PEMBROKE AND PHOENIX PROGRESS TO SKELLIG SIX18 LEINSTER SENIOR CUP FINAL

This afternoon saw Pembroke and Phoenix set up a mouth-watering Skellig Six18 Leinster Senior Cup Final on August 3rd.

The featured action came from Observatory Lane, where Pembroke visited Leinster. The home side, with the benefit of having played on the pitch once yesterday, won the toss and elected to bat first.

Quickly however that proved to be a questionable decision, as two early wickets for Barry McCarthy, and one for Nick Stapleton, saw Leinster falling to 37/3.

Byron McDonough then came into the attack, and bowled an excellent 8 over spell of 3/12, with another crucial wicket coming in the form of Gareth Delany suffering a nightmare run out by Paul Lawson at mid-wicket.

Scores in the teens from Mark Tonge, Tom Johnson and Jai Moondra helped scramble beyond 100, before Barry McCarthy returned to take his final two wickets to finish with figures of 4/41, with JJ Garth taking the last wicket to fall. Leinster all out for 123 inside 34 overs.

Pembroke completed the chase in consummate professional style, Tim Tector and Diarmaid Tucker adding 59 without loss in the 9 overs before tea. The spell after tea began in much the same vein, the openers moving the score along to 81 before Tucker was given out caught behind off the bowling of Joey Carroll, having played near a ball outside off-stump.

Carrolls next over saw Tector caught at third slip by a sharp Monil Patel catch, departing for 44 with the score on 90. This saw Nick Stapleton joining JJ Garth at the crease, and the pair added the final 34 runs in just 8 overs, to secure a fine 8 wicket win and secure their spot in the final.

Meanwhile in the Phoenix Park, Malahide batted first, and thanks to 25 from Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and 36 from Adam Doyle, got off to a reasonable start, before they fell to leave the score 105/4.

Jeremy Martins and Matt Ford added 79, before the pair both fell, along with Timcy Khanduja in the space of 7 balls, seeing the score to 184/7.

Andy Sheridan (25) and Mike Frost (18) added some good late umph to take the score up to 242/9. Amish Sidhu the pick of the bowlers for the home side taking 4/40, whilst Jack Lalor took 2/56.

The chase saw George Dockrell anchoring his way through after an inauspicious start, with the returning international making 116 from 119, with scores in the teens from Jack Lalor, Shane Getkate and Tyrone Kane helping him see the score up to 179, before Dockrell was eventually dismissed with the score on 212.

Adam Chester was left to be the hero of the day, making an unbeaten 44 from just 29 balls, striking three fours and three sixes on their way to a 3 wicket win with 4 overs to spare.