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Club News, Match Reports and Results
28th September 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
Armagh rounded off their 2008 campaign in disappointing fashion as Dundrum had a convincing win on the Mall, although not enough to save them from the second relegation in the final reckoning. Of course Armagh’s fate of relegation had already been determined in the previous weekend after the city side had endured a difficult season from pretty much start to finish.
Despite that, the team were determined to bow out of Section Two on a successful note and captain Andrew Bratten decided to bowl after winning the toss hoping to make the most of a drying wicket with some swing sure to be available. The home captain got his team off to a fine start when he trapped McNerlin lbw in the first over then was sure that he had Tormey caught behind by McCarter but bizarrely the umpire refused to give the decision and the batsman stood his ground. This only served to fire up Armagh though and both Tormeys were removed in quick succession, clean bowled by Bratten and Bullick respectively. Dundrum captain Rodney Hassard, who refused Armagh a substitute fielder earlier in the season in the return fixture was undone by a lack of patience being bowled by the swing of Colin Russell and when Noel Maguire was caught at cover off Mark Stinson, Dundrum were perilously placed at 41-5. Unfortunately for Armagh the next couple of Dundrum batsman knuckled down and played resoulutely as the situation dictated. Connor and Maguire were also willing to bring out a few big strokes if necessary and it took a quite spectacular catch from Russell in the covers to remove the former. Martin then joined Maguire in another useful stand in the closing overs as the score grew steadily, but both fell trying to use their feet and being swiftly stumped by Gareth McCarter, Michael Villiers getting Martin while Matthew Steenson accounted for Maguire who played well for his 31. Each of those bowlers shared another wicket a piece as Dundrum scrambled to 140 all out in 40.3 overs.
Armagh needed a solid start in what was always likely to be a difficult chase and got it with Villiers and Steenson both looking strong but that solid start was blown away by the loss of three wickets with the score on 19, both openers and the promoted Mark Stinson being dismissed. This meant that David Bullick and Colin Russell had to rebuild and they did a steady job in tough conditions with the light fading. The score had crossed 50 with light rain falling when Russell was adjudged lbw to Connor, a disgraceful decision given that the Armagh batsman clearly hit the ball but the decision was given regardless. With the rain getting heavier the players came off and the resulting Duckworth/Lewis calculation was harsh on Armagh with 7 overs being lost but only 8 less runs required. Mark Elliott and Andrew Bratten came and went quickly before being deceived by the spin of Joel Maguire before Bullick and Gareth McCarter put together a meaningful partnership. After the D/L calculation Dundrum reckoned that they needed to dismiss Armagh for less than 87 to move out of the relegation spot but the home side were in no mood to roll over and despite more wickets falling, Ryan McCarter and Adam Breakey took Armagh beyond that mark at least. That was only denying the inevitable however and when the last wicket fell on 92 it meant both teams left the field being relegated from Division 1 Section 2, albeit with different margins.
After the game, Andrew Bratten admitted that Armagh were desperately disappointed to have lost the game after such a good start. “We probably allowed them 50 more runs than they should have got after being forty-off for five, but their middle order batted well and hung about like ours hasn’t done most of the year which made a big difference.” Bratten was also unrepentant about his teams determination in getting every run possible in the unlikely chase even though it meant that Dundrum ended up being relegated as a result. “Cricketers have long memories I guess, and Dundrum’s actions in the earlier game at the Meadow stuck in a few people’s memories. To be honest I would like to have beaten them but at least we gave our all until the end. If we show that sort of attitude next season we will hopefully do ok.
