Coleraine Seconds clinch epic final win

The final swayed back and forth over the course of the two days and will live long in the memory.

Coleraine could hardly have got off to a worse start when they lost the toss in damp conditions and were asked to make first use of a green surface. They lost Clive Edgar to the third ball thanks to a sharp piece of work by Norman Allen behind the stumps. And they soon found themselves 23-3 as Jordan and Trevor Austin got the ball to swing through the air and off the seam.

Jonny Elder and Stephen McCartney fought hard to rebuild the Coleraine innings until McCartney was harshly adjudged caught behind down the legside off the bowling of Craig Allen for seven. Things were to get worse for Coleraine when Elder was stumped for 14 just before the first drinks break to leave Coleraine staring down the barrel at 60-5.

With 28 overs still remaining in the innings the sixth wicket pairing of Neil Morrison and Bernard Findlay knew that they had plenty of time in which to resurrect the Coleraine innings. They rotated the strike well and took the score onto 99 before Findlay fell to an excellent yorker from Austin.

After riding his luck early on Neil Morrison began timing the ball as well as he has done all season and was quick to seize upon anything short or over-pitched. Andrew Douglas proved himself more than capable partner and was instrumental in seeing Austin out of the attack.

The pair had added a priceless 48 before Douglas’s stubborn resistance finally came to an end when he was bowled by Allen.

Adam McIlwaine had a short but eventful stay at the crease, drilling Allen straight back down the ground for an excellent four off his very first ball. He collected two from his next ball before being trapped in front LBW to Allen’s well-disguised slower ball.

With four overs left Morrison came down the wicket in an attempt to hit over the top but was through the shot too early and was stumped by Norman Allen to bring an end to his two-hour stay at the crease for a vital 62.

Captain Nigel Barr provided the travelling Coleraine support with something to cheer about though as he cracked two cleanly-struck fours through mid-wicket to quadruple his run tally for the season. He was eventually bowled by Austin in the 48th over but not before he had taken the score on to 170 and shifted the momentum firmly back in Coleraine’s favour.

Coleraine took this momentum into the field with them and it wasn’t long before they had the first Bready batsman back in the hutch as Andrew Douglas produced an excellent delivery to remove Austin. Adam McIlwaine proved far too quick for Mark Rutherford who was trapped leg before for 10.

When Douglas produced a peach to dismiss the dangerous Norman Allen, Coleraine would have been eyeing up an unlikely first innings lead. However, a stubborn fourth wicket partnership of 59 between Jordan Austin and David Cowan signalled that Coleraine would not have things all their own way.

This partnership was eventually broken by Barr who got one to pop on Jordan Austin and the ensuing edge was quickly snaffled up Clive Edgar behind the stumps.

When Andrew Douglas came back into the attack and dismissed Alan Jeffrey LBW for just two to leave Bready 96-5 after 36 overs Coleraine were once again back in the ascendancy. Ricky Spence had other ideas, however, making his intentions clear by crashing his first ball straight back down the ground for four.

With an extremely short boundary on one side of the square it proved difficult to stem the flow of runs as Bready quickly ate into the deficit. An excellent decision by Nigel Barr to bring Adam McIlwaine back into the attack immediately paid dividends as Ricky Spence crashed one down Davy Doey’s throat at deep mid-wicket and the Coleraine vice-captain did well to cling onto a crucial catch.

After brining up his fifty David Cowan stepped up a gear and took Bready past the Coleraine total before he was dismissed for 84 courtesy of a fine leaping catch by Stephen McCartney off the bowling of Doey. With every run a bonus for Bready it was not an easy time to bowl, however, Vishal Chopra held his nerve and finally got the reward he deserved in his final over. He clean bowled Niall Davis and then had Jack Robinson caught on the boundary by sub-fielder Andrew Findlay.

With the forecast not looking good for Saturday the umpires were keen that Coleraine got their second innings underway on Friday evening. This meant that Coleraine’s opening batsmen had to negotiate a difficult period before the light faded.

This proved to work to Bready’s advantage as Trevor and Jordan Austin once again got the ball to swing and nip around off the seam. Coleraine had the deficit of 34 wiped out before bad light brought a premature end to play, but not before they had lost three crucial top-order wickets of Clive Edgar, Jonny Elder and Vishal Chopra.

