News

The North West senior women’s league is coming to a conclusion next week and it was business as usual on Monday evening as Bready and Fox Lodge recorded conclusive wins against Strabane and Eglinton respectively. Coleraine, who have also caught the eye this season, didn’t have a game as their opponents, Killyclooney, were unable to field. 

Up at the Park it was Alana Dalzell’s second successive half century that provided the platform for the leaders to post a 45-run win. The opener his 5 fours in her unbeaten 58- sharing in a first wicket stand of 78 with Kaylee Barnard who made 22.

Chloe Deans was the pick of the bowlers with 2-18 as Strabane were set a target of 109 in 16 overs. It never looked on if truth be told; Kylie McGarrigle’s 16 about the best of the hosts batting as they made 64-6 in their reply.

Eglinton made 63-6 as they took on the Foxes- Arianna McKenna’s 24 by some way the best of it, while Kara Bates claimed 2-17. Sarah Black, Mollie Devine and Lucy Neely picked up a wicket each and the home side made light work of the chase.

Emma Allen was unbeaten on 23 as she shared in a 40-run opening stand with Sarah (15) allowing the Ballymagorry side to close out a 7-wicket win. Alice McLaughlin bowled well for the villagers to pick up 2-18.

Following on from the completion of the Long’s SuperValu group stages at the weekend, next Saturday sees the start of the Super League competitions for the Premier and Championship divisions. The top-flight will feature the top four finishers in each of the two earlier groups with the other seven teams competing for the Championship trophy.

From here on, teams will only play against sides that they haven’t already met in the previous round- for example, Donemana have already played Newbuildings, Eglinton and Coleraine in the first phase so their four remaining matches will be against Ardmore, Brigade, Bready and Fox Lodge.

Points already won against opponents in the same league will be carried over- so again as an example, Donemana secured a total of 46 points from those matches against Newbuildings, Eglinton and Coleraine so they will start on that number. All teams will now have a maximum of 100 additional points to play for in their remaining games.

The same process applies to the Championship split although with only seven teams involved there, the number of games remaining can differ. Strabane, St Johnston, Bonds Glen and Glendermott all played in the 8-team group first up so they now have only three games each left while the rest of the sides have four. Again, points already won against opponents in the group will carry over.

Although not yet confirmed, the current points tally in the two sections are-

PREMIER                      CHAMPIONSHIP

Bready 68                     Bonds Glen 54

Ardmore 50                   Burndennett 49

Newbuildings 50            St Johnston 46

Eglinton 47                   Strabane 27

Donemana 46               Ballyspallen 24

Fox Lodge 31                Glendermott 23

Coleraine 7                   Killyclooney 2

Brigade 4

Super League games will start this Saturday (31 July) and finish on 15 August when league winners will be confirmed. A knockout competition in each group (draw dependent on finishing positions, i.e. 1v 8, 2v 7 etc.) will then conclude the season.

Long’s SuperValu Super-league fixtures-

Brigade won a thrilling last-ball Faughan Valley Cup final at sun-splashed Eglinton this afternoon as the Beechgrove side snatched the trophy out of the grasp of the villagers in truly dramatic fashion. In one of the best finals the competition has ever seen, Brigade needed three to win from the very last ball which Ryan Barr duly smashed over the cover boundary for six as the Beechgrove side stunned the big home crowd.  

Chasing 161, Brigade on 59 for 2 looked to be out of it at the halfway point of the chase, but David Barr and Iftikhar Hussain took 30 from the next two overs and suddenly it was very much game on. Even then though it looked as if a 5-run penalty, incurred when the former Pakistan A player failed to cross with the outgoing batsman on the field of play, might end up stealing the headlines.

Both players went on to make half centuries from 35 balls, with Barr hitting 6 fours and a six, and Hussain 4 fours and 3 sixes.

The momentum of the game ebbed and flowed and when Hussain went, it looked as if the game was there for the hosts with 31 still needed from the last three overs, which then became 24 off 2, with Ryan Barr and Ryan Macbeth in the middle.

Macbeth then found the boundary three times in the penultimate over, bowled by hosts skipper Andy Millar to leave nine needed from the last.

A dot was followed by two for Barr, and when Macbeth was run out off the third ball coming back for the second, six were needed from the last three.

A leg-bye, was followed by a wide then a single to Simon Olphert to set up the last ball finale, which Barr duly delivered with his maximum.

Man of the Match Andy Millar made an unbeaten 76 from 61 balls (5 fours, 4 sixes) in the Eglinton innings, sharing a fifth wicket stand of 79 in eight overs with Tommy Orr, whose 39 came off just 26 balls (3 fours, sixes).