26th August 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
A heavily depleted Armagh side travelled to league leaders Ballymena on Bank Holiday Monday hoping to get an unexpected victory to boost their survival hopes. With several first team players unavailable due to various work commitments, Alan Whitcroft stepped into the captaincy, with his younger brother Stuart also playing apart. After a rain delay, Armagh decided to field and see whether they could exploit the difficult conditions, but Ballymena’s top class line-up weren’t looking to give any favours and opened with a steady partnership. A breakthrough came when the brothers Whitcroft removed Montgomery, Alan taking the catch to give his younger brother his first senior wicket. Wickets actually began to fall on a fairly regular basis after that with Alan Whitcroft the destroyer-in-chief taking out most of the middle order, including former Armagh professional Steve Lazars for a mere 16. Two wickets in the final two deliveries of the 40 overs from Whitcroft gave him a well deserved five wicket haul and restricted Ballymena to 160-9. Special mention must go to Ryan McCarter and first team debutant Adam Breakey who both patrolled the outfield superbly throughout.
The target was still a big one for Armagh and the task was made tougher with the early loss of Steenson, Villiers and Kulkarni. Phil Doyle was looking in decent form with a couple of lovely boundaries but his attacking instincts got the better of him and he was stumped. The rest of the batsmen came and went on a regular basis with everyone getting a start but failing to continue, with Armagh finally dismissed in the final over for just 99.
A harsh margin of defeat in the end perhaps, but plenty of encouraging signs for an Armagh team who showed plenty of skill and fight in the field. As ever though, there wasn’t really enough impact with the bat to make Ballymena sweat as they sealed their promotion.
9th August 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
Armagh boosted by Orchard derby victory
Armagh gave their survival hopes a timely boost and put a dent in those of Laurelvale when they scraped home in a closely contested match at the ‘Vale by a Duckworth/Lewis margin of 4 runs after rain had the final say.
If truth be told, it was a miracle that there was any play possible at all after a week of fairly consistent rain followed by another heavy shower on Saturday morning that had left an uncovered wicket drenched. To their huge credit, the Laurelvale players and staff worked tirelessly with sponges to ensure that the game could go ahead with only a delay of an hour, meaning the game was reduced to 47 overs per side. As conditions were still not ideal, Armagh invited Laurelvale to bat first after winning the toss.
This decision appeared to be a good one early on as Armagh’s tight bowling and fielding reduced Laurelvale to 22-2 with both their star performers dismissed, professional Ranjit Pande edging a beautiful delivery from Kulkarni through to the safe gloves of McCarter then Charles McCrum deceived by Alan Whitcroft into lobbing a catch for Michael Villiers. Laurelvale responded well though, with Wayne Pearson and Noel Nelson leading the recovery and largely content to block out the bowling of David Bullick who finished his ten overs conceding only twelve runs. The partnership grew steadily with Pearson in particular finding some good touch as Armagh used different bowlers in hope of a breakthrough. Nelson’s luck ran out when he clipped Bratten to Harry Boyd and mid-off but Pearson reached his half century when he struck a boundary off Boyd’s first delivery. Undeterred, the teenage spinner found his line and length and shocked the Vale when he clean bowled Pearson for 52, and overs later did the same to Sinton. In the meantime, Bratten had removed Topping courtesy of a Kulkarni catch at slip. Laurelvale’s innings was in danger of falling away, but some useful hitting from Magennis supported by Philip Weir got them going again before Whitcroft dismissed both in consecutive deliveries courtesy of catches from Gareths McCarter and Robinson respectively. Stewart was run out by Russell at cover and after their 47 overs; Laurelvale finished on a competitive 151-9.
