away at the target set and had an outside chance of victory heading into the final over where it was Chelsea to bowl it and the visitors requiring 18 to win. Chelsea on debut though showed no nerves picking up her first ever wicket and from there bowled Bangor to victory to win by 19 runs, a great & memorable day for her and Robbie with runs, catches & wickets. Emma Rayner was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets with Megan Strangahan the other wicket taker.

Bangor travelled to Shaw’s Bridge a few days later to take on Instonians 2XI, batting first Bangor struggled on the day, only Emma Rayner able to register a score of note with 26* as Bangor were bowled out for 71. Bangor in reply made an excellent start with two very early wickets and when the third wicket was picked up, Bangor were ahead of the game with the score 28-3 in the 9th over. Instonians though benefitted from a great fourth wicket partnership which got them back into the game and it was a tight game all the way up to the final over. Instonians needed just 3 runs to win and got over the line with a few balls remaining to win by 7 wickets. A great effort from Bangor to get themselves back into the contest after a below par batting effort. The game marked the final one for the season, what a brilliant season for the side who eventually a few weeks later picked up the league title. A memorable season for all involved, picking up their first win, going on that fantastic 6-win streak and a cup semi-final all culminating with a league win. Congrats to skipper Emma Rayner and the team on a brilliant season and the team can look forward to playing in the league above next season.

August 16th – 23rd

After a few weeks of build-up, the potentially golden weekend had finally arrived with this weekend presenting itself as the first real opportunity for the Men’s 1XI to seal their place back in Section 1. Before then thought on the Friday, there was the small matter of the T20 Bowl Final at UP against BISC, with Bangor being very keen to defend their title. BISC won the toss and batted first, but it was Bangor who made the better start limiting the batting side to 34-2. Bangor exerted their control on the game keeping the run rate down and never allowing any partnerships of note to develop. BISC finished on 110-8 from their 20 overs with Chris Walton the pick of the bowlers with 3-19 and Will registering figures of 2-20. Bangor didn’t get off to the best of starts when Sam went second ball and when Hutchy batting at number 3 went for 22, Bangor were 41-2 in the eighth over and were being made to work for the win. RVH came in and gave the innings great impetus with a quickfire 38 from 26 which propelled Bangor into the lead. From here, Bangor coasted home to victory with stand-in skipper Hubby scoring the winning run. RVH’s innings and opener Hubby who quietly went about his business but yet scored a valuable 44 off 28, the main protagonists in the run chase. Bangor the winners by 7 wickets with more than 5 overs remaining and successfully retaining their T20 Bowl title in front of a healthy crowd at UP! After a small celebration, attention very quickly turned to tomorrow with a crucial league fixture against Dundrum.

Was the morning after and some 12 or so hours later the Men’s 1Xl returned to UP to take on Dundrum knowing today was the day where not only promotion could be achieved but also winning the league with a win. Bangor won the toss and elected to bowl first fancying to chase down whatever Dundrum could score. What followed though was beyond the wildest of dreams for all in Bangor. Michael Skelly set the tone straight away with a c&b chance taken in just his second ball and from there Bangor didn’t let up one bit. RVH & Skelly tore through the Dundrum batting order with a devastating passage of play with Dundrum at one point a staggering 25-8. RVH finishing his 8 overs with figures of 3-11 with three maidens, a fine spell of bowling with great skill. But it was the 8 over spell from Michael Skelly that will be remembered for a long time, the young pacer was simply unplayable. It was a delight for everyone when he picked up his sixth wicket with him receiving an NCU award for a spell of bowling that thoroughly deserved it. Skelly’s final figures were 6-22 with 1 maiden and when Will picked up the final wicket Dundrum were all out in the 18th over for just 42, a quite surreal hour and 45 minutes of play. The indominable pairing of Sam & Hutchy strode out to the middle at UP for the final time this year and what an incredible season they have both had, between them scoring a ridiculous 1,449 runs for the side. It was apt that these two batters saw Bangor over the line chasing down the Dundrum total within 8 overs, Sam top scoring with 29* and hitting the winning runs. Bangor the winners by 10 wickets & champions of Section 2 and the celebrations began in earnest!

