The good bowling of the first night in this two-nighter league game was undone by the poor showing with the bat on the second night.
Wickets were at a premium on the first night as only 3 fell in Holywood's total of 197 off their alloted 50 overs. Maxwell and Sharkey shared an opening stand of 54 which was surpassed with a 3rd wicket partnership of 82 between McCormick and the talented youngster Ross Adair. Adair's 50 came off 62 balls and he ended up undefeated at the close on 73 .
Skipper David Munn would have been happy after the teams efforts in the field with the extras count finally reaching acceptable levels
In contrast the batting was a major let down, with the inform trio of Cahill , Latham and Sczygiol all dismissed inside the first 6 overs.
Only a 6th wicket partnership of 50 between Munn and Whitten spared Cliftonville's blushes on a disastrous night.
With an inexperienced team, these things will periodically happen, with the reverse fixture taking place this weekend , the boys won't have to wait long to make amends.
Holywood 197-3 (50 overs)
R Adair 73 not out
P McCormick 34
S Sharkey 29
F McFadden 10-2-28-2
Cliftonville 121 all out (38.1 overs)
D Munn 38
D Cardy 10-3-24-3
P McCormick 5-1-12-2
S Sharkey 1.1-0-5-2
Derriaghy v Cliftonville
There was some serious head scratching at Queensway as Cliftonville somehow managed to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory.
Skipper David Munn won the toss and elected to bat .
Cliftonville were reduced to 9-2 in the 4th over as Latham and Whitten were dismissed within 5 balls of each other. Cliftonville steadied the ship and at drinks Cahill and the in form Sczygiol had pushed the score onto 104. There was a flurry of runs in the proceeding 5 overs after drinks with 51 runs added before Sczygiol found the cover fielder with his score on 54. 10 runs later Cahill was trapped lbw by Wallace high school pupil Adams for 82. Munn and Russell added 21 for the 5th wicket but this was the last partnership of note and Cliftonville were shot out for 205 with 4 overs to spare when a score of 300 had at one point seem likely.
205 was always going to be hard to defend at the small Queensway pitch but some good opening bowling, a run out and a couple of questionable lbw decisions saw Cliftonville in the box seat as Derriaghy had slumped to 146-8 with 11 overs left and still 60 runs needed.
Experience won over the exuberance of youth as the wily old campaigners of Crookshanks and Fell didn't panic and set about picking the gaps and as the required total grew nearer errors crept into the Villes performance and Derriaghy cruised past the finishing line with 3 balls and 2 wickets to spare.
A cruel defeat indeed after dominating so much of the match, but all part of this young teams learning curve.
Cliftonville 205 all out (46overs)
N Cahill 82
D Sczygiol 54
K Aphale 10-5-13-3
P Parr 7-0-17-2
R Hewitt 6-0-29-2
Derriaghy 206-8 (49.3overs)
C Crookshanks 61 not out
A Kenny 26
N Hermon 10-1-42-2
D Menaul 9-0-39-2
Images from the games against North Fermanagh and Laurelvale are now uploaded. click here for more...
Cliftonville v Downpatrick
Cliftonville returned to their former stomping grounds of the eighties , Mallusk , on Sunday. However, a change of venue didn't change the clubs fortunes as Downpatrick were worthy winners by a margin of 50 runs.
Cliftonville put Downpatrick in to bat and when the visitors had been reduced to 90-6 off 29 overs all seemed to be going to plan, a 7th wicket partnership of 84 between Tate and Ferris took the game away from the 'ville and this was compounded with the curse of previous weeks with 43 extras being offered up. Downpatrick's innings closed on 218-7 with Ferris remaining unbeaten on 50.
The Cliftonville innings was dominated by Ian Latham who passed fifty for the second time this season, partnerships of 47 with Sczygiol and 64 with Munn took the home side to 150-4 in the 36th over before he finally fell for 70. This brought about a major collapse and the final six Cliftonville wickets fell for a paltry 18 runs.
