Warriors hold nerve to win Knights clash
The North West Warriors won a thrilling final-over IP50 Cup clash against the Northern Knights at Bready this afternoon to move alongside Simon Johnston’s charges at the top of the table.
The visitors came flying out of the traps having been put in to bat, with Ross Adair and Ruhan Pretorius combining for a 114-run stand for the first wicket in less than 20 overs.
Adair was first to go for a superb 56-ball 76 (5 fours, 5 sixes) and after that the home side changed the pace of the innings as Mike Erlank (4-46) and Scott Macbeth (2-41) pulled the Warriors right back into it.
Runs were much harder come by with the spinners bowling in tandem and the Knights lost momentum in the middle overs as they tried to lift the tempo again.
Pretorius fell to Macbeth for 50 before cameos from Morgan Topping (32), Neil Rock (24) and Theo van Woekom (18) saw them finally post 253-9 in their 50.
The Warriors innings started in a similar vein with Stephen Doheny leading the charge accompanied by Ani Chore.
With the score on 53, Chore was hit full on the toe from Tyron Koen’s first ball and although he tried to struggle on, he was soon retiring to the dressing room.
Mike Erlank came in at 3 and he and Doheny took the score to 105 before the Eglinton man was caught off the bowling of the impressive van Woerkom for 28.
Scott Macbeth came and went before Chore returned and although clearly struggling, he and Doheny added another 32 before the injured batsman was dismissed (again by the first ball of Koen’s second spell) for a valuable 36.
The hosts looked in trouble as Matthew Humphreys removed Doheny for an excellent 78 and then Cameron Melly first ball to leave the reply stumbling at 167-5.
Skipper Shane Getkate was to come to the rescue however- the all-rounder sharing in a 63-run stand with William McClintock (32- 4 sixes) taking the Warriors to the brink.
They needed all the overs however, with Getkate unbeaten on 58 (4 fours, 2 sixes) as the winning run was scored with just two deliveries to spare.
A great win this for Boyd Rankin’s men as the tournament remains very much alive, although the T20 Festivals will now take centre stage until later in the summer.
The North West Warriors are kindly sponsored by – Fleming-Agri Products Ltd
Originally set up in Donegal in the northwest of Ireland by Robert John Fleming in 1860, ownership of the company has remained in the Fleming family to the present, ranking as one of the oldest agricultural machinery companies in the UK and Ireland. The company trades in over 20 countries and employs over 100 people in their modern 6-acre site in Newbuildings. They specialise in agricultural, countryside and ground care machinery with over 100 products on offer: https://www.fleming-agri.com/
