Ferris bangs six off penultimate ball in thriller

25 June 2014

DOWNPATRICK secured a place in the semi-finals of the Ulster Bank Challenge Cup after a pulsating encounter over Premier League side Muckamore at Strangford Road on Saturday.

Paul Tate’s men emerged victorious by the slenderest of margins, and the locals’ reward is a visit to Stormont to take on the mighty CSNI on July 5, with a place in the final up for grabs.

Despite not having recorded a league victory this season, Muckamore went into the game as favourites, and when visiting captain Neil Gill won the toss, it was no surprise that he opted for his side to bat in near perfect cricketing conditions.

The Muckamore opening partnership of David Gill and Brian Scott got the Muckamore innings off to a solid start, sharing a 37-run partnership before Dale Mullan struck to remove Scott (14) in the 14th over, courtesy of an Aaron Ferris catch.

Andy Brattan joined Gill in the middle, and the Muckamore duo found runs hard to come by as Downpatrick’s bowling attack showed discipline and consistency with the ball.

Drinks came and went, with Muckamore reaching 77 without any further loss. However, the very next over after drinks and Brattan (25) was back in the pavilion, run out thanks to some fine fielding by Gavin Ringland.

Muckamore would then suffer a middle order collapse as the wickets of David Gill (36), Patrick Fisher (1) and Carl Mickan (12) were claimed in the space of seven overs by Daniel Carson, Mullan and Patil. Muckamore now found themselves on 102-5 from 33 overs.

Neil Gill, along with Richard Keates, steadied the ship for Muckamore as the duo shared a 6th wicket stand of 25. However, in the 43rd over, Keates (11) edged behind off a Mark Yeates delivery, a chance that was gladly snapped up by Downpatrick ‘keeper Ryan Smyth. Two balls later and Yeates was celebrating again, this time after clean bowling Gill (19).

The Muckamore innings was seemingly petering out with a whimper when Gary Nicholl was back in the pavilion in the 44th over, dismissed by Downpatrick’s Indian Professional Amit Patil.

However, tailenders Jamie Magowan (19*), Les Allen (15) and David Cardwell (7*) added crucial runs in the final exchanges to guide Muckamore to a total of 164-9 from their 50 overs.

Downpatrick knew the quality of bowling from their Premier League opponents would be high, so knew that a strong start with the bat was crucial. Openers Paul Tate and Ricky Gill ensured a solid start, adding 22 runs in the first 10 overs.

However, the momentum swung Muckamore’s way in the next two overs, with both Tate (11) and Gill (9) lost their wickets. Worse was to follow when Dale Mullan lost his wicket only a handful of overs later, as Downpatrick slumped to 32-3.

The hosts were hauled right back into the contest, courtesy of an important 4th wicket stand between Amit Patil (31) and Ryan Smyth (13). Downpatrick reached drinks, and the scoreboard read 54-3, the hosts knew there was a lot of work still to be done.

As with the Muckamore innings, disaster struck in the over immediately following drinks, with Smyth departing after being bowled by Patrick Fisher.

Gavin Ringland (25) would go on to share a fruitful partnership with Patil. However, the Indian was next to fall for Downpatrick, caught off the bowling of Les Allen to leave the hosts on 91-5 with 14 overs to spare. Enter Aaron Ferris.

Ferris and Ringland, two big hitting batsmen, kept the scoreboard ticking over as Downpatrick caught up with the required run rate. Yet there was to be another twist in the cup tie, when Richard Keates accounted for the wickets of Ringland and Justin Rea in quick succession, Downpatrick were 119-7 with 7 overs remaining.

Despite not scoring many runs, the Downpatrick tail order of Dan Carson (5), Mark Yeates (3) and John Wheeler (1*) played a pivotal role in the conclusion of the quarter-final, as each batsman ensured the now-settled Ferris retained the strike as much as possible.

Ferris continued to rack up the runs for Downpatrick, as the home side and supporters sensed the possibility of an unlikely victory. With one over to spare, Downpatrick needed eight runs to win, with one wicket intact. Muckamore’s opening bowler Gary Nicholl was given the responsibility of bowling the final six deliveries.

In what will go down as one of the most memorable finishes in recent memory, Aaron Ferris scored two runs and then blasted a straight six up onto the Killyleagh Road to win the match for Downpatrick with just one ball to spare.

Downpatrick secured victory by one wicket, and passage into the semi-finals of the most prestigious NCU cup competition was assured. The brilliant Ferris remained unbeaten at the crease with 54, scored from just 54 deliveries.

Downpatrick: P. Tate (c), R. Gill, D. Mullan, A. Patil, R. Smyth (wk), G. Ringland, A. Ferris, J. Rea, D. Carson, M. Yeates, J. Wheeler.

• UPS man of the match: Aaron Ferris.

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