Ian Callender, 28 May 2001

And the dramatic victory sealed a perfect day for Limavady because the victory not only puts them with level with Brigade on four points (two wins) but also closes the gap on leaders Donemana, who lost their first game of the season at home to Strabane yesterday, to just two points and keeps them very much in with a chance of extending their championship winning sequence to eight. At one stage, Limavady were coasting to victory, needing just 22 from eight overs with seven wickets left! But then "retired" Irish international Gordon Cooke began the mayhem. First, he bowled Ian McGregor with the last ball of his ninth over and with the first ball of his last he had Curry leg before wicket, given out on 99 by Connie McAllister.

Richard McDaid survived the hat-trick delivery but faced only three more balls when he edge to slip and suddenly the champions, chasing 203 for victory, were 184 for six. Mark McDaid and Ian Smyth added another 13 priceless runs when Wajatullah Wasti struck with his third ball, of his third spell, Smyth pulling high to mid-on where young Ryan Brace cooly held the catch. 197 for seven and it became 201 for eight when Wasti, bowling the last over of the match with the three front-line pacemen bowled out, had Mark McDaid, the last of the recognised batsmen caught at point.

Four balls to go, two runs to win, and Barney Christie joined Victor McDaid in the middle. Victor took a single off the fourth ball to tie the scores but Christie, shuffling across his stumps, was palpably lbw next ball to leave the result in the balance and young Blackburn nervously making his way to the wicket. In only his second innings of the season, he saw Wasti fire the ball in on leg stump and deflected the ball backward of square. Victor McDaid collapsed to his knees as he reached the other end. It could be the run that changes Limavady's season. They have only one more league match before Curry leaves, with Ireland, for the ICC Trophy in Canada - against bottom of the table Sion Mills - and if they cope with Drummond and Bready while the skipper is away then it will be everything to play for in the remaining six games of the season. The championship race is on. Curry's latest visit to the crease was the fourth time in his his last six innings that he had passed 50 - he also was also out for 49 - and he gave only one chance, a sharp return catch to Mark Simpson when he was 45. Otherwise, the hitting was clean and generally along the ground, his straight driving being particularly impressive. He pulled the first ball of the innings, a long hop from Gregory Wilson for four, stroked the third through mid-off with impeccable timing and he was on his way. In all he faced 116 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes, in the 39th over and the second to take him to 96. Apart from Gareth Harron and Ian McGregor, the latter as Curry approached his century, all his partners kept pace with Curry. In fact, Ifitkhar Hussain, who did not even get a bat against Ireland on Saturday, outscored him with 46 from 58 balls, as the Brigade bowling, for the second time in a week, was found wanting.

At the start of the day, Brigade appeared to have out-thought Curry, who as in the Faughan Valley Cup game between the teams on Tuesday, opened the bowling with his fifth and sixth bowlers, Mark McDaid and Barney Christie. That was good enough to account for then out-of form Wasti but yesterday the Pakistani professional was held back to four and skipper David Cooke and John Brown helped themselves to 37 from seven overs.

The introduction of Ricky McDaid brought two wickets in successive overs and Wasti, definitely more a Test match batsman than a one-day specialist, then faced 32 balls before the drinks break while scoring just four singles. He hit Victor McDaid for a four and six off successive balls but that was as exciting as it got as he was content to nudge the ones and deftly find the gaps for twos. David Cooke was top scorer, with 76 spread over 42 overs but when both he and Wasti fell in Curry's last over, Brigade lost their advantage and only 42 runs came in the final nine overs, mainly due to a run-a-ball 27 from Gordon Cooke. It should not have been enough, yet it so very nearly was.

It was Brigade's second cruel defeat of the season. In the other, importantly to Donemana, the last wicket pair put on 20 to deny them victory. They still cannot win the big one. But maybe that's why Limavady are champions!