The 2Xl entertained BISC 2XI at UP as the side closed in on their league promotion. BISC batted first and made a decent start before Bangor started weaving their magic. Showing no ill effects from the celebrations the day before, Michael Skelly picked up 3-30 to reduce BISC to 51-3. Bangor continually picked up wickets with Myles McNaught bowling a great spell to register figures of 2-20 but it was the innings of Jagadeesh which inspired the visitors to make 182-9 from their 30 overs. The Bangor batting lineup would be tested in this run chase. But the reliable pairing of Raspo & JK made easy work of it though with a steady opening few overs, they started to go through the gears registering their 100-run partnership in the 13th over. Soon JK was dismissed for a well-made 39 but Raspo carried on, scoring 67 before being dismissed with Bangor coasting at that point on 136-2 in the 18th over. The remaining few overs weren’t dull which included a comical run-out and Myles blasting a quick-fire 23 as Bangor easily won by 6 wickets, chasing down the total in the 22nd over. The win meant Bangor were on the cusp of promotion with the side needing just one more win to confirm it.

The 3XI easily swept Muckamore 4XI aside to win by 7 Wickets at BGS. Stephen Skelly the pick of the bowlers with 4-30 as the visitors finished on 154-8 from their 30 overs with Vishnu also picking up 2 wickets. Despite the loss of an early wicket, Bangor cruised home to victory with the Men’s 1Xl beginning their league clinching celebrations from the sidelines supporting the side home. Vishnu top scored with a well-crafted 59 and he was aptly supported by Matthew Quinn with 39 and Rossco scoring 32*. With the win the 3XI side had sewn up their status for Junior League 5 for next season by mid-August, a terrific effort by all with a healthy mixture of young & old contributing throughout the season.

Away from the Club we had numerous members from the youth section represent the NCU representative sides in July and August. Oliver Campbell, Teddy Mcllwaine and Toby Hopkins played for the U11 Boys side in the interpro’s at Shaws Bridge and down in Dublin. Felix McMillan represented the U13 Boys side in their interpro’s where in one of the games he made a quickfire 23 in the NCU’s 37 run win over Leinster. Daniel Rayner represented the U15 Boys side in a number of games which included a tour in England were he finished top wicket taker for the side. A number of members played in some NCU U15 Development games too in Max Walker, Josh McMillan, Jacob Campbell and Finn Merriman.

August 24th – 29th

A mixed bag weather wise meant there were only two games during the weekend with the 2XI going for league promotion and the 3XI playing out their final game of the season. Firstly, the 3XI hosted Instonians 4Xl at BGS with the visitors batting first. Inst though struggled, with them losing wickets regularly with only two batters making double figures. It was the bowling of Stephen Skelly that caught the eye as he continued his red-hot form and fine season with 5-9 with Hamza chipping in with 2 wickets, as Inst were all out for 70 in 21 overs. Bangor were never in any bother with the bat and cruised home to an 8-wicket victory in the 15th over with Matthew Quinn top scoring with 26*.

Round the corner at UP though, the 2Xl were going for glory as with a win over Carrickfergus 2XI, the side would be promoted to Junior League 2. The clubs resident badger Batesy, playing in just his third game of the season showed no signs of rustiness as he tore through the Carrick top order to leave them 28-4, Josh finishing with figures of 4-18 with 2 maidens from his 6 overs. Carrick staged a fightback of sorts with a 75-run partnership before Vishnu broke that up with the first of 3 wickets from the all-rounder as he finished with figures of 3-15. Carrick ended their innings on 124-7 from their 30 overs, in all likelihood a below par total. So it proved, as the ever-reliable pairing of Raspo & JK got the side off to the perfect start with the 50 run partnership coming up in the 11th over. Despite a brief break for a passing shower, play resumed shortly afterwards, Raspo bringing up another half century coming off 54 balls with the 100-run partnership following a few minutes later. It seemed for all the world that these two would see the side over the line, but they were both dismissed within a few overs unfortunately, Raspo dismissed for 64 and JK out for 42. It was left to Rossco and Vishnu to see Bangor over the line to win by 8 wickets and promoted to Junior League 2. Promotion then turned to league champions a few days later based on other results, a phenomenal season for the 2XI as they bounced back to Junior League 2 at the first time of asking, congrats to skipper Coxy jr and all of the 2XI squad on a brilliant season.

