The children from Artigarvan and Donemana came together today at Donemana CC for a match to decide the likely winners of both League and Cup titles this year.

In a match played in the proper spirit of cricket, Donemana came out the winners, mainly thanks to a wonderful century from William McClintock. However, in the progress he turned the tables on his brother, running him out on the way to his ton......just like his brother had done to him in Liverpool!

Donemana posted a very impressive 172 for 3 off the 20 overs, whilst Artigarvan batted well, losing only one wicket, but managing only 92 in response. Joe Robinson was the solitary wicket taker for Donemana.

Donemana will now retain the League and Cup without having to play any more games, depending on the outcome of Monday's match between Artigarvan and St. Mary's Boys.

Thanks to Noel Dunn, Azhar Shaffique and Richard Thompson for umpiring, Janine for marking the book and Donemana CC for once again the use of their facilities.

Remember-click on the thumbnails to see a larger picture!

Well, it had to come to an end, but at least the weather lasted to the very end, and a certain celebrity appeared to add an additional bit of sunshine!

On behalf of all the lads we would like to say a huge thank you to Paul Bryson of the Lancashire Cricket Board, who was our link in setting up the visit. Whilst he was wonderfully supported by all the individuals in the different clubs, it was his enthusiasm and effort that made the trip possible-and he also turned out to be an excellent tour guide today as well!

This morning saw two of the three rooms having to be wakened-but they shook off their sleepy heads whilst we set off through the village of Ellesmere Port, and the play area, for the Old Trafford Cricket Ground. The lads had a ball on the different climbing frames and invented a few of their own games.

We had a little drive past the Old Trafford Football Ground where some team plays............can't remember their name, and then settled into the cricket Ground-the lads emptying their pockets in the club shop, but there were plenty of bargains as the fella in the shop proved to be extremely welcoming to his visitors!

We then met up with Paul who showed us round the Lodge in the ground-a hotel that doubles as a match day hospitality area, then, as we went back through the changing rooms and the reception area, Mr Flintoff, fresh from a massage, met up with us, and redeemed himself from the debacle of Leeds the previous year!

The lads represented the school brilliantly throughout- they were complemented on their behaviour and manners in every restaurant, cafe, shop and venue they visited and were a treat to take around-well done boys!

The cricketers had a fun filled evening following their fun with Frankie and Benny, heading to the nearby bowling alley where they had a competition among themselves.

Indoor bowler Andrew showed his versatility running out the winner and scooping a ten pounds prize, whilst William rolled in second and picked up a fiver.........................

.......................however, though we may not want to admit it, the star bowler on the night, among a group of 13 males and one female was of course...................the female!!!!

Mrs Crosbie rattled up the highest total showing no shortage of poise and panache!

The cricket team this afternoon travelled to the lovely Northern Club in Crosby, Liverpool, to take on a Sefton Under 11 side, and although they travelled in high spirits, the day unfortunately ended on a low note.

Sefton won the toss and elected to have a bat, and faitly quickly Donemana were among the wickets. This was a very good fielding display all round. Kyle Robinson took three wickets, whilst Aaron Stevenson was hot in the field, taking a catch and a very sharp run out early in the innings. The Sefton batsmen showed style and promise, but none were really able to settle themselves to build a big innings.

The Sefton innings produced a total of 96 runs, and given the form the Donemana batsmen had shown the day before, the total should have held no fears.

This semed to be the case at the start of the innings, opened by Andrew and William. In fact, they took the score to 67 before the first loss, with Andrew throwing up a regulation catch, for a total of just 12.

However, there still should have been no cause for concern, with 9 wickets remaining, and just 30 runs needed..........someone should have told the Sefton bowlers this!!!!!!!

The Sefton lads never allowed their heads to drop, despite the good start Donemana had had, and they continued to do the simple things correctly and began to reap their rewards. William fell with his own tally on 40, and then the procession of given away wickets began! There were careless shots, wasted opportunities and needless run outs aplenty as the innings fell into complete disarray, and the only ones holding their nerve were the fielding side.

Although losing, there was a great deal for the players to learn from this defeat, and their opponents will do well to maintain their never say die attitude.

