Seconds v Templepatrick (Cup Semi Final)It’s a fourth cup final in five years for Laurelvale seconds after they completed a comprehensive victory over Templepatrick 2nds in Ballyclare on Saturday. Ryan Cornett is hoping to follow previous captains Wesley Best (2004), Simon Hughes (2005) and Brian Vennard (2006) by lifting the Intermediate cup on Saturday 9th August at Pollock Park, Lurgan.
The village second eleven are the only side to have won the cup three years in a row and are hopeful that this experience will prove decisive against a Muckamore team who are currently riding high at the top end of the league.
Saturday’s re-arranged match (the previous week it had been postponed due to rain) started in warm and sunny conditions at the Cloughan in Ballyclare. Previous visits to this ground have not been happy ones for Laurelvale but this time a strong side had little difficulty seeing off their opponents.
Ryan Cornett won the toss and decided to bowl first. Ian Vennard who was drafted into the side as the result of an injury to Graeme Steenson opened the bowling with Daryl Henry. The home side started cautiously, anxious not to lose an early wicket, and had moved the score along to 27 when they made the mistake of attempting a second run with the ball in the hands of Dean McAlinden on the boundary. A magnificent throw by Dean followed by the removal of the bails by wicketkeeper Best resulted in the first wicket for Laurelvale. The home side made steady progress despite the introduction of Graeme Martin and Brian Vennard into the attack and it was left to Alan Wylie to take the second wicket. His third ball deceived the Templepatrick number three batsman and Best completed a sharp stumping to reduce the home side to 50 for 2 wickets after 10 overs. The remaining Templepatrick opener (Andy McCrea) was holding his side’s innings together but Wylie took his second wicket with the score on 69. This time he spun the ball back into the batsman and trapped him LBW. The 100 came up in the 24th over but only one more run was added before Brain Vennard picked up his first wicket by bowling the Templepatrick number 5. Daryl Henry returned for his second spell replacing Alan Wylie in the attack, with Wylie’s initial 8 over spell yielding 2 wickets for just 10 runs, and this was the beginning of the end of the home side’s innings. Daryl’s second spell produced 5 wickets and with Brian Vennard removing McCrea with an excellent slower ball the innings closed on 121.
A batting line-up with skipper Cornett batting at number 8 shouldn’t have had any trouble passing this score and so it proved as victory was wrapped up in the 30th over with the loss of just 4 wickets. Daryl Henry again was the star with an unbeaten 50 but he ably supported by Wesley Best with 20 and Dean McAlinden with 25.
Templepatrick 121 all out in 45.1 overs
D Henry 5 wickets for 17 runs A Wylie 2 wickets for 17 runs B Vennard 2 wickets for 38 runs
Laurelvale II 122 for 4 wickets in 29.2 overs
D Henry 50 not out D McAlinden 25 W Best 20
Laurelvale II won by 6 wickets
Final v Muckamore on the 9th August at Pollock Park Lurgan
This is the first time Laurelvale 2nd XI and 3rd XI have reached the final of their respective cups in the same season. The thirds play Bballymena 4ths in the final of the Minor Qualifying Cup on the 16th August.
Seconds v Downpatrick (sat)Seconds v CSNI (sun)Laurelvale 2nd XI had two games over the weekend which resulted in one win and one very narrow defeat.
On Saturday the 2nds travelled to Downpatrick and on a day when many other matches were rained off enjoyed a comfortable 34 run victory over the home side.
Laurelvale batted first and with Daryl Henry hitting 52, Scott Pearson 36 and Matt Greer an excellent 48 were happy with a total of 221 for 9 after their allotted 50 overs.
Matt in particular has impressed recently. After struggling in his first two matches for the 2nds he has responded positively with a total of more than 100 runs in his last two innings.
The Downpatrick opening batsmen started as if they had every expectation of rattling off their target by hitting out at every opportunity. This onslaught was halted however when Scott Pearson took an excellent catch off the bowling of Graeme Steenson. Steenson was to prove the match winner as he troubled all the Downpatrick batsmen and it was only when he was removed from the attack that the home side began to get back into the match. Some big hitting from the number 7 caused captain Ryan Cornett some concern but when Daryl Henry was brought back for his second spell an LBW brought an end to the resistance. Steenson was the star of the show taking 6 wickets for just 29 runs in his 10 overs as Downpatrick were dismissed for 187. Scott Pearson also bowled well and was unlucky to pick up just a single wicket in his spell.
A much needed win for the village second string.
