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UNDER 15 (20th July 2007)
The Under 15,s suffering from unavailability as so ofetn is the case at this time of the season pulled through rather fortunately against Downpatrick on Monday evening. Bowling first Northdown retricted the home side to 69 in their alloted 20 overs with a fine bowling performance coupled with good fielding which accounted for three run outs. Irwin bagged two wickets withMartin, Shields and Eakinn getting one a piece. Russell must also be mentioned for his opening spell of 4 overs for only five runs which set the tone for the innings.In reply the reversed batting order crept slowly towards the total with Dugan at the top of the order striking 11. The introduction of Hamilton and Shields under pressure as the overs ticked by injected some well overdue impetus and a match which now hung in the balance looked set to go to the wire. Russell and Martin with 9 a piece kept up with the required rate of six per over and eventually the score was reached with only three balls remaining as the last wicket pair benefited from an attempted run out which would have won the game for the home side.
Under 15 v Inst
After last weeks torrential downpours Under 15 cricket at North Down resumed with a convincing win over Inst last Friday evening. Batting first North Down laid a solid foundation through the opening partnership of Mayne and Knaggs. Both batsmen scored rather slowly but steadily rarely looking in trouble. Maynes 27 and a solid 26 from Knaggs enabled Ritchie batting at three to enjoy his time at the crease which he did as witnessed by his fluent 22 in quick time. The three contributons at the top of the order howevr failed to be reflected as the innings progressed as Rodgers feel cheaply and Macket struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Contributions from Adams (8 not out) and Hamilton eventually enabled North Down to reach 126 in 20 overs aided by the generous amount of 34 extras.
In response Inst struggled with only Bell and Mitchell scoring well with 26 and 24 respectively. As the bowling was shared around Inst finally reached 100 at the close of the innings with the shining lights in the bowling department for North Down being Martin with 4 overs 3 wickets for 4 and Patrick Kngass with 4 overs 2 wickets for 12.
Under 11
The newly formed Under 11 side captained by Alaistar Mc Ivor successfully opened their account at home in the Quoile Cup to CIYMS on Thursday evening.
Bowling first the side which includes boys aged from 8 to 11 produced a
magnificanet performance in what was for all of the side their first ever
competitive game. Opening bolwres Irvine and McIvor led the way taking three and two wickets respectively in their four over spells totalling a mere 15 runs.
Adams (aged 8), Mc Caughey and Lindsay also took wickets as CIYMS were
restricted to 72 after the alloted 20 overs. In response captain Mc Ivor proved
to be a class above with a splendid knock of 42 not out which included 7 sweetly
struck boundaries. Irvine his opening partner also played well with one four in
his score of 14 and with McCaughey unbeaten on 2 the Under 11 wrapped the game up in 18 overs in convincing fashion. The win sees the side tied against Waringstown in the next round which may be away this Friday evening. It was brilliant to see the side enjoy the game so much and to at last have an Under 11 side after a period of absence spanning some 14 years.
Under 15 v Bangor
The Under 15s travelled to a wet and chilly Bangor on Friday hoping to get their
league campaign off to a good start. Bowling first North Down struggled to make
inroads into a good Bangor top order with the first break through with the
score on fifty resulting from a run out. Mc Cusker the Bangor opener played well
throughout the innings striking a fine 47 eventually bowled by Matt Knaggs. The
home side scored 117 in 20 overs which given the exceptionally large boundary
and long grass would have been up near the 180 mark at Comber. In reply North
Down lost early wickets with opener Mayne being run out and Irvine departing for
5 and 9 respectively. Skipper Knaggs batted sensibly and steadied the ship
accumulating 43 as scoring became increasingly difficult as the weather closed
in. Russell , Mackey and Malcolm-Bourne all departed in the pursuit of
quick-fire runs and with the ganme seemingly lost Knaggs fell to Burns in the
16th over ending any hopes of an upset. Rodgers who had batted well also fell in
the final over with the score on 101 leaving North Down 16 short of victory. The
Under 15s play Ards at home this Friday evening in the league whilst the Under
13s play Inst at home on Thursday evening at 6 pm.
UNDER 15 MATCH REPORT
Graham Cup 1st Round v Armagh on 4th May
North Down hosted Armagh in the Graham Cup first round in the teams first outing
of the season.
Batting first after being inserted by the visitors openers Knaggs and Mayne made
slow progress as the new ball Armagh attack showed diligency in terms of line
and length.
The first break through for the visitors came after a period of consolidated
pressure as Brownlee dismissed Knaggs for 0 in the fourth over. The accurate
display of bowling then took its toll upon the North Down line-up with only
Mayne offering any resistance accumulating 27 with an innings consisting of four
4's. At the other end both Rodgers and Ritchie offered resistance with both
reaching the teens before becoming victims of Steenson who was impressive to
finish with 4 for 17 in 5 overs. Progress was slow and the Armagh attack
capitalised at every opportunity, eventually restricting the homeside to 87 for 8
in the alloted 25 overs in which there were 24 extras.
Armagh showed that their batting was on a par with their impressive bowling
by taking only 12 overs to surpass the North Down total. Steenson completed a
man of the match performance by recording an unbeaten 22 as the total was
reached with the assistance of 32 extras from the unnaturally inaccurate
bowling attack.
The defeat in the first game to a good side should not however dent the moral of
the side as a number of key players are set to return over the coming weeks.
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