Chris Faris wowed with both bat and ball as North Fermanagh got back to winning ways on Saturday, the side headed north to Limavady to play Drummond for the first time this season.

With last Sunday’s game cancelled against Coleraine, it was great to get back out onto the field. Greg Piergrosse, Fermanagh Captain, won the toss and elected to field first.

His trust in his opening bowlers soon paid off as Drummond’s opening two batters, S. Irwin (0) and R. Kennedy (0) were both dispatched back to the club house without a run being scored.

Irwin was caught by Duncan Robertson, in the first over, from the sharp and precise bowling of Graeme Fitzpatrick. The wicket of Kennedy soon followed as he was bowled cleanly in the second over by Chris Faris.

P. McIlmoyle (7) and M. Lynch (65) steadied the ship and started adding runs to the home-side’s tally, but an outstretched catch by Sam Galloway from the bowling of Greg Piergrosse eventually saw McIlmoyle depart.

J. Scott (49) and Lynch then built a strong pair and made it difficult for the bowlers and fielders to find that elusive wicket.

On a small pitch, runs and boundaries were aplenty and it was obvious a high scoring game was afoot. The wicket of Scott was eventually taken by Matthew Morrison, catching the batter from his own bowling. A steady flow of wickets soon followed with Morrison taking another two and Ben Duffy adding to his steady wicket count of the season with another, a diving catch by Morrison as he slid on his back.

Sam Galloway, bowling for the first time this season, collected a brace of wickets rewarding the confidence shown in him by the skipper. Debutant, Julian Fowler, impressed in his first outing for the club as Drummond finished on 186 all out with just a single ball remaining from their 30 overs.

North Fermanagh opened the batting with Ian Wilson (13) and Duncan Robertson (24). Ian quickly got into his stride scoring several boundaries before he was caught by McIlmoyle from the bowling of Holmes.

Chris Faris (76*) came to the crease and, after a few initial balls to settle in, it was obvious that Chris was in the zone and seeing the ball with ease. Working well - initially with Duncan, then Matthew Morrison (14) and Graeme Fitzpatrick (4) Chris ramped up the run rate and cruised along with a flurry of fours and sixes.

A final partnership of Chris and Greg Piergrosse (20*) completed the run chance with an over-to-spare and NFCC finished on 188 for 4. Man of the match went to Chris Faris for his career best performance with the bat.

The North Fermanagh team welcome Drummond and Newbuildings to the NFCC Grounds, Kesh, for a double-header next weekend, August 7-8.

With restrictions for spectators more relaxed, an enjoyable two days of cricket is on offer to both players and visitors alike.

Thanks must go the NFCC’s ground team for the amazing efforts to get the field more than match-ready for next weekend’s double-header.

Training continues Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.30pm at the ground in Kesh. Anyone interested in participating are welcome to attend and give cricket a go, experience is not required, and all are very welcome.

North Fermanagh Cricket Club youth weekly coaching sessions continue - Tuesdays at 5.30-6.30pm for 5 – 10-year-olds and Thursdays 5.30- 6.30pm for 11-16 year olds. These sessions are free to and open to all who are interested – it was great to see lots of boys and girls down at the club last week enjoying learning about cricket from NFCC’s Cricket Ireland qualified coaches. Anyone interested in learning more about cricket and having fun can contact North Fermanagh Cricket Club via Facebook and Instagram.