Frustrated cricketers hope to get back to crease this week

This evening (Tuesday) they travel to Shaw’s Bridge to play Instonians in the semi-final of the Twenty 20 Cup and then on Saturday CIYMS come to Eaton Park for a league game.

Although Ballymena lost their final Twenty 20 group game against Waringstown on Wednesday evening, Lisburn’s win over Carrick on Thursday meant that the Eaton Park men had done enough in their first two group games to qualify for the semi-finals.

However Ballymena will not be happy with their batting in the Waringstown game for, after restricting their opponents to a moderate total of 114 for 5, they batted poorly to be dismissed for 64. Indeed, had it not been for a 6th wicket partnership of 26 between Gareth Fisher (20) and Robert McKinley (11), things could have been even worse.

Certainly it will take a much better batting performance at Shaw’s Bridge to give Ballymena any chance of winning a place in the final at Belmont on July 6. Instonians are not always noted for their consistency but they have been ominously consistent in Twenty 20 games this season, with impressive wins in all three group games. Certainly they will miss their Australian professional Delaney, who has returned home with an injury.

However Ballymena’s bowlers will be well aware of just how strong Instonians top-order batting is, for they have suffered more than once at the hands of John Stevenson and Rory McCann.

Obviously the Ballymena players would be delighted to make the final – a fairly rare occurrence for Ballymena teams over the years. However all the signs are that it will take a really big performance with both bat and ball for them to upset a well-balanced and confident Instonians line-up.

Then, weather permitting, Saturday brings the prospect of a very interesting clash as CIYMS visit Eaton Park. CIYMS dominated the cricket headlines throughout the winter as they used their considerable financial resources to sign up a number of big-name players.

Former Ireland star Jeremy Bray, North Down’s Taimur Khan and Chris Dougherty and Ryan Butterworth from North-West cricket were the big names among six or seven new faces. However the new line-up has yet to perform consistently and CIYMS have already exited three cup competitions.

They will still provide formidable opposition for a Ballymena side that has yet to win a league game.

However the Eaton Park men will surely believe that their batting, which served them so well last season, must come good before long. And they will also be well aware that CIYMS do not have a good record at Eaton Park in recent years.

CIYMS will certainly start as favourites in this one, but if Ballymena’s batsmen do finally hit some form it could a much closer encounter than many people think.