Armagh were confident that a sensible approach in improving conditions would hopefully lead to a successful result but were aware that it wouldn’t be easy. Michael Villiers smashed a delightful early boundary off Pande but was dismissed soon after trying to repeat the act. Gareth Robinson and Colin Russell looked to rebuild, mixing solid defence with some good shots. Russell was looking confident with some crisp shots going to the boundary or being well fielded, and that frustration might have led to his demise when he drove a McCrum delivery straight to Burns who completed the catch. This brought Charu Kulkarni to the crease and the Armagh professional immediately looked comfortable with the task in hand. Unfortunately Robinson was dismissed in exactly the same fashion as Russell but had contributed well to Armagh’s steady start. Lloyd Hamilton helped Kulkarni build further but was unluckily dismissed when he edged an excellent quicker ball from Magennis and was caught behind by Topping using various parts of his body. David Bullick then entered the action with the score on 60 and usefully rotated the strike with Kulkarni as the target got ever nearer. However, the real drama began when the clouds closed in and rain appeared imminent, both teams started to look towards the Duckworth/Lewis calculation and found that Armagh were narrowly short of the par score. However, one over from Charles McCrum made all the difference as Kulkarni was able to swing the ball to the boundary in successive deliveries and put Armagh ahead as the started to fall. As the drops grew larger, it worked out that Armagh didn’t lose a wicket in the 35th over then they would still be ahead. Pearson tried all of his tricks but Bullick was immovable and with the rain becoming steady and heavy, umpires McNally and Blakely suspended play with Armagh ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis par score by 4 runs. The rain got steadily heavier and with no chance of play resuming Armagh sealed a narrow but precious victory.
Naturally Andrew Bratten was delighted to mark his return to the team with a crucial win, and paid tribute to the efforts of his side. “We bowled and fielded pretty well, kept things tight and held all the catches when they came along. Wayne Pearson batted well but Harry got the better of him and we managed to keep a lid on the rest of them. Batting wise the lads got themselves out to a degree but Charu (Kulkarni) didn’t look troubled and we were always confident when he was in the middle. David Bullick gave him great steady support and we timed the late charge pretty perfectly. In all it’s a great result and one that can maybe make things happen for us through August. Saying that, we still need at least one win from the games against Lurgan and Muckamore next weekend.
28th June 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
Armagh better, but still beaten.
Armagh’s run of defeats continued after a four wicket loss to Saintfield on Saturday but only after a much improved all round team display had given Armagh a real hope of getting something out of the game only to fall just short with a few overs remaining. Armagh were missing Michael Villiers at a family wedding so Matthew Steenson came into the side, plus David Bullick and Gareth McCarter were fit to play after injury concerns in the past week with back and thumb respectively. Andrew Bratten won the toss and elected to bat on the immaculate Saintfield pitch but the team had the worst possible start when young Steenson was dismissed off only the second ball of the game. However, Charudatta Kulkarni came to the crease and together with Colin Russell began to repair the damage of that early setback with some controlled batting. Sixty-one had been added when Russell was caught out for 28, but Kulkarni continued steadily and recorded his second half century for Armagh CC. Gareth Robinson fell in close to a sharp diving catch, but Lloyd Hamilton was able to build a solid stand with Kulkarni, making sure to give the talented Indian a lot of the strike as the Armagh score accelerated steadily. The two shared a super partnership of 85 before Hamilton was caught behind attempting to flick a bouncer and indeed Bratten was bowled first ball giving Saintfield a hat-trick chance that Mark Elliott was happy to survive. These wickets actually fell with Kulkarni on a score of 99, but he was not to be denied as a single took him to a terrific century that was applauded warmly by a growing crowd at the Desemene. Kulkarni was in something of a running battle with Saintfield’s tall opening bowler McBriar who was doing his best to unsettle the diminutive Armagh pro but would have been astonished to see his next ball smashed over the long off boundary for six with a quite remarkable baseball style smash. Kulkarni was finally caught on the boundary off the final ball of the 49th over for 112, a score that contained 16 boundaries and 2 “sixes”. Armagh’s innings closed on 201-8 as a few late runs were added but a competitive score nonetheless.
