BANGOR Cricket Club’s 1st XI are looking forward to one of the big days in the local cricket calendar next month after upsetting the odds to get past Carrickfergus in the semi-finals of the NCU T20 Trophy on Sunday.
Carrick were the heavy favourites entering the game, having not lost a fixture so far this season, but Bangor have never been deterred by a challenge and were confident that they could cause an upset at the Sandy Bay venue.
Jonny Parker won the toss and elected to bowl as Bangor eyed a fast start on a bowler-friendly pitch.
Fresh from a week off after a niggling back injury, Connor Brown looked every bit ready for action as he charged in for his first over and the opposing batsman was no match for the seam and precision that Brown displayed. A rare maiden in T20 Cricket from the first over.
Manav Chhabra matched the excellence at the other end, bowling with the surgical precision that befits his field of study, only conceding one run of his over. Bangor’s discipline and economical bowling was rewarded in the fifth over when Carrick opener Iain Parkhill tried an expansive scoop shot which was taken by Andrew Kirkpatrick behind the stumps. Two overs later, pressure told once more as Chhabra gained his second wicket, once again caught behind by Kirkpatrick removing the dangerous Michael Gilmore for a highly unusual 16-ball duck.
Both openers bowled their four overs straight through and Carrick were a modest 18-2 after the first eight overs. It cannot be overstated how pivotal the platform the two pace bowlers provided was – Brown was unfortunate not to collect a wicket of his own, but the pressure he applied invariably assisted others in gaining their spoils.
Chris Pyper entered the attack next and made an immediate impact. With his second ball, he delivered a bouncer which crept up on the diminutive overseas Atish Varape and was duly gloved through to Kirkpatrick, who snared his third catch.
Just two balls later, Pyper bowled the Carrick skipper CJ Van der Walt with an in-dipping Yorker. By the end of Pyper’s first over, Carrick were 21-4 and Bangor were undoubtedly in the driver’s seat with the home side’s dangerous batters dismissed already.
Pressure continued to build from the other end as George Prince nipped the ball away straight down the corridor of uncertainty. When Pyper returned, he claimed his third wicket. Kirkpatrick’s gloves were receiving serious testing, as he took his third catch of the innings and Carrick were now 26-5.
Carrick managed to negotiate their way to 48-5 after 13 overs when spin entered the attack in the form of Will Simpson and Angus Farrell. Farrell struck first, bowling Parkhill in his first over. Two balls later, the ball ricocheted of the pad of the Carrick batsman. There was a gap at fine leg and looking to exploit this, they came back for two. Alas, something no one had expected occurred when ’keeper Kirkpatrick scurried towards the ball, slung it toward the stumps and the bails were dislodged.
The umpire’s finger held aloft and Brown obsequiously reminded the batsman that he must ground his bat if he wished to remain at the crease. Carrick found themselves struggling at 50-7.
Tight bowling continued and it was Simpson who claimed the next wicket. Alex Haggan had batted admirably in the face of adversity for 36. But in advancing down the wicket he played and missed at the ball, being removed stumped as Kirkpatrick’s dream day of glove work continued. Special credit must go to Simpson who had tempted Haggan by not spinning one up until that point, luring him into a false sense of security.
The final over arrived and Pyper approached hoping to claim his five for, but the over was given to Angus Farrell in light of his tight bowling. Farrell took two more wickets to finish the innings, bowled and caught and bowled respectively. Carrick finished on 88 all out, an incredible effort from the Bangor side but the job was only half done.
Familiar pairing Sam McMillan and Andrew Kirkpatrick began the Bangor batting innings. The two are accustomed to scoring at a frenetic pace, but both understood that if they batted the majority of overs the game would be Bangor’s.
They batted sensibly, applying pressure to the fielding side by running hard and picking the bad ball off. It was a field day for any aesthetes in attendance, as the beautiful timing of both men’s shots created a watchable innings filled with poise.
Kirkpatrick brought up the first maximum of the innings when he carved the ball over long off with balletic brutality. He met his end in the eighth over, eventually caught behind via the bowling of spinner Parkhill. This meant McMillan was now joined at the crease by Mark Hutchinson.
The two continued the success of the opening pair, as McMillan played a couple of beautiful drives to bring up the first fours of the game. McMillan seemed to be cruising on 33, when an expertly delivered yorker ended his innings. Mark Hutchinson soon met a similar fate, being late to pick up a straight one which left him trapped in front for LBW. Bangor were now 69-3, but was a collapse approaching?
No chance. Brown and Chhabra batted beautifully. Brown with some trademark sweeps and Chhabra finished the game in a much less subtle way, launching two maximums straight over the bowler’s head to bring the boys home and set up a meeting against Cregagh in Armagh on July 27.
Bangor now have an impressive T20 record having not lost in the cup competition in two and are one game away from making it three years unbeaten.
Carrickfergus 88 (20 overs, A Haggan 36, A Martin 20*, M Chhabra 2-8, C Pyper 3-10, A Farrell 3-25)
Bangor 90-3 (15 overs, S McMillan 33)
Bangor beat Carrickfergus by 7 wickets
