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Larne Seconds finished their season with an emphatic 120-run victory over Cregagh. With Sandy Bay unavailable the game was played at the Rugby club, and Larne captain Gary Moore won the toss and elected to bat first in a 40-over match. The visitors needed to win to avoid relegation, while the local side were fielding their strongest line-up of the year in a bid to finish on a winning note. Disappointingly for the spectators the talented trio of Rob McKinley, Murad and Keenan (29) were all dismissed within the first 16 overs as Larne slipped to 62-3. However young opener Chris Dempsey was playing the innings of his life as the other end. He offered some difficult chances and was struck on the head before he had reached double figures, but once the left-hander had played himself in he engaged in a blistering display of hitting. Records tumbled as Dempsey began to flick the ball nonchalantly around the ground for a succession of perfectly timed boundaries. He reached fifty just after the drinks interval, and even the dismissal of his father Trevor for a duck did not stop his onslaught. One poor bowler disappeared for 30 in one over, with Chris hitting four from the first ball before powering the next four deliveries for massive sixes over mid-wicket. Finally he took a gentle and generous two from the final delivery. That over helped Dempsey race from 50 to 100 in the blink of an eye, and still the boundaries kept flowing after he had reached his century. Eventually he was dismissed for a remarkable 138, with an incredible 10 sixes and 13 fours. Larne’s other batsmen struggled to keep pace, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Only Ken McKinley and Eddie Hunter offered Dempsey any real support, while Moore and then Jonathan King (25 not out) played sensibly to bat out the innings. Larne finally finished with an excellent total of 262-9 from their 40 overs. In reply Cregagh struggled to score runs against some accurate fast bowling from Jonathan and Darren King. Although the brothers failed to break the opening partnership they did push the required rate beyond the reach of the other batsman. It was first-change bowler Rob McKinley who made the breakthrough and then ripped out the Cregagh top order. Although bowling from his reduced run-up McKinley generated good pace with superb control as he clean-bowled the opponents top 3 batsmen on his way to fine figures of 4-19. Michael Lyle also grabbed two wickets with his reliable medium-pace, but it was Darren King who came back to blow away the tail-enders with a devastating burst of 4-7. Murad managed to grab his first catch of the season as Cregagh were dismissed 142 in the final over of their innings to leave Larne comfortable winners by 120 runs. Special thanks must be extended to Bobby McFetridge, who kindly provided tea, while the match ball was generously sponsored by LadyBird Nursery. |
