Cricket

1stXI

The 1st XI played a strong Sullivan Upper team in their first game of the season. Sullivan scored 170 whilst Ballymena were only able to record 75 in return. The boys were drawn at home to BRA in the 1st round of the Schools Cup. BRA were an experienced outfit with effective batting partnerships and tidy fielding. BRA won by 6 wickets. This result put Ballymena into the Plate competition where they were drawn away to Coleraine Grammar. This saw a more confident performance from the Ballymena players, recording 126 runs in their innings, including a 46 for O. Stinson and a 22 for H. Casson. Excellent bowling from the McCorriston brothers saw Coleraine all out for 50 runs.

This win put the Academy into the Semi Final where they met Friends School Lisburn. Ballymena struggled to get going off the bat and recorded 86 runs. Dan McKeown scored 27 runs in his debut for the 1st XI. Despite an excellent bowling display from his brother, Tom McKeown (3-20 off 4), Friends posted 87-6 off 13 overs and took the win by 4 wickets. Our 1st XI cricket team showed a lot of progress this season, having lost key player Stevie Bristow to injury. This is a young team with the majority of players available for selection next season again.

The 1st XI team finished their season with arguably the most important game of the year; the staff vs 1st XI cricket match. This was a great game and an enjoyable way to finish the season. The schoolboys took the bragging rights this year, defeating the staff team narrowly by only a handful of runs. The staff XI are already waiting patiently for next season’s match…

U15

The U15 team started their Saturday league campaign against Sullivan Upper where they lost by 20 runs. BA scored 110 runs with Tom McKeown scoring 40. Next up they beat Carrick Grammar by 5 wickets in a convincing display. They then carried on their good form by defeating Limavady Grammar by 7 wickets. Standout performances came from Robert McCluney (19) and Dylan Ritchie (18) from the bat, alongside Billy Wylie (1-6 off 4 overs), LeoSmyth (2-16 off 4 overs), and Robert McCluney (3-8 off 4 overs) with excellent bowling displays. However the real standout for many was Alexander Madeley’s “catch of the season”!

The U15s played in a dramatic cup game vs Lurgan where the game finished a tie on runs scored. However, the Ballymena players took the win based on wickets taken. Lurgan scored 91-9 and Ballymena finished on 91-7 (John Ireland 34, Matthew McKean 18, Jack McCrickard 4 wickets). This set up a 2nd round tie vs Sullivan where unfortunately the boys lost narrowly by 1 wicket. This was an impressive season for the U15 squad with a number of players to watch out for going into senior cricket.

U14

The U14s played in a cup round robin against Coleraine and Lisneal. Ballymena defeated Coleraine Grammar by 1 wicket in the cup with Scott Drummond scoring the winning run. They then played a very strong Lisneal side who won by an impressive 90 runs. This, however, saw the U14s progress to the quarter final of the Plate competition where they were drawn against Sullivan Upper.

This was a closely contested match, with John Ireland and Oscar Eddis forming a good batting partnership. Sullivan performed well on the day, winning by 12 runs. Despite unfortunate results in these matches, the U14s are a talented group with both Tom and Dan McKeown stepping up to play in the 1st XI this year.

U13

The U13s were arguably the most improved cricket team in the school this season. In the cup, they beat Coleraine Grammar by 8 wickets. Daniel Mullan impressed with 43 runs not out and Anna Murray bowled exceptionally well, taking 4 wickets. They faced BRA in the 2nd round and unfortunately made some costly errors which led to a BRA victory (BA 61-7, BRA 62-3 after 10 overs). In the league, the U13s lost against Sullivan by 50 runs and to Limavady by 32 runs (O. Withers 1-7 off 4, BA all out for 71. Limavady 103-1). Despite this, Ballymena U13s had great wins vs Regent House and Carrick Grammar. Against Carrick, Ballymena won by 28 runs finishing on 139-3 (D. Mullan 26, B McMaster 48) with Carrick posting 111-6 after their innings.

U12

The U12s had a very enjoyable first season playing cricket for Ballymena Academy by playing in both ‘A’ and ‘B’ cup competitions. In the ‘A’ competition, Ballymena lost by 42 runs against BRA (BRA 105-3, BA 63-6). For many of our U12s this was their first ever cricket match and they should be very pleased with their efforts. Inchmarlo Prep were unable to play in the next round of the Plate, so the U12s played Sullivan in the 3rd round. Unfortunately Ballymena lost this game, however, the boys went on to beat Parkhall in a friendly match. They also played a friendly match away to Limavady which saw a number of players get to play their first match. Despite losing this game, it was great to see more players representing Ballymena Academy for the first time. The U12 ‘B’ team progressed past Campbell juniors in the Cup before they unfortunately lost to Belfast High School in the 2nd round.

Girls’ Cricket

The girls had a very enjoyable cricket season, with an U15 team entered into the cup competition for the first time in recent years. The girls beat Royal School Armagh away in the 1st round by 6 wickets (RSA 91-4, BA 92-4 after 14). Standout performances came from Charlotte Currie (1-6 off 3 overs), Mya Connaughty (1-7 off 3 overs) and Anna Murray scoring 18 runs. They then unfortunately lost in the 2nd round against Down High School. It was great to see the progress from our girls this season, with a number of talented cricketers coming through the junior school.

The Year 9 and 10 girls entered a Super 8s competition at Friends School Lisburn. The Year 9 team entered A and B teams and it was fantastic to see so many girls playing and enjoying cricket. The Year 10 team also had an enjoyable competition, finishing 7th in Ulster.