Heavy defeat at Saintfield
A dismal batting display at Saintfield saw Lurgan lose their Ulster Bank Section 1 game by 105 runs on Saturday.
On a ground with two short boundaries, the 208 scored by the home side certainly did not seem an impossible target to chase. It was certainly a better bowling and fielding performance from the Town sides last game. Ollie McCollum and Callum Gibson had opened the bowling and kept the run rate tight early on. Both bowlers claimed 3 wickets each, McCollum conceding 43 runs in his 10 overs and Gibson 42 also in 10. They were well supported by Niranjna Godbole who had 2 for 24 in 10 overs and Paul Stafford with 1 for 38 in 10.
Lurgan in reply were soon in trouble. Both Callum Gibson (2) and Stephen Johnston (1) were out to excellent catches and when the total had reached 35, a catch from a mis-timed sweep shot by professional Niranjan Godbole (7) made the 208 runs required seem a long way off. Jack Harrison (32) and Richard Clarke (20no) were the only Lurgan batsmen to offer any resistance and the end came in the 39th over with the visitors bowled out for 103.
Lurgan play Academy and Saintfield in their next two games and although they have matches in hand, a big improvement is needed to pull away from the bottom half of the table.
The ball used in this game was kindly sponsored by Paul Lyttle.
