YMCA batsman Jack Tector has been back and forth to Glamorgan for a couple of seasons when his commitments with Ireland U19 and U17 permitted.
This week he was called up to open the county 2nd XI batting in a 50 over games against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl Nursery Ground .
Despite facing former Aussie Test quick Jackson Bird with the new ball, Tector weathered that storm and made an excellent 91 off 108 balls, hitting two 6s and nine 4s. He was eventually out to Moin Ashraf, the former Yorkshire seamer who was in the England Development squad a couple of years back.
Glamorgan lost the game, however, with Irish passport holder Andy Gorvin hitting the winning runs for Hampshire in the penultimate over to finish 21no off 29 balls.
Both players were in action in the three-day game which started on Wednesday, and Tector came in at 7 for 2 but batted doggedly to lunch. He was out for 35 having hit six 4s but Glamorgan were out for 152.
Hampshire built a big lead of 315, with Gorvin making 18, but Tector was out for 2 late on the second evening. Tector’s memorable week also included winning a call-up for Leinster Lightning for Sunday’s IP50 at Anglesea Road.
If he plays that, and his club’s games this weekend, he will have been in action for seven days on the trot – which will at least give him an idea about whether he wants to play full-time cricket!
His Claremont Road team-mate Bobby Gamble played for Plumtree v Kimberley Institute last weekend, bowling 12-0-81-0. His 33no off 27 balls couldn’t help to Plumtree to a win but they got some points in a “winning draw”.
On Monday he watched the rain come down as the Kent 2nd XI trophy game never got under way, and midweek he lined up alongside George Dockrell in a three-day game against the same county.
Gamble picked up two early wickets and 20-6-52-3 in all, while Dockrell took 23-7-58-2. Somerset built up a 27 run lead, thanks to Gamble’s 6 and Dockrell’s duck.
The pair were the pick of the bowlers second time around , with Gamble taking 14-4-38-2 and the Ireland left-arm spinner the excellent return of 16.1-5-24-3. That set Somerset 187 to win and neither Irishman was needed as the Cidermen won by five wickets.
Middlesex 2nds had their third Irish captain of the summer in Tim Murtagh, who oversaw Sussex’s dismissal for 177 at Richmond. Murtagh nipped out the openers in his first six overs and finished with 15-6-48-2.
Middlesex took a first innings lead of 151, although Andrew Balbirnie contributed just 6 to that, with Murtagh making 16 off 18 balls in three scoring shots. Murtagh took 2-45 in the second innings, leaving Middlesex just over 100 to win. Sadly for Balbirnie he was dismissed first ball, although his team won by seven wickets.
Rory McCann was in 1st XI action for his Carlton club who had several players on Scotland duty in Malahide. The former Instonians man held a catch off TJ Freshwater as he took 7-8 in dismissing Stoneywood Dyce for 80.
McCann made an unbeaten 4 to take his Eastern Premier Division average to 265. But Rory will miss out on a Scottish Cup final as Carlton went down to Grange on DL, with the former Ireland keeper run out in what was reported as “A dreadful mix-up”.
McCann has a new Irish team-mate too, in former Malahide and Ireland Under-15 seamer Cameron Shoebridge. Cameron has moved to Scotland to further his cricket ambitions and has already played for Scotland U17 against the Durham Academy.
He made his first XI debut for Carlton last week, taking 3-50 off 8.3 overs against Watsonians. In the Scottish Cup semi-final he bowled 5-0-33-1, taking the wicket of Grange captain Andrew Brock.