Armagh V Templepatrick (28/06/09)
Armagh overwhelm Templepatrick as Russell and Kulkarni run riot.
Armagh moved into the top spot in the Ulster Bank Division 1 Section 2 standings after a comprehensive defeat of Templepatrick on Sunday at a warm and sunny Mall. Armagh were in confident mood going into the game after their success at Larne, making one change with the unavailable Lloyd Hamilton being replaced by promising young Under-15 XI spinner Duncan Steed. With the ground looking in top class condition it was a slight shock when Templepatrick’s stand-in captain won the toss and elected to field first, perhaps sensing that Armagh’s batting was weak after their defeat at The Cloughan a few weeks back. He wasn’t proven correct.
Templepatrick actually had a superb start when Michael Villiers was bowled by Dailly in the first over, but after that Armagh took charge with Colin Russell and Phil Doyle dominating proceedings and seemingly able to score at will. Doyle had reached 21 when he was unfortunate to be dismissed to a fine catch at square leg, but here began the Russell and Kulkarni show. The two men proceeded to bat for more than two hours and 30 overs in partnership, flaying the ball to all parts of the Mall as Templepatrick could find no way to slow them down. The spinners who had tortured Armagh when batting in the return fixture were ineffective as Kulkarni was happy to take the attack to them. To their credit, Templepatrick did not wilt in the field despite taking a bit of a pasting as both men passed 50 and showed no signs of stopping. Russell reached his maiden century for Armagh first XI soon after with a pinched single and certainly enjoyed the moment which was followed soon after by Kulkarni also reaching his milestone; his second hundred for Armagh. Their efforts were certainly being lapped up by the spectators at the Pavilion as both men attacked in the final overs. It was going to take something special to break the partnership but in fact it was something unfortunate as Russell was run out when a drive from Kulkarni was deflected to the stumps by the leg of the bowler. Colin had scored a superb 113 featuring 15 boundary “fours” and one glorious “six”. If Templepatrick thought that this breakthrough would ease their woe then they were mistaken as David Bullick and then Seamus Crowe feasted on the tiring bowlers. Bullick in particular smashed two fours and two sixes in a quickfire 27 as the innings came to a close. However, the main applause from the field as Armagh’s innings closed at a monumental 328-4 was reserved for Armagh captain CP Kulkarni who finished unbeaten on 124 not out, including 11 boundaries and one “sixer”
It was difficult to see how Templepatrick would approach a seemingly impossible chase, but with ground conditions still superb Armagh would have to apply themselves well. Indeed the Templepatrick opening pair put on a brisk stand of 83 for the first wicket in a defiant show of counter attacking against Reg and Mark Stinson who were opening the bowling as a father-son pair. David Bullick was again Armagh’s key man with the crucial breakthrough as he snared Greer leg before wicket for an attacking 47. While still on the same score, Templepatrick lost their other opener in Irish Under 17 International coach Andy McCrea who was superbly caught behind by McCarter off the inside edge of the bat to give Kulkarni another wicket. Thompson followed soon after to Kulkarni but again the visitors fought hard and in Smith and Reynolds put together another fighting stand with some big hits around the Mall. Stuart Lester ended Smith’s innings courtesy of a well judged boundary catch by Mark Stinson and claimed another when Busby edged through to McCarter leaving Templepatrick crippled at 141-5. Although Reynolds continued to battle and Dailly launched a few big hits, the writing was on the wall when the latter gave Mark Stinson a wicket with Lester holding the catch. Indeed the end came quickly from this point as Reg Stinson came back into the attack to clean up the tail with clever and accurate bowling, while Stuart Lester also claimed his third when McCarter sharply stumped the hapless Gibson. Stinson finished the job when he clean bowled Carlisle to give Armagh a convincing 108 run victory after a terrific performance.
After the game, Armagh vice-captain Gareth McCarter was delighted with how the team had performed over the weekend with two convincing victories over some of the divisions stronger sides had taken Armagh to the top of the table. “This weekend we put in two great displays right when it mattered and got the rewards we deserved. At Larne we bowled and fielded well then kept our nerve during the chase, while today everything revolved around Colly (Russell) and Charu (Kulkarni). The two guys batted superbly for their centuries and congratulations to them for that. After that we bowled and fielded well, Templepatrick are too good a team to lie down but we smothered them out of contention after their good start. Hopefully our team can keep growing in confidence and despite our hectic schedule can continue to win games”
ARMAGH
C Russell run out (Busby) 113
M Villiers b Dailly 0
P Doyle c McFadden b Busby 21
CP Kulkarni * not out 124
D Bullick st Greer + b Busby 27
S Crowe not out 10
S Lester
M Stinson
G McCarter +
R Stinson
D Steed
Extras (b , lb 6, nb 4, w 23, p ) 33
Total (4 wkts, 50.0 overs) 328
FOW: 1-1 (M Villiers) 2-56 (P Doyle) 3-265 (C Russell) 4-311 (D Bullick)
J Dailly 10 0 79 1
J Carlisle 9 0 60 0
J Busby 10 1 65 2
R Smith * 10 0 42 0
R Wasson 2 0 15 0
D McFadden 6 0 37 0
D Gibson 3 0 24 0
TEMPLEPATRICK
A McCrea c McCarter + b Kulkarni * 25
R Greer + lbw Bullick 47
R Smith * c M Stinson b Lester 36
M Thompson b Kulkarni * 1
N Reynolds b R Stinson 48
J Busby c McCarter + b Lester 1
J Dailly c Lester b M Stinson 27
D McFadden b R Stinson 2
D Gibson st McCarter + b Lester 0
J Carlisle b R Stinson 8
R Wasson not out 0
Extras (b 8, lb 9, nb 2, w 7, p ) 26
Total (all out, 45.4 overs) 220
FOW: 1-83 (R Greer +) 2-83 (A McCrea) 3-101 (M Thompson) 4-134 (R Smith *) 5-141 (J Busby)
6-186 (J Dailly) 7-204 (D McFadden) 8-205 (D Gibson) 9-211 (N Reynolds) 10-220 (J Carlisle)
R Stinson 8.4 0 35 3
M Stinson 10 0 56 1
CP Kulkarni * 8 0 38 2
D Bullick 10 0 43 1
S Lester 9 0 35 3
After another busy weekend of action, Armagh have found themselves at the top of the Ulster Bank Division 1 Section 3 table, but with work still to do as they seek to catch up on fixtures cancelled in rainy May. This week ahead they have three fixtures all on the Mall, the first being at home to Portadown in a 25-over fixture that starts at 6pm. The weekend has a home double header, with BISC visiting on Saturday with a noon start and Academy on Sunday in a rearranged game that begins at 1pm. If Armagh can pick up points from these games then they will make the halfway mark in a decent position in the table.
| 
