Having won the toss, MCC elected to bat, and in spite of an unfortunate early wicket quickly pressed ahead with the scoring: the obduracy of opener J Haddock and the balanced aggression of S Amaravadi at No.3 complementing each other nicely. Reaching 49 off the 8th over the runs continued to flow, until Amaravadi was dismissed run out for 27 in the 9th over with the score at 62. Next to the crease was the equally positive S McGahon, who set about busying himself with the bat

Maghera Second XI will be hoping to continue the success of last season league winning campaign. The 2nd XI start the summer with exciting away trips to two of the North West’s historic clubs, Donemana and Bready.

Next up in the Captain Previews are Maghera’s 1st XI. The 2024 season saw a significant upturn in fortunes for the side, bolstered by a plethora of new arrivals, improved training (thanks to new player/coach Benji Cathcart) and match preparation, Maghera’s 1st XI secured a strong 4th-place finish in NWCU League 2 and featured heavily in the individual run-scoring and wicket-taking charts. This marked a vast improvement on the 2023 campaign, where we narrowly avoided relegatio

We caught up with newly appointed 1st XI captain Carol Andrews to hear her thoughts ahead of the season: "As newly appointed captain of the Maghera Women’s Cricket Team, I am raring to start pre-season training and welcome players from our first season back to build on the skills we learnt last year. I also hope to attract new women from Mid Ulster to discover this wonderful, exciting and inclusive sport."