CLIFTONVILLE
N Cahill lbw b Tate 7
I Latham b Carson 70
P Mulholland lbw b Cunningham 0
D Sczygiol run out 14
A Blain c Magowan b Mullan 11 1
D Munn c Tate b Carson 23
S Russell c Elliott b Carson 0
R Drysdale c Elliott b Murathe 1
P Black lbw b Carson 1
N Hermon lbw b Carson 0
J McNeilly not out 2
Extras (b 2, lb 8, nb 1, w 28, p ) 39
Total (all out, 41.5 overs) 168
FOW: 1-20 (N Cahill) 2-24 (P Mulholland) 3-71 (D Sczygiol) 4-87 (A Blain) 5-151 (I Latham) 6-154 (S Russell) 7-157 (R Drysdale) 8-161 (P Black)
9-161 (N Hermon) 10-168 (D Munn)
D Mullan lbw b Munn 23
P Linehan run out 1
K Murathe b Hermon 15
J Magowan c Sczygiol b Latham 5
J Cunningham c Drysdale b Blain 9
M Carson c Russell b Blain 12
P Tate * c Blain b Latham 36
A Ferris not out 50
M Elliott + not out 24
P Moreland dnb
J Mahon dnb
Extras (b 10, lb 3, nb 6, w 24, p ) 43
Total (7 wkts, 50.0 overs) 218
FOW: 1-4 (P Linehan) 2-26 (K Murathe) 3-41 (J Magowan) 4-70 (D Mullan) 5-78 (J Cunningham) 6-90 (M Carson) 7-174 (P Tate *)
North Fermanagh v Cliftonville, Ulster Shield
Cliftonville progressed to the second round of the Ulster Shield after a convincing 5 wicket win over North Fermanagh at Kesh on Sunday.
North Fermanagh won the toss and elected to bat. Good bowling and excellent fielding restricted their total to 145-9 off the alloted 40 overs. Pick of the bowlers was David Munn who claimed 5 wickets and Robbie Martin who weighed in with 3 on his senior debut.
The Cliftonville Innings was dominated by Kiwi import Danny Sczygiol who Blasted 73 runs off 63 balls (9x4 2x6) and the required total was easily chased down with 12 overs to spare.
Cliftonville still remain unbeaten in the Ulster Shield , having won the tournament in their last season in section 2.
North Fermanagh
1 N Murray b McFadden 1
2 A Murray st Sczygiol b Munn 20
3 E Andrews ct Black b Martin 34
4 l Semple b Martin 2
5 G wattleworth b Munn 4
6 R Maguire b Munn 19
7 D Mills b Martin 0
8 C Faris st sczygiol b Munn 30
9 J Maguire b Munn 0
10 R Browne not out 2
11 G McKeown not out 2
extras 31
total 145/9 off 40 overs
Cliftonville bowling
F McFadden 8-3-32-1
N Hermon 8-3-18-0
R Martin 8-1-28-3
D Munn 8-0-31-5
R Drysdale 4-0-13-0
D Menaul 4-0-19-0
1 N Cahill ct Andrews b Browne 0
2 D Munn ct Faris b A Murray 20
3 j Neill ct Faris b A Murray 0
4 D Sczygiol lbw b Faris 73
5 R Drysdale b J Maguire 7
6 D Menaul not out 13
7 J Harvey not out 4
8 P Black dnb
9 F McFadden dnb
10 R Martin dnb
11 N Hermon dnb
extras 29
total 146/5 off 28 overs
North Fermanagh bowling
R Browne 3-0-10-1
G McKeown 1-0-8-0
A Murray 5-1-18-2
G Wattleworth 3-0-41-0
J Maguire 8-0-25-1
L Semple 5-0-20-0
C Faris 3-0-21-1
Cliftonville won by 5 wickets
Having been put in to bat, Cliftonville's batsmen struggled to get into any sort of rhythm and huffed and puffed to a total of 141/7 off the alloted 50 overs.
Several batsmen made starts, but never gained the necessary momentum. Simon Russell top scored for the 'ville with 35 not out .
It was going to take a herculean bowling performance to pull off an unlikely win , but in reality only McFadden and Munn can take any credit from their efforts.
All in all a bad day at the office, improvements will be needed in all departments if a sustained promotion challenge is the teams aim this season.