August 30th – September 1st

The final weekend of the season featured four games, for the Men’s 1XI and 2XI, very little to play for with the league trophies sewn up. But for the 4XI it was a pivotal weekend for them playing twice in three days, wins from both those games would confirm the sides promotion to Junior League 8.

The 4XI kicked the weekend off with a Friday evening game at UP against PSNI 1XI, certainly the trickier of the two games with them being league leaders. Bangor made a brilliant start with the bat as the dynamic duo of Zach Kerr & Matthew Quinn proved too good for the opposition as they piled on the runs. The 50-run partnership came up at the end of the 6th over and to the visitors credit they didn’t let things spiral out of control as the run rate maintained a steady pace. Zach and Quinny kept on scoring for fun with the 100-run partnership coming up in the 15th over. Soon after though Zach departed for 43 from 40 balls and it was Zach’s final innings of the season. What a phenomenal season with the willow in hand for him as he was named batsman of the season with a ridiculous 624 runs at an average of 104.67! Quinny an over or so later passed the 50-run mark and from there Bangor pressed home their advantage with 51 runs coming in the last 5 overs. Quinny finished on a run a ball 67* and Rossco came in at the end with a license to thrill with a quick-fire 23 from 14, Bangor finishing on 151-1. PSNI made a steady start with the bat, but it was the phenomenal work of Zach Kerr in the field that ran out one of the batters for the opening wicket. The visitors kept chipping away until Hamza picked up the second wicket with the score 62-2 after 9 overs. Things were certainly tight over the course of the next few overs as Bangor picked up some wickets, but the batting side kept up with the required rate. The 18th over is what turned the tide as Max Walker picked up 2 wickets in 4 balls while only conceding 2 runs to put Bangor in control of the match. As it turned out it was Max’s final few wickets of the season, as he pipped a number of bowlers to finish the best men’s bowler of the season with 24 wickets at an average of 12.63, a fantastic breakout season for the young left arm seamer. From there Bangor cruised home to victory to win by 22 runs and it was a nice moment as Dyllan Gomes bowled the final over and picked up a wicket of his penultimate delivery. The Gomes’ are relocating to England and he, Saydee & Cruz will all be missed round the club, but we wish them well in their new surroundings and hopefully we’ll see them around the club again. Part one was complete, one more win from the final league game on Sunday was required for promotion.

The 4XI travelled to Templepatrick on the Sunday in what proved to be the clubs last game as a whole for the season knowing a win was needed for promotion. Bangor opted to bat first and made a positive start through Phil Greenwood and Stephen Hamilton when the latter was dismissed in the 6th over with the score on 43. An unfortunate collapse of sorts followed though to leave Bangor in a very precarious position of 71-5 in the 11th over, Phil making as it turned out a very handy 32. Hamza & Felix McMillan combined though for a crucial 57 run partnership for the sixth wicket which came off 46 deliveries before Felix was dismissed shortly thereafter for 24. Hamza though carried on unbeaten, top scoring with 34 off 27, Bangor finishing on 145-7 from their 20 overs and had something to work with at the halfway stage. Bangor made a positive start with the ball with Templepatrick 9-1 after 3 overs, but it was the seventh over where young leggie Harry McMillan weaved his magic picking up 3 crucial wickets which firmly put Bangor in control. Two further wickers fell to leave the hosts 42-6 in the ninth over before a recovery from the hosts left the game in the balance at 69-6 in the 12′ over, very much mirroring the first innings, the game was far from done. A crucial run out of the set batter who went on to top score swung the game in Bangor’s favour as they started to edge their way out in front. Bangor remained in control from then on and it was Hamza who was able to pick up the final two Templepatrick wickets and bowl them out for 103 in the 18th over as they finished 42 runs short, the 4Xl were going up promoted! Huge congratulations to skipper Johno & Hamza who was captain during the early parts of the season and to all the players on a brilliant season, hopefully more of the same in Junior League 8 next year!

