CL U13 GIRLS IN DERRY

The Leinster Thunder and Leinster Storm U13 sides showed some promising performances and a bright future for cricket Leinster in the recent NWCU U13 Girls Festival, held in Foyle College from the 14^th to the 16^th of August, with the Leinster Storm finishing the festival with a 100% record.

The Thunder played NWCU on day one of the festival, falling just short of chasing down their total of 128. There were some excellent performances with the ball particularly from Sadhbh McAteer with outstanding figures of 2-11 off 4. The Storm played NCU on the first day of the competition. The NCU were restricted to 113 all out from 30 Overs, with Marissa Curtis taking 2-7 from her three overs. Suzie Whaley made 49* and was supported by Annabelle Walsh who scored 27 to reach the total in under 17 Overs.

Day two of the competition was impacted with a shorted game due to the weather resulting in a 15 overs a side match. A very evenly fought out battle between the two Leinster teams had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Thunder made 58 from their 15 with an excellent start to their innings from the opening batting pairs of Emma Deans 8 and Katie O'Toole 10. The storm chased down the total with 3 overs to spare. Sadhbh with another thrilling bowling performance of 2-2 from her 2 overs. The Thunder made 58-6, with Suzie Whaley taking 2-16 from her two overs. In reply, Lily Poynter top scored with 19, with Niveditha Saji making 17 for the Storm to win inside 12 Overs. 

The final day both teams were back to a full 30 over match, in cold and windy conditions. The Thunder bowled first against NWC, with some excellent bowling efforts from the entire Thunder team. A fantastic chase from the Thunder falling just short , a highlight from the day was Katie O'Toole making a 50 for the Thunder with a thrilling display of 4's and 6's hit around the ground an exciting finish to the week.

On the final day of the festival, the Storm took on the hosts NWCU. Again, the Storm bowled first, with Annabelle Walsh taking 4-5 from 3 Overs, with an excellent run out between Suzie Whaley & Vanessa Scollard to reduce the hosts to 75 all out in 18.1 Overs. Lainey Harte brought the Storm home with 21* for the Storm to win by 8 wickets with 12 overs to spare. 

Congratulations to all players who participated in the tournament. Excellent sportsmanship on and off the field from the team and some exciting players for the future of Cricket Leinster.