The rain interrupted proceedings before the coin was even tossed but The Ward, Stormont was blessed with dry weather for the rest of the day, along with an epic cup final.
Waringstown captain Greg Thompson won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on what was an excellent batting track expertly prepared by Stormont Groundsman Ross Waite and his team. Disaster struck for Waringstown as Irish International James McCollum chipped one to mid-wicket and was out in the 2nd over and not far behind him was overseas professional Pat Botha who was also caught out with the score on 42-2. Crisis averted as Adam Dennison and Morgan Topping got going and put on a mammoth 247 partnership with Dennison finishing with 109 (13x4s and 1×6) and Topping (15x4s and 7x6s) 150. With the platform set, Greg Thompson was able to score freely and added 39* to the 354-4 total.
Set 355 to win, Carrickfergus knew they had to start fast but an unfortunate run out off the first ball of the match meant that Craig Averill was back in the changing room without facing a ball. Jake Egan showed his class scoring 87 with 6x4s and 7x6s and just when Carrickfergus looked out of it, Captain C.J Van der Walt and Ben Cave lit up Stormont with a barrage of boundaries to give them a fighting chance. Van der Walt fell on 97 just 3 runs short of what would have been a magical cup final century and hit 9x4s and 6x6s in his innings. Ben Cave finished on 51 but in the end, the men from Carrickfergus fell short by 36 runs.
It goes without saying that it was a fantastic Gallagher Challenge Cup final played by 2 very competitive teams. For both teams to score 300+ runs is some feat that is a real testament to the quality on show from both teams.
Congratulations to Waringstown and commiserations to Carrickfergus, it really was a brilliant match and final.
NCU President Brian Walsh presents Waringstown with the Gallagher Challenge Cup.
Greg Thompson and C.J Van der Walt after the toss
Carrickfergus before the match
Both teams with BRian Walsh, Shane Matthews and the officials before the match
Waringstown before the match
