Holmes racks up 147 as Carrick do Cup double

On Saturday, Cliftonville asked Carrick to bat first on a slow, rain-affected wicket at Mallusk where runs proved difficult to come by.

However, Carrick were determined to bat well and worked hard for their runs. At the end of their 50 overs they had managed to graft out a relatively modest 136 for 7.

Indrajeet Kamtekar top-scored with 35, with Ryan Eagleson and Michael Gilmour being the other main contributors from the top order.

However, it was a more aggressive 23 from Stephen Grant right at the end of the innings that was to prove crucial. He and Adam Sisson added 32 runs in the last five overs of the Carrick innings to give their bowlers something to target.

After a cautious start, Cliftonville’s Avadhoot Dandekar and Neil Cahill soon began to score freely, sharing in an opening stand of 64 from just 18 overs. Both batsmen then fell in successive overs to Carrick spinners Kamtekar and Grant, giving the visitors some hope.

A brilliant run-out by a direct hit from Gilmour then saw Whitten dismissed with the score on 85.

However, it was 17 overs before Carrick tasted further success as the experienced Davy Munn and Michael Turkington grafted out a further 32 runs. With only 20 required for victory and still seven overs remaining, a run-out by Alex Haggan sent Munn back to the pavilion. Wickets then began to tumble as Eagleson, bowling off-spin, and Jamie Holmes worked their way through Cliftonville’s increasingly edgy lower order.

Going into the 50th and final over, the home side still needed seven to win, but the final two wickets fell for the addition of only two runs and Carrick were through by a margin of four.

n A brilliant hundred by Jamie Holmes saw Carrick safely through to the second round of the Ulster Shield on Sunday, when they won by a huge 185-run margin at Sion Mills.

After losing Michael Gilmour in the sixth over for 19, Holmes joined Indrajeet Kamtekar at the wicket, and in the space of the following 30 overs, the pair shared in a brilliant partnership of 194 runs.

Kamtekar scored an excellent 84 runs from 101 balls with nine fours and a six. Meanwhile, Holmes completed a magnicent one hundred, and went on to score a career-best 147 from only 108 balls, which included 13 boundaries and ten sixes.

At the end of their 40 overs, the Carrick total had reached a formidable 279 for 3.

Sion Mills never looked like threatening Carrick’s total and spinners Kamtekar and Grant saw them slump to 46 for 7. Some big hitting by tail-enders O’Neill and Havern saw them reach a total of 94 to give Carrick a comprehensive victory.

Carrickfergus 279/3 (J Holmes 147, I Kamtekar 84)

Sion Mills 94 (R O’Neill 21, I Kamtekar 4-10, S Grant 3-26, R Eagleson 2-16).