CRICKET FOR BREAKFAST, DINNER & TEA - THE SEQUEL

The fourth instalment of Jim Bennett's Cricket for Breakfast, Dinner & Tea - The Sequel, kicks off at the start of June, with the club cricket season getting into it's full flow...

1 June, North County v The Hills

With the sun shining at last, my day commenced with an interview on NEAR FM with Fergus Carroll. We discussed Ireland’s prospects for the forthcoming World Cup, the recent games against Pakistan, and the failure of the women’s team to qualify for its World Cup. We previewed the upcoming Leinster Senior Cup and Irish Senior Cup games and looked forward to a very busy cricketing month. Having completed the interview, we met for breakfast with John Archer, Michael Dwyer, Martin Russell, and Paschal Henchy. Two of the party had vegetarian breakfasts, and Michael had porridge which was well-short of his expected standard.

North County 1, 206 for 8; The Hills 1,  117 all out.

Inch was our destination for the game between The Hills and North County, and we received the usual warm welcome from Joe Murphy and Joey Mooney, among others. North County won the toss and opted to bat first. The first wicket (McGovern) fell when 22 runs had been scored, and the very dangerous Safi was run out after a mix-up with John Devane who went on to score 32 runs. The key partnership of the game between Eddie Richardson (38) and Alan Joseph Mathew (38), was ended when Richardson was out to a great catch on the boundary by Muzamil Sherzad off the bowling of Nico Laesgaard. North County’s final score was 206 for 8, and the visiting team was satisfied with its efforts in the field. The wickets were taken by Cian Nulty (3 for 35), Tomás Rooney-Murphy (2 for 37), and Nico Laesgaard (2 for 38). 

When The Hills had scored 28 runs, the game was ended as a contest with 3 wickets falling to a combination of poor shots, and a controversial umpiring decision. Andy Kavanagh (30) at the top of the order and Cian Nulty (24) were the only batters to make scores of any significance, and the fact that Extras (24) were the equal second highest score tells its own story regarding a dismal batting performance with The Hills being all out on a score of 117 runs in 23.4 overs. It was a chastening day at Inch for The Hills’ players and supporters, and we can only hope that there will be an improved performance next week when The Hills will play Merrion in the Irish Senior Cup.

2 June

I had breakfast with Matt Dwyer, Michael Dwyer, and Martin Russell, and after a brisk walk on The Head, I went to Balbriggan for the quarter final game between Balbriggan and Pembroke in the Leinster Senior Cup. I saw what would have been a unique experience for me – a hat-trick of runouts in the one over. There were two, and only a despairing sliding of the bat prevented the third one. With Balbriggan wickets falling rapidly, I decided to go to The Vineyard for round 2 of the weekend’s games between The Hills and North County.

The Hills II, 159 for 8; North County, 112 all out.

The Hills’ Second XI managed to dispel some of the gloom which was encircling The Vineyard by beating North County by 47 runs. At 19 for 5, it looked as if The Hills’ tale of woe was going to continue, but a partnership of 91 runs between Edson Silva (81) and Joseph Russell (14*) turned this game on its head. A very good bowling performance with wickets for McGrane (1 for 21), Silva (3 for 29), Ismail (2 for 24), and Andrew Kavanagh (2 for 6) was complemented by good fielding to give The Hills’ players and supporters a modicum of hope after the  poor performance on Saturday. 

3 June, Pembroke II, 301 for 7; The Hills II, 229 for 9.

The sad departure of YMCA from cricket resulted in a very significant dividend for Pembroke CC in terms of player recruitment, and thus it was more in hope than confidence that The Hills II hosted Pembroke II at The Vineyard on Bank Holiday Monday. Pembroke won the toss and elected to bat first. 301 runs were amassed with Daniel Murray (100), Ethan Clarke (36), and Rob Kelly (25) being the best performers with the bat. The inability to bowl one side of the wicket resulted in The Hills conceding 44 Extras. During the course of the afternoon, Bill Dwyer provided his thoughts on a vast range of topics to a disparate selection of spectators (terracing at sports stadia, Rory Gallagher, Pink Floyd, guitars being played with glass bottles, famous cricketers of the past, blood doping, athletics, literature, and dictionary knowledge). The other noteworthy item during the first innings was Brendan Garry managing to have the Jack Russell dog which ran from the railway bridge in Skerries on Saturday adopted. 

