UNDER-19 QUALIFIERS LEAVE LITTLE ROOM FOR DOMESTIC ACTION
There was precious little action in the top flight of the Billy Henderson Properties league on Saturday as the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers continue to take centre stage in the North West.
The one game that did go ahead saw Eglinton fail to capitalise on their opportunity to put the pressure on Bonds Glen at the bottom when they lost to Glendermott at The Rectory. Batting first the villagers got themselves into an awful tangle losing skipper Andy Christie to the very first ball of the match and never really recovering. Chris Pierce and Simon Olphert rallied very briefly but a middle order collapse saw the visitors slip to 83 for 6. Professional Ryan Butterworth was the key man for Eglinton but the introduction of Craig Averill put an end to the Zimbabwean's efforts. Butterworth hit 6 fours in his 44 and a late 24 from Mark Averill, who coincidentally also fell to his brother's bowling, meant that Eglinton were all out for a disappointing 134. Charlie Elder was leading wicket-taker with 4 for 43 while Roy Silva's 6 overs returned figures of 2 for 7. Averill and Rodney Pearson also picked up a couple each in a solid show from the hosts. Glendermott's reply started poorly, openers Gordon Montgomery and Simon Killen both removed by Richard Stewart before Roy Silva restored order. With Craig Averill anchoring the innings, Silva blasted 10 fours and 4 sixes in an unbeaten 82 as the home side romped to an 8-wicket win.
With several grounds required for the under-19 tournament yesterday as well, only the matches between Bonds Glen and Fox Lodge and Limavady versus Donemana were scheduled to go ahead, however at the time of going to press the latter of those was in serious doubt. Donemana had asked at the beginning of the season that the game be re-arranged as they had two players on International duty and while it appears the Union was sympathetic at the time it seems that no-one told Limavady. The Roesiders insisted that the game should go ahead and at an emergency meeting on Friday evening the North West management committee ruled that in the absence of any other determined date, the match was to be played as scheduled. It is widely believed that the Holm side met on Saturday afternoon and were furious with the judgement and agreed unanimously that they would not be travelling. Obviously we will hear more about the whole saga in the coming days, however for now it looks as though the Roesiders will claim the points and Donemana will appeal the decision. And with several more postponements to contend with now it's starting to look like a few more double-header weekends are on the horizon and plans could really be thrown into chaos if the rainy season doesn't end soon.
Things remain tight in the table with all the big guns still having several key games to play, so its difficult to get a clear picture of the standings just yet. Brigade moved two points clear at the top in midweek courtesy of a 4-wicket win over Donemana at Beechgrove as the visitors struggled to shake off their cup final disappointment. Richard Kee's side got off to a good start in that one as Kamran Sajid anchored their innings making 47 but scoring was desperately slow after the opening ten overs. Ata-Ur-Rehman and Iftikhar Hussain saw to it that the visitors were kept in check, Ricky Lee Dougherty with 20 and Dale Olphert (16 not out) the only other batsmen to make much inroads for them. Rehman finished with 3 for 13 and Trevor Britton 3 for 23 but pick of Brigade's bowlers was Hussain who bowled 5 maidens in his 8 overs to finish with 2 for 6 as Donemana's 40 overs closed on 140 for 9.
That said it was no stroll in the park for Brigade the following night as the Holm side returned to exploit the conditions to good effect themselves. James McBrine had both openers, Chris Dougherty and Ryan Brace, back in the pavilion with the score on just 7, and with Mattie Moran missing it was left to Iftikhar Hussain to do the needful for his team. The former Pakistani professional found batting treacherous throughout but had the resolve to tough it out and supported by cameos from Gareth McKeegan and Johnny Thompson steered the Waterside men towards the winning line. Hussain was finally out for a match-winning 62 having played one on from Graeme Boyd but by that stage the job was nearly done and David Barr settled the issue with a couple of sixes in his unbeaten 20.
Brigade are now many peoples favourites to go on and land the title but they have to cope without Moran if they are to regain the champions' tag. The Beechgrove side never properly replaced Niall McDonnell at the top of the order and have tried a number of options since of which he was easily the pick. Their bowling is not a problem but the middle order still looks vulnerable this season, especially when they have to take someone out of there to slot in at the top. Brigade had a massive game against Waringstown in the Irish Senior Cup yesterday that could go a long way towards defining their season but the next few weeks without Moran will tell the tale. If they come through that without any damage then they would have a massive chance of bringing the flag back to Limavady Road.
There are plenty of contenders however and despite now having lost four times this season, Strabane are by no means out of it. They obviously can't afford any more slip-ups but they remain very capable of stringing a few wins together and putting the pressure on the sides around them. The Red Caps are a mirror image of Brigade; strong in the batting but considerably less so in attack and that is where they have been found out on occasion. Peter Gillespie hasn't bowled a ball all summer having struggled with a shoulder injury while Mark hasn't quite been himself either. Phil Eaglestone and Martin Deans are as potent an opening pairing as there is in the league but while Mark Roulston has fitted in really well and Ciaran Patton had some success too, there just hasn't been the same cutting edge this time.
Donemana have struggled without Ryan Hunter and Andy McBrine and that ruling on Friday evening won't have sat well with them. The two Under-19 Internationals will be back in the ranks from next week and the cup runners-up will be a different side for the run in after that, but you have to wonder if the damage hasn't already been done. Having lost three times they have little room for manoeuvre but as always they will be extremely difficult to beat and you still wouldn't want to rule them out.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Brigade's “favourites” tags are the Roesiders but they too haven't had their sorrows to seek for the last half of the season. The 12-month ban on Des Curry was bad enough for them but now their professional, Adnan Akmal, has been called into the Pakistan squad for the series with Sri Lanka and that is a major blow. Akmal had really began to find the screws in the last few weeks but while they will miss his runs for sure they will find his glove-work irreplaceable. One-by-one the challengers are all encountering their problems and it is starting to open up nicely for Brigade if they can hold their batting together.
At the other end it is almost certainly a two-horse race in the relegation scrap and Saturday's defeat for Eglinton at Glendermott has hardly helped their cause. Bonds Glen's next three games (including their match with Fox Lodge due to finish last night ) are all at home where they are definitely an awful lot more compact and the last match of that trio is against Eglinton. It is starting to heat up into the tightest fight we've had for several years and there will be plenty of frayed nerves at the Glen on Saturday week. Mind you, it all makes for a very interesting run in and with the nights definitely starting to shorten its a sure sign that the season is working its way to a thrilling conclusion.
At The Rectory, Glendermott 135-2-23.2 (R Silva 82*, C Averill 28*) beat Eglinton 134-10-29.1 (R Butterworth 44, M Averill 24, C Elder 4-43, R Silva 2-7, R Pearson 2-15, C Averill 2-34) by 8 wickets.