Again the team were wonderfully received by their hosts, on a ground that boasts three cricket fields, an artificial Premiership hockey surface, Crown Green bowling, tennis courts, squash courts and a delightful clubhouse.

A huge positive was that the lads continue to receive great praise fom everyone they have come into contact with about their behaviour and manners. A great credit to all!

This morning, after an early swim and a feast of a breakfast, the boys made the pilgrimage to Anfield, home of Liverpool FC.

They had a guided tour of the ground, got to sit in the changing rooms and the manager's chair at the side of the ground, and got into the museum to see thos ebig, beautifully gleaming five European Cups!

The kids really enjoyed the morning and then were heading off to play Sefton Under 11's at The Northern Club.

The lads pulled out a great result today, winning by over one hundred runs against Liverpool Under 11's at Alder Cricket Club.

First mention must go to the people of Alder Cricket Club and Tony and his helpers, who extended the warmest of welcomes to the boys and treated them superbly-we thank you dearly. They provided a wonderful tea, a scorer, umpires and rolled out the red carpet magnificently.

Second mention must go to Gary McClintock, who scored his maiden century, and did it with great aplomb.......though he did run brother Gary out in the process!

Thank goodness they're in different rooms tonight!

In the field the team bowled and fielded tightly, restricting the valiant efforts of their opponents, and supported each other throughout.

Scoreboard:

Donemana 218 for 7 off 30 overs:

Andrew Austin 4 Bowled

Gary McClintock 115 Retired (100 off 69 balls!)

William 41 Run Out (Oh brother!)

Joe Robinson 35

Kyle Robinson 5

Mark Moore 0

Robert Smyth 1

Ryan Cochrane 0

Jack Parkhill 9

Bowling:

Liverpool Under 11's 93 for 4 off 30 overs:

William McClintock 2 wickets

Robert Smyth 1 Wicket

Aaron Stevenson 1 Wicket

The cricketers are up and running on their trip to Liverpool-first stop-McDONALDS-they deserved a treat, they have been up since 5 am......or earlier!

Toots survived his first airplane experience, and even got a special mention over the tannoy from the cabin crew!

The school took two teams to the regional qualifying tournament of the NI Kwik Cricket event on Thursday-an event they had won for the past three years, and last year won the NI title.

However on this occassion there was to be a double disappointment.

The 'B' team took on their league with great style and determination, winning all their games, until the last one, which they agonisingly lost by one run off the last ball of the game. However, they were on of two teams to suffer only one defeat and could claim a share at least of the honours.

The 'A' team had a pedestrian progression through their group stages, handsomely defeating three teams and then comfortable disposing of Barrack Street in the Semi Final.

The final proved to be a well contested event, with Artigarvan competing ferociously for every run and wicket. Sadly the Donemana team will rue a number of missed opportunities that allowed Artigarvan to triumph as deserved winners. The Artigarvan team will now progress to the NI finals, and we hope they will continue the North West's proud traditions in the event!

St Mary's Boys Primary School from Strabane travelled to the new field in Donemana CC this afternoon, in what was their first match in recent years. Batting first, a number of their players showed a resolute defence, without being able to offer much in the offensive department. The Donemana attack shared the bowling around and restricted St Mary's to 41 off their 16 overs, a total that was never going to trouble the Donemana batsmen.

Ross and Kyle were given their opportunity at the top of the order, and after taking some time to find their feet, both prodcued good innings, with Ross sadly misjudging a full ball to end his day in the sun!

Kyle Robinson really took off following Ross's departure adding a further three boundaries to give him his highest school score of 24 not out. William McClintock arrived at the wicket following the loss of Ross and added 12 runs off just four balls, with the match ending in a nine wicket win for Donemana.

The team now depart for Liverpool on Monday morning........early Monday morning!

Two of our very successful current batch of cricketers had a welcome letter in the post at the weekend, when they received news from the NICA that they had been selected for a forthcoming coaching trip to Lords-the home of world cricket.

At the start of March, brothers William and Gary McClintock will be packing their bags and joining 10 other children from across the province on the trip of a lifetime!

Although Gary and William both currently qualify for under 11 age group cricket, they are travelling with the Under 13 age group from the 'Emergent Academy'.

We would like to wish both boys every success on their trip-even though we're all jealous!

