First XI start season with a win / Ladies lose at North Down
The 1st XI won their first Lagan Valley T20 Shield game at Pollock Park on Saturday beating Cooke Collegians by 7 wickets.
Batting first, the visitors got away to a good start with 36 runs on the board for the loss of 2 wickets after 4 overs. The Lurgan bowlers however started to slow the run rate down but it was a decisive four ball burst from Callum Grieve claiming 3 wkts that really swung this game in the home side’s favour. Cooke Collegians went from 88 for 2 wkts to finish on 120 for 8 wkts at the end of their 20 overs. Callum Grieve finished with 3 wkts for 23 runs off his 4 overs while Iqbal Khan took 2 for 41 off 4, Jack Maxwell had 1 for 15 off 4 , Callum Gibson 1 for 16 off 4 and Peter Maxwell 0 for 15 off 4.
Following the loss of Stephen Johnston in the first over of Lurgan’s reply for a duck, Stephen Chambers took control of the Lurgan innings hitting 7 fours and a six in an undefeated 56. He was well supported by Callum Grieve (23) with their 70 run second wicket partnership setting the home side up for victory. Jack Maxwell finished on 10 not out as Lurgan passed the visitors total with 2 overs to spare.
At North Down, the bat dominated the ball as the home side beat Lurgan Ladies by 7 wickets in the Premiership League. Only 5 wkts fell in the whole game and it was Sophie Hinds who dominated the Lurgan innings hitting 55 not out, including 6 boundaries. She was well supported by Sam Todd who hit 37 as the visitors posted a challenging 124 for 2 wkts in their 20 overs.
Despite an early breakthroughs by Sam Todd and Emma McMurray, partnerships between Morton(50) and Benson (20) and then Morton and Millar (24) saw North Down pass the Lurgan total in the 17th over. Sarah McCallan claimed the other Lurgan wicket.
The men’s 2nd XI game at CSNI was postponed due to rain