Bangor vs Armagh – 26.06.25
Bangor made the long midweek trip down to Armagh on Thursday evening for a league rearrangement at the picturesque Mall ground on the doorsteps of the Cathedral in the centre of Armagh.
Bangor made first use of the used pitch and got off to a shaky start with Mark Hutchinson & Andrew Kirkpatrick back in the pavilion struggling to adapt to conditions with the score 18-2. Adam McCusker joined Connor Brown at the crease who himself was fresh off a plane after a warm weather training camp in the Algarve. Both men started tentatively picking up singles and two’s where they could and batted astutely. Once they got their eye in and with the Armagh change bowlers on, the boundaries soon flowed but just as McCusker was getting going he edged a thin one behind to the Armagh keeper to leave Bangor 49-3. Skipper Johnny Parker joined Brown at the crease and Brown continued to attack any loose bowling, picking up a boundary now and again and allowing Parker to get his eye in. This enabled the Bangor run scoring to maintain a healthy rate with Parker soon getting in on the act. This was the partnership that propelled the Bangor innings from looking like a score that the bowlers could work with to a winnable score. A partnership of 80 runs for the 4th wicket.
Parker would eventually be dismissed out caught for a very well made 41. But it was Brown who kept the onslaught going as the all-rounder passed the 50 mark with the bat for the first time this season. Very well deserved for the amount of effort he has put into his batting these last few weeks. He was briefly supported by Manav Chhabra as he continued the onslaught with a towering 6 over the trees and just evading the Cathedral which was living a charmed life during the Bangor innings. Brown then departed for what felt like a match winning knock of 63 before a cluster of wickets left Bangor 152-8 in the final stages of the innings. One final solitary huge 6 clearing the longer boundary down the ground from youngster Myles McNaught, meant Bangor finished up on 161-8 after their 20 overs.
There was a quick turnaround with fine drizzly rain in the air, Bangor were keen to get on with proceedings in case the rain got in the way. Brown & Chhabra opened the bowling and Armagh got off to a good start mainly through Wilson but it was Chhabra who made the first breakthrough with a thin edge finding the gloves of Kirkpatrick. Armagh’s overseas came and went quickly for 5 after a loose delivery from George Prince rather fortuitously found the hands of Angus Farrell on the point boundary. Armagh though were just about keeping tabs with the required rate but that all changed in the space of a few minutes. Farrell who himself returned hours earlier from the same warm weather training camp in the Algarve picked up 3 wickets in 4 balls – including the wicket of Wilson who was starting to prove problematic for Bangor for 47 – to give the visitors a big advantage. The score was now 83-7 having been 79-2 at one point with Will Simpson also chipping in with two crucial wickets either side of Farrell’s trifecta. The drizzle managed to linger round at times but it was Bangor now well ahead of the game should DLS be required. Armagh knew they had to throw the bat to have any chance of victory and to their credit they didn’t let their hopes fade away. Although a big over or two of well over 20 though was realistically required to get them back in the game. Bangor knew good tight bowling would close the game out with either too big of a run rate required or the remaining three wickets would be picked up. Four solid overs from Brown, Chhabra & Prince in the fine drizzle meant that Armagh mathematically just about had a chance needing 30 from the final over, plain sailing victory for Bangor surely.
Armagh’s hopes solely rode on Boyd’s shoulders who managed to get himself to 30 and batted really well to give his side a slim chance. Prince was tasked to bowl the final over and it didn’t get off to the best of starts as the first ball went for 6, nothing alarming though at the moment. But when the following ball went for four and called a no ball for height with the subsequent free hit also going for 6 over the shorter deep square boundary which Boyd was taking a liking too, did alarm bells start ringing for Bangor. All of a sudden, 13 runs were now required for Armagh from 4 balls, Bangor had now ceased total control of this game in the space of a few minutes. The next ball the Armagh batters tried to scamper a 2 but excellent fielding limited them to 1 and the dangerous Boyd was now off strike. A very marginal wide was followed up and the pressure was once again on Prince and Bangor with 8 required from 3 balls. Prince determined to right the wrongs of the last few minutes maintained his wide outside off tactic and it reaped huge reward with the batsman dancing down the wicket and missing the ball with the cool hands of Kirkpatrick doing the rest to remove Wright stumped. 8 from 2 balls was required and crucially for Bangor the number 11 batter on strike, the finishing line was in sight for Bangor. Confidence levels were on the rise again for Bangor and Prince ahead of the penultimate delivery and he duly delivered two dot balls to see Bangor home by 7 runs. It wasn’t though without an almighty scare in the final over as Bangor almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, a win is a win though.
Bangor v Laurelvale – 28.06.25
Bangor made another length journey down to Laurelvale Cricket Club for a clash in NCU Senior League One. Bangor had cruised past Laurelvale the week before at home, but a ground can make all the difference. When Bangor arrived they were greeted by a green top wicket and upon losing the toss were inserted to bat.