The day before on Saturday 31st August, both the Men’s 1X1 and 2X1 played their final league games of their brilliant seasons before being rewarded with the league trophies later on. The Men’s 1Xl made the journey down to Downpatrick to take on the side that were all but promoted barring a staggering swing in the NRR with the 2XI hosting Lisburn 3XI with UP having its final game of the year. A changed 1Xl side with spinners Daniel Rayner & Max Escott making their debuts, won the toss and chose to bowl hoping for the morning dew to burn away in the sunshine and improve batting conditions. Bangor made a brilliant start as RVH tore through the top 3 with his trademark away swing and nibble to leave the hosts 31-3. It was then Rayner who picked up his first wicket in the 10th over with the score on 44-4 with Bangor very much on top. Downpatrick though to their credit despite riding their luck at times recovered well with a few handy partnerships propelling the side to 129-6 at the end of their 20 overs with Wyngard top scoring with 58*. Special mention to young Daniel Rayner who didn’t look out of place whatsoever with brilliant figures of 1-20 from his 4 overs. Bangor with the bat struggled on the day with them not quite adapting as well to the tricky batting conditions with them starting to fall behind the required rate from around the eighth over onwards. The partnership of RVH and Raspo flourished well with Bangor fighting back into the contest and if they kept on batting the way they were the game was there to win. Raspo was first to fall though for a very well made 29 off 27 and followed not long after by RVH scoring 18 off 22 with Bangor finishing in the end 31 runs short of the target set.

Over at UP, Lisburn batted first against the 2XI, but it was Bangor with the ball who made the first moves of the match with the visitors 30-3 in the seventh over, skipper Coxy jr picking up two wickets and a run out. Lisburn staged a good fightback though before Andy Pyper made the crucial breakthrough of the fourth wicket and the score now 93-4. Vishnu then got in on the act as he has done so often this season with two wickets of his own as Bangor started to slow the run rate of Lisburn down in the resulting overs. This was in large part thanks to the accurate bowling of Paddy English who registered figures of 2-18 from his 5 overs. An additional wicket each for Coxy jr (3-30) and Vishnu (3-23) meant Lisburn were all out of the last ball for 147, certainly a chaseable total for the 2XI as they have proved in games before. JK’s usual partner in crime was missing last seen hitting the biggest 6 of the year in Downpatrick (so he says), so there was no better man to replace him than the indominable Beachy. Both batters made a steady start but soon got into their groove with the 50-run partnership coming up at the 10 over mark as they serenely kept up with the required run rate. Beachy with his trademark drives and swivelling flicks of the hip passed the half century mark off 57 balls. Minutes later the 100-run partnership was registered as the Men’s 1XI side started to return back in their dribs and drabs to witness the final moments of this glorious season under clear blue skies. It was pedal to metal stuff from then on as Bangor cruised home to victory a few overs later to win by 10 wickets for the third time this season with six overs still remaining. Beachy remaining unbeaten on 68* with JK finding the boundary for the winning moment to pick up his half century, an unbeaten partnership of 148.

The two sides then gathered together and individually for photos with club president Jim Lacey each handing out the trophies to the winning captains. A brilliant end to a memorable season, the 2024 season is one for the history books, what a club. Bring on 2025!