After the usual splendid tea at The Vineyard, The Hills commenced its response and a lot was going to depend on Joe Fletcher and Mark Dwyer, the two most experienced members of the team. Mark had scored 32 when he was run out, and Joe was very unlucky to be deprived of a well-deserved century when he was out, caught and bowled on 97. With Joe’s departure, any home of chasing down the huge score disappeared although Pembroke did its best to assist by conceding 42 runs in extras. On a mixed weekend for The Hills CC’s teams, it is important not to become enshrouded in negativity because the prospects for the club are positive in the long-term.

5 June, Northern Knights, 131 for 2; Leinster Lightning, 132 all out (DLS).

Michael Dwyer and I travelled to Stormont for the List A game between the Northern Knights and Leinster Lightning, and we started our day by having a hearty breakfast at the Carrigdale Hotel. For a lengthy period, we had the honour of being the only spectators at the ground, but later in the morning, we were joined by Eric Powell, a great supporter of Leinster cricket, Ross McCollum, the former Chairperson of Cricket Ireland, and Jason McCullough of North Down CC. Excluding the broadcasting personnel, the two security men, the two First Aiders, and people engaged in different forms of work at the venue, the total attendance at the game was nine spectators. In fairness, it must be said that some of the more committed attenders of the Interprovincial series were in New York supporting the Irish team, but it is blatantly obvious that a re-think is necessary because in its present format the Interprovincial series is a failure from practically every perspective.

Local knowledge suggested that the ball would “nip around a bit” at the early stages of game, but the Leinster Lightning captain, having won the toss, decided that his team would bat first.  Tim Tector was clean bowled when the score stood at 13 runs, Chris de Freitas shouldered arms and was out first ball, and 4 more wickets were taken to leave the Lightning in deep trouble at 50 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Gavin Hoey (39) and Seamus Lynch (29) had a partnership of 55 runs which brought an element of respectability to the score, but there is no denying that the Leinster Lightning’s batting performance was appreciably below an acceptable standard. Batting became easier in the Northern Knights’ innings because Van der Merwe and S. Topping had a partnership of 83 runs for the first wicket, and Lightning was put out of its misery in the 21^st over. To add to the calamitous batting performance, the Lightning’s bowling and fielding were of an equally low standard, and it has to be admitted that the visiting team was outplayed on the day. With news flashes coming in of the Irish team being in difficulties in New York, the less said about the day from a Leinster or Irish perspective the better. The only consolations on a mixed day weather-wise were the breakfast and being home early.

7 June, Ireland v Canada

Ireland won the toss and elected to field first which according to the received wisdom was the only way to win a game on the pitch in New York. With 4 wickets down and only 53 runs on the board, everything was going Ireland’s way. A partnership of 75 runs between Kirton and Movva brought about a shift in momentum in favour of Canada, and Ireland faced a daunting target of 138 runs. Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie started slowly, due to fears regarding the pitch, and then wickets began to fall at regular intervals. The two pivotal incidents were the run-out of Tucker and Campher falling to a brilliant catch. From that point onwards, things looked very bleak for Ireland. George Dockrell (30*) and Mark Adair (34) gave the Irish fans a modicum of hope, but when Adair was out with the score at 121, it was obvious that this was not going to be Ireland’s day. These are worrying times for Irish cricket – the men’s team will need a miracle to qualify for the next stage of the T20 World Cup, the women’s team failed to qualify for its World Cup, and infrastructural work at Abbotstown has stalled.   I respectfully suggest that the review be allocated to an independent observer and not done “in house”. 

8 June, Balbriggan, 137 for 9; The Hills, 133 for 8 (Game 1, Alan Murray Cup)

The weather was fine, and everything was in place for a good day’s cricket at the Jack Harper Ground, Balbriggan. The home team won the toss and elected to field first. The Hills had lost 2 wickets by the time that 16 runs had scored, but Andrew Kavanagh (21) and Tomás Rooney-Murphy (18) led the revival with a stand of 39 runs. Wickets then fell in clusters – 2 wickets when the score was 55, and another two at 82 and 83 runs respectively. Edson Silva (34) and Muzamil Sherzad (26) brought The Hills back into the game with a partnership of 47 runs. There was general satisfaction among the visiting team and supporters that a competitive score had been posted. 

There is no doubt that The Hills’ bowling attack is appreciably stronger than the batting, and with 9 overs bowled, Balbriggan had been restricted to 31 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.  It was at that stage that The Hills gave an object lesson in how to lose a game from a winning position. In the 13^th over, 19 runs were conceded, and Balbriggan was back with a chance of retrieving what had appeared to be a lost cause. In the next 11 overs, Balbriggan scored 106 runs and won by 4 runs. Cian Nulty took 4 wickets for 31 runs but conceded 10 runs in his last over which took the gloss off a good bowling performance. There was understandable deflation in The Hills’ camp because that was a game which the visitors should have won. However, there was going to be another opportunity to rectify the situation in the second game of the day.

