Mixed fortunes for Armagh and Laurelvale Cricket Clubs

WHILE Armagh Cricket Club will reflect on a miserable weekend for results, Laurelvale had cause to celebrate.

Their 1st XI returned from Saintfield on Saturday evening having banked a further four points by virtue of having won the fifth of their eight Robinson Services Section 1 matches to date.

For Armagh it was a largely forgetable weekend with their seniors suffering two hefty defeats in less than 24 hours.

The first came on Saturday at The Mall where they were well beaten by Ballymena in the pair’s Robinson Services League Section 1 encounter.

The second – a Lagan Valley Steels T20 semi-final date with Muckamore at Belmont – ended in another pounding.

But it was a landmark occasion for Armagh’s 1st XI wicketkeeper and club chairman, Gareth McCarter.

Having made his senior debut for Armagh 21 years ago, he had already broken the club record for appearances behind the stumps well before Saturday. That, incidentally, was his 280th outing as the Firsts’ wicketkeeper.

It also was the day on which he clocked up the sixth highest number of 1st XI appearances by any Armagh player.

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