The 4^th XI brought their season to a close with a four-wicket win over Bangor at a sun-kissed Shaw’s Bridge on Sunday 25^th August.

The 13s took a step closer to retaining the All Ireland Cup with a 10 run win over a strong Pembroke side. With showers forecast, it was an early departure for an 11.00am start at the fantastic Pembroke Cricket Club. Regulations had been consulted. DLS and a potential bowl-out were looming.

Despite a poor week of weather, a dry Derriaghy Cricket Club played host to the final between ourselves and CSNI on Thursday 8th August.

CSNI’s James West won the toss and asked James Nelson and his side to have a bat. Openers James Nelson and Lewis Ingram started confidently with James striking the first boundary of the evening in the second over. Run-a-ball cricket has been the mantra this year and that is exactly what the pair were delivering until a lapse in concentration from Lewis as he played across a straight delivery from the talented 7-year-old opening bowler Abdullah. 22 for 1 brought the hard-hitting Adam Boyd in. He and James continued the positive momentum and it was clear that Adam wasn’t happy to hang around hitting singles! Probably the hardest striker of a ball in this age group, he batted with intent while James played the supporting role. Having been dropped early on, he took advantage before offering a simple catch for an excellent 28. More importantly, the partnership had yielded over 50 runs at a key stage in the game.
Matthew McAreavey then played a loose shot to bring Luke Crothers to the wicket.
At 71 for 3 in the 12th over, the game was delicately poised. A good partnership could take the game away from CSNI. On the other hand, a couple of wickets could have swung the game in CSNI’s favour.
Fortunately Luke and James partnered well. Excellent calling and running put fielders under pressure and it was only in the 19th over that the 50+ partnerhsip was broken. James went for a superb 42 which was the backbone of the innings.
Luke finished unbeaten with a vital 26 runs.
In reply, Ben Walsh and Lewis took the new ball to great effect. Ben’s off spin claimed the first wicket of the innings in his first over. This brought an air of apprehension as James West strode to the wicket. A superb talent in this age group with the ability to dominate a bowling attack. The bowlers stuck well to their task and finished their initial spells having conceded only 22 runs in the first 6 overs. With James and Aadi Maini batting intelligently, Luke and James stuck well to the task. James’ confidence was growing after smashing Luke for a straight 4 over mid-on. Not to be outdone, Luke decided to change seam position and clean bowled James with an in-swinger, much to the delight of his teammates. With James gone, the remaining batsmen struggled to form any meaningful partnerships with Aadi as the run rate crept up. Excellent spells from Luke and James at a key point in the game. Charlie O’Connor and Adam put the ball in decent areas in their overs. This allowed the opening pair of Lewis and Ben to close out the innings, which they did brilliantly.
A well deserved 25 run victory and some excellent talent on show.
Thanks to CSNI for a competitive game. Derriaghy were excellent hosts, with Davy Skelton the man in charge. Thanks also to Umpire Alex Adams.
Great to see so many parents and families supporting youth cricket and making the final a special occasion

Instonians 120-5 (J Nelson 42, A Boyd 28, L Crothers 26*)
CSNI 95-7 (A Maini 33, J West 25, L Ingram 2-16, B Walsh 2-12)