Balbriggan, 143 all out; The Hills, 144 for 7.

Balbriggan batted first, and with Cameron Rowe (65) anchoring the innings seemed to be destined for a big score, but a combination of penetrative bowling and brilliant fielding restricted Balbriggan to 143 all out. The successful bowlers were Manoj (3 for 22), Nulty (2 for 23), Rooney-Murphy (2 for 28), and Andy Kavanagh took one magnificent catch. Brandon Kruger (37) and Andy Kavanagh (35) gave The Hills a solid start, but the temperature was raised by an appeal for a “Mankad” dismissal. The matter was settled eventually by a diplomatic intervention, but the exchange unsettled Andy, and he was out, caught and bowled, on the next ball that he faced. Wickets began to fall rapidly, but Edson Silva (29*), the Kuwaiti international, is proving to be a tremendous find for The Hills. He hit a number of sixes which took the pressure off, and The Hills reached its target with 7 balls to spare. After the poor performance last week at Inch, The Hills showed commendable resolve today. The bowling was good, the batting was improving, but the fielding continues to be like the parson’s egg – “good in spots”.

9 June, Merrion, 419 for 6 v The Hills, 188 all out (Irish Senior Cup)

A trip to Dublin 4 always necessitates having a good breakfast so that a person is fortified for whatever misfortune may be encountered during the course of the day. Having agreed to rendezvous with Michael Dwyer at 10.15 a.m., we met up with Eddie Dwyer of ED Sports, a wonderful benefactor of Cricket Leinster, and he joined us for breakfast. In keeping with his healthy image, Ed ordered porridge with honey and fruit plus poached eggs while we indulged ourselves by having cooked breakfasts.

Merrion batted first and the tone for a very slipshod Hills’ performance in the field was set early on by two dropped catches. The dropped catch on Stephen Doheny only cost 32 runs, but Swapnil took advantage of his let-off by scoring 115 runs. As I did innumerable laps of the ground, I met up with Merrion members who were becoming increasingly agitated at John Anderson’s very pedestrian approach to scoring. They need not have worried because when he eventually unleashed his full array of shots on the beleaguered Hills’ bowling attack, the ball was dispatched to all parts of the grounds, and one ball ended up across the road near Simmonscourt. Swapnil and Anderson (175) went on to score 248 runs which is the second highest total in the history of the Irish Senior Cup. It was Anderson’s 8^th century in the competition which leaves him second to Decker Curry who has 10 centuries. A few wickets were taken towards the end of the innings, and Merrion ended on 419 runs. 

Gerry Ormond and Eddie Lewis very kindly invited us to partake of tea, sandwiches, and biscuits which left us in slightly better form to watch The Hills’ reply. Andy Kavanagh and Brandon Kruger (35) opened the batting and Andy was run out when very few runs had been scored. Muzamil Sherzad (72) and Yaseen Sherzad (36) gave an element of respectability to The Hills’ score, but mercifully, the game ended in 32.5 overs. The game showed the vast gulf between a team with aspirations of winning the Premier League and a team whose ambitions at this stage may be restricted to finishing at least in 5^th place in the Championship. The only consolation for the team was that it will not be encountering a team of that quality again this season. There was better news from The Vineyard and The Hills II beat Railway Union II by 10 wickets to qualify for the semi-final of the Senior 2 Cup.

15 June 

I decided to get the steps in early, so I walked from home to College Park and discovered that the walk was further than I thought. I met Michael Dwyer for breakfast, and I saw a wonderful example of productivity and multi-tasking. The person who was in charge of distributing the items, also had responsibility for the toast and was the person who accepted payment for the items purchased. Unfortunately, that involved being in three places at the same time, so things were a bit slow before we managed to sit down to the breakfast.

College Park is an iconic ground, and it is a great pity that the college authorities appear to have minimal interest in cricket or the historical significance of the venue. It is also difficult to understand why parking is not made readily available to visiting teams and supporters on Saturday afternoons when to all intents and purposes there is minimal scholarly activity. 

Dublin University, 116 for 7; The Hills, 96 all out.

