Victory hopes are washed away in untimely downpour

On Saturday they recorded their seventh win from as many starts with a nail biting four run victory at Belmont over CIYMS, but the glosswas taken off with a five run D/L defeat at home to Instonians on Sunday.

Saturday saw the visitors bat first at Belmont and they got off to the worst possible start as opener James McCollum suffered a potentially season ending ankle ligament injury when setting off for his first runs and slipping.

Professional Cobus Pienaar batting at three soon dominated the innings taking the score to 48 before James Hall lost the sight of the ball and was lbw for 8. Adam Dennison (4) and Lee Nelson (1) followed soon after and Waringstown were in trouble at 77-4.

Greg Thompson joined Pienaar and the pair repaired the damage adding 124 for the 5th wicket.

Thompson (61) 7x4, 1x6, departed with the score on 201 and Pienaar soon after for an excellent 105 from 114 balls including 11 boundaries.

Soon after the rain arrived in the 48th over and the Waringstown innings closed on 226-7.

After an early tea was taken and a one-hour wait to get the pitch dried up CIYMS faced a D/L target of 221 in 38 overs.

The visitors made early inroads to the CI innings reducing them to 37-4. CI captain Nigel Jones lead the recovery charge with 89 and found a useful partner in Jonny Thompson (31) who fell to quite possibility one of the catches of the season to date from Adam Dennison.

When Jones holed out to Greg Thompson at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Lee Nelson the momentum swing back to the visitors although former Waringstown player Stephen Chambers was making a good go of it for his new side with 42.

He departed soon after again to the combination of Dennison and Pienaar (4-48).

Needing 20 from the final two overs CI managed nine off the 37th over and going into the last with 11 required and just one wicket needed for a Waringstown victory.

Kyle McCallan (3-36) was to bowl the final over. His first ball was a full toss which Zach Rushe hit over the cow corner boundary for six.

The second ball saw a dot and the third ball saw Rushe have a heave to the leg side only to get an inside edge onto the stumps and give Waringsown victory by four runs under the D/L method.

On Sunday winning the toss Waringstown won the toss and decided to bat first at the Lawn against second placed Instonians.

After a damp morning the match was delayed and reduced to 47 overs per side.

Adam Dennison opened with James Hall in the absence of the injured James McCollum and with the score on 23 Hall fell for 8. Cobus Pienaar joined Dennison and looked in fine form after his previous days century. When he got to 14 a mix up in the running saw him just short of his ground. captain Lee Nelson had joined Dennison and the pair had taken the score onto 131 in the 29th over before Nelson holed out to long on off Andrew White for 25.

This resulted in Waringstown losing five wickets for 37 runs in the space of nine overs including Dennison for an excellent 72. At 168-7 they needed a strong partnership to finish the innings and give them a competitive total.

Kyle McCallan was joined by young wicketkeeper Marcus McClean and the pair struck an unbroken stand of 80 in the closing overs with McCallan (35 not out) and McClean (45 not out).

Both players cleared the boundary on several occasions in particular McClean who showed his powerful batting skills as he launched the penultimate over for 24 including three sixes in a row of James Shannon.

The final total of 248-7 proved the home side with plenty of momentum to take into the second innings of the match.

In the Inst reply the moved onto 38 before Pienaar (1-27) has Smith caught behind by McClean for 15. Andrew White joined Shannon at the crease and and took the score to 55 before White was brilliantly caught at first slip by McCallan of the bowling of Gary kidd (1-24).

Inst professional Rusty Theron joined Shannon and the pair took their sides score to 95-2 one ball short of 23 overs before the heavens opened at The Lawn.

The massive amount of rainfall in the following 45 minutes put any further play to bed and left the visitors Instonians winners by five runs on the D/L method.

This was an unlucky way for the game to finish with the visitors still facing a stiff challenge of chasing a further 154 from 24 overs.

It leaves the sides locked on seven wins each from eight games and it will surely be an interesting final six league games before the final game of the season when the sides meet at Shaw’s Bridge.