Dempsey’s men land 10-wicket win in opener

The visitors chose to bat first and they reached 41 after 8 overs.

New Larne skipper Chris Dempsey opted to go for spin as he brought himself and Gareth Gaw into the attack and it was Dempsey who struck first when he had Irvine caught by Gary Moore for 28. He got one more wicket in his final over, but Dunmurry went on to post 108-2 off 24 overs. Jonny Baxter and Darren Stanton cleaned up the last eight wickets to dismiss Dunmurry for 127.

The 128-run chase proved no problem for Larne as regular openers Gareth Alexander and Baxter knocked off the runs in 23 overs to secure a 10-wicket win.

Neither gave a single chance and made it look very comfortable as the opposing bowlers ran out of ideas.

Baxter was very dismissive of any loose deliveries, hitting seven fours in his 54 not-out but he also defended securely against any good balls. Alexander scored off almost every delivery and a couple of late boundaries saw him finish unbeaten on 53. It was an excellent start for these opening partners and they will hope to set foundations like this though the season paving the way for a strong middle order.

So, Larne team get off to a winning start and although there is plenty of room for improvement, Dempsey was well pleased to hit the ground running.

He will hope his men can continue this form at Donaghadee on Saturday.