DONEMANA BACK ON TOP AS BEE GEES BLOW OPEN RELEGATION SCRAP

Incessant rain on Saturday morning meant a very muddled day in the top flight of the Billy Henderson Properties North West league but even though it took until deep into the evening. three of the scheduled five games were completed on the day. The match between Strabane and Coleraine was delicately poised and will be played to a finish on Monday, weather permitting of course, while Limavady and Fox Lodge didn't see any action at all, the umpires making an early call that the Hunter Grounds was unfit for play. That one now goes straight to a 20/20 replay and will join Limavady's queue behind their long outstanding top of the table game with Donemana.

Strabane had managed to avoid the adverse weather early on as they seemed set to take advantage of the problems elsewhere before a combination of rain and poor light disrupted their home game with in-form Coleraine. The Red Caps took first use and were on top of the Bannsiders' attack from the get-go as first Kevin Martin and Niall McDonnell, then Martin and Beukes and finally the opener and fellow left hander Mark Gillespie made hay while, well, while it didn't rain.

Strabane's recent problems certainly haven't been down to their batsmen and it was the same story here with McDonnell and Martin putting on a first wicket stand of 50 before the former departed for 30. His partner was certainly the man in form here however and while he and his skipper Beukes were in the middle Strabane looked like getting any score. Beukes made 83 including 10 fours and 2 sixes before being caught behind off the bowling of Scott Campbell but Martin continued on his merry way to a superb century before being dismissed right at the death having hit 10 fours and 3 sixes in his 106. Mark Gillespie was unbeaten on 53 in what looked a daunting target of 297 for the loss of just 3 wickets. That said, the visitors proved in last weekend's win at Ballymagorry that they aren't overly bothered by chasing targets, daunting or otherwise and despite losing Calum McGregor and Vischal Chopra early on they recovered to work their way right back into the contest. Ian McGregor made 60 before being needlessly run out and Mohammad Salman made just 24 before he fell too but David Cooke (47 not out) and Scott Campbell (18 not out) took up the mantle and when the conditions intervened the Bannsiders were back in the hunt at 183 for 4 from 32 overs. The sides will resume then this evening with Coleraine needing 115 from 18 with 6 wickets in hand and Strabane will be hoping to avoid a similar fate to the Foxies when they start again.

Donemana had forced their way very firmly into the title chase with last Saturday's stunning win over the champions and the cup finalists were given another rigorous test before getting the better of Eglinton off the very last ball of the match. The villagers, desperate for points themselves after a run of five straight defeats were much better with the bat this time as they made a competitive 236 for 9 in their 50 overs. Professional Ryan Butterworth hit 8 fours on his way to a smart 73, sharing an 80-run partnership with Simon Olphert en route. Skipper Andy Christie shuffled the pack a little in moving his wicket-keeper up to the number 3 slot and the move paid off as Olphert added a tidy 37. Karl O'Doherty subsequently slipped into the middle order and he too seemed to benefit as he added 27 while Donemana's bowling honours were shared between Junior McBrine (3 for 39), Ritchie McBrine (2 for 17) and Kamran Sajid (2 for 38).

The visitors opened the batting with the unusual pairing of Ryan Hunter and Jordan McGonagle, the latter being promoted from the number 11 slot he occupied last week, but this move too paid off. The pair put on 56 for the first wicket but when McGonagle and then professional Kamran Sajid were dismissed in quick succession the hosts were back in it. Hunter though decided that attack was the best policy as he and Andy McBrine, aided by some generous “extra” help from Andy Christie's side took Donemana's reply to 142 for 2. Still Eglinton battled on and McBrine's wicket breathed new life into them as Richard Wylie and Stephen McCloskey got among the Donemana order. 142 for 2 was soon 175 for 7 and with overs running out the game had turned on its head. As is always the case though when Donemana meet trouble one of the McBrines is usually on hand to deal with it and this time it was both. Junior made 36 and James, who was the architect of last week's nail-biting win at home to Strabane was at it again with 35 not out as he and Graeme Boyd got the Holm side down to the last over needing ten to win and the last ball with one to win. The victory was a double- whammy for Eglinton who seemed more than a little perplexed at the decision to allow a “runner” in the latter stages of the chase while at the same time the loss meant that a win at home to Glendermott would now lift Bonds Glen level on points with them.

That one was very late in getting started due to the weather but when it did, the visitor's batting woes continued in much the same way as has been the case for most of the summer. From 118 for 3 Glendermott were all out for 172; Stephen Smyth making 40, Bob Robinson 39 and Roy Silva 38 but once again support elsewhere was thin on the ground. As usual the wickets were shared among the hosts' attack, Colin Hall with 3 for 12 was the pick with Leslie Curry (2 for 24) and Richard Hepburn (2 for 26) contributing substantially. Chasing such a modest total the hosts were always going to be in the hunt and their overseas man Gihan Dilruk certainly chose the right day to show his quality, the Sri Lankan hitting a priceless 66 as Gary Hamilton's side reached 119 for 3 in reply. The Bee Gees don't like doing things the easy way of course and that 119 for 3 was soon 119 for 6 as the nerves set in. Mind you, in Richard Hepburn they have a man who has done it at this level before and “Mackey” was at his best again as he helped nurse his side over the line. Still there was time for late drama however and with the last pair at the wicket and the Bee Gees still 1 run short, Glendermott missed a simple chance to claim the points and the hosts didn't offer a second. The win was greeted like a cup final at the Glen, but how it must have shaken both Eglinton and indeed the Rectory men themselves as the relegation trap door grows ever wider.

Back to matters at the other end however and the final game of the day saw Brigade move right back into the title picture after they hammered Bready at Beechgrove. Chris Dougherty returned just in time to haunt his former team-mates once more, the big opener hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes on his way to making 84 while Mattie Moran contributed 43 to an opening stand of 69. Trevor Britton (27), Johnny Thompson (26) and Mark Simpson (25) all weighed in with useful runs as well in a total of 266 all out. Agha Sabir Ali survived the mess as he returned superb figures of 5 for 24 and Adam Warnock bowled very well for his 2 for 31. David Scanlon also claimed 2 wickets albeit at a cost of 66 but once again Bready gifted 45 in “extras” and if they do the same at Eglinton at the end of the month they will have some job trying to wrestle the cup from Donemana. Bready's reply was awful to be honest and bar David Rankin's 28 there was precious little else to shout about. Three wickets each for Mark Simpson and Iftikhar Hussain as well as two apiece for Dale Culbert and Trevor Britton simply tore through the visitors order as they were dismissed for just 91. It looks for all the world as though the Magheramason side have already got both eyes firmly fixed on the senior cup showpiece and Trevor Hamilton looks to have a job on his hands to keep his side between the hedges ahead of the final.