Bangor Men’s 1XI continued their strong early-season form with an impressive 7-wicket victory over Carrickfergus in Section 1 at Upritchard Park on Saturday.
On a typical good batting surface, Carrickfergus elected to bat first and produced a disciplined and steady start to their innings. Their top order laid solid foundations, with Gilmour striking a fluent 49 at close to a run a ball despite an injury he picked up. while Iain Parkhill anchored the innings with a patient 44, occupying the crease for over 120 minutes.
The innings was further strengthened by oversea’s Varape, who top-scored with a well-compiled 54, mixing sensible rotation with timely boundary hitting to keep the scoreboard moving. Contributions down the order, including an unbeaten 37 from Jay Parkhill and a brisk 28 from Van der Walt, ensured Carrickfergus finished on 237-4 after their 50 overs. A total to bowl with for the visitors but Bangor left the field more than content with their afternoons work.
Despite the lack of breakthroughs at times, Bangor’s bowlers showed discipline to prevent the innings from accelerating late on. The wickets were shared across the attack, with George Prince, Brodie Harrison, Angus Farrell and Sebastian Yeates each picking up one wicket, while the fielding effort helped apply pressure throughout.
Chasing 238, Bangor made a positive start thanks to an aggressive innings from Sam McMillan. His 50 from just 40 deliveries, including eight fours, put the home side firmly on the front foot and allowed them to dictate the early tempo of the chase.
Seb Yeates continued the momentum with a composed 51, building a key partnership that took Bangor beyond the halfway stage in a strong position. Although both openers fell after reaching their half-centuries, the platform had been firmly established.
The defining innings of the match came from Brodie Harrison, who guided Bangor home with a superb unbeaten 76. Displaying a blend of power and composure, Harrison struck six boundaries and three maximums, ensuring there was no way back for the visitors once he was set.
Ian Butler contributed a valuable 31 during the middle phase of the chase, helping maintain momentum, while Andrew Kirkpatrick provided calm support at the end with 12 not out as Bangor closed in on their target.
Bangor ultimately reached 238 for 3 in just under 40 overs, completing a convincing chase with over ten overs to spare. The manner of the victory underlined the strength and depth of their batting line-up, as well as their ability to control games in all phases.
The result represents another positive step for Bangor as they look to build consistency in the league, with both their batting firepower and disciplined bowling attack proving decisive against a Carrickfergus side that are the favourites to win the league this season.
Carrickfergus 237-4 (50 overs, M Gilmour 49, I Parkhill 44, A Varape 54, J Parkhill 37, CJ Van der Walt 28)
Bangor 238-3 (39.2 overs, S McMillan 50, S Yeates 51, B Harrison 76*, I Butler 31)
Bangor beat Carrickfergus by 7 wickets
Elsewhere the past few days there were two disappointing tight loses in cup competitions for the side. On Thursday the side lost by 11 Runs in the T20 Trophy at Templepatrick despite limiting the home side to 130 in tricky damp conditions. With the bat, Bangor could never muster any meaningful partnerships regularly losing wickets as they fell short of the low total set. The side have a weeks break from the group stage before their final game at home to Carrickfergus in early June.
The side exited the Irish National Cup on Sunday to a tight 3 Wicket defeat but the visitors County Kerry CC despite their incredible 600 plus mile round journey were worthy winners. A below par batting effort meant Bangor were some 40-50 runs short and so it proved as the visitors chased down the total down with a few overs to spare. Potentially a very busy schedule of 6 games in 10 days catching up with the side who are dealing with a number of injuries.
Match Images for the Carrickfergus & County Kerry games on Facebook
The schedule temporarily eases for the side who are back in action in the league away at Templepatrick this Saturday before 4 games in 6 days in early June… thankfully all games at Upritchard Park!
