NWCU League 5 (30 Over)

Erne CCC 1st XI@193/7
Coleraine 3rd XI@170

Erne CCC 1st XI won by 23 runs

THE Erne Community Cricket Club 1st XI made the long trip to Sandel Lodge on Sunday — and battled their way to an excellent 23-run victory over Coleraine 3rd XI in NWCU League 5 (30 Over).

With cloudy skies overhead, Coleraine won the toss and opted to bowl first. A tight opening spell kept runs at a premium early on, before Jordan produced a spectacular caught and bowled in the fifth over to remove Lodge.

From there, Lee McNulty began to open his shoulders, peppering all corners of the ground with some brilliant hitting. Backed by Vijay Kumar (17) and Rinu Matthew (26), Erne kept up the run rate and posted their largest league total to date — 193 for 7, with McNulty finishing on a superb 77 from 71 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes).

Coleraine came out aggressively in their reply, with Bell (80) and Varghese (37) the pick of their batting. The game was finely poised when Matthew bowled Varghese in the 23rd over with Coleraine on 143 for 4 — a key breakthrough that swung the momentum back to the Fermanagh side. The Erne men finished the job in style, taking the final six wickets for just 27 runs to bowl the hosts out for 170.

There was excellent bowling all round from the visitors, with standout figures from Rinu Matthew (4 for 22), Vijay Kumar (2 for 16), Tomy (1 for 31) and Oliver Mooney (2 for 31).