Ross Allen conceded just six runs in his four-overs spell taking two wickets: otherwise the villagers would have been on course for 180-plus.

Heartbreak for Eglinton in front of their home support, with former favourite Hendy Wallace on site to present the trophy.

Brigade will now represent the region in the All-Ireland T20 semi-finals at the end of next month, joining Carrickfergus, Merrion and Cork Harlequins.

Faughan Valley T20 Cup Final

At Eglinton, Brigade beat Eglinton by 2 wickets

Eglinton 160/5 (20 overs; Andy Millar 76no, Tommy Orr 39; Ross Allen 2-6, Iftikhar Hussain 2-31)

Brigade 164/8 (20 overs; Iftikhar Hussain 51, David Barr 50; Richard Wylie 2-19, Robbie Millar 2-25)

The two groups in this season’s Long’s SuperValu 40-over league were completed on Saturday afternoon and the eight sides who will compete for this year’s Premier League title have now been decided. There was an unfortunate end to Burndennett’s push to qualify from Group B- the Tyrone side had reached 163-3 in the 29th over of their winner-take-all match at home to Coleraine when Eddie McGettigan, who had just scored 76, took ill and had to be taken to hospital. Burndennett opted to forfeit the game although thankfully Eddie is now on the way to a full recovery, which is great news.  

In Group A, Fox Lodge beat Brigade by 16 runs at Beechgrove to ensure that they would make the cut, but Bonds Glen’s 8-wicket defeat at Bready meant that Andy Britton’s team would also qualify. A century stand between Brian Allen (79; 7 fours and 4 sixes) and Jonny Robinson (57) helped the Ballymagorry outfit to a total of 202-7 and Brigade were always behind in the chase.

Simon Olphert, batting at number 11, top scored with 36 while Adam McDaid made 33 and Ryan Macbeth 26 not out in a reply of 186 all out. Three wickets each for Gareth Heywood and Adam Walker and a couple for Jason Milligan were enough to seal a good win for the visitors.

Newbuildings and Donemana had both already qualified from Group B, but there was bragging rights to be had ahead of their upcoming senior cup quarter final as the two sides met at Foyle View Arena. Kyle Dougherty made 60 and Dean Mehaffey 56 as the visitors set a target of 217- three wickets each for Johnny Thompson and Trent McKeegan for Newbuildings keeping things in check.

Former Donemana pair Thompson and Ryan Hunter then set about giving the home side a real boost as they cruised to the win. Hunter and Gareth McKeegan (43) put on 90 for the first wicket with the opener and Thompson then doing the rest- Hunter with 15 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten 94- just a big hit short of a deserved century- while ‘JT’ was 48 not out when the winning run was scored.

It is likely to be a lot different when they meet at the same venue in the cup, but this was some marker put down by McKeegan’s men.

Ardmore’s impressive form is still going- Dhram Singh making 74, Tyrone Koen 57*, Rachit Gaur 37 and Mark Chambers 34* as the Bleachgreen side easily hunted down Glendermott’s 222-7.

Tylor Moor doesn’t like hanging about- his 56 for the Rectory outfit including 5 fours and 5 sixes- while Alan Johnson (37) and Nauman Anwar (31) were also among the runs. Dave Bezzant claimed 4-30 as the home side kept the target manageable with Koen and Sean Gormley picking up a couple of wickets each.

Bonds Glen’s chances of making the top fizzled out despite a superb century for Raymond Curry. The Warriors man cracked 11 fours and 3 sixes in his 105 at Magheramason as the Bee Gees made 189- Rehan Afridi chipping in with 36 while Gregory McFaul helped himself to 4 wickets for the hosts.

Bready rarely looked in trouble in reply with David Rankin unbeaten on 78 and Irosh Samarasooriya (77) steering them to an 8-wicket verdict, cementing their place at the top of the Group.

Ballyspallen’s recent improvement continued as well as they won by 6 wickets at Killyclooney. An opening stand of 84 between Darren Moan (52) and William Finlay (41) seemed to set ‘Clooney well on their way before three wickets apiece for Stephen Kennedy and James Thompson helped pull things back.

Chasing 202 to win, Kennedy once again led from the front as his 72 along with 35 from Damith Perera and 34 not out from Curtis McElwee saw the Roe Valley men reach the winning line with plenty in hand.