The familiar pairing of Hutchinso and McMillan made their way out to set the pace for the batting. The two batted outstandingly and with great determination in the face of difficult conditions and accurate bowing. They brought their fifty partnership up from 64 balls and got the team off to an excellent start. With the last ball of the 13th over, the ball clattered into McMillan’s thigh pad, an appeal went up and he was judged out by LBW. This brought Connor Brown to the crease, riding the crest of a wave after scoring 63 just days earlier. He and Hutchinson toiled away a few overs longer, hard runs being Hutchinson’s raison d’être.
Hutchinson’s demise was unfortunately dismissed run out after a misjudgment. Wickets then fell at regular intervals with Brown, McCusker, Kirkpatrick and Simpson all falling victim to the difficult conditions as the ball nipped around off the seam leaving Bangor 101-6 from 23 overs. Angus Farrell and Jonny Parker were now at the crease and fighting hard to continue to build a competitive total. Farrell upped the impetus with a couple of boundaries, however he too would fall to an in-swinging delivery for 19. An over later Parker would meet his end out caught off the bowling of Sinton. When Prince departed for a duck it left Pyper and Rayner at the crease for a last wicket stand. Rayner batted impeccably, picking gaps and running hard to drag his team towards something defendable. The shot of the day came up as Rayner smashed a straight maximum with the purest of timing. The innings eventually came to the end as Rayner was removed caught and bowled leaving Bangor all out for 147.
The bowling reply got off to a stellar start as Pyper took a wicket in his first over, as the ball stuck in the pitch and Thornbury, getting through the shot too early, holed out meekly to Hutchinson at Extra Cover. Not to be outdone, Brown with his tricky away swing claimed his first caught at first slip. Prince juggled the ball at first before at full stretch taking the catch cooly, accepting the embrace of Brown as Bangor seemed to be on top at 21-2.
Just ten runs later, Babar Khan mistimed the ball, sending it into the stratosphere. Flames gathered around the ball as it careered towards the ground. Daniel Rayner steadied himself under the ball, his teammates concerned for his own safety, as the ball gathered speed. Rayner was not to be intimidated though, holding the catch as if he possessed buckets for hands, calmly receiving praise for something he considered routine.
The precise and diligent partnership bowling lead to inevitable pressure and chances aplenty. Pyper bowled full to Malik who lasered the ball like a heat seeking missile towards Rayner. What happened next will go down in Bangor Folklore, Rayner à la Ben Stokes leapt high and outstretched his arm claiming the catch as the ball sailed over his head. Everyone at the ground was in disbelief at the acrobatic supremacy they had just witnessed. Laurelvale now found themselves 46-4 and under pressure.
This pressure told as a suicidal run out from the Laurelvale batsmen, off the back of a tactical Pyper slip, lead to McMillan smashing the bails off for Bangor’s fifth wicket and a few balls later Brown struck again, with Kirkpatrick claiming the catch this time, as Brown continued to trouble batsmen with his great skill and guile.
Despite being 6 down the Laurelvale side creeped closer to the total, grinding runs as skipper Sinton took the helm. Bangor got back in the game as Hutchinson took an outstanding low catch off the bowling of Prince to bring Bangor back in the game. Ali smashed the ball to the boundary for a sure six off of Angus Farrell, to put pressure on Bangor once again. This is what everyone believed until that man, Daniel Rayner, claimed yet another excellent catch, adding to his extra-terrestrial fielding performance. This left Laurelvale 97-8.
Burns and Sinton put pressure back on Bangor at the crease, batting with the utmost care and using all their know how to add pressure to the Bangor bowlers. All seemed lost. Requiring 10 runs to win they were cruising to a victory. Pyper was back on to bowl, with an injured knee, but running on Bangorian love, he nipped the ball away taking the bails off the top of middle stump. Bangor believed again and Pyper finished his over, almost claiming the final wicket with two pinpoint deliveries. Sinton, the Laurelvale captain, knew he had to move now or face defeat. He struck hard the spin bowling of Simpson over the boundary and with the very next ball struck it high again, it seemed as though McMillan may have a chance, but ultimately, it had just enough height and remained out of reach securing Laurelvale a thrilling victory.
Bangor came agonisingly close to a brilliant defence of a low total, but unfortunately did not have enough runs on the board. It was a tough day and a tough loss to swallow, but there are signs of life in this team and indeed this club. They have a depth rarely matched, as Conor Cox steered the Men’s 2XI home to their own thrilling 1 wicket victory, a youth section which is producing brilliant cricketers, as Rayner’s performance displayed, and above all, a club that is on the rise. Bangor will be back and the sting of this loss shall be their fuel.
