IN-FORM former Vidarbha player Aniruddha Chore gave North Down a solid start as the team pipped Istonians by four runs in Northern Cricket Union (NCU) Premier League in Ireland. North Down made 226-6 in allotted 40 overs and then the bowlers restricted the rivals to 222-6. Playing at their home ground at Shaw’s Bridge, Istonians won the toss and invited the visitors to take first strike. Openers skipper A Shield (16) and stumper Chore (41) added 46 runs before the former became the first casualty. In his over an hour stay at the crease, Chore played 54 balls and hit five boundaries.

 

He had a good partnership with G Maneeshan (51). S Nelson (42) and Ryan Haire (38) made good contributions with the bat to take the team to a competitive total. During their chase, three of the top four Istonians batters got half centuries and it looked like that they would take the team home. Openers Nikolai Smith (51) and O Metcalfe (51) gave the team a flying start accumulating 108 runs for the first wicket. Number four C Carmichael remained unbeaten on a well-compiled 53* while number three J Hunter made 30. But two run outs at dead end of the match cost the hosts and they fell short of the target by count of five. This was seventh win from ten games for North Down who are well placed at second position in the points table below leaders Waringstown who have lost just one game.