The final game of the day saw St Johnston beat Strabane at the Park. Jack Macbeth hit a half century for the visitors with Michael Rankin adding 38 and David Macbeth 27 in their total of 195. Tom Harpur claimed 4 wickets for the Red Caps and Rhys Logue 3, but despite a half century from Aaron Gillespie and 45 from Tanvir Hassan, Strabane’s lower order was undone by the craft of Ian Macbeth whose 4 wickets turned the game the Saints’ way.

Long’s SuperValu League results

At Killyclooney, Killyclooney lost to Ballyspallen by 6 wickets

Killyclooney 201 all out (37.2 overs; D Moan 52, W Finlay 41, A Colhoun 23, J Nelson 21*, S Kennedy 3-15, J Thompson 3-20, M O’Brien 2-30)

Ballyspallen 202-4 (27.5 overs; S Kennedy 72, D Perera 35, C McElwee 34*, A Neil 2-36)

At Burndennett, Burndennett v Coleraine

Burndennett 163-3 (28.5 overs; E McGettigan 76, M Pollock 41*, M Mehaffey 30)

Match abandoned due to medical emergency

At Magheramason, Bready beat Bonds Glen by 8 wickets

Bonds Glen 189 all out (36.4 overs; R Curry 105, R Afridi 36, G McFaul 4-41)

Bready 190-2 (23.2 overs; D Rankin 78*, I Samarasooriya 77)

At Strabane Park, Strabane lost to St Johnston by 43 runs

St Johnston 195 all out (40 overs; J Macbeth 50, M Rankin 38, D Macbeth 27, D Lapsley 22, T Harpur 4-37, R Logue 3-29, K Purewal-Singh 2-46)

Strabane 152 all out (37.2 overs; A Gillespie 58, T Hassan 45, I Macbeth 4-35, M Rankin 2-26)

At Beechgrove, Brigade lost to Fox Lodge by 16 runs

Fox Lodge 202-7 (40 overs; B Allen 79, J Robinson 57, R Allen 2-23, R Macbeth 2-36)

Brigade 186 all out (38 overs; S Olphert 36, A McDaid 33, R Macbeth 26*, G Heywood 3-14, A Walker 3-28, J Milligan 2-32)

At the Bleachgreen, Ardmore beat Glendermott by 8 wickets

Glendermott 222 all out (37.1 overs; T Moore 56, A Johnson 37, N Anwar 31, D Bezzant 4-30, T Koen 2-19, S Gormley 2-33)

Ardmore 226-2 (33.3 overs; D Singh 74, T Koen 57*, R Gaur 37, M Chambers 34*, JJ O’Brien 2-47)

At Foyle View, Newbuildings beat Donemana by 7 wickets

Donemana 217-9 (40 overs; K Dougherty 60, D Mehaffey 56, G McClintock 23, L Dougherty 22, W McBrine 21*, J Thompson 3-19, T McKeegan 3-64, B Mills 2-47)

Newbuildings 218-3 (33 overs; R Hunter 94*, J Thompson 48*, G McKeegan 43)

The Emerging Warriors closed out a disappointing Future Series week with a 5-wicket defeat in their T20 match with the Emerging Knights at Carrickfergus this afternoon. And although results are not what they would have been looking for up to now, it’s probably fair to say that Gary Wilson has at least had the opportunity to assess what has and hasn’t worked for his changes so far.

Today’s reverse was mainly down to not putting enough scoreboard pressure on the home side after the visitors were bowled out for 141 with almost a full over still in the locker. Varun Chopra top scored with 29 (4 fours) after skipper Kyle Magee had made an agressive 28 (2 fours, 3 sixes) at the top of the order.

Scott Macbeth had looked good too as he hit 3 fours and a six in his 20 and Tommy Orr added 19, but nobody really took it by the scruff of the neck. Tom Mayes picked up three wickets with CJ van der Walt, Cian Robertson and Ben Mackey all claiming a brace to ensure the Warriors never got away.

Skipper John Matchett anchored the home side’s reply as he made 47 (7 fours, 2 sixes) while Morgan Topping (27*), Max Burton (22) and John Hunter (17) helped break the back of the chase. A couple of early wickets for Nathan McGuire (2-27) and two more for Chopra (2-22) kept it interesting but the hosts always had things in hand.

The NWCU has issued a reminder to clubs and players of the continued requirement to follow Covid-19 protocols.

The first senior silverware of the season will be handed out on Sunday afternoon as the Faughan Valley Cup final takes place at Eglinton between the home team and Brigade. The match gets under way at 2pm and there will be a “gate” operated by the Derry Midweek League with all monies going directly to the DML’s Charity Fund. 

