Despite being one of the worst cricket seasons on record for weather, you have to admire the way our players bounce back in the face of adversity. And they didn’t do it with a few good performances; they did it with some outstanding achievements.
This has been a memorable week for a number of talented young NCU players, and a few ‘old hands’ who just seem to get better and better as they get older.
Pride of place must go to young Lee Nelson who hit an awesome 190 out of 238 for 1 as Waringstown emphatically won the Colts Cup against Downpatrick. We have known for some time that Lee is a special talent, but such a belligerent batting performance sets him apart from his peers, and just for good measure he added 45 against Cliftonville in a senior league game a few day later. Lee’s powerful hitting took some shine off his opening partner James Hall, who was also very impressive with both bat and ball following up his 4 for 14 against Cliftonville, with 6 for 42 and 55 against Bangor the following day. There was plenty to celebrate for the Villagers over the past week as their lower teams may well be bringing home the silverware this season, and especially the Seconds who currently top their league. They had an impressive win over Bangor on Saturday with the affable Keith Morrison scoring a brilliant 146.
Over the past decade we have been weaned on the ‘Big Two’ rivalry between Waringstown and North Down, but this season that dual may well be fought out between the second elevens as North Down appear to be the strongest challengers to the Villagers. The Comber men had several batsmen hitting the headlines this week with Daniel Graham (159) and Michael Turkington (104no) in prolific form against Derriaghy, and Adam Laird (104) scoring his maiden century against Instonians. The ‘Turk” scored 82 not out in that game, and remains one of the most experienced and popular batsmen in the junior ranks. Opportunities are rare at the Green for the high-flying second eleven batsmen, especially when you note this was Daniel’s third century of the season.
There’s no substitute for experience when it comes to the crunch, and as relegation threatens four or five teams in the top flight, it’s not surprising to see class come to the fore in the key matches. Seasoned veterans David Heasley (72), Paul McCrum (52) and Alan Sleith (45) spearheaded CI’s vital win over Derriaghy, while the evergreen Ryan Eagleson (4 for 32 including a hat-trick) appeared to have done the trick for Carrick against Lisburn. But there are few certainties in local cricket, and David Simpson showed why, with an outstanding 7 for 24 to steer Lisburn home by 45 runs defending only 98.
It all adds up to some exciting cricket over the next four weeks, as September will be the busiest month in the history of the NCU if all the fixtures are fulfilled. That in itself would be a minor miracle, so the key issues may well come down to fixtures played, as some games are likely to be voided by the weather or unplayable ground conditions.
At times like this you see the real spirit of cricket and it would be sad if posturing and gamesmanship deprives teams of a ‘fair crack of the whip’ in getting matches played. Of course, there will always be some tough calls, but at the end of the day everyone wants cricket to be played and issues decided on the field. After all, if we have another week like the past week there’s going to be plenty of outstanding performances to rave about.
Well done Lee Nelson in setting such a high standard, and let’s see if September produces another exceptional performance to match it.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