Dublin University won the toss and opted to bat first. The second over of the day went for 20 runs, and it took a considerable amount of effort for The Hills to get the run rate down to manageable proportions. Tomás Rooney-Murphy took 2 wickets for 16 runs, Brandon Kruger took 2 for 23, and Seán McNicholl’s figures were 1 for 14 off 4 overs. The visiting team was reasonably satisfied in restricting Dublin University to 116 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. The Hills got off to a good start and the first wicket fell when 37 runs had been scored. From that point onwards, wickets fell with monotonous regularity and The Hills ended on 96 runs all out. Fingal teams have always had a weakness against spin bowling, and College Park is probably the biggest ground in Leinster, but it was galling to see the number of batters who were out caught when attempting expansive shots. There was plenty of food for thought as The Hills’ players tucked into the very welcome repast which was provided by the home team.

Dublin University, 116 for 6; The Hills, 117 for 4.

The home team won the toss and opted to bat first again. On this occasion, the bowling was tighter and restricted Dublin University to 36 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the powerplay. The fifth wicket partnership of 40 runs between David Vincent (39) and Jack Atkinson (17*) enabled Dublin University to finish on the same score as it had achieved in the first game. The main wicket takers were Seán McNicholl (2 for 27) and Brandon Kruger (2 for 26). Tomás Rooney-Murphy took 3 catches, and Joseph Russell, the debutant, took 1. Edson Silva got The Hills off to a flying start by hitting 2 fours and a six, but then attempted one big shot too many and was out caught. Brandon Kruger (28) and Andrew Kavanagh (43*) had a partnership of 54 runs, and without tempting fate unduly, it was safe to assume a win for The Hills. In the end, two more wickets were lost, but the target was achieved in the 19^th over. 

At the end of the second series of T20 games, The Hills had 2 wins and 2 losses. It is not being unduly biased to say that the record should have been four wins and no losses because the first game on each day was thrown away. Nevertheless, it is possible to see some green shoots because the loss of key batters has meant that others have had to step up to the plate and that is now occurring. I got lots of steps done around College Park, and then faced into the walk home. At the end of a long day, I had walked nearly 25, 000 steps which was well over twice my daily target. 

17 June

Today, I received the very sad news that John Wills, our former coach and Life Member, had died. Ironically, I had met Liam McPhilips, a friend of his on Saturday last, and he told me that John was in very good form, but that he had been hospitalised recently. I said that I would give him a ring on Monday, but sadly, Catherine, John’s daughter, told me at lunchtime that her dad had died. John Wills was one of nature’s gentlemen. After a distinguished playing career, he coached the Ireland men’s team, the Ireland women’s team, and was a wonderfully inspirational coach at The Hills. At his own request, there would be no funeral, and his body was being donated for medical research. Catherine mentioned that the family would appreciate a ceremony at The Vineyard, and the Executive of the club will ensure that our distinguished Life Member is honoured appropriately.

21 June

Garrett Mullan is the creator of a podcast website, and he invited me to explain why there are so many cricket teams in Fingal. We met at a well-known restaurant in Duleek, and after some preliminary discussions, the podcast was recorded in about thirty minutes and is available on

22 June

The following day, I had the opportunity to pay tribute to John Wills on Fergus Carroll’s sports programme on NEAR FM. Fergus had actually played against John Wills in the 1969 Leinster Senior Cup Final when Clontarf beat Leinster, and it was very gratifying that Fergus allocated plenty of time on his programme so that John’s death would be marked appropriately.  At The Vineyard, The Hills’ flag was at half-mast, and there was a minute’s silence before the two T20 games between The Hills and North County.

It was good to meet with Alan Neill who was on duty in his role as Umpires’ Advisor, and I also had a chat with Jimmy Kinsella regarding the success of his recently published book. 

North County, 132 for 4; The Hills, 122 all out.

The Hills won the toss and opted to field first. North County got off to a solid start and the first wicket fell when 32 runs had been scored. The two most successful batters for North County were Safi (42) and Madyalkar (44*). Cian Nulty took 2 wickets for 18 runs in 3 overs and Brandon Kruger took 1 for 24 in 4 overs. There was a general level of satisfaction among the home players and supporters with regard to the effort in the field. 

In its reply, The Hills lost its first wicket with only 11 runs on the board, and 2 runs later, lost its second wicket, both falling to Eddie Richardson. Brandon Kruger (30) was going very nicely, and Richardson brought himself back on in an attempt to break a partnership. With very few balls left in his spell, Eddie bowled Kruger, and from that point onwards, wickets fell with monotonous regularity, leaving The Hills 10 runs short of North County’s total.

The Hills, 159 for 8; North County, 111 all out.

