CHAMPIONS' TITLE HOPES DENTED BY DONEMANA RESILIENCE

The Billy Henderson Properties senior title may yet stay in Tyrone for a fourth successive season but the likelihood of the trophy remaining at Strabane Park lessened significantly at the weekend when the champions lost for the second time this summer to Donemana. Jonathan Beukes' team will have left the Holm on Saturday evening wondering how, just as in the first game, they had let the 2008 title winners off the hook. Donemana had used all their experience and guile to carve a win from nothing at the Park in April but even that paled in comparison to this stunning victory as the hosts number 11 Jordan McGonagle and the superb James McBrine somehow found an unbroken 93-run last wicket stand to leave the visitors crushed.

Richard Kee's side had showed their battling qualities just three days earlier when they weaved their magic again in pulling off an equally stunning win away at Fox Lodge. Defending just 120 in a 20-over contest there looked little chance for Donemana as the Foxies reached 53-0 in reply before Junior McBrine and Jordan McGonagle combined to make full use of very favourable bowling conditions as the hosts fell apart at the seams. The win moved the senior cup finalists into a challenging position at the top of the table before they then welcomed the Red Caps for Saturday's showdown. Niall McDonnell and Kevin Martin gave the visitors a solid start at the Holm with a 67-run partnership before the latter was run out having made 34 and McDonnell followed soon after having hit 7 fours an 2 sixes in his 38-ball 47. Jonathan Beukes added just 21 before being dismissed meaning that it was going to be down to the Gillespie brothers to get them back on track. Despite a poor recent run of form by his own very high standards Peter picked the ideal time to get back among the runs as the pair posted a 111-run stand that moved the champions back into the driving seat. Mark batted well to make 48 while his brother hit 7 fours and 4 sixes in his 82 that allowed Strabane to finish on 283 for 7 in their 50 overs.

The hosts were soon in bother in their reply with Graeme Boyd and professional Kamran Sajid both dismissed early on before Andy McBrine and Ryan Hunter got them back into it. When Hunter went however Strabane's tails were up again and Donemana slumped to 90 for 5. Andy McBrine was proving a lot harder to shift and joined by skipper Richard Kee they then swung the pendulum back Donemana's way. The game looked to have turned yet again when a superb piece of fielding from Strabane skipper Beukes saw the end of Kee and from the very next ball Dwayne McGarrigle was caught behind. Martin Deans then produced an excellent caught and bowled to see off the excellent Andy McBrine and it looked plain sailing from there for the champions. With 90 runs still required few would have bet on Donemana as Jordan McGonagle joined James McBrine in the middle but we're well aware by now that the fat lady knows her place at the Holm. McGonagle did what he had to do at one end while McBrine decided that if he was going to fall at the other he would go with his boots on. He took just 22 balls to reach his 50 and then landed some savage blows to lift his team to the most amazing victory, hitting 9 sixes and 6 fours in a 50-ball unbeaten 97 that suggested that Donemana might well be new title favourites.

While all of that was going on, Fox Lodge's title hopes were being hammered all around Ballymagorry by a rampant Brigade. The Beechgrove men posted the biggest total of the season so far as Iftikhar Hussain and Christopher Dougherty put together a magnificent 331-run partnership that only ended with four balls left in the innings. Hussain smashed 17 fours and 7 sixes in his 175 from just 132 balls before being dismissed while Dougherty clubbed 16 fours and 4 sixes to finish unbeaten on 145. The carnage ended with the visitors 357 for 2 and chasing that huge total Fox Lodge never looked likely to cause an upset. Skipper Brian Allen made 55, more in defiance than anything else, but that apart it was all Brigade. Ryan Brace finished with figure of 4 for 60 as the Foxies followed up their midweek shenanigans with a 188-run defeat that knocks the stuffing out of their faltering title hopes. To be fair to them however they did some big hitting of their own on Sunday when posting a huge 315 in their home game with Coleraine although even then it wasn't to be enough. Darryl Brown made 100, Brian Allen 72 and Mark Mooney 56 as the home side seemed set to lift the mood in the camp before an Ian McGregor “ton” suddenly put Coleraine back in the hunt. The sides were then forced to surrender to “light” on Sunday evening with the game beautifully poised and on the re-start the Bannsiders lost both Calum McGregor and Paul Douglas early, before David Cooke with an excellent unbeaten 79 and Rishi Chopra steered them to a spectacular win, albeit aided by 57 extras from the Foxies.

Bready too were on form at the weekend as the other half of the senior cup final were much too strong for out-of-sorts Glendermott at the Rectory. Trevor Hamilton won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first and his decision seemed to be vindicated as Glendermott lost their first 4 wickets, including that of Stephen Smyth with just 40 runs on the board. The Bonds Street side's overseas professional Roy Silva then helped steady the ship with an excellent knock of 129 that included 13 fours and 6 sixes while Charlie Elder played well at the other end in adding 44. Unfortunately for the hosts that was as good as it got however as no-one else managed to get into double figures and Glendermott were all out for 223. David Scanlon claimed 3 for 42 and Mark Olphert 2 for 46 but Ian Young's 2 for 19 was probably the pick of Bready's bowling. The Magheramason side's reply was dominated by Steven Clarke who smashed 12 sixes and 10 fours on his way to a superb unbeaten 126. Clarke had been struggling for form in the league despite some excellent cup scores but this was him at his best and coupled with 40 from David Rankin and an unbeaten 36 from Dean Curry they ensured that Bready had plenty in hand in this 7-wicket win.

Bottom side Bonds Glen were unable to build on their win at home to Bready last Saturday when they lost heavily at Limavady. The visitors could only manage 101 in total with Willie Jackson's defiant 22 the best they had to offer while Stuart Thompson (3 for 22) and Simon Dunn (2 for 18) claimed the bowling honours. Roesiders' skipper Andrew Riddles' availed of the opportunity to get himself some batting practise following recent surgery and he made an unbeaten 40 while Adam McDaid added 33 not out in a 9-wicket win.

It was a landmark weekend in Division 2 as well as Sion Mills recorded only their second win of the season when seeing off The Nedd by 42 runs on Saturday. Mark Patterson made 31 for the hosts in their total of 126 and then claimed 5 wickets as the visitors were shot out for 84.

The big news however featured Burndennett who, having failed to win a game all season so far, beat two of the league's top sides, Drummond and Creevedonnell in the space of as many days. Johnny Devine's men had to do things the hard way in both matches too, holding on for grim death against Gordon Cooke's side after Niall Devine with 43, Mark Doherty (27) and Stephen McCay (20) had helped them bat 45 overs and post a decent score of 141. Despite 49 from Drummond's former Irish International, skipper Devine's 3 for 15 and Ross McCay with 2 for 15 steered the visitors to a superb 14-run win. And they weren't finished there either as Burndennett then ended Creevedonnell's six-match unbeaten run on Sunday. Knocks of 35 from Myles Neely and Ellis McGarrigle and 31 from skipper Stephen Scroggie had helped the visitors to a respectable 167 all out after they had opted to take first use. John McCormick was in superb form for the home team returning figures of 5 for 26 while Rory Devine claimed 2 for 27 in a compact all-round performance. Burndennett looked set to record an easy win as Galvin Pollock made 42, Mark Doherty 37 and Niall Devine 33 to put them within touching distance before Gary Neely threatened to pull the mat from under them. Neely ended with 4 for 46, including a hat-trick while Brian Dougherty was again in good form finishing with figures of 3 for 13, but Burndennett again held their nerve for a 2-wicket win. Kudos then to all at Burndennett after a magnificent weekend and here's hoping that this may be the turning point for the club after a turbulent first half of the year.