On Sunday it was a case of so near yet so far for the team as they were beaten by CSNI at the Vale. A five wicket defeat sounds convincing but when you consider that the winning runs came with only 2 balls remaining in the visitors innings it was far from clear cut.
A number of Laurelvale batsmen got starts but failed to go on to a big score. Wesley Best Scott Parson and Dean McAlinden all scored in the twenties but it was only when Ryan Cornett came to the crease that the villagers began to accumulate the runs. In partnership with Graeme Steenson, who seemed to want to show that he could bat as well as he bowled the previous day, they put on 81 for the 9th wicket and lifted the score to 190 all out after 50 overs. Ryan scored his first half century for the club and finished with 51 not out with Graeme adding an additional 27.
Ian Vennard and Graeme Steenson opened the bowling for the villagers but Graeme was unable to produce another match winning performance with the ball. The CSNI innings was dominated by their number one batsman but when he was caught by Andy Magennis off the bowling of Ian Vennard for 77 the visitors’ run rate dipped alarmingly. Going into the last over there were still 9 runs required and the pressure was on. Unfortunately a dropped catch which resulted in 2 runs turned the tide and a 4 from the 4th ball of the over finished the match in CSNI’s favour.
The seconds are however beginning to run into a bit of form and are hopeful that a win on Saturday against Carrickfergus can be followed up with a victory over Armagh in a two night match the following week and hopefully a win over Templepatrick in the cup semi-final Laurelvale II v CSNI IIPlayed at Laurelvale on Saturday 14th June 2008Quarter Final of Intermediate CupLaurelvale 2nd XI’s Jekyll and Hyde season continued on Saturday with a comprehensive victory over CSNI in the quarter final of the intermediate cup. Having lost to their visitors in the league earlier in the season and with CSNI being tipped to progress on the NCU website, few give the village 2nd string much hope of progressing to the semi final stage. This however is usually when Ryan Cornett’s team pull something unexpected out of the bag and it happened again on Saturday.
The CSNI captain won the toss and to no-one’s surprise decided to bat first in cloudy conditions at the Vale. He was soon to regret his decision as Daryl Henry and Brian Vennard put the shackles on the visitors’ opening batsmen with a fine spell of bowling. After 6 overs CSNI had only managed to put 8 runs on the board and with their frustration beginning to mount one of the openers tried to drive Henry through the covers only to feather a catch through to wicketkeeper Wesley Best. With 11 overs completed and the run rate still languishing around 2 runs per over Simon Hughes was brought on to bowl, soon to be joined by Alan Wylie in a two pronged spin attack. This proved to be a master stroke by the Laurelvale captain as the ‘spin twins’ tied the opposition batsmen down, leading to some rash strokes in an attempt to keep the scoreboard moving. Hughes was the first to strike tempting the remaining opener to try hitting him over the top but finding the safe hands of Daryl Henry instead. The visitors’ were however beginning to stage a mini revival before a disastrous mix-up resulted in the two batsmen ending up beside each other at one end of the wicket leaving Simon Hughes with the simple task of removing the bails to dismiss the CSNI captain. Wylie bowled 7 excellent overs and picked up one wicket for just 6 runs whilst Hughes collected a further 2 wickets ending with 3 for 20 from his 10 overs. Andy Magennis replaced Wylie and his mixture of leg spin with variation of flight and speed brought him 2 wickets. A mini revival boosted CSNI’s total to 81 before the return of Daryl Henry brought the innings to a conclusion. Despite some variation in bounce from the wicket the home side were confident that they would overhaul this target.
Openers Best and Henry started briskly with 12 runs coming from the first 2 overs. In the third over however a rising delivery flicked Best’s glove sending him back to the pavilion with just 8 runs to his name. Henry was dismissed in the next over and when he was followed shortly afterwards by Alan Wylie the home side found themselves on 24 for the loss of three wickets. CSNI began to believe that they were getting on top but a partnership between Scott and Adam Pearson put paid to their hopes. Scott stroked 3 boundaries, the best of which was a straight drive for 4 which was as good as anything seen at the vale this season. Not to be outdone Adam smashed a huge 6 which was still rising as it hit the trees at the scoreboard side of the ground. Scott was unlucky to get out with the winning post was in sight but Andy Magennis joined Adam at the wicket to see the home side comfortably home with 6 wickets and 33 overs to spare.
Laurelvale were hoping for a semi-final against local rivals Armagh at the Mall but Templepatrick upset the odds and now provide the opposition on the 19th July.
A win for Ryan Cornett’s side and the village second string can start to dream of a fourth final in five years.