Coleraine returned to the ground the next morning knowing that it would take something very special to turn the game around. Their task was made all the harder when they lost Peter Wallace to another questionable LBW decision in the second over of the day.

However, when Neil Morrison joined Stephen McCartney at the crease the two batsmen dug in and were intent on batting for as long as possible. The Coleraine batsmen had to fight hard to preserve their wickets and often had to settle for singles and extras to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Following the second drinks break McCartney produced the shot of the match when he used his feet to come down the wicket and planted a Mark Rutherford delivery over the fence at extra cover and into the nearby river! McCartney’s exploits came at just the right time and gave the Coleraine innings the acceleration it needed as they brought the 100 up in the 35th over.

McCartney cracked two more fours through the covers but was then clean bowled by Trevor Austin for an invaluable 40. This partnership of 71 was absolutely crucial in giving Coleraine a score to defend in the fourth innings of the match.

Bernard Findlay departed the innings there followed a similar pattern to Friday with Neil Morrison and Andrew Douglas once again frustrating the Bready attack. This partnership included the rare feat of an Andrew Douglas six – but not as you might expect.

Having come back for two a wild throw from the infield made its way to the boundary to give Coleraine the gratefully received bonus runs. Following a quick clatter of wickets the Coleraine innings came to a premature end as they were bowled out for 145 leaving them the modest target of 111 runs to defend for victory.

This time circumstances played to Coleraine’s favour as Bready had a tricky fifty minutes to bat before tea.

Once again Coleraine’s young opening attack of Andrew Douglas and Adam McIlwaine bowled an immaculate line and length from the outset which immediately sent out the message that Bready were going to be made to work hard for every single run.

In a carbon copy of the first innings, Andrew Douglas got the breakthrough, finding the inside edge of Trevor Austin’s bat which played the ball onto his stumps.

Once again Adam McIlwaine proved far too quick for Mark Rutherford and was well caught at orthodox point by Stephen McCartney. Douglas then produced another beauty in his next over to dismiss Jordan Austin LBW and then, crucially, took the wicket of David Cowan who had scored the bulk of the runs in the first innings.

Andrew Douglas produced a humdinger of a ball to bowl Norman Allen in his first over after tea as Coleraine suddenly found themselves in the driving seat.

Ricky Spence pulled Adam McIlwaine for a four off his first ball but fell the very next delivery when he was hit on the pad as he tried to heave another one across the line.

Nigel Barr brought himself into the attack and proved unplayable on the wearing surface. When he got rid of the lynchpin Alan Jeffrey LBW for 10, the Bready innings was in tatters at 43-6.

Barr then found the edge of Niall Davis’s bat and Clive Edgar took a stunning reflex catch behind the stumps. Craig Allen’s stubborn resistance came to an end when Andrew Douglas had him fetching for one outside off stump and once again Stephen McCartney proved himself to be the perfect man to be under the high-pressure catch.

The game was to have one final twist, however, as Colin Crumley refused to go down without a fight. He hit Nigel Barr high into the air on the legside but despite a valiant attempt by Adam McIlwaine he could not prevent a six.

In the next over Crumley went after Andrew Douglas, striking two clean hits straight down the ground for six to bring Bready within 28 runs of victory. Douglas stuck to his guns, however, and fired down a full delivery the very next ball which Crumley could only deflect onto his stumps to spark wild celebrations amongst the Coleraine players and their supporters.

At the awards presentation after the game the umpires awarded the Man-of-the-Match award to Andrew Douglas for his 3-31 in the first innings and 6-31 in the second innings to give him the outstanding match analysis of 19.4 overs, six maidens, nine wickets for only 62 runs.

Nigel Barr was then presented with the trophy by Ireland Under-15 coach Noel Dunn.

In his speech, the Coleraine captain offered his commiserations to Bready at having to lose such a close contest. He also paid tribute to his own players.

“The character of his side has brought us through games we never should have won this season,” he said. “I am proud of everyone single one of my players and I think everyone will agree that the young talent we have on display here augers well for the future.”

He also took the opportunity to reaffirm his intention to hang up his boots at the end of the season. “This season is my swansong. We are top of the league at the minute and I would love to bow out by doing the double.”

This was the fourth time the captain had tasted victory in a cup final and if his plans to retire go ahead his experience and positive outlook will be sorely missed in the side next year.

Coleraine Seconds next game is at Eglinton on August 8 where a win would assure them of the league title to cap a remarkable season.