The Middle Cup, sponsored by LHK Insurance for the 2020 season, was the first of our competitions with 4 team groups, and home and away fixtures. This different dynamic meant only one team would qualify, straight to the semi-final stage.
Group A of the LHK Insurance Middle Cup was contested between Clontarf 3, Malahide 3, Phoenix 3 and Castleknock 1.
Round 1 of fixtures saw Clontarf score 183/5 thanks in the main to Rana Asad’s 95, Malahide in response could manage only 104/6, Jack Grant top scoring with 23*, as Oliver Gilhooly (2/14) and Sheikh Sahil (2/21) were the pick of the bowlers for Clontarf. Meanwhile, Castleknock batted first in Porterstown Park, and Qasim Sethi’s 60, supported by Suman Dey’s 30 from 12 balls saw them make 138/9. Dey backed that up with 3/13, whilst Yasir Mir was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/10, as Phoenix could manage only 81 all out.
Malahide welcomed Castleknock for Round 2, and brought them back down to earth, Sean Drumm’s 108 seeing them make 197/3. The Villagers then backed this up as Martin Russell took 3/11, whilst Joe Jennings and Oliver Manks took two wickets apiece, keeping their visitors to 155/8 for a 42 run victory. Phoenix batted first at home to Clontarf, and 34* from Shiju Nair helped them to 138/7, two wickets apiece for Clontarf from Gilhooly again, this week supported by Luke Thomson. Finbarr O’Halloran’s 63 for Clontarf could only see them reach 118 all out as Usama Dar took 4/16 to blow away the tail and give Phoenix a 20 run win.
In Round 3 only one game survived the weather, Phoenix welcomed Malahide, who batted first, this week it was Robert Weir’s turn to score big runs, his 85* taking the visitors to 160/3 from their allotted overs. Afkar Ahmed managing 2/19 for Phoenix and avoiding most of the punishment. The same man top scored with 32 as the home side never really got going, stifled by three wickets for Oliver Manks, with two apiece for Eoghan Keohane, Ben Askew and Leslee Muttahotil, Phoenix limped to 103/9 from their 20 overs, and a 57 run defeat.
Clontarf made the trip to Malahide for round 4, and Brendan Hildebrand’s 78 led them to 172/6 from their 20 overs. Malahide rallied in the chase, Sean Drumm making 39 and Martin Russell 40, however Clontarf clawed it back through two wickets apiece for Sean Devilly and Daire Vickers, seeing them keep the home side to 143 and ensuring a 29 run victory for Clontarf. Phoenix batted first at home to Castleknock, Wamiq Siddiqui (46) and Callum O’Byrne (49) pushing them to a total of 141/3 from their 20 overs. This proved to be plenty, 3 wickets for Afkar Ahmed along with 2 apiece for Aaron Joseph, Junaid Iqbal and Usama Dar saw them roll their visitors over for 86, a 55 run victory for Phoenix.
There were two classics in Round 5, Clontarf batted first at home to Castleknock and after two early wickets apiece for Samran Patel and Yasir Mir, Daniel O’Sullivan’s 48* supported by Jimmy Bansal’s 23 helped them to 130/7. Bansal was then the hero with the ball, his 3/23 along with Luke Thomson and Pankaj Bhamere taking two wickets each repelled the efforts of Patel (39*) and Shahbaz Ahmed (33) to secure a 1 run win for the hosts. In Phoenix, Malahide batted first and Travis Stringer’s 4/15 restricted them to just 90/7, Sean Drumm top scoring with 25. Phoenix collapsed around Callum O’Byrne who anchored the chase with 39, before Stringer’s 14* saw them over the line by 6 wickets.
Going into the final round, neither Malahide or Castleknock could qualify, but they still produced a great game of cricket. Castleknock batted first, Hassan Nawaz scoring 71 in a total of 147/9. Leslee Muttahotil avoiding punishment with 2/13. At 60/4 Malahide were in trouble, but 44 from Rajan Chandi got them back on track before he was dismissed, Muttahotil then managed to scramble the winning runs from the final ball, to see Malahide home by 2 wickets. Meanwhile in the game which would decide the qualifier, Phoenix again travelled to Clontarf and put together an excellent bowling performance, Stringer and Iqbal taking 3 apiece as they kept the home side to just 99. Clontarf were just as good with the ball and in spite of Siddiqui’s 31 and Stringer’s 25, 2 wickets apiece for Selvin Nakka and Sean Devilly helped the home side to a 2 run win and qualification for the next round.