CSNI II 81 all out Overs Maidens Runs Wickets D.Henry 6.3 2 6 2 B.Vennard 5 2 8 0 S.Hughes 10 4 20 3 A.Wylie 7 3 6 1 A.Magennis 6 0 20 2 G.Martin 4 0 8 0
Laurelvale II 85 for 4 wickets
W.Best c Hamilton b McMorran 8 D.Henry c Adair b Holmes 10 S.Pearson c and b Cahoon 24 A Wylie b Holmes 1 A Pearson not out 36 A Magennis not out 4
Extras 2
Total 85 for 4 wickets
Laurelvale won by 6 wickets Laurelvale 2nd XI v Armagh 2ndSaturday 7 June 2008Armagh seconds recorded a 38 run victory over their Laurelvale counterparts on Saturday in a keenly contested match at the Vale. After winning the toss the Armagh captain Simon Cardwell unsurprisingly decided to make first use of what was to prove a first class batting wicket. Openers Scowcroft and Steenson made steady if unspectacular progress against the Laurelvale opening bowlers daryl Henry and Brian Vennard. Scowcroft was the first to depart for 12 when he was bowled by first change bowler Graeme Martin for 12. Steenson was batting well and was joined at the wicket by Philip Doyle and the pair pushed the score along before Doyle was bowled by Graeme Steenson for 28. Stuart Lester was next to bat and his partnership with Steenson was to prove crucial to the outcome of the match. Some controlled aggression boosted the visitors score with both Steenson and Lester registering half centuries. Laurelvale felt that on such a good wicket this total was not unreachable but with the loss of Wesley Best for 9 Daryl Henry for 4 and Alan Wylie for 6 their experienced batsmen had departed and hope appeared to be lost. The stage was set however for 2 of the teams younger players to demonstrate their potential. Matthew Greer and Dean McAlinden came together and proceeded to play with growing confidence against the experienced Armagh attack. Greer batted superbly stroking the ball to the boundary on a number of occasions with great timing whilst McAlinden showed his power with some splendid shots. Both reached well deserved half centuries and indeed looked at one stage like winning the match for the villagers. It was not to be however as first Greer departed for 51 to be followed by McAlinden, after a mix up with Brian Vennard over a short single, for 69. Graeme Steenson and Brian Vennard made a valiant attempt to overhaul the visitors total but in the end the home side fell 38 runs short. This weekend both sides are playing in the quarter finals of the Intermediate Cup with Laurelvale at home to CSNI and Armagh away to ?????(either Templepatrick or Cregagh).
ARMAGH K Edgar not out 4 H Boyd R Steenson
Extras (b 11, lb 9, nb 0, w 6, p ) 26 FOW: LAURELVALE G Martin c S Lester b M Steenson 2 G Steenson not out 14 J Dane st Wicket Keeper b M Steenson 0 C Webb not out 1 Extras (b 0, lb 4, nb 7, w 19, p ) 30 Laurelvale 2nd XI v Downpatrick 2ndSaturday 24 rd May 2008
Laurelvale seconds progressed to the quarter finals of the Intermediate Cup on Saturday with a comprehensive 103 run victory over Downpatrick. Laurelvale 2nd XI v Cooke Collegians 2ndSaturday 17 rd May 2008
In a match switched to Tannaghmore gardens due to the first XI playing in the cup at Laurelvale the village second XI were well beaten by Cooke Collegians on Saturday. Academy II v Laurelvale IIIntermediate CupSaturday 10th May 2008Laurelvale 2nd XI progressed to the second round of the Intermediate cup on Saturday after a close fought contest against Academy in Belfast.
The Academy captain won the toss and decided to make first use of a dry but rather soft wicket at Newforge. The Laurelvale opening bowlers (Darryl Henry and Brian Vennard) soon had the home side in trouble by removing batsmen numbers one and three with just 4 runs on the board. Henry in particular was causing the batsmen all sorts of problems to the extent that he took the first 4 wickets for just 9 runs in his opening spell of 8 overs. Vennard was giving nothing away at the other end but was unlucky not to pick up a wicket.
After his excellent bowling of the last 2 weeks, Christopher Webb was the first change bowler and he didn’t disappoint his captain with a controlled spell of medium pace bowling. The two Grahams (Martin and Steenson) completed the bowling line-up and both were rewarded with 2 wickets. Martin’s wickets were at a cost of 43 runs whilst Steenson returned the impressive figures of 2 for 16 from his 10 overs.
Academy were finding it difficult to score runs but the experienced Jim McCall along with some big hitting from their number 8 batsman boosted their score to 121 all out after 50 overs.
Christopher Webb deservedly took his first 2 wickets for the second eleven and finished with 2 for 22 from 10 overs.