With a brief rain delay after tea and clouds looming overhead, Armagh knew that taking early wickets was going to be the key if a Duckworth/Lewis calculation came into play. Saintfield clearly hadn’t read that script though as Tommy Stewart and Captain Ricky Owens made an attacking start and made the most of their luck to build a stand of 69 for the first wicket. Andy Bratten was a touch unfortunate to bowl straight through his ten over spell without a wicket, but Bullick found the breakthrough when he had Stewart lbw. Saintfield were happy to rebuild and with left hander McCavery content to play second foil to Owens as he passed his half century with several smashing strokes to the short boundary. The game was hastily getting away from Armagh until Bullick was able to get rid of Owens in his final over with a fantastic swinging delivery to finish a decent spell. Harrison came and went quickly as the pace of Kulkarni induced an edge through to McCarter, and when Mark Stinson clean bowled past a heave from professional Noel David the Saints were 146-4 and in a touch of trouble. McBriar came and went fairly quickly when his luck ran out as Stinson had him leg before. McCavery was still at the crease and the home side could be confident as the assured left hander remained, although he had a left off when Bratten dropped a tough slip chance in Kulkarni’s last over. He did fall with 25 to win though as Bullick took a good catch on the boundary to give Whitcroft a well deserved wicket. The same combination was desperately unlucky not to repeat the success a few balls later as McGowan escaped, and Saintfield got to victory with 16 balls remaining with some assured shots from Wheeler.
After the game Andrew Bratten was understandably disappointed that his team hadn’t managed to complete a great victory. “I thought that although 201 was a decent score although we probably left a few runs out there after our middle order didn’t support Charu as well as they could have done. We bowled and fielded better as a unit than against Holywood and with a bit better luck we would been celebrating a win tonight. Kulkarni in particular didn’t deserve to be in the losing team, he batted virtually the entire innings for his century and bowled with the pace and discipline we have come to expect from him.
This weekend Armagh are back on the Mall and the bottom side desperately need a victory against Muckamore; the only team that the city side have managed a win against to date in the 2008 summer. If the side can manage to repeat the spirit and commitment of that early season win then they will have a good chance of taking the crucial points. Mark Elliott and Alan Whitcroft will be absent due to holidays, but Michael Villiers will hopefully return at the top of the batting order. Saturday’s game starts at 12 noon.
28th June 2008
🏏 2nd XI Report
Armagh Seconds got back to winning ways on Saturday recording a six wicket win over their Cooke Collegians counterparts in an away tie at Shaw’s Bridge.
In the mystery absence of Simon Cardwell, reliable stand-in skipper William Carberry lost the toss and Armagh were made to bowl on a wicket that certainly looked to favour the batsmen.
Armagh started well though with Reggie Stinson getting the breakthrough in the first over. Tight pace bowling from Stinson and Matty Wright was to result in plenty of frustration for the home side and allowed Stinson to claim his second victim in his 6th over.
Alan Stoops was introduced into the Armagh attack and what a decision it was with a remarkable display of tight seam bowling from the big man. Stoops recorded excellent figures of 6 wickets for a meagre 9 runs from his allocated 10 overs, ripping the heart out of the Collegians middle order. Wright came back into the attack and finished off the tail dismissing home number 11 for a deserved wicket.
After a gloomy hours delay due to rain, Armagh then set out looking to knock of the 70 runs needed for victory as quickly as possible with more showers looming. The free scoring Joe Thornbury promoted to opening as a result, and hit a quick fire 14 including a massive 6 onto the Outer Ring road. He was dismissed the next delivery after the ball was retrieved and Armagh then lost Phil Doyle first ball with Scowcroft fowling soon after for 8 as the alarm bells began to sound. However, Harry Boyd played a steady innings for 16 before falling with only 20 required for victory. This brought Carberry to the crease firing a quick fire 26 not out ably supported by the veteran Reggie Stinson who helped see Armagh home with 2 not out sealing a comfortable and well deserved win.