For the second time, The Hills won the toss and, on this occasion, opted to bat first. The wisdom of that decision was demonstrated by its score of 159 for 8. The main batters for The Hills were Brandon Kruger (51) and Yaseen Sherzad (48), and Richardson was again in the wickets taking 2 for 27 in his 4 overs.  In reply, North County lost its first wicket when 13 runs had been scored, and Jain was its most successful batter with 32*. Brandon Kruger had the very satisfactory figures of 4 wickets for 7 runs in 2.5 overs. North County was bowled out for 111 runs, and a modicum of pride was restored by The Hills team. The overall review of The Hills’ performances in the Alan Murray Cup showed that the team won three games and lost three games. The bowling unit is solid, the fielding is moderately satisfactory, but the batting is very dependent on a few players to have substantial innings.

Presentation of Richard Dunne’s Memorabilia

During the interval between the T20 games, Michael Dwyer presented a framed set of Richard Dunne’s memorabilia to the club. Both Michael and Bobby Swarbrigg, President of The Hills CC, spoke eloquently of Richard’s lasting impact on The Hills CC.

23 June

After some deliberation, Michael Dwyer and I breakfasted at a different venue in Skerries, and in honour of the occasion, both of us opted for the full breakfast so that we could compare and contrast it with other breakfasts. We awarded a “satisfactory” verdict, although the service was somewhat slow with the result that we missed the start of the game at The Vineyard.

The Hills II, 90 all out; Clontarf II, 92 for 2.

The members of The Hills II had informed me prior to the game that the team which was representing the club was probably the strongest side which it had fielded all season.  By the time, I arrived at The Vineyard, the scoreboard showed that The Hills had lost 2 wickets with only 6 runs on the board. That set the tone for a catastrophic batting performance which featured another “run out”, and out “obstructing the field”. Andy Kavanagh (24) and Muzamil Sherzad (21) got starts, and Killian Everard (10) batted sensibly, but ran out of partners. The final score for The Hills was 90 all out in 23.2 overs. Clontarf scored 92 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 10.2 overs, and the only consolation was that we had plenty of time to enjoy the usual excellent “tea”, and I had an extended chat with Donal O’Sullivan and Wendy Vincent of Clontarf CC.

28 June

Midlands 103 Radio broadcast an interview which I had done with David Hollywood in which we discussed the history of cricket in Laois.

29 June

The Hills v Rush (Abandoned)

Constant rain made the prospects of play remote, and after a few hours standing around, the umpires decided that the game between Rush and The Hills could not be played. I had a very interesting conversation with Matt Dwyer in which a wide range of topics was covered. Matt has been working on preliminary specifications for an indoor centre at The Vineyard and in what has been a difficult a season from a playing perspective, it was uplifting to hear such positive thoughts. Word came through from Inch that it was going to be possible for a game to be played between North County and Railway Union, so I drove over to Balrothery to see some cricket. 

Railway Union, 153 for 8; North County, 154 for 6

Railway Union batted first and Philippe Le Roux (71*) gave a fine impetus to its innings. A score of 153 would take some getting in 24 overs, but Eddie Richardson (94*) ensured that North County achieved its target score. As he approaches his 34^th birthday, Eddie continues to be a wonderful cricketer, and in addition to his match-winning knock, he also took 3 wickets for 17 runs. This was a very exciting game, played in a very good spirit, with both teams willing to wait for the rain to abate so that a game might be played. 

30 June, Instonians, 199 all out; Malahide, 81 all out.

On Sunday, I was on the horns of a dilemma – would I go to Rathmines to watch The Hills II v Leinster II, or would I go to Malahide for the Irish Senior Cup game? On the basis of traffic congestion for the concert (Taylor Swift), Flavours of Fingal, and the All-Ireland football quarter finals, discretion was the better form of valour, and I decided to go to Malahide. It was good to meet with John and Anna Morgan, and I had a long chat with Kathleen Gavin. Instonians batted first and the consensus among the cricketing cognoscenti (Alan Hughes et al) was that any score in excess of 150 would take some getting because the ball was “doing a bit”. Nikolai Smith (57) anchored the Instonians’ innings, and there were solid contributions from Cade Carmichael (37), Cian Robertson (34), and James Lambert (29*) to bring the visitors to a score of 199. Malahide had a disastrous start and had lost 2 wickets before we came out from the tea. Adam Doyle (32) was the only Malahide player to have an innings of any consequence as batter after batter succumbed to spin bowling (Robertson, 4 for 23; White, 2 for 18). The home side ended up on 81, with the only consolation being that the team has the T20 semi-final to look forward to on Saturday, 7 July.