Aug-Dec News

Three wins in marathon weekend gives Armagh Championship joy

Armagh romped to the wins they required on another glorious September weekend to ensure that they were not only promoted from the Ulster Bank Division 1 Section 2 but with the title as champions receiving the Thomas Stewart Memorial Trophy to boot to seal what has been a memorable and well deserved triumph in the clubs 150th Anniversary season.

Reports from all the games can be found under the reports section.

Special Thanks To Charudatta Kulkarni

All the members at City of Armagh Cricket Club would like to thank club professional and captain Charu for everything he has done on and off the field in this very successful year. Armagh lifted their first senior trophy in 27 years and it was a great ending to the club's landmark year.

2nds and 3rds Both Win

Armagh 2nds and 3rds both won at the weekend beating Cregagh and Instonians respectively.

Armagh stay on track with win over Donacloney

Armagh kept their successful run going in the Ulster Bank Division 1 Section 2 title race with a comfortable if not slightly farcical win in a re-arranged match with the visitors from Donacloney at the Mall. The away side won the toss and chose to bat, getting off to the worst possible start with Kulkarni bowling Lyttle with the second ball of the match. After this Hanna and St Clair batted patiently to try and steady proceedings against the tricky medium pace from Andrew Bratten, with the former trying to be the aggressor and riding his luck in surviving a few tough catching opportunities. His fortune ran out though when Colin Russell held a superb low catch at cover to give Bratten a deserved wicket. David Bullick had replaced Kulkarni from the Pavilion End and immediately had an impact when he took a fine return catch to remove the obdurate St Clair and then taking a successful leg before verdict against Marshall.Stats also updated! Full report

Benefit Night For Charu

Saturday night in the Pavilion holds an end of season benefit night for Armagh captain and professional Charu Kulkarni. The format will be a karaoke night and the stage is open for players, members and guests to show whether or not they have the X-Factor. Simon Cowell is unlikely to be in attendance, but a good evening’s entertainment is virtually guaranteed. The entrance fee is £5 and all members are encouraged to attend with guests more than welcome.

Armagh receive double boost in promotion chase

Armagh 1st XI had their efforts to win Ulster Bank League Division One Section Two boosted twice on Saturday without having to even face a delivery. The scheduled league fixture against Belfast International was abandoned just before half past nine when the relegation threatened side called to concede the game due to a lack of players available giving Armagh a welcome four points. More good news was received later that evening when main rivals Saintfield had been convincingly beaten at Larne, meaning that Armagh were now joint top of the division again and still with games in hand to catch up on. With some better weather forecast hopefully the Mall will get a chance to dry out before this weekend’s matches, a Friday afternoon clash with Larne before a Saturday fixture against Donacloney. Armagh captain Charu Kulkarni was understandably relieved to get some more points on the board as his team hasn’t played since August 12th and the league challenge looked to be slipping further away with every shower of rain. “If we can get some good sunshine this week to dry The Mall then we might have an opportunity to get our games in this weekend. Larne and Donacloney will be tough games for us having not played for a while but we have to be confident of picking up some points.”

Both games are at home, with Friday’s start time to be confirmed and Saturday morning beginning at 11:30am.

Colts Cup final preview

This Thursday 20th August sees Armagh Colts take on their Muckamore counterparts at Laurelvale in the NIACUS sponsored Colts Cup. Armagh have had a tremendous run in this years competition with convincing wins recorded over Woodvale, Laurelvale, Carrickfergus and North Down on the road to the final. Captain Matthew Brownlee leads a talented side with plenty of batting and bowling ability at their disposal with most of the team contributing well throughout. Thursday’s final starts at 2pm, and all support would be welcome to see if Armagh can seize a trophy to mark their Anniversary year.

Armagh topple Academy in thrilling encounter

A depleted Armagh recovered from a poor start to post a competitive total and then defend it with a stirring effort in the field to remain clear at the top of the Ulster Bank Division One Section Two table and record an impressive tenth successive league victory. Full report

Colts Reach Cup Final

Armaghs u17 Colts side reach the final of The Colts Cup after two great wins in the last couple of weeks against Carrick and North Down. Reports can be found under the youth section.

