Bonds Glen stun Coleraine as Senior Cup takes centre stage
The senior cup was back in all its glory on Saturday afternoon as 50-over cricket returned to the North West after an absence of almost two years. And on a weekend where glorious sunshine provided the perfect backdrop, the usual suspects- Donemana, Brigade, Bready and Eglinton all progressed to the quarter finals with little or no fuss.
The only real surprise of Round 1 saw Coleraine beaten at home by Bonds Glen, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been totally thrown by that result as Johnny Haslett’s men had already accounted for the Bannsiders in a T20 game on the opening day of the season. This time however it was the Bee Gees’ overseas player Rehan Afridi who led the way with a superb batting effort on a pitch where runs seemed difficult to come by.
Coleraine posted 145 all out as they took first use; Varun Chopra’s 36 was the best of that as Sam Kincaid claimed three wickets and Afridi and Mattie Barr two apiece. Modest though the total appeared, they still had to be chased down, and the Pakistani opener did just that. Afridi hit 11 fours and 4 sixes in an unbeaten 92 that stood out like a beacon on the day’s proceedings. It was an innings worthy of a trip to the quarter finals and that’s exactly what it earned as the Bee Gees eased through to the last eight with six wickets to spare.
Donemana are through as well as the holders had plenty to spare over St Johnston in Donegal. Kyle Dougherty hit 10 fours and a six in his 76 while Gary McClintock (45) and Ritchie McBrine (38) were also among the runs in a good team effort that saw the visitors set a target of 284-9.
In truth the Saints never looked likely to chase it down- David Lapsley’s 39 and 31 from Michael Rankin as good as it got for them. Jordan McGonigle helped himself to four wickets while Junior McBrine, Willie McBrine and Levi Dougherty added two each as the Saints finished on 145.
Eglinton had too many guns for Burndennett and are also in the hat for the quarters as they won by 6 wickets in Tyrone. Mark Doherty hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in an excellent 68 while Andy Barr added 40 and Mark Pollock 31 in a score of 238 for the home team. Eddie McGettigan’s 19 contained three sixes, the first of which landed on a car and the last of which went through Declan McGettigan’s bedroom window!
There were three wickets each for Stevie Dunn and Robbie Millar for the villagers who went on to chase the runs down very comfortably if truth be told. Tommy Orr made a superb 104 not out that included 13 fours and 3 sixes and the young opener had support from the Millar boys Jamie (39) and Robbie (32) as they won with more than 10 overs to spare.
Brigade are in the hat too after Andy Britton’s men had a comfortable enough afternoon against Fox Lodge. Five wickets for Ross Allen and four for Ryan Macbeth saw the Foxes dismissed for 127 with Luke Hayes (35) and Craig Doherty (28) faring best with the bat.
An unbeaten 54 from David Barr and 34 from David Murdock allowed the home side to coast to a 6-wicket win although Aaron Heywood’s three wickets certainly kept it respectable.
The Nedd put up a solid showing at home to Bready before going down by 7 wickets to the former cup winners. Johnny Young top scored with 25 for the Ballykelly side in their 128 all out with David Scanlon claiming 4-17 and Kat Bhavsar and Gregory McFaul weighing in with two wickets each for Bready. Irosh Samarasooriya hit 5 sixes and two fours to reduce the amount of running in his 41 while Jamie Magee’s more circumspect 38 not out was enough to secure the win for the visitors.
Ardmore had a big win at the Park as their impressive season continues. Dhram Singh hit 12 fours and 9 sixes in a brilliant 149 as he put on an opening stand of 176 with former Red Cap, Rachit Gaur who made 93. Jared Wilson chipped in with 43 while Mark McNulty fought hard for figures of 3-54 as the Bleachgreen side posted 348-5.
Aaron Gillespie made 62 while the Gallagher brothers Ryan (42) and Kevin (37) offered some sort of resistance in a final total of 220, on a bad day to lose a toss. Dhram Singh certainly had a day to remember as he followed up his superb knock by also helping himself to figures of 3-37 with the ball.
