North Fermanagh Cricket Club (NFCC) got back to winning ways at the weekend with impressive displays by both the first and second eleven.

Saturday saw the First team welcome Burndennett to Kesh, with the home side hoping to move on from last week’s disappointing display.

Burndennett batted first with the opening batters putting on a steady run rate with the bat.

The introduction of Graeme Fitzpatrick, NFCC Captain, in the seventh over, tightened the pressure and after an initial maiden-over Graeme bowled B. Logue (8) cleanly in the ninth.

The Burndennett pair of G. Porter (36) and S. Williamson (27) remained stubborn and continued to add runs at a solid place. Greg Piergrosse eventually bowled G. Porter in the twentieth over, but the scoreboard continued to tick over.

The reintroduction of T. Beacom to the bowling towards the end of the innings helped to slow the run total, and Ben Duffy concluded the innings with the ball, taking a further two wickets.

Tim Beacom (4) and Greg Piergrosse (40) were entrusted to open the attack for NFCC.

The pair started steadily until Beacom was caught behind by the wicketkeeper in the fourth over. Chris Faris (27) was the next to bat and Graeme’s confidence in him was soon rewarded.

Faris got into his power game, striking the ball crisply to the boundary on a number of occasions, with Piergrosse displaying his years of experience by rotating the strike and supporting Faris in putting on a super run-rate.

A flurry of three run-outs soon followed with the game in the balance, but a fabulous batting display from Scott Croft (33) and Sam Galloway (3*) saw the home team reach the target of 143. An impressive 70 runs from the last 10 overs.

On Sunday, the second team travelled to Newbuildings. NFCC batted first with Rawal Wassem (152*) peppering the boundary with his powerful shots. Supported by his Captain Asif (46*), the pair put on an impressive display, finishing on 277 for 2 from their 30 overs.

Newbuildings started well with the bat reaching 50 for 1 after the first ten overs. They continued to score well, extending their total to 103 for 1 at the twenty over mark, but after breaking the stubborn batting pair, the bowlers quickly dispatched the remaining batters, with Badar Mahmood taking an impressive five wickets for only 34 runs from his six overs. Newbuildings eventually all out for 153.

This coming Saturday, June 25, North Fermanagh firsts return the favour and head to Burndennett for the reverse fixture. Sunday sees both the first and the seconds again on the road, with the firsts looking for revenge away to Bready in the Cup and the seconds taking on Fox Lodge.

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