Cooke Collegians 69 all out (A Stoops 6-9, R Stinson 2-15, M Wright 1-12)
Armagh 73 for 4 (W Carberry 26*)
12th June 2008
🏏 4th XI Report
Armagh Fourths defeated but put in an encouraging performance…
Armagh IV travelled to Belmont take on CIYMS III on Saturday and although defeated put in an encouraging performance. CIYMS won the toss and elected to bad on a superb track at the Premier league ground, Armagh opening bowlers Arnold Courtney and Michael Anderson started brightly before experienced CI skipper Daniel McConkey scored a marvellous 82, well supported Beattie before Conor Wright clean bowled him as a century looked in sight. Tim McDonald then ran out Beattie with a superb piece of fielding from point as Armagh made a double break through. There was to be no let up as Duddy and Waddell continued the attack to the end of the 35 overs to total an imposing 225-2. Armaghs fielding and bowling had held up well and the young players had fought well in very warm conditions. The Armagh reply got off to a excellent start as Andrew Hoey went on the attack playing shots all around the wicket before he fell for 33 and then Aaron Wright followed next ball to leave Armagh looking at a humiliating defeat. But Captain Ryan McCarter received excellent support from Under 15 stars Michael Anderson (20) and Conor Wright (27 including a towering six into the hockey pitches) as Armagh took the score over 100 and beyond, Jonny Morton came to the crease and counter attacked in style scoring a career best 27 not out. Armagh completed their innings on 150-4 very respectable against a senior clubs third XI that hasn’t lost a league game since 2007! McCarter remained undefeated on 36 in a patient knock and he will be hoping his young team can continue their development against Lurgan Thirds this Saturday on the Mall.
7th June 2008
🏏 3rd XI Report
Armagh thirds once again came up short against an undefeated Carrick side on a sunny afternoon on the Mall on Saturday.After winning the toss the stand in skipper Peter Hazelton inserted Carrick on a hard wicket and the decision early on looked correct Armagh’s bowlers quickly reduced their visitors to 19-4.
Matty Wright was the first to strike having Ritchie caught behind by Smyth it was then Alan Stoops show as he took three quick wickets in the space of seven balls which included a caught and bowled and a smart catch from Hazelton.With the score on 28 Armagh again let the opposition of the hook dropping McClurkin on 10, this went on to prove crucial as the youngest made a match-winning 70.
The score of 188 would have been a lot greater if not for the sublime bowling performance from the evergreen Keith Wilson who with his remodelled action was at times unplayable and returned figures of 3-32 from his allocated 7 Overs, this included an excellent stumping from Smyth.
Sean Collyer wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Shimmon.In reply Armagh started poorly loosing the early wickets of McCarter, Collyer, Singery, Elliott and Smyth mostly to the leg spin of McAllister and at 63-6 looked to be totally out of the game with only the experienced Peter Hazelton 39 applying himself to the situation.
Peter again looked in great touch and will rue the square cut that has led to his downfall several times this season after hitting two massive sixes and five fours.Armagh however were not finished and an excellent 28 from Ricky Dobbs and an explosive 33 from hard hitting Davy Nickolson set up an exciting finish.
All rounder Alan Stoops then hit a breezy 16 not out including a huge six that landed on the firsts wicket but when Matty Wright lost his off stump Armagh found them selves 26 short.
1st June 2008
🏏 2nd XI Report
On a glorious Sunday on the picture perfect mall Armagh seconds beat Larne by 90 runs. With the sun high in the sky, Armagh made no hesitation in electing to bat on what was a dry and flat pitch. The Larne opening bowlers worked hard in the heat to claim the first wicket of the day, Michael Villiers being bowled for 12. Ryan McCarter with 11, and Mark Stinson with 40, made a very valuable 50 run partnership before both falling with the score on 96. Joe Thornbury arrived at the crease and within the blink of an eye raced to 39 before being bowled. Unfortunately wickets tumbled at regular intervals from here on as Armagh ended on a total of 175, with Reggie Stinson on 21 not out at the close of the innings. The Larne players had worked hard in the heat with King collecting 5 wickets, Baxter and Dempsey 2 apiece.
