Carrick still searching for first league win

Carrickfergus Cricket Club 1st XI are still searching for their first victory of the season after another narrow defeat saw them lose out to Instonians in the last over of an enthralling Ulster Bank Premier League match at Middle Road on Saturday.

With skipper Ross Gelderbloem sidelined by an ankle injury, Ryan Eagleson again deputised, and having won the toss, decided to bat first.

Carrick lost Jordan McClurkin early, but Jamie Holmes and Mikey Taiaroa took advantage of some wayward Instonians bowling, and a series of boundaries saw the 50 up in just the eighth over. The pair saw the total past the 100-mark in the 19th over, and it was not until just before the 25-over drinks interval, that the visitors achieved the vital breakthrough when skipper Eugene Moleon had Taiaroa caught at cover for 42, with the Carrick pair having added 115 runs.

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With the total on 128 at the halfway point, the pair had set up the perfect launching pad for a really big total. However, with Gelderbloem and Gilmour missing from the Carrick middle order, they failed to capitalise on this great start. When Holmes was caught at slip having scored an impressive 60 runs, the score had just passed the 150-mark with 18 overs and seven wickets remaining.

Ryan Eagleson with 37 and Alex Haggan who scored a quick 25 both played well, but in the end Carrick had to settle for a total of 235 for 8 at the end of their 50 overs. It was a competitive total but probably 30 to 40 runs fewer than they would have hoped for at one stage.

Eagleson and Anthony Martin both bowled superb opening spells for Carrick, with Eagleson picking up the early wicket of John Stevenson, and having Rory McCann dropped at slip when on five. McCann was to make Carrick suffer, as he was to share substantial partnerships with Ireland colleagues James Shannon and Andrew White, and still be there at the end to see Instonians home.

Jamie Holmes had Shannon caught on the boundary with the score on 60, but McCann and White then featured in the most substantial partnership of the innings, adding 106 runs before White became Holmes’ second victim.

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McCann and Ben Wylie then added a further 51 runs, but Carrick’s bowlers stuck to their task, and the visitors were running out of overs. In the end, they got home to a narrow victory with a McCann boundary off the first ball of the 50th and final over, the Inst opener unbeaten on 96 at the close.

Carrick are not playing that badly, and will be encouraged by this performance, but yet again they were for various reasons, forced to field a weakened team. Unless they are able to field a full strength line-up on a regular basis, they are likely to continue to struggle to achieve victories at this level.

Carrickfergus 235/8 (50 overs; J Holmes 60, M Taiaroa 42, R Eagleson 37, A Haggan 27, E Moleon 3-24, S Shannon 2-41, R McCann 2-21)

Instonians 238/5 (49.1 overs; R McCann 96no, A White 43, B Wylie 25, J Shannon 24, R Eagleson 2-36, J Holmes 2-46)

Instonians won by five wickets