And if that was an impressive day’s work, similar comments would apply to Stephen Kennedy who helped Ballyspallen to a convincing win at home to Killyclooney. The all-rounder hit 17 fours and 4 sixes in his 134 as the Roe Valley outfit made 286-8 batting first. Jacob Logan-Wilson chipped in with an unbeaten 34 and Damith Perera added 26 while Jordan Connor and Timmy Dougherty shared 6 wickets for ‘Clooney.
The visitors never quite got to grips with the chase if truth be told and despite Dougherty’s 77 (5 fours, 6 sixes), and 44 from William Finlay, they finished 119 runs short. Kennedy followed up his century by claiming 4-22 with the ball in a day for his scrapbook.
In the eighth and final tie, Newbuildings enjoyed a bloodless victory over Glendermott at Foyle View. Reece Laird’s 16 not out was the best the visitors’ batting had to offer- a five wicket haul here for former Glendermott player Ben Mills- as the Bonds Street boys were all out for 100.
Mark Hanna thumped 12 fours and 4 sixes in an unbeaten 75 made from 41 balls as Newbuildings needed less than 12 overs to complete the quarter-final line up.
Saturday’s NW Senior Cup scores-
At Sandel Lodge, Coleraine lost to Bonds Glen by 6 wickets
Coleraine 145 all out (42.1 overs; V Chopra 36, P Carson 24, S Kincaid 3-30, R Afridi 2-13, M Barr 2-22)
Bonds Glen 146-4 (31.2 overs; R Afridi 92*)
At The Nedd, The Nedd lost to Bready by 7 wickets
The Nedd 128 all out (36.5 overs; J Young 25, D Scanlon 4-17, G McFaul 2-27, K Bhavsar 2-50)
Bready 131-3 (19.5 overs; I Samarasooriya 41, J Magee 38*, G Roulston 25)
At Strabane Park, Strabane lost to Ardmore by 128 runs
Ardmore 348-5 (50 overs; D Singh 149, R Gaur 93, J Wilson 43, M McNulty 3-54)
Strabane 220 all out (41.3 overs; A Gillespie 62, R Gallagher 42, K Gallagher 37, T Harpur 29, D Singh 3-37, P Harrigan 3-45, T Koen 2-25)
At Burndennett, Burndennett lost to Eglinton by 6 wickets
Burndennett 238 all out (44.3 overs; M Doherty 68, A Barr 40, M Pollock 31, Stephen Dunn 3-25, R Millar 3-39, R Wylie 2-43)
Eglinton 240-4 (39.1 overs; T Orr 104*, J Millar 39, R Millar 32, C Averill 20, C Roulston 2-34)
At Beechgrove, Brigade beat Fox Lodge by 6 wickets
Fox Lodge 127 all out (38 overs; L Hayes 35, C Doherty 28, R Allen 5-30, R Macbeth 4-27)
Brigade 128-4 (25.3 overs; D Barr 54*, D Murdock 34, K Magee 21, A Heywood 3-43)
At the Boathole, St Johnston lost to Donemana by 139 runs
Donemana 284-9 (50 overs; K Dougherty 76, G McClintock 45, R McBrine 38, DJ Dougherty 23, B Dougherty 21*, Jun McBrine 20, D Anthony 3-51, I Macbeth 3-56, S Devenney 2-32)
St Johnston 145 all out (35.4 overs; D Lapsley 39, M Rankin 31, D Anthony 26, J McGonigle 4-26, J McBrine 2-13, W McBrine 2-27, L Dougherty 2-38)
At Bridge Park, Ballyspallen beat Killyclooney by 119 runs
Ballyspallen 286-8 (50 overs; Stephen Kennedy 134, J Logan-Wilson 34*, D Perera 26, J Connor 3-40, T Dougherty 3-46)
Killyclooney 167 all out (31 overs; T Dougherty 77, W Finlay 44, Stephen Kennedy 4-22, J Logan-Wilson 2-16, C McElwee 2-47)
At Foyle View, Newbuildings beat Glendermott by 9 wickets
Glendermott 100 all out (24.3 overs; B Mills 5-21, J Dunn 3-28, T McKeegan 2-18)
Newbuildings 102-1 (11.5 overs; M Hanna 75*, G McKeegan 22)
