NCU CRICKET: CIYMS put down another title challenging statement

Bowling first, the home side got off to the ideal start when Allen Coulter had Oliver Metcalfe caught by Jason van der Merwe in the first over.

Coulter followed it up with the dismissal of Instonians talisman James Shannon, getting the Irish international to edge the ball to slip, where captain Nigel Jones made no mistake with the catch.

The pair switched roles for the next wicket, as opener Nikolai Smith skied a ball in the fourth over off Jones and Coulter taking a good catch.

That brought captain Andrew White to the crease, and when he was caught by Trevor Britton to give Coulter his third of the match, Instonians were 12-4 and in massive trouble.

They began to rebuild with Northern Knights duo Shane Getkate and the returning Robert McKInley in the middle, and Getkate in particular looked in good form, striking four boundaries.

The score had reached 40 when Matt McGillivray trapped Getkate LBW for 20, with Ben Rose joining McKinley at the crease.

The latter was dismissed for 18 after edging McGillivray to wicketkeeper Chris Dougherty, and the South African would end an impressive eight over spell with figures of 2/24.

Rose remained and looked to give his side some target to defend along with the likes of Jordan McClurkin, who was stumped for 10, and the lower order.

The all-rounder ended on 32* as Instonians were bowled out for 116, with Jacob Mulder picking up two late wickets.

John Matchett and Dougherty opened the batting for CIYMS, and set the tempo for the innings in the very first over, taking 12 runs from it.

Matchett was looking in superb form as he continued to strike boundaries at will, bringing up his half-century with three consecutive fours off the bowling of Getkate.

With the score sitting on 73, James Shannon made a breakthrough for Instonians, having Matchett caught by Nikolai Smith for 54, which came off 40 balls and included 11 boundaries.

Dougherty remained and was joined by Jones, with the skipper making 16 before coming Shannon’s second scalp, also caught by Smith.

McGillivray walked to the crease with the score 100-2, and the pair made no mistake in guiding their team home to seal an eight wicket win, with Dougherty finishing 29* and McGillivray unbeaten on 11*.

It is a statement victory for CIYMS as they move into third with eight points.

Meanwhuile, Waringstown compounded CSNI to a third straight Premier League defeat as they won a rain-affected game at The Lawn by six wickets.

CSNI were put into bat and were 40-3 in the 14th over when the bad weather arrived, with Phil Eaglestone, Shaheen Khan and Gary Kidd all picking up a wicket and the game reduced to 43 overs.

Marc Ellison, who has been the standout performer for CSNI this season, was joined by former Waringstown man Morgan Topping in the middle, and the pair put on 45 before the latter was trapped LBW for 21 by Kyle McCallan.

Ellison would follow in the very next over as he was smartly stumped for 33 by Marcus McClean to give Kidd his second of the game.

Graeme McCarter and Corin Goodall put on 73 for the sixth wicket, with McCarter bowled by Khan for 32, and Goodall ending the innings 42* as CSNI finished on 168-7.

In reply, Waringstown were on 98 before they lost a wicket, with James Hall continuing his good form by scoring 53 before he was bowled by Ben Adair.

The home side lost two quick wickets with the winning line in sight, both picked up by Andre Malan, leaving James McCollum (16*) and captain Greg Thompson to lead their side to a six wicket win and remain top of the Premier League.

Also, Carrickfergus picked up their second win of the season with a 33 run victory over Armagh at Middle Road.

Batting first, Carrick made 268-9 in their 50 overs, with Jack Burton top scoring with 83 and Matthew McCord also registering 57.

In reply, Armagh were 123-1 after 25 overs and would have been hopeful of chasing the target down, but some superb bowling from the home side stopped them in their tracks.

Jamie Rogers top scored with 67 while Shadley van Schalkwyk made 41 as they fell short of the target.

At Comber, North Down beat Muckamore by 38 runs, with Daniel Graham scoring 96 in a first innings total of 245.

Muckamore were 130-2 after 32 overs in reply and would have been dreaming of pulling off an upset, but some fantastic bowling from Marty Moreland, who ended with figures of 4-38, ended any hope.

Aditya Adey top scored with 54 as the Moylena side finished on 207-8 in their chase.