As Armagh took the field for the second innings the feeling was that they were runs short and with both openers batting nicely Larne had reached 30 after 7 overs for no wicket. A breakthrough was needed and when Simon Cardwell clean bowled one of the openers, Armagh burst into life. Reggie Stinson, a master of his craft, had toiled in the heat and his reward came when he dismissed Baxter. Harry Boyd took the valuable wicket of Hodge just before drinks and when Mark Stinson then came on he raced through the Larne middle order, finishing with 4 wickets. Larne ended on 85 all out. A very good fielding performance, with a couple of missed opportunities, lead to victory and all should be proud. The Armagh players grafted in the heat as a team and deserved their victory. A confidence is growing among the seconds team and all look forward to next weeks trip to Laurelvale.
31st May 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
Armagh beaten, but with positives to bring forward.
Armagh fell to a third consecutive league defeat at the Mall to high-flying Lurgan after taking a battering in the field, but then played with real pride and spirit to post a competitive score in reply as both sides toiled in the warm Saturday afternoon sunshine.
Armagh took to the field severely weakened without their captain Andrew Bratten and the holidaying Gareth Robinson and Mark Elliott, so Colin Russell deputised as skipper, Lloyd Hamilton came into the middle order and there was a well deserved call up for talented young spin bowler Harry Boyd. Armagh won the toss and elected to bowl in hope of restricting Lurgan despite the pitch looking pretty good. The decision seemed to be vindicated early on as professional Charudatta Kulkarni was bowling with great pace and was rewarded when he clean bowled Chambers without scoring. Lurgan’s professional Niranjan “Ninja” Godbole also looked on top form though and he was seemingly able to find gaps with ease. He built an excellent partnership of 156 with former Ireland player Neil Anderson with both recording hard-hitting half-centuries as bowlers struggled to get into any rhythm. Anderson was eventually dismissed by the part time spin of Michael Villiers, but Godbole continued to punish anything loose and reached a fabulous century just after the drinks interval. Whitcroft eventually had Godbole caught in the gully by Bullick for a great knock of 116 but the scoring did not let up as former Armagh player Gareth Morrison and Craig Irwin continued the onslaught striking a number of boundaries. To their credit Armagh did not let their heads go down and took a couple of wickets before the end of the innings with two for Bullick, a second for Whitcroft and one for Stinson as Armagh’s efforts in the field were rewarded with good catches for Hamilton, Villiers and Kulkarni. However, the 314-7 posted by Lurgan was a monumental score and a terrific effort by their batsmen even in the face of some less than accurate bowling.
It was difficult to see how Armagh could really take anything from the game but they certainly set about their task with gusto as Villiers and makeshift opener Colin Russell dispatched any loose deliveries to the boundary. The score had reached 41 when Villiers attempted a big shot and was safely caught on the boundary, but that brought no let-up in the scoring as Kulkarni joined Russell in an epic century partnership. Russell belied his inexperience in the opening position as he mixed aggression with great strokeplay, the highlight of which was a massive boundary six which landed in the carpark of 1st Armagh church. Kulkarni was mainly happy to rotate the strike but also punished some loose deliveries with fabulous wristy strokes. Unfortunately both fell in quick succession, Russell gone for 92 when his efforts surely deserved a century but received a standing ovation from the large crowd assembled at the Pavilion. Armagh continued to bat well with David Bullick and Lloyd Hamilton playing some smart shots and running well between the wickets until the former was run out attempting to steal a second. Victory was a long margin off, but Hamilton together with Carberry, Whitcroft and Stinson played well enough to take Armagh to the significant milestone of 250 off the final ball, leaving Lurgan victorious by 64 runs.