1 N Cahill lbw W Pearson 16
2 I Latham b Burns 0
3 D Sczygiol lbw W Pearson 18
4 D Munn b Conn 10
5 D Menaul ct Topping b Burns 25
6 S Russell not out 35
7 C Whitten ct Topping b Edgar 4
8 F McFadden ct topping b Burns 4
9 A Blain not out 9
extras 20
total 141/7 off 50 overs
Laurelvale bowling
W Pearson 10-3-25-2
M Burns 8-1-30-3
S Hughes 4-0-15-0
J Conn 10-4-18-1
A Maggenis 10-3-13-0
L Edgar 8-0-32-1
1 B Topping b Hermon 36
2 D Henry b Munn 32
3 S McLelland run out 1
4 D Sinton lbw Munn 8
5 W Pearson not out 13
6 L Edgar ct Munn b Blain 22
7 S Hughes not out 2
extras 28
total 142/5 off 30.4 overs
Cliftonville bowling
F McFadden 5-0-14-0
A Blain 2.4-0-20-1
S McChesney 4-0-23-0
D Munn 9-5-24-2
I Latham 6-0-26-0
N Hermon 4-0-24-1
After seeing the seasons start decimated by the weather,Cliftonville finally got their league campaign up and running with a convincing eight wicket win over Cooke Collegians at Shaws Bridge.
Having won the toss , Cooke Collegians elected to bat and amassed a credible 151 all out off 48.3 overs, Willmott top scored for the home team with 39. Alan Blain and David Menaul each bagged four wickets, though Fraser McFadden was also impressive with his 10 overs only going for 12 runs.
Disappointingly , the Cooke Collegians total included 37 extras, something Cliftonville will be hoping to eradicate as the season progresses.
In reply Cliftonville had little trouble knocking off the required runs , fine knocks from Ian Latham 57 not out and Danny Sczygiol 59 not out saw them home with 8 wickets and 16.5 overs to spare.
Cooke Collegians
1 E Hamill Bowled Blain 1
2 S Leckey Ct Menaul Bowled McFadden 17
3 L Willmott Ct. Sczygiol Bowled Blain 39
4 R Johnston ct. Cahill Bowled Blain 25
5 J Boyd Bowled Menaul 3
6 Shukla ct Blain Bowled Menaul 6
7 G Wilson Bowled Blain 0
8 J Moore lbw Bowled Menaul 0
9 Shekar not out 21
10 J Stinson Bowled Menaul 0
11 A Brown Ct neill Bowled Munn 2
extras 37
total 151 all out
Cliftonville Bowling
F McFadden 10-4-12-1
A Blain 8-0-41-4
I Latham 5-0-14-0
N Hermon 10-0-38-0
D Munn 9.3-2-23-1
D Menaul 6-0-17-4
Cliftonville
1 N Cahill Bowled Stinson 11
2 I Latham not out 57
3 A Blain Bowled Stinson 2
4 D Sczygiol not out 59
extras 25
total 154-2 0ff 33.1 overs
Cooke Collegians Bowling
J Stinson 9-2-28-2
R Johnston 7-0-29-0
A Brown 5.1-0-35-0
S Shekar 6-0-15-0
G Wilson 2-0-18-0
Shukla 4-0-18-0
WALLACE HIGH SCHOOL 1st XI Vs CLIFTONVILLE (25 overs a side)
Cliftonville got their preperations for the 2009 season underway with a convincing 65 run win against the schoolboys of Wallace High . This was a strikingly different Cliftonville side to the one that took to the field at Derriaghy in the final game of 2008, with opening batsmen David Munn and Neil Cahill our two only recognised first team regulars.
Despite this Cliftonville posted a respectable 171-4 in their 25 overs with David Munn and Andy Magee both retiring in their thirties. Accurate seam bowling from Alan Blain, Fraser McFadden and James McNeilly at the start of the Wallace innings meant they were never going to challenge the required total and both sides used it to get some much needed practice out in the middle.
