Maghera Cricket Club Senior Men's Weekly Match Report Round 4 Highlights

This weekend, all three Maghera Cricket Club senior men's teams delivered impressive performances. The 1sts battled a tough away challenge against North Fermanagh 1sts but came up just short. The 2nds shone at home against Ardmore 3rds, and the 3rds also claimed a strong win over Coleraine 4ths. Here’s a closer look at each team’s highlights...

Maghera Cricket Club 3rd XI

Maghera 1st XI vs North Fermanagh 1st XI - League 1

Saturday 23/5/26 - Kesh

Maghera 1st XI produced another encouraging performance despite falling to a four-wicket defeat against North Fermanagh in an entertaining contest played in excellent spirit.

After being put into bat, Maghera made a solid start through Aaron Stewart and Anu Sanjeewa, who combined well for an opening partnership of 76. Both batters showed patience and composure against disciplined bowling, laying a strong foundation for the innings.

Anu was first to depart after a determined 34 from 59 deliveries, while Aaron continued to anchor the innings before eventually being dismissed for 41. At that stage Maghera were well positioned, but a brief middle-order collapse slowed the scoring rate and allowed North Fermanagh to regain some control.

The momentum shifted again in the closing stages thanks to an outstanding partnership between Denton Cant and Surya Amaravadi. Denton produced an excellent unbeaten 54, registering his maiden fifty for the club with a composed and powerful innings that included some important late boundaries. Surya provided the perfect support with an aggressive 34 not out from just 22 balls, accelerating the scoring superbly in the final overs.

Denton Cant 54* (60)

The pair added 60 runs from the last 33 deliveries to lift Maghera to a highly competitive 205/4 from their 40 overs.

In reply, North Fermanagh began steadily and reached the halfway stage in a very similar position to Maghera at around 85/1 after 20 overs. Maghera remained competitive throughout the chase with an excellent display in the field, taking five sharp catches and maintaining strong energy and discipline across the innings.

Surya Amaravadi capped an impressive all-round performance with figures of 2-30 from 8 overs, while Anu Sanjeewa claimed 3-38 and consistently applied pressure through the middle overs. The bowlers worked hard throughout, but North Fermanagh’s middle order capitalised on key moments and managed to keep themselves slightly ahead of the required rate.

Although the visitors eventually reached the target with two overs remaining and four wickets in hand, the match was considerably closer than the final score may suggest. Maghera competed strongly in all areas and can take significant positives from another improved team performance.

Maghera 1st XI 205/4 def by North Fermanagh 206/6

Written by Surya Amaravadi

Maghera 2nd XI vs Ardmore 3rd XI - League 4

Saturday 23/5/26 - The Rainey

Maghera 2nd XI produced a superb all‑round performance to claim a convincing 10 wicket win over Ardmore 3rd XI at the Rainey on Saturday afternoon.

Ardmore chose to bat first, but Maghera’s bowlers set the tone immediately. Graeme Stevenson opened with outstanding control, conceding just 7 runs from 3 overs, while Glenn Baird matched him for discipline, giving away only 8 runs from his 3 overs. Their accuracy built the pressure that allowed the rest of the attack to strike.

From there, Ajay Krishnan took over in devastating fashion. He ripped through the middle order with a brilliant spell of 5–12 from 6 overs, including two maidens. Ardmore were bowled out for 92 in 23.4 overs.

Ajay Krishnan 5–12 (6)

Chasing 93, Maghera were ruthless. Muhammad Zeeshan was in explosive form, smashing 53 not out from 29 balls, hitting 7 fours and 3 sixes, and reaching his fifty in just 23 deliveries. At the other end, Philip McClay played the perfect supporting role with a composed 16 not out from 31 balls, rotating the strike and keeping the innings steady.

The pair put on an unbeaten 97‑run opening stand in just 10 overs, sealing a dominant victory without losing a wicket. The mighty 2’s move on to our next home game against Bond’s Glen.

Maghera 2nd XI 97/0 def Ardmore 3rd XI 92

Written by Roger Talbot (2nds Captain)

Maghera 3rd XI vs Coleraine 4th XI - League 6

Sunday 24/5/26 - Allen Park

After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Maghera faced a challenging opening spell as the Coleraine seamers generated significant movement with the new ball. Early wickets left the innings under pressure, with both Sam Dougherty and Swethankh Shanmughan dismissed by excellent deliveries that swung sharply back into the stumps.

Following the early setbacks, Abhimanyu Thayakkattil and Rory Irvine steadied the innings with an important partnership of 42. Both batters played positively and helped rebuild momentum with a number of confident strokes around the ground.

Abhimanyu's wicket brought on Graham Love, who showed great composure and discipline at the crease, respecting the good deliveries, running well between the wickets, and capitalising on anything loose with a series of powerful boundary shots. Although wickets continued to fall at the other end, including a number of unfortunate run outs, Maghera continued to score at a strong rate throughout the middle overs.

Graham Love 66* (43)

Graham carried his bat for an unbeaten 66 off 43 balls as Maghera were eventually bowled out for 173. While the innings may have left a few runs still out in the middle, the total nevertheless represented a highly competitive score on a difficult surface.

In reply, Maghera made the perfect start with an outstanding opening spell from Glenn Baird. Bowling with tremendous accuracy and control, Glenn claimed three early wickets in a remarkable opening over that immediately placed Coleraine under significant pressure.

At the other end, Swethankh Shanmughan provided excellent support and was rewarded with his first wickets for the club in an impressive spell. Despite some aggressive hitting attempts from the visitors, Maghera remained disciplined with both ball and in the field, sticking consistently to their plans.

Glenn Baird 7-23 (6)

Glenn finished with exceptional figures of 7-23, the best bowling figures recorded for a Maghera Cricket Club side, while the fielding effort matched the quality of the bowling. Graham Love and Swethankh Shanmughan both held excellent catches, backed up by energetic ground fielding throughout the innings. Rory Irvine also added to the performance with a wicket from his very first delivery

.

The victory marked another significant step forward for the side, with contributions right across the team helping secure the club’s biggest win at 3rd XI level to date.

Maghera 3rd XI 173 def Coleraine 4th XI 41

Written by Simon Alleyne (3rds Captain)