Fourths eye Minor Qualifying Cup glory after reaching final

Winning the toss and asking Donacloney to bat on a greenish strip at Eaton Park, the Ballymena side were soon under pressure as the experienced Donacloney batsmen tried to hit the young Ballymena attack ‘out of the game.

WIth the scoreboard reading 96 for 1 at drinks, it looked ominous for the home side however, after the break, more accurate Ballymena bowling slowed the rate down and restricted what was once a 220+ target to a very competitive 174 for 8 in their 30 overs.

Interestingly the best performance with the bat was 23 but 42 extras (41 in wides) and a few declined appeals could have really hurt the Braidmen’s chances.

Ethan Archer with 2 for 29 again bowled with great control but the home side knew they would have to bat really well to progress against a side with lots of recent first team experience.

After tea the Ballymena openers Steven Healey and Ali Gibson made a great start before veteran Gibson found the fielder at deep square when he was looking in fine touch for 24.

This brought Matthew Dick to the crease and he and Healey put the Donacloney bowlers under pressure with good running and finding the boundary with the bad ball.

Dick fell for 38 to an unplayable ball before Healey was well caught for 33 as he tried to increase the run rate.

Still needing more than seven runs an over, the Ballymena batting kept up with the rate and hit the winning runs with 4 wickets and 15 balls to spare.

Another good win sees the Fourths play Armagh III at Ballyclare in the final on 17th August.

This is Ballymena Fourths’ third final in six seasons and they will be looking to make it third time lucky with a win against a strong Armagh side, which the Braidmen have beaten home and away already in the league this season.

However, it is back to league action for the next 2 weeks; the Fourths hosting CIYMS at Eaton Park this Saturday.