In the absence of regular captain Andrew Bratten, Gareth McCarter commented that even though Armagh was defeated, the side could certainly still take a few things out of the experience. “The boys batted really well, it is always difficult to go about chasing a huge score like the one we faced and we could have been rolled over, but we showed plenty of fight to get 250 on the board, a score that would win the majority of matches in this division. Colin Russell batted beautifully and deserved a hundred then Charu, Bullick and Lloyd (Hamilton) all kept their heads down and batted well for the team. Even in the field we stuck at the task in difficult conditions and hopefully some of our younger bowlers learnt a few tough lessons about how to bowl at top class batsmen. It was admittedly a pleasure to watch Ninja bat, but unfortunately it was against us!”
Armagh will have to get over their war wounds quickly though as they face what could possibly be a pivotal weekend for them in their 2008 Section Two campaign. On Saturday they host the hugely important derby fixture against old rivals Laurelvale then on Sunday they face something of a trip into the unknown as they travel to the Meadow to face Dundrum. Dundrum had a convincing win over Laurelvale at the weekend which leaves the three sides all tied in the table on one win each, so a good weekend could see a move into mid table for Armagh but a bad weekend would surely mean a long summer ahead. Both games begin at 1pm.
17th May 2008
🏏 2nd XI Report
Armagh seconds produced an excellent team performance to defeat their Carrickfergus counterparts by 140 runs on Saturday.
On a bright, if not sunny, day Armagh chose to bat first and went about their business in tidy fashion with both openers starting brightly. Unfortunately wickets fell at regular intervals but everyone chipped in Villiers 39, Carberry 34 and Thornbury 20. The pineapple on top of an already solid performance was provided by the young guns of Breakey 17 and Boyd 29 n.o. who took the score from 180 for 8 to the final total of 230 in very quick time – both young men have a very bright future.
Carrick’s innings got off to a rather more tricky start with Lester taking his first wicket in only the second over. The strong Armagh bowling attack lead by the renowned Stinson, playing his first game for the seconds in nearly 40 years, was too much for Carrick who collapsed to 90 runs all out. Gillespie and Cardwell with 4 wickets apiece and Lester with 2 capped a first-rate fielding effort. A great all round team performance and a comfortable victory to start the new season
3rd May 2008
🏏 1st XI Report
Armagh suffered a chastening ten wicket defeat at the hands of a rampant Lurgan in the First round of the TCH Down Democrat Senior Cup on Saturday at Pollock Park despite managing to post a very competitive score with the bat.
Lurgan had somehow managed to avoid the rain that had hit Armagh over the week and had bright sunshine, albeit bitterly cold with a harsh wind sweeping across the ground. The home team won the toss and decided to bowl first, decision quickly rewarded when former Armagh trialist Chris Courtney dismissed Phil Doyle without scoring.
The returning Gareth Robinson and Colin Russell recovered the situation quickly with the latter finding the boundary with some fine shots, before a dreadful collapse saw Armagh slump to 70-6 just after drinks. However, Captain Andrew Bratten led a fightback in tandem with Mark Stinson then Simon Cardwell that took Armagh back into a decent position as the innings progressed. Bratten led from the front, striking two boundaries and two “sixes” as he passed fifty and Armagh closed on 155-9 on their 50 overs. Second team captain Cardwell provided vital support in a 39 run stand striking the ball to the boundary on three occasions.
The consensus was that Armagh had battled themselves back into a decent position, but the target looked small straight away as Lurgan tucked into a mixture of short and wayward bowling. Only when David Bullick and Mark Stinson came on to bowl was there any degree of control but at that stage batsmen Johnson and Van Nierkirk were well set as both raced towards half centuries. Left arm spinner Timothy Gillespie was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket as he bowled five good overs, but Lurgan were undeterred as they reached the victory mark with twenty overs in hand.
Andrew Bratten was naturally frustrated after the game with the margin of defeat. “I thought we batted well and put a decent score on the board, but Lurgan blew us away when they batted and we didn’t do enough with the ball or in the field to stop them. It is an aspect of the game we will have to take a serious look at before next Saturday’s game at Muckamore.”
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