Both sides of course will be keen to get their hands on this wonderful trophy with the villagers hoping that home advantage can tip the scales in their favour. Brigade have been winning plenty of games without really seeming to have hit their straps just yet, but you know that Andy Britton will have them up for this.

Before then, the Long’s SuperValu League groups will have been sorted out after Saturday’s final round of matches. Ardmore and Bready have already qualified from Group A and the winners of this weekend’s game between Brigade and Fox Lodge will join them in the new Premier group. Indeed should Bonds Glen fail to win at Magheramason, both Brigade and the Foxes will still be in the top four come Saturday night regardless of their result.

Things will get interesting if the Bee Gees do manage to spring another surprise and you wouldn’t rule that out given the way Rehan Afridi and the side have been playing of late.

Group B also has some unresolved business- Eglinton have already completed their programme and have qualified, while there will be a dress rehearsal of the senior cup quarter final on Saturday as Newbuildings entertain Donemana. Both teams are also already through, however bragging rights are very much at stake at Foyle View.

Fourth spot in this section will go to the winners of the Burndennett v Coleraine clash which probably makes that the game of the day. As always, action gets under way at 12 noon and the full list of fixtures is-

Saturday

Long’s SuperValu League (all 12 noon starts)

Ardmore v Glendermott

Bready v Bonds Glen

Brigade v Fox Lodge

Strabane v St Johnston

Killyclooney v Ballyspallen

Burndennett v Coleraine

Newbuildings v Donemana

Sunday

Faughan Valley Cup final (At Eglinton, 2pm)

Eglinton v Brigade

The North West have named their squad for Friday’s T20 at Carrickfergus as they look to close out a busy week on a positive note. Brigade’s Kyle Magee retains the skipper’s armband for the contest and as expected there are a couple of tweaks to the panel for the earlier games against the Bolts.

Strabane batsman Tom Harpur comes into the 12 and will hope to get his chance in a format that should suit him. Nathan McGuire and Raymond Curry are both back as well as selectors look to freshen things up under the watchful eye of Head Coach Gary Wilson.

The Macbeth brothers, Ryan and Scott are both included while Jarred Wilson, Varun Chopra, Tommy Orr, Robbie Millar, Rachit Gaur and Reece Kelly all retain their places.

The match at Middle Road gets under way at 3pm.

Emerging Warriors squad-

K Magee (capt), T Harpur, R Macbeth, Jarred Wilson, S Macbeth, R Chopra, R Curry, T Orr, R Millar, R Gaur, R Kelly, N Maguire.

The under-15 girls completed the first of their Interprovincial weeks at Campbell College this afternoon with a couple of wins over their NCU counterparts. The warm weather saw the second match reduced to 10 overs a side but little doubt that the series in general proved to be a really enjoyable experience for both teams. 

Lucy Neely (35) and Lucy Thompson (20) batted really well for the visitors in the first game as they made 91- Lucy Wey again the pick of the NCU bowlers with 2-7. The North West girls were on top with the ball as well; Sarah Macbeth with 2-5 and good spells from Kia McCartney (1-4) and Sophie Hamilton (1-4) as the home side made 31 in reply.

Mansi Bhavsar continued her excellent week as she claimed 3-5 in that shorter second game where Kia and Charley Scott saw the North West chase down their target without loss.

There is more cricket on the horizon for both sides in August- plenty to look forward to for all involved.

Leinster Lightning Bolts posted their second win of the week in the North West with 108-run verdict over the Emerging Warriors at the Bleachgreen this afternoon. The result was rarely in doubt after the visitors won the toss and batted first; Jack Carty’s excellent 116 setting them on their way to an imposing 294-6 from their 45 overs.

The Australian was given good support from Alistair Frost, who made his second half century of the week, with cameos from Connor Fletcher (40) and Gavin Hoey (20) for good measure. It may have been turning into a testing afternoon for an inexperienced home side but there were still plenty of positives for the Warriors’ coaches to take from the game.

Josh Wilson was excellent with the new ball, the 17-year old finishing with figures of 2-38 while Trent McKeegan also picked up a couple of wickets. Indeed a 90-run stand between David Barr (65) and Kyle Magee (45) gave the hosts’ reply a fantastic platform as well, before that bit of greenness took a hold.

Jared Wilson’s 28 was best of the rest in a final total of 186 all out- two wickets apiece for Mitchell Thompson, David O’Halloran and Gavin Hoey and a couple of ill-timed run-outs finally confirming the visitors’ superiority.

Defeat for the Warriors, but plenty to be learned from playing against a side of that quality.