18th June 2012
Holders Out of the Ulster Shield
Downpatrick Cricket Club have been knocked out of the 2012 Ulster Shield. The holders were defeated by North West side Eglinton by 16 runs in a highly entertaining contest at Woodvale Road this past Sunday.
Upon winning the toss, Downpatrick skipper James Magowan opted to put his side in the field for the opening innings. Downpatrick's bowlers found it tough going in the early exchanges, as the Eglinton opening pair of Andy Christie and Chris Pearce batted aggresively but with discipline, and with just 15 overs gone the home side had reached 100 without loss.
Worse was to follow for Downpatrick when overseas professional Erik Laubscher and middle-order batsman Gavin Ringland suffered minor knee injuries whilst fielding. However the pair bravely battled on and would later contribute significantly to the Downpatrick batting effort.
Downpatrick finally got the breakthrough in the 29th over when Dale Mullan clean bowled Christie (63), leaving Eglinton on 163-1. Luca Rea chipped in with a couple of wickets of his own in the following overs, crucially removing Pearce (95), however by this stage Eglinton had reached 214-3.
The final 5 overs saw a run-out and a final wicket for Justin Rea; however a strong Eglinton batting performance saw the home side post a big total of 239-5 from their 40 overs.
Downpatrick's response started badly when Ben McIlroy (10) was caught and bowled in the 3rd over, leaving Downpatrick a wicket down with just 18 runs on the board. Paul Tate was joined by Erik Laubscher and the pair went on to share a massive 132-run partnership to push Downpatrick right back into contention.
Laubscher eventually departed for a courageous 55, a fine effort considering early injury problems. James Magowan was dismissed cheaply soon after, leaving Downpatrick on 154-3.
Tate remained at the crease, scoring important boundaries to help push Downpatrick past the 200-run mark. He was assisted by a brave innings by Gavin Ringland. Virtually limited to hobbling, Ringland scored a crucial 32 runs to push Downpatrick towards victory.
Tate was dismissed in the 30th over, departing for an excellent 90 runs. Justin Rea joined Ringland in the middle and added some crucial runs to leave Downpatrick requiring 27 runs from the final 4 overs.
Disaster struck in the 37th over however, with Downpatrick's middle order imploding. Eglinton pace-bowler Jonathan Gardiner claimed a hat-trick, taking the wickets of Ringland, Rea and Aaron Ferris to leave Downpatrick on 216-7, 23 runs short with 3 overs to spare.
Worse was to follow in the 38th over when the wickets of Dale Mullan and Jamie Thompson fell cheaply; Downpatrick were 221-9 with 2 overs to go.
The final pairing of Phil Moreland and Luca Rea could not resuscitate the flailing Downpatrick effort, and the match was all over when Rea was caught behind in the penultimate over; Downpatrick falling 16 agonising runs short of victory.
This victory will have hurt the men from the Strangford Road - a batting collapse which saw 6 wickets fall for just 8 runs will no doubt spur this young side to improve in the coming weeks, however credit must go to a strong Eglinton side who continued their undefeated start to the 2012 season with this win.
Downpatrick will look to bounce back this Sunday when they host North Down in the re-arranged Challenge Cup Quarter Final.
UPS Man of the Match: Paul Tate
Upon winning the toss, Downpatrick skipper James Magowan opted to put his side in the field for the opening innings. Downpatrick's bowlers found it tough going in the early exchanges, as the Eglinton opening pair of Andy Christie and Chris Pearce batted aggresively but with discipline, and with just 15 overs gone the home side had reached 100 without loss.
Worse was to follow for Downpatrick when overseas professional Erik Laubscher and middle-order batsman Gavin Ringland suffered minor knee injuries whilst fielding. However the pair bravely battled on and would later contribute significantly to the Downpatrick batting effort.
Downpatrick finally got the breakthrough in the 29th over when Dale Mullan clean bowled Christie (63), leaving Eglinton on 163-1. Luca Rea chipped in with a couple of wickets of his own in the following overs, crucially removing Pearce (95), however by this stage Eglinton had reached 214-3.
The final 5 overs saw a run-out and a final wicket for Justin Rea; however a strong Eglinton batting performance saw the home side post a big total of 239-5 from their 40 overs.
Downpatrick's response started badly when Ben McIlroy (10) was caught and bowled in the 3rd over, leaving Downpatrick a wicket down with just 18 runs on the board. Paul Tate was joined by Erik Laubscher and the pair went on to share a massive 132-run partnership to push Downpatrick right back into contention.
Laubscher eventually departed for a courageous 55, a fine effort considering early injury problems. James Magowan was dismissed cheaply soon after, leaving Downpatrick on 154-3.
Tate remained at the crease, scoring important boundaries to help push Downpatrick past the 200-run mark. He was assisted by a brave innings by Gavin Ringland. Virtually limited to hobbling, Ringland scored a crucial 32 runs to push Downpatrick towards victory.
Tate was dismissed in the 30th over, departing for an excellent 90 runs. Justin Rea joined Ringland in the middle and added some crucial runs to leave Downpatrick requiring 27 runs from the final 4 overs.
Disaster struck in the 37th over however, with Downpatrick's middle order imploding. Eglinton pace-bowler Jonathan Gardiner claimed a hat-trick, taking the wickets of Ringland, Rea and Aaron Ferris to leave Downpatrick on 216-7, 23 runs short with 3 overs to spare.
Worse was to follow in the 38th over when the wickets of Dale Mullan and Jamie Thompson fell cheaply; Downpatrick were 221-9 with 2 overs to go.
The final pairing of Phil Moreland and Luca Rea could not resuscitate the flailing Downpatrick effort, and the match was all over when Rea was caught behind in the penultimate over; Downpatrick falling 16 agonising runs short of victory.
This victory will have hurt the men from the Strangford Road - a batting collapse which saw 6 wickets fall for just 8 runs will no doubt spur this young side to improve in the coming weeks, however credit must go to a strong Eglinton side who continued their undefeated start to the 2012 season with this win.
Downpatrick will look to bounce back this Sunday when they host North Down in the re-arranged Challenge Cup Quarter Final.
UPS Man of the Match: Paul Tate