Just as they did last week the Laurelvale opening partnership of Daryl Henry and Wesley Best started with confidence and after just 6 overs had brought the villagers to 43. At this stage it looked like the match would be over in double quick time and the Vale would be safely through to the next round. Daryl however was dismissed for 21 when he cut the ball straight to the fielder at cover point. Scott Pearson joined Best at the wicket and the pair began to pick off the runs. Pearson was the next man out for 19 with the score on 83. Best looked like he was easing towards his half century when he too was caught by the wicket keeper down the leg side for 42. Wickets began to fall at an alarming rate after this and captain Daryl Henry, deputising for the injured Ryan Cornett, began to contemplate an unexpected first round exit for his team. Dean McAlinden however along with Graham Steenson and finally Christopher Webb combined to see the villagers home with 3 wickets to spare. Webb hit the winning runs to round off a fine all round display by the 13 year old.
Downpatrick seconds await in round 2 and the ‘vale will need to lift their performance a few notches if they are to progress to the latter stages of the competition.
Academy II 121 all out (50 overs)
Laurelvale II 122 for 7 (42 overs)
W Best 42 D Henry 21 S Pearson 19 D McAlinden 16 CSNI 2nd XI v Laurelvale 2nd XISaturday 3rd May 2008After a disastrous batting performance in their first match of the season, Laurelvale travelled to CSNI on Saturday hoping to put up a better performance. The performance was indeed much improved but unfortunately the result was the same.
The CSNI captain won the toss and decided to make first use of the wicket on a sunny but very windy day at Stormont.
Daryl Henry and Brian Vennard opened the bowling for the Vale and restricted the home side to just 24 runs in the first 12 overs. The introduction of Graham Steenson and Graeme Martin to the attack kept the scoring under control, to the extent that after 30 overs the home side had moved on to just 70 with the loss of 2 wickets. Martin was the successful bowler and he finished his 10 over spell with the excellent figures of 2 wickets for 25 runs. In the early stages of the match the Vale captain Ryan Cornett had to leave the pitch after suffering a pulled thigh muscle whilst chasing the ball to the boundary.
It was in the last 20 overs of CSNI’s innings that the match was lost, as the Belfast side added 148 runs, to finish their innings on 218 for 7 wickets. Christopher Webb followed up his excellent bowling of last week with another good performance. Brian Vennard bowled with his customary control and picked up 2 wickets for 22 runs from his 10 overs.
In contrast to the CSNI opening batsmen, Laurelvale openers Daryl Henry and Wesley Best scored freely, putting on 60 for the first wicket in just 10 overs. At this point however Daryl was out for 34. Shortly afterwards Best smashed a delivery straight back at the bowler who somehow managed to hang on to a return catch, saving himself from serious injury in the process, and reducing the villagers to 69 for 2. With Best out for 27 Adam Pearson joined his cousin Scott at the wicket and these two began to build a partnership which gave the village side hope of pulling off a victory. The departure of Scott for an excellent 26 however was a serious blow and apart from some resistance from Brian Vennard (16) and David Cree (12) no-one was able to provide Adam Pearson with the support he needed to see the village side over the finishing line. Adam was eventually dismissed for a battling 38 and the final wicket fell on 202, just 16 runs short of the CSNI total.
A much improved batting performance should give the Vale second string confidence going in to next week’s Cup match against Academy and for the remainder of the league campaign.
CSNI 218 for 7 wickets in 50 overs
Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Daryl Henry 10 2 60 1 Brian Vennard 10 4 22 2 Graham Steenson 10 1 57 0 Graeme Martin 10 1 25 2 Christopher Webb 7 0 35 0 Scott Pearson 3 0 16 0
Laurelvale 202 all out
W Best 27 D Henry 34 S Pearson 26 A Pearson 38 A McConville 4 G Martin 0 B Vennard 16 D Cree 12 G Steenson 7 R Cornett Not out 4 C Webb 0 Extras 34
CSNI won by 16 runs Seconds v Holywood II's - 26 April 2008An under-strength Second XI started their season with a trip to newly promoted Holywood, who began their campaign with a full panel to choose from. A very poor wicket made scoring difficult for both sides, however the hosts were aided by being able to call on plenty of experienced players, as well as having second use of a wicket, which improved gradually as the day went on. Despite a battling performance, the visitors went down by 7 wickets in the end, however many positives can be drawn from the performances of some of the younger talent on show – in particular the accurate bowling of Chris Webb, who was unlucky not to get a wicket. Next up for the Seconds is a trip to Stormont to face CSNI.
Ryan Cornett
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