Big Day Is Finally Here

This week ahead Armagh have the mouth-watering prospect of their 150th Anniversary fixture against the KUKRI Ulster All-Stars select on Wednesday afternoon to look forward to. An Armagh select side picked by club President George Breakey and club captain Charudatta Kulkarni will face a tough test with a lot of the Ulster select having experience of senior cricket at the highest level. Local man and Ulster team physio Gareth “Gigi” Robinson will be the captain of the KUKRI Ulster All-Stars and will be able to boast names like David Humphreys, Ian Whitten, Neil Doak and Isaac Boss amongst their players for the day. There will also be guest appearances on either side by Ireland international stars Kyle McCallan and Andrew White of Waringstown and Senior cup finalists Instonians respectively. With the Armagh Cricket Club 150th Anniversary committee supporting the Wooden Spoon charity, it is anticipated that Ireland Grand-Slam legend and patron of the charity Sir Jack Kyle will make an appearance at the match for a part of the afternoon. Guest speaker for the evenings gala dinner and National selector for the England team Geoff Miller will also be at the Mall to take in what should be an enthralling afternoon’s entertainment. The match starts at 2pm.

Colts progress to Cup Semi Final

Armagh overcame Carrick in a replayed tie after Armagh had bowled Carrick out the previous week for 63 only for the bad weather to bring an end to the game at the break. Armagh were put into bat and scored a par score of 125/2 of their 20 overs. Matthew Steenson batted throughout the endings to end on 52* whilst Harry Doyle struck 30 and Matty Wright hit a quick-fire 24* including 2 sixes. Carrick started firmly adding 60/1 of 11 overs with NCU u15 player McCluckin adding a brave 32 before he was caught on the boundary of the bowling of 12-year-old Andy Hoey. Carrick were always in with a shout but lost wickets at regular intervals towards the end leaving Armagh victorious by 14 runs. Skipper Matthew Brownlee picked up 3-14, Matthew Steenson recorded 2-7 whilst Harry Doyle and Andrew Hoey took 2-13 and 2-25 respectively. Armagh now entertain North Down at Home on Friday evening. 

Youth Round Up

All the youth updates can be found under the youth section. 

Bad weather halts Armagh momentum

Armagh suffered a blow in their bid to push clear at the top of the Ulster Bank Division One Section Two table as their game on the Mall against Donacloney was abandoned after a frustrating Saturday morning and afternoon. The weeks persistent showers of rain had made the pitch sticky and it took quite a bit of work on Saturday morning to make the ground playable with a delayed start. This looked as if it was going to be worthwhile endeavour as a 44 over match was able to begin at 1.20pm with Donacloney choosing to bowl after winning the toss. Michael Villiers departed early after a slightly dubious caught behind appeal and Phil Doyle struggled with the conditions before being dismissed lbw. However, Colin Russell and Charu Kulkarni were both looking in decent touch and finding the boundary with increasing regularity before the rain returned with Armagh 68-2 after 18 overs. Despite the pitch being covered and an early tea being taken, the umpires decided after 4pm that further play wouldn’t be possible and abandoned the game. Almost inevitably the rain stopped not too long after this decision had been made, leaving Armagh another fixture behind in their search for promotion. Captain Charu Kulkarni admitted that “the team was left a bit frustrated with today; we felt the rain was not so bad when we went off and it didn’t allow us much of a scope to return for play. With uncertainty over some of our other fixtures we will have to retain our focus and do our best through August to keep winning.

This weekend Armagh are scheduled to travel to Academy for an important league game, but subject to the opposition having completed the Junior Cup final on its original Saturday date. If not, the reserve date would take preference over the league game and leave Armagh kicking their heels for another Saturday afternoon. Saturday’s fixture at Newforge Country Club begins at noon.

Paul Hits Ton In Easy 4ths Win

Paul McCord struck a quite brilliant 139 not out when the fourths defeated Saintfield by 80 runs. Paul struck boundaries to all parts of the ground including seven maximums and ten 'Fours' . This surely guarantees him the Rose Bowl for the 2009 season. Full report to follow.

Armagh stay in prime position

Armagh kept themselves in firm position at the top of the Ulster Bank League Division 1 Section Two table after a nervy but well deserved three-wicket win over rivals Saintfield on the Mall.Having not played since the home game against Academy on Sunday 5th August, Armagh were perhaps a bit short of match practice, but did have a strong side available with Royal School rugby tourists Matthew Steenson and Harry Doyle back in the side after missing seven victories in their absence. Armagh won the toss, and decided to field hoping that they could take advantage of the damp conditions offered by Friday’s heavy rain. Full report