Men’s 1XI vs Templepatrick – Sat 8th Aug
by George Prince
Bangor hosted Templepatrick in the league at a overcast Upritchard Park looking to bounce back after last weeks narrow defeat on the road to promotion rivals Carrickfergus. The visiting skipper called incorrectly at the toss and returning Bangor skipper Johnny Parker decided to bowl first looking to make some early inroads.
With regular opener Chris Pyper away on holiday, Michael Skelly was tasked to open the bowling and a change in approach with left armer Mark Best tasked to bowl from the other end. Skelly initially struggled for consistency but threatened when he got it right while Best was on the money swinging in the ball viciously and was unfortunate not to get an early LBW decision. Bangor had to bide their time but were awarded when Kane skied the ball up to find the grateful Brodie Harrison for Best’s first wicket. Best then followed up in his next over with another as Stewart found Parker at forward square leg.
At this point the score was 39-2 in the 9th over and Bangor could be pleased with their work so far. The visitors would look rebuild and they did with a lengthy 3rd wicket partnership but Bangor maintained control and stifled the run rate with change bowlers Harrison and George Prince. It was Prince who would pick up the next wicket as Cave looked to go over deep midwicket but met a similar fate like Kane and skied a simple chance to Parker who took his second catch. The score at this point was 74-3 in the 23rd over and Bangor well on top.
It was from here though Bangor would lose their advantage on the game as a 4th wicket partnership of 134 between overseas Adams and Smyth put Templepatrick back in the contest. Adams was dismissed for 65 to a brilliant boundary catch by Angus Farrell with the score now 208-4 with 7 overs left and Templepatrick would have eyes on a score of over 270. To Bangor’s credit they wrestled back momentum as Prince & Best bowled the final few overs and limited the visitors to 250-6. Best the pick of the bowlers with 3-37 with 3 maidens and a run out to his name. Credit must go to Templepatrick batter Smyth who ended up on 111* and gave the visitors a competitive total to bowl with.
Bangor though with the bat would feel confident of chasing it down but the run chase got off to a disastrous start when Sam McMillan was ran out for 1 in what looked to be an erroneous decision from the umpire. Bangor recovered though with a great partnership between Seb Yeates and Harrison as they put Bangor back on course. Harrison was starting to go through the gears before he was dismissed for 41 bowled by Ireland U15 seamer McCarthy who was shaping in the ball nicely at pace. Last weeks centurion Mark Hutchinson strode to crease looking to go one better than last week and see Bangor to victory.
He and Yeates rotated strike at will with some great running between the wickets and put Bangor in a favourable position after 30 overs with the score 144-2. A breakdown in communication through between the two saw Yeates unfortunately ran out for a well made 62 and Templepatrick seized their moment with some tight bowling putting the brakes on the Bangor chase with 21 runs coming from the next 7 overs. That bowling was rewarded when Ian Butler was the second victim to McCarthy which brought Andrew Kirkpatrick to the crease and he and Hutchinson looked to revive the Bangor chase with the required rate starting to climb.
Those two were slowly but surely putting Bangor in a position to chase down the target set heading into the final overs but Kirkpatrick was unfortunate to be dismissed as he played on to the returning seamer Adams. Hutchinson would fall shortly afterwards as he looked to up the rate. With 5 overs to go, Bangor required 41 from the final 5 overs, still very doable but with 7 Wickets down, Templepatrick were favourites to pick up the 4 points.
Parker was joined by Best and the two experienced batters started rotating strike from the majority of balls and skipper Parker found a few boundaries and all of a sudden Bangor had hope again entering into the penultimate over. They required 16 runs and the contest was finely poised with a full balcony watching on with punters enjoying their day out at the clubs Annual Corporate Lunch.
Controversy would strike again though, as Best looking to complete a 2nd run put in what looked like a well timed dive to make his ground before the bails were removed, but the umpire ruled him out to the dismay of many. Best though had to leave the field of play. Three dot balls would follow and Bangor once again like last week needed a big final over to pick up the victory.
With 13 runs required, a single, a wide, a two and a single left Bangor needing 8 from 3 balls with Parker on strike. He looked to carve the ball through the offside to the boundary but agonisingly needed another 2-3 yards of air time on the ball to get it over the head of the fielder at backward point, Parker dismissed for 27 off 20 balls, a brilliant effort in trying circumstances. Prince came to the crease as the last man and was on strike but couldn’t find the necessary runs required and Templepatrick came away the victors by 7 runs.
Another hugely gut-wrenching defeat for Bangor, the second in two weeks and while still top of Section One, their advantage is now just on net run rate over Lurgan and Carrickfergus, all three sides tied on 40 points with 4 games to go. Bangor will take solace though that they’re not an easy team to roll over and despite setbacks will not give in and will keep fighting on. The side travel to Derriaghy on Saturday and with the talent in their ranks will be confident of bouncing back in style.