Meanwhile, Group B of the LHK Insurance Middle Cup was played out between Pembroke 3, Railway Union 2, Sandyford 1 and Wexford Wanderers 1.
In round 1, Wexford travelled to Railway and batted first, Sharjeel Shaikh made 34 but nobody else made double figures as Adriaan van Dyck’s 4/15 and Yaser Sheriff’s 3/12 ensured they were restricted to just 64 all out. Wexford bowled excellently, making Railway work hard for the runs, but Ross Wynne (25) and Simon Grehan (17) took their time to ensure the home side made their way to a 5 wicket win. Pembroke hosted Sandyford, batting first, having been 24/3, unbeaten half-centuries for Max Byers and Noah Smith propelled them to 146/3. Sandyford’s chase stuttered, and three wickets each for Byers and Rahmanullah Orikhel kept them to 132 and a 14 run win for Pembroke.
Pembroke welcomed Wexford on week 2, the hosts again batted, and Byers again top scored, making 45* in a total of 140/3. Orikhel again delivered, taking 3/26, but Umar Tarar (32) and Ibrar Jan (28*) managed to help Wexford to a 4 wicket win in the last over. In Marlay Park, Sandyford batted first and thanks to Senthil Kumar’s 40 made 128/9, Railway did well with the ball, Mark Canniffe starring with 3/29. Railway were stifled in their chase by two wickets apiece for Vinay Iqbal and Gawtham Devarajan, Canniffe’s 29 was the top score as they made just 119/8 and fell to a 9 run loss.
Sandyford visited Wexford in round 3, they batted first and were bowled out for 111, Atif Khan top scoring with 24 whilst there were two wickets apiece for Hazrat Khan and Adeel Mohammed. Ibrar Jan was again in the runs with 41* as Wexford won by 6 wickets with 2 full overs remaining. Railway crossed the road to Pembroke and their hosts bowled first, Achmet Carr (66*) and Phil Blackley (43) propelled them to 148/2 from 20 overs. Railway chipped away at the total but could only manage 133 all out, two wickets each for Siawash Safi and Rahmanullah Orikhel helping to see Pembroke to victory again.
Railway took their turn to visit Wexford in week 4, and an excellent bowling effort from the home side saw their visitors restricted to just 103/8, Hazrat Khan and Nithin Padmaprabhu taking two wickets each. Sharjeel Shaikh made 33* in the chase but it was Padmaprabhu who took centre stage with 43 as Wexford won convincingly, with 7 wickets and 6 overs to spare. Pembroke meanwhile bowled first in their visit to Sandyford, the home side posted 149, with contributions again from Khan (37) and Kumar (33) and later from skipper Abishek Pandey (34). Blackley and Byers plundered runs again, making 47 and 56 respectively, but there was a wobble through the middle before Gordon Clarke scrambled a single from the final ball to secure a 4 wicket win.
Pembroke’s round 5 pilgrimage to Wexford looked like it would end in tears, they collapsed to 26/6 with two wickets for Hazrat Khan and three for Sami Jan however Khosal Jan Safi’s counter attacking 44* saw them to 89/9 in their 20 overs. This was far from enough, as Sharjeel Shaikh’s 30 supplemented Haq Nawaz’s 34 in chasing down the total off just the 2nd ball of the 11th over for an 8 wicket victory. Sandyford batted first in Park Avenue, and again skipper Pandey led the way with 40, supported by Atif Khan’s 34 as they made 126/7 from their 20 overs. Two wickets for each of Digamber Mishra, Eoghan Grehan and Jigar Chudasama helping keep Sandyford somewhat under control. Ger O’Brien led the chase making 53, and he was supported by Simon Grehan’s 22 as Railway scrambled to a 3 wicket win from the final ball of the innings.
Entering the final round, a big win for Pembroke and big loss for Wexford would see the Sandymount side leapfrog the leaders. Unfortunately for them, none of this went to their script! Wexford visited Sandyford, and walloped 165/5 from 20 overs, Anjith Varghese top scoring with an unbeaten 55. The bowlers then took centre stage as a brilliant team effort, led by two wickets apiece for Padmaprabhu and Sean Faulkner saw Sandyford score 88/8, a 77 run win for Wexford. Meanwhile it was Pembroke’s turn to cross Park Avenue, and in spite of three wickets each for Orikhel and Sean Smith, Railway made a good total of 130/8. Pembroke’s chase never really got going and tight bowling led by Eoghan Grehan’s 2/20 saw the home side win by 14 runs.
So at the conclusion, Group A's qualifiers were Clontarf 3, accompanied by Wexford Wanderers from Group B.