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30th April - Division 1: North County v Phoenix

Where better to start the 2011 Division 1 season than at Inch, where 2010 champions, North County, hosted 2010 Division 2 winners, Phoenix?  Each club had been in the recruitment business over the close season, County giving debuts to Shane Getkate and overseas player Josh Reeves, while Phoenix welcomed back Jeremy Bray and debutants Ryan Gallagher, Saadaf Raza and overseas player Siphe Mzaidune.

After County had won the toss and decided to bat, it was Siphe who started proceedings, running in from the Road end to bowl to Conor Armstrong at a lively medium pace.  Neither he nor David Langford Smith from the Knockbrack end could quite get his line right, and Armstrong and Mossie Shiel put on 37 untroubled runs during the mandatory power play.

Osama Khan had replaced Langford Smith (Lanky, to save space), and drew first blood when he bowled Shiel for 15 in the 12th over.  He claimed second blood, too, when Dara Armstrong edged him into Lanky's buckets at slip without scoring.  The bowling power play ended on 45-2 after 15 overs.

While Conor Armstrong continued to play watchfully, John Mooney was immediately into his stride, driving, pulling and carving with ease, to accelerate the score to 81 after 20 overs and 121 at drinks.  No bowler was spared, and Dickeson had to go back to Siphe.

The South African managed to get Mooney, now on 81 out of 168, to miscue to Anders at a deepish mid off in the 33rd over.  Raza had switched ends, and next over the little leg spinner bowled Armstrong for 58.

He then had Ciaran Garry stumped by Jeremy Bray without scoring.  Mini didn't agree with Jim McGeehan's decision, but he had to go, and it was 182-5.  Left-handers Richie Lawrence and Josh Reeves found little to bother them in the Phoenix bowling, and called for the batting power play on 209-5 after 39 overs following an impromptu drink brought out by skipper Dara Armstrong.

Immediately, Lawrence lost concentration (or had a malfunctioning satnav) and ran himself out for 10.  Shane Getkate lasted only a couple of overs before being stumped to give Raza his Colombia Three-for.  Reeves was batting very fluently, but lost Eddie Richardson to Langford Smith, having a spell from the Road end, caught by Khan for 8.

Then the young New Zealander holed out to Conor Kelly off Ryan Gallagher's very gentle slow left arm for a well-made 37, and Lanky trapped Conor Shiel lbw to close the innings in the 47th over for a total of 241.  The last eight wickets had fallen for 73 inside 14 overs, not a good sign for County.

Langford Smith finished with 2/43, Khan with 2/27 and Raza with 3/56.  That the Phoenix bowling was a little wayward is evidenced by the 22 wides.  After tea they would have to chase only 240, not the 300 they should have been looking at.

I joined the McGeehans for tea, and Jim was humming the old Cat Stevens (aka Yousef Islam) song 'Mathew and Son', telling me he always thought of that song when he umpired with son Dereck.  I suggested that the theme from 'Steptoe and Son' might be more appropriate, or even the theme from 'Only Fools and Horses' (Del Boy and Uncle Albert?)!

Ted Williamson and Ryan Gallagher faced up to John Mooney and Shane Getkate, and Gallagher was lbw in Getkate's first over for 0.  4-1 became 4-2 in Mooney's second over as Williamson guided a lifter to Dara Armstrong behind the stumps, Dara's 500th Senior wicketkeeping victim.  Only the late Harry Hill (502) and Colin Kavanagh (508) now stood in front of him.

Jeremy Bray got a very good bouncer from John Boy first up – straight and not too short.  Brayser would normally have got out of the way of it, but he went for the pull, top-edged it straight up in the air, and Dara had number 501.

4-3 became 46-3 at the end of the mandatory power play, and 80-3 at the end of the bowling power pay.  Conor Kelly was playing with great freedom, going for, and getting, his shots, as he hurtled into the forties.  Young Tom Anders, a strokeless wonder any time I saw him last year, was careful, but played a couple of nice shots in his second fiddle role.

The 17th over, from the Road end, was bowled by Richie Lawrence to Kelly, with just one legside deep fielder, Conor Armstrong, 15-20 yards behind square.  Kelly, 44, latched onto the longest of long-hops and drilled it straight down Conor's throat: 85-4.

Skipper Corie Dickeson's shot is the loft over squarish cow, so Mini Garry was positioned exactly there.  A nine iron drifted just over Mini's head and into the fence.  Next delivery Corie called for the pitching wedge and the ball nestled safely in Mini's lap: 95-5.

The batsmen had crossed as the catch was completed, and a couple of balls later Anders edged to Mooney at slip: 95-6 and Lawrence already with a Colombia in his second over.  Langford Smith and Masud Ahmed had nothing to lose, and like to bat aggressively anyway, so they clattered away merrily.

Lanky had biffed 17 of the next 25 runs when he nicked off to Dara in the 25th over: Dara now level with Harry Hill, and Richie on a Guildford Four-for.  Khan came and went, edging Lawrence to Mooney at slip for the Guildford to upgrade to a Michelle Five-for.

Masud Ahmed gained a bonus point, then was bowled by Conor Shiel for 18 before a merry last wicket partnership between Siphe and Saadaf Raza ended when Raza popped a catch to Lawrence off Shiel for 14.  Phoenix were all out for 160 in the 34th over.  Lawrence finished with 5/35, Mooney 2/19 and Shiel 2/35.