KILLYCLOONEY

It is really difficult not to feel for Killyclooney who have finally been undone after years of watching many of their top players lured away by the bigger clubs.

To add insult to injury this season, two of the men they would have pinned their survival hopes on, Mark Gordon and James Colhoun missed more or less the whole summer through injury.

That meant Richard McMorris having to rely on a makeshift first team squad for the entire campaign and they never recovered from a bad start.

No wins in the 11 league matches they played tells its own story and it was little different in the cups- in fact Killyclooney's only senior success this season was a first round win over Burndennett in the Sperrin Springs cup.

The defeats were bad enough but the manner of some seemed to demoralise the side, Drummond's 425 a case in point and some way before the end it was clear the season couldn't close quickly enough for many of the players.

On the bright side the under-11's won both league and cup so unlike a lot of the so-called bigger boys good things are happening below the surface.

It will hardly come as a shock that the figures aren't great- skipper McMorris doing his best to lead by example with 316 runs and 13 wickets.

Alan Colhoun with 285 and Sammy McElhatton 205 were the only other batsmen of note although Richard Barr with 163 runs and 16 wickets can be pleased with his efforts.

What happens next will dictate the club's fortunes for the coming years but it would be no surprise to see another one or two youngsters making the step up soon. If Colhoun and Gordon are available there is a chance they might re-group in the Qualifying League but only time will tell.

Batting

R McMorris 316 runs at an average of 18.6 (1x50) highest score 56
A Colhoun 285 runs at an average of 17.8 (2x50) highest score 60