It's not often that 'our wee school' can boast at being Northern ireland Champions, but that's exactly what we can do tonight after out Kwik Cricket Team won the NI Finals tournament at Stormont!

The team, consisting of six boys and two girls, were unbeaten throughout, and behaved themselves impeccably in every circumstance.

The team travelled to Belfast, with three players who had made it to the final, only to lose out, in each of the past two years. However, this time the final hurdle was passed without incident!

In the group stages the team faced Victoria PS(Newtownards), Brooklands PS (Dundonald) and Fairview (Newtownabbey) and passed the test without any incident-in fact they managed to rattle up some fairly impressive scores!

In the semi final stage they met local North West Rivals Eglinton PS and solid bowling saw them restrict them to a score of 222. Donemana reached the total with two overs remaining, and only a loss of wickets could see them lose. With Gary and William arriving to face the remaining overs this was never likely, and the team strode assuredly into the final, led by captain Joe Robinson.

The final, a repeat of last year's final, petered out into an emphatic win after a stunning display of bowling by Donemana left Campbell College (Belfast) with a score of 176-26 less than they started with! A highlight of the innings was a hatrick from Timothy Dougherty! This left the young Campbell players with a real loss of confidence, however they played gamely on throughout and handled themselves with great manners and maturity. Donemana batted with great assurance throughout and, finally could declare themselves Northern Ireland champions.......not bad for a little village school of just over 100 children-especially when you compare the backgrounds of the other schools. The children involved should be rightly proud of their achievement......how many people can say there were ever a Northern Ireland champion at anything..??

Special mention should go to our two lady members of the team-Kim and Sheree-in both the semi and final, we played against teams with 7 boys and 1 girl, whilst we played with 2 girls and 6 boys, and on both occassions, the girls produced wonderful performances.

The children not only played great cricket, but were so well behaved and sporting in their behaviour that everyone involved in school should be rightly proud of them too!

Special thanks go to the parents who helped out on the day-Sonia, Sylvia, Diane and Margaret, and the event sponsors ASDA.

The team now will hopefully travel to Nottingham for the National finals-we are awaiting confirmation of a place, and then we'll have to look for funds!!!!!

Today saw the first running, in recent years anyway, of a regional stage of the annual Kwik Cricket finals. Nine teams from round and about gathered at the excellent, new facility at Strabane Cricket Club, competing in two different leagues. This year we submitted two teams, one in each league, and both teams went and won their leagues! Both teams therefore progressed to the semi finals, where they came up against the two teams from Artigarvan PS. Sadly it did not turn out to be a final between both teams-a shame, because both teams played excellent cricket in the league stage, and the 'B' team perhaps got a little nervous in their semi......However, the 'A' team progressed confidently to the final where they met Artigarvan 'B' and contested an entertaining final, emerging with a solid victory at  the end.

The team now progresses to the Northern Ireland Finals to be held in Stormont on Tuesday 19th June. This is the third year a team from the school will have played at this stage-and for the last two years they have been beaten in the final......maybe this is our year??????

Thanks to Brian Allen, Regional Development Officer for the North West for organising the event, and to Strabane CC for hosting us for the day. Special thanks go to the large number of parents in attendance today-and even or two former pupils, Clara, and Jordan.....who took my camera and went mad with his trigger finger!!! All pictures are courtesy of him!!!! His sunburn-well, we threw that in for free!!

The cricket team travelled to Bready C.C. today.  Bready won the toss and choose to bowl first. 

Our first two batsmen did really well getting a partnership of  39 runs.  Donemana used up six batsmen with them lasting the full 16 overs.The innings total came to 92 runs.

Then it was Breadys innings they scored 17 runs between all 11 batsmen.  Bready used ten overs.  William McClintock got three wickets.  Ross Black got two wickets, Captain Joe Robinson, Ryan Nixon and Aaron McDonald all got one wicket each.  It was a good display of cricket from both sides with again Donemana coming out on top.  The match started at one o.clock and finished at around three o'clock.

By RYAN NIXON

The cricket team won the League and Cup for the second year in a row. The team can be seen after their cup victory. Strabane District Council even held a recption in honour of the team's achievements.

The team was captained by Jordan Austin.

 To view a larger copy of the pictures, simply click on the thumbnail.