Templepatrick 250-6 (50 overs, L Cave 27, J Smyth 111*, J Adams 65, M Best 3-37)
Bangor 243-9 (50 overs, S Yeates 62, B Harrison 41, M Hutchinson 47, A Kirkpatrick 20, J Parker 27, J Adams 3-36, F McCarthy 2-42)
Templepatrick beat Bangor by 7 runs
BISC 2XI vs Men’s 2XI – Sat 8th Aug
by Gareth McCullough
After a run of 3 losses Bangor 2XI were looking to get back on track as they faced a tricky away tie to BISC at Billy Neill playing fields.
The day started well with the skipper finally winning the toss and choosing to bat.
Felix McMillan & Oliver Campbell got Bangor off to a solid start putting on 59 before Campbell fell to a wonder catch at midwicket. Daniel Rayner was next in and helped push the score along to 108 before he was out trying to hit a maximum.
There then followed a mini collapse with Felix out LBW trying to sweep for 62, McCusker going for 5, Josh McMillan for 5 and McCullough for 10, leaving the Bangor at 142-6.
That brought Jonathon Keenan (25) & James Patterson (16) to the crease who set about putting on 35 run partnership that saw the final total climb to 184 -9 of the allotted 35 overs which probably felt about 50 short of the required target.
As Bangor took the field for the second innings it was always going to be about taking wickets rather than defending the total and right from the first over the bowlers were in the mood.
Max Escott steaming in down the hill had the batsmen playing and missing and with his 5th ball removed the opening batsmen by scattering stumps and bails everywhere.
With the bit between his teeth Escott then removed the other opener with a pacey delivery that got through the defenses and smashed into middle stump!
Not to be outdone Daniel McIlwaine bowling from the other end stepped up to the plate with a wicket removing the dangerous Nanjundaswamy and at 13-3 the home side were in a bit of trouble.
A run out claimed the 4th wicket and by this stage Bangor could sense the victory was nearly in sight.
A partnership between Shah and Arunacalem developed adding 34 to the total before Daniel Rayner had Arunacalem caught at deep sqaure by the excellent Escott.
Another partnership developed and between Shah and Sudeep before Shah was finally caught at point by Rayner.
As BISC steadied the ship and pushed forward to 123 -6 skipper McCullough entered the fray with the ball and 2.3 overs later after claiming 3 wickets for 6 runs the game was over and the margin of victory stood at 57 runs.
A really good win in the end, lots of contributions across the team and we look forward to the last home game of the season on Saturday against Instonians at Upritchard.
Bangor 2 184-9 (35 overs, F McMillan 63, O Campbell 22, J Keenan 25, S Lokhande 2-37, S Arunachalam 2-34, S Edubilli 3-29)
BISC 2 127 (20.3 overs, M Shah 36, S Misquith 35, M Escott 2-18, D McIlwaine 2-22, G McCullough 3-6)
Bangor 2 beat BISC 2 by 57 runs
Bangor 4XI vs Laurelvale 3XI – Sat 8th Aug
by Matt Pitts
Bangor 4ths celebrated the club’s corporate lunch in style with an impressive victory over Laurelvale 3rds at Bangor Grammar.
After winning the toss and batting first, Laurelvale made a bright start and applied pressure throughout their innings. Bangor’s bowlers and fielders worked tirelessly in difficult circumstances, maintaining their effort and discipline despite limited reward.
Laurelvale eventually posted a challenging 174, losing just one wicket in their 20 overs. Stephen Skelly was the sole wicket-taker for Bangor, claiming the breakthrough as the visitors built a strong total.
Faced with a demanding target, Bangor’s experienced opening pair of Stephen Hamilton and Iain Chapman led from the front. Fresh from helping Bangor reach the final of the NCU Over 50s competition, the pair produced a masterclass in controlled and aggressive batting.
Chapman was in outstanding form, finishing unbeaten on 78 from just 49 balls, while Hamilton provided excellent support with a composed 53 not out from 50 deliveries. Together they dominated the Laurelvale attack and ensured Bangor remained firmly in control throughout the chase.
Their unbroken partnership carried Bangor to the target in just 15 overs, securing a convincing victory and providing an excellent advertisement for the strength and depth within the club.
It was a fine all-round team performance and a fitting result on an important day for Bangor Cricket Club, with players demonstrating determination, resilience and togetherness to deliver a memorable win.
Laurelvale 3 174-1 (20 overs, J Thornbury 31, J Grant 57*, A Joseph 53*)
Bangor 4 175-0 (15 overs, I Chapman 78*, S Hamilton 53*)
Bangor 4 beat Laurelvale 3 by 10 wickets