SCORECARD
CLIFTONVILLE
1 David Munn (29 balls 5x4 1x6) retired 37
2 Neill Cahill (22 balls 2x4) ct C Adams b R Stewart 18
3 Phil Mulholland (19 balls) ct R Stewart b C Williams 7
4 Chris Whitten (25 balls 3x4 1x6) b C Adams 27
5 James Harvey (19 balls 3x4) retired 20
6 Andy Magee (19 balls 4x4 1x6) retired 33
7 Peter Black (9 balls 1x6) not out 15
8 Ross Spence (6 balls) b C Adams 3
9 Fraser McFadden (4 balls) not out 2
10 James McNeilly did not bat
11 Alan Blain did not bat
extras 9
total 171-4
Wallace High School 105-5
C Adams 30
Cliftonville Bowling analysis
A Blain 4-0-9-0 J McNeilly 4-1-14-1 F McFadden 4-1-13-1 R Spence 2-0-24-0
D Munn 3-1-6-1 P Mulholland 3-0-11-1 P Black 3-0-21-0 A Magee 1-0-1-1
I'M CONCERNED THAT MY SON HAS A SECRET GIRLFRIEND?
Dear Pauline,
My son is in his early twenties and has been very secretive with me lately, recently he has started preening himself for hours in the bathroom, his wardrobe is full of effeminate clothing and this morning when i was making his bed i found a magazine with naked men in it. He obviously has a secret girlfriend who he is hiding from me that brought these clothes and magazine into my home. I am really worried that they are having intercourse and he might make her pregnant. I am at my wits end, what will I do?
Mrs M-Grove
Pauline writes: Don't worry Mrs M from Grove. There is little chance of your son making anyone pregnant. The boys have seen his line and length on a regular basis and they are convinced he plays for the other side!
The Harvey Brothers will continue in their roles as second and third eleven skippers for the 2009 season. Cheers guys.
Another D.O.E Cock-Up
November is synonomous with Gunpowder plots and especially fireworks, but unlike Mr Fawkes who turned out to be a damp squib , over in Doagh our own Mr Russell's rocket hit the target. Congratulations to Simon and his wife Claire , who have announced they are expecting their first child in August. Typical D.O.E man, no forward planning. A baby in the cricket season? Lets hope it's not a home birth , as old irongloves will probably drop it!
New Cricket Website Causes a Stir!
The newly updated Cliftonville Cricket club website has proved a real winner in it's first week, here are some of the reviews so far:-
Michael(Ballyclare) - Tremendous site , bit slow to start like myself, will you have any Wham music on it?
Cakehole(Lonely) - What about adding a cricketers dating site?
Depreston(Tractorless) - Won't be back on here , never mentioned Greenisland once
Willy(Gwengomley) -Wondaful website wads
2008 was as frustrating and as disappointing a season as i can remember in my 24 year association with Cliftonville Cricket Club. The loss of a home venue at Greenisland, the loss of adequate practice facilities, depending on the goodwill of our competitors to fulfill 'home' fixtures and the inclement weather also taking it's toll. Ultimately , these factors played a huge part in our senior side losing it's Premier League status, but it's also a credit to these players that it wasn't until the final day of the season and ironically after a comprehensive victory , that we succumbed to the dreaded drop.
So what of the future?
2009 season sees us returning to our old stomping grounds at City of Belfast playing fields, Mallusk. The club are indebted to Belfast city council Parks Department for their assistance in allowing us to use the Mallusk facilities as our home base.
The committee are hoping to improve the previous facilities at Mallusk with the addition of a roller, covers, sightscreens and a score box, these should all be in place for the start of the new season.
A grant application has been made to the Lords Taverners for part funding of a brand new synthetic wicket which will be laid on the upper pitch and will be used for seconds/thirds matches and as our new practice area.This new facility will also be of great use to the wider cricketing fraternity with the amount of council cricket pitches available for hire at such a premium.
There has been a bit of movement on the player front, several high profile players have moved on , but this will give some of our younger players the opportunity to step up to the plate. We will hope to add one or two new additions to the squad before the season begins.
Pre season nets have started at Ballyclare Leisure Centre on Sundays from 2:15 to 4:30, 16 people turned up to the first net which was encouraging. Hope to see more in the coming weeks, the more the merrier. Anyone interested in joining us will be made more than welcome.
The next Cliftonville Cricket club committee meeting is scheduled for 6th April at the Chimney corner with a 7:30pm sharp start time
Froggy - 4/3/09