NCU Section 3
Amigos Belfast 118 (23 overs)
Dundrum 119-6 (28.5 overs)
Dundrum beat Amigos Belfast by four wickets.
Dundrum Cricket Club’s first XI secured an excellent four-wicket victory over Amigos Belfast at The Meadow in warm and sunny conditions to continue their positive start to the season.
On a hot Saturday afternoon on a green but hard wicket at The Meadow, Amigos Belfast won the toss and elected to bat first. Dundrum opened the bowling with Andrew Campbell and Scott Symington, hoping to make early breakthroughs. Dundrum got off to the perfect start when Campbell dismissed Nixon Paul (0) in the opening over of the innings.
Sumesh Mohanan (11) and Subhilesh Pst (16) attempted to rebuild the innings, but Dundrum continued to apply pressure with disciplined bowling and sharp fielding. Caleb Armstrong then made an immediate impact with the ball, picking up three wickets, dismissing Sumesh Mohanan (11), Subhilesh Pst (16) and Jestin Kr (11).
Melbin Joseph (1) was then dismissed by Matthew Douglas after an excellent catch on the boundary from Stuart Campbell to leave Amigos Belfast 74 for 6.
Stuart Campbell then entered the attack for an impressive spell, removing Sarath Baby (0), Aswin Prasannan (0) and Nikhil Thankachan (1) as Dundrum reduced Amigos Belfast to 113 for 10 from 23 overs.
The standout batting performance for Amigos Belfast came from Renju Varghese, who counterattacked with an aggressive 27 from only 14 deliveries, including four boundaries and a six.
However, Dundrum maintained control throughout the innings, Stuart Campbell finishing as the pick of the bowlers with superb figures of 3 for 5 from his three overs. Caleb Armstrong also impressed, claiming 3 for 28, while Andrew Campbell chipped in with 2 for 17.
Chasing 119 for victory, Dundrum started poorly as Rhodri Phillips (0) was dismissed in the opening over. Scott Symington and Stuart Campbell steadied the innings with a partnership of 36 runs to put Dundrum back on track. Symington played positively, striking 22, while Campbell added 15 before both fell in quick succession.
With the game evenly poised, Caleb Armstrong produced a composed all-round performance to guide Dundrum towards victory.
Armstrong struck an excellent 24 from 45 deliveries while David Glover anchored the innings superbly, finishing unbeaten on 24. The pair added an important partnership to settle Dundrum nerves as the home side edged closer to the target.
Although Amigos Belfast continued to battle with Nixon Paul and Vinosh Mohanadas both claiming three wickets, Dundrum held their composure in the closing stages.
Noah Stafford remained unbeaten at the crease as Dundrum eventually reached 119 for 6 in 28.5 overs to seal a hard-fought four-wicket victory.
Caleb Armstrong was named Man of the Match for an excellent all-round display, contributing both crucial wickets and valuable runs in a match-winning performance.
Dundrum will now look ahead to their next fixture away to Ards and Donaghadee on 30 May.
