Dungannon sign off in style

DUNGANNON Cricket Club finished their league season with a four wicket victory over Waringstown 4s at Dungannon Park.

The hosts won the toss and put Waringstown into bat first. Waringstown openers Peter Hanna and Max Hanna raced to 87 runs off 12 overs before Peter Hanna retired on 50 runs and Jins Joseph bowled Max Hanna for 27 in the 13th over.

Matthew Gamble was run out by Leo Joseph in the next over, while Jins Joseph grabbed his second wicket as Alan Harrison departed with the visitors on 102. Chris Adrain struck next with the help of a Mirza Baig catch to dislodge Watson as Dungannon took control and slowed the run rate. Adrain then combined an over later with a sliding Adam Rawlings catch to claim Craig McKeown’s wicket before Baig bowled wicketkeeper Benjamin McKeown in the last over as Waringstown finished on 127 for 6.

Dungannon started slowly, losing opener Jins Joseph in the first over before Adam Rawlins was run out in the third over. Niju Eappan was next to depart, as Peter Megarell took his wicket. Eappan made 24 runs including a boundary, while Chris Adrain and Leo Joseph’s partnership built on this as they made 57 runs between them. Leo Joseph made 30 runs in a powerful innings, including two fours and two sixes before he fell victim to a run out. Adrain made 27 off 28 balls including three fours before he was bowled by Max Hanna and caught by Alan Harrison.

Harrison struck again with a well taken catch and bowl to dismiss captain Gordon Stewart before wicketkeeper Joshua Ferguson and Daniel Gillespie steered Dungannon home. Ferguson made 20 runs including a four and a thunderous six while Gillespie rattled off 7 rapid fire runs off 7 balls to rotate the strike as Dungannon made it home on 128 for 6. The result leaves Dungannon top of Junior 11C, however with their closest rivals Enniskillen and Victoria 4’s having played four games less, Dungannon will be eagerly watching their results with great interest.

Meanwhile, Saturday (9th August) saw Erne Community Cricket Club visit Dungannon Park for a much anticipated friendly. Having won the toss, Erne put Dungannon into bat first. Patrick Cullen and Binil Paulose Kaungampillil opened for the hosts, with Cullen bowled by Charlie Gregg in the first over. He was replaced by Anoop Kirshna who made 3 runs before becoming Gregg’s second wicket. Young Todd Nyamvura came in with 8 runs including a well taken four before being bowled by Vijay Kumar.

Binil Paulose Kaungampillil departed after being bowled by Raphel Rinu, but not before he made 16 runs, including 3 well placed fours. Rinu Matthew struck twice for the visitors, dismissing Declan Coleman and David Zebulon. Jins Joseph made 16 runs with 2 fours before being caught plumb on the pad for a LBW by Mukesh Mundri.

Captain Jeff Meeke led from the front, as he rattled off 33 runs including a thunderous six combining with Gordon Stewart as they rotated the strike with quick singles. Meeke was eventually caught from a Kumar ball, while Stewart made 20 runs with 2 fours from his last 2 balls before falling to the same fate from David Coalter. Kumar struck again, this time with the wickets of Mohammed Mahood Shareef for 7 and Mirza Baig for 1 with Prasulal Lalu finishing on 16. Dungannon finished on 157, setting Erne a target of 158.

Prasulal Lalu opened the bowling for Dungannon, taking the wicket of P. Coalter. The hosts struggled to dislodge the opener D Coalter, while rapidly working their way through his partners, with Lalu adding another 2 wickets, with a clever catch and bowl to dismiss McNulty and bowling R. Rinu. Shareef took Rinu Matthew’s wicket with Jinns Joseph accounting for Mick Lodge and Bibin Tomy. Dungannon displayed excellent fielding skills to keep the score down with catches from Gordon Stewart, Mirza Baig and Lalu among others with courageous fielding in the deep from Declan Coleman. Dungannon seemed to be cruising along until the introduction of Mukesh Mundri.

A powerful contribution from the batsman who combined with the stoic opener David Coalter to bulldoze his side within touching distance of the win and providing an anxious atmosphere for the hosts. Coalter was finally dislodged by Binil for 27. Mundri seemed to be hitting boundaries for fun before Lalu finally dismissed him for 55. Dungannon’s belief surged after his exit as the game came down to the final over. Erne came agonisingly close before losing their last wicket to a run out and finishing on 151.

It was a nail biting ending and was a great friendly game played in fantastic spirit. While the league season has ended, Dungannon are still training at the Dungannon Park nets on Tuesday evenings and play Clogher CC in a home T20 friendly at Dungannon Park.

Dungannon CC would like to thank their sponsors Used Cars NI for their continued support.