CRICKET: Seconds grab first win

Donemana won the toss and put Coleraine in to bat and were soon rewarded with two early wickets. However, a magnificent third wicket partnership between Captain Peter Wallace and Vice-Captain Jonny Elder swung the game in the visitors’ favour. Wallace peppered the boundary with a number of exquisitely timed shots, including 9 fours and 4 sixes, until his wicket fell just eight runs short of a century.

By then they had broken the back of the Donemana attack, and although Elder was adjudged lbw a short while later, on 47, Steven Harper (34), JD Muller (20) and Jarred Barnes (34 not out) kept up the momentum with the latter putting Richie McBrine to the sword, blasting 3 sixes off successive deliveries, to take Coleraine to a very competitive total of 262 in 50 overs.

Opening bowlers, Jarred Barnes and Kyle Martin, maintained the pressure on the Donemana batsmen with a combination of aggressive and accurate bowling. In the 4th over, Martin decimated the home side’s top order with a stunning hat trick, and when he claimed his 4th wicket, shortly after Barnes had accounted for the dangerous Jamie Huey, Donemana were reeling on 20 for 5.

The experienced middle order of Robinson and Britton fought back with a well constructed partnership until the first-change bowlers, Steven Harper and Andrew Douglas, claimed their wickets in successive overs, before going on to wrap up the innings in just 26 overs, with Harper taking a second wicket and Douglas another two to dismiss Donemana for 106 – 156 runs short of Coleraine’s total.

After losing the opening match of the season and tying the second, this was a much better all-round performance with the bat, the ball and in the field and the whole team should take confidence from such an emphatic win over last season’s League champions when they travel again next week, this time to Ballymagorry, to meet Fox Lodge.