Dempsey and Alexander pairing stumps Dunmurry

LARNE 1st XI made the trip to face Dunmurry on this week to play a rearranged match which was reduced to 20 overs a side.

Skipper Gareth Gaw won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat first but his choice was justified as Larne piled up 147-2 in their 20 overs to set up a winning position. The story of the match was the opening partnership between Gareth Alexander and Chris Dempsey who put on 126 for the 1st wicket in 18 overs.

They played the perfect 20 over innings as they settled at the start but put the fielders under pressure with plenty of good running between the wickets.

Boundaries were difficult to come by in the early overs but they kept the scoreboard ticking and had reached 47 at the halfway point of the innings. With both players now settled and confident they began to attack and added a further 100 runs in the last 10 overs.

Alexander struck eight boundaries before he was dismissed for 66 but this just brought Jonathan King to the crease for the last two overs and he smashed a quick-fire 19 which included two sixes and a four. Dempsey meanwhile had compiled a lovely innings and he too finished with a flourish as a straight six took him to a score of 51 not out.

Larne were confident of defending this score but Dunmurry have some dangerous players and had a good chase before finishing 18 runs short. Robert McKinley opened the bowling with King and they both bowled two tidy overs without picking up any wickets.

The spin of Dempsey and Gaw then came into the attack to bowl their eight overs costing just 44 runs for the loss of three wickets. Gaw struck first to remove King when Rab McClean took a good catch at cover and he also trapped Gilliland lbw to finish with excellent figures of 2-19.

He also took a good catch off the bowling of Dempsey who bowled four good overs with just a couple of deliveries costing him two sixes. Alexander then came on to bowl his four overs at the death while McKinley and King finished their spells from the other end. The run rate was now approaching 10 but with the hard hitting Connelly still there Dunmuury still had hopes of a win but when he was well stumped by Trevor Dempsey off the bowling of Alexander for 56 the game was all but over. Alexander collected two more wickets while King also claimed one to leave Dunmurry on a final score of 129-7 from their 20 overs.

Larne 147-2 (G Alexander 66, C Dempsey 51no)

Dunmurry 129-7 (G Alexander 3-28, G Gaw 2-19)

The game was kindly sponsored by The Ardella. Larne Cricket Club are sponsored by the Curran Court Hotel.