Barr’s men grab vital home win over Donemana

However, the dedication of the grounds staff and other volunteers meant that the grounds at Sandel Lodge were deemed fit for play.

Donemana elected to bat first and began what would be a short lived yet productive innings.

Thanks largely to some cavalier hitting from their opening batsman, Laird, the visitors managed to amass a total of 191 off only 28 overs.

Laird rode his luck, peppering the boundary regularly for a powerful 98 before he was bowled by Andrew Douglas (4-55) agonisingly close to his century. Coleraine felt as if they had given themselves a good chance and with the return of former skipper, Peter Wallace, they had every confidence they could chase down the target.

The home side didn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts as they soon found themselves in great peril at 16-2. The run chase was steadied as a partnership of 68 between Wallace and Matthew Caulfield brought the Seconds to 84-2 before the latter was bowled by Hepburn for 32.

This brought Stephen Hutchinson to the crease who supported Wallace well as the two added another 46 runs before Hutchinson perished for 19, leaving the score at 131-4. With the fall of another wicket making the score 136-5, Coleraine looked odds on to fall just short of the target.

Wallace was joined at the wicket by Alastair Handforth with Coleraine still needing a further 56 for victory. The pair steadied the sinking ship with a vital stand of 54. With the score at 189-5, Handforth was bowled for 24.

However, at this stage, the hard work had been done and it was left to Ben Johnston and Wallace to get the final two runs needed for victory. Fittingly, Wallace struck the winning runs bringing his personal score to 90 not out.