Rolfe and Ridgeway Star as Leinster defeat The Hills

It was all about the Leinster opening pair tonight in The Hills, as Rebecca Rolfe (50*) and Ellen Ridgeway (45*) put together an unbeaten opening stand of 126, chasing down The Hills target in just 15.2 overs.

Having won the toss and elected to bat, The Hills started well, batting with good intent in the PowerPlay overs. Excellent running between the wickets was a real feature of the opening stand between Tess Maritz and Clíodhna O'Reardon, with Maritz smashing boundaries over extra-cover and mid-on, they progressed to 31/0 from the opening 6.

Each batter had a slice of luck in the 8th and 9th overs, firstly Maritz leading edged a ball which landed between three fielders, before O'Reardon popped a ball up which fell agonizingly out of Sophie MacMahon's reach.

At this point Jenny Sparrow entered the attack and having been slogged over square leg for 4 by Maritz, bowled The Hills' opener for 27 when she tried to repeat the trick the following ball with the score on 46. This brought Jane Maguire to the crease and she immediately stamped her authority with a boundary down the ground off her first ball.

At the other end, another bowling change brought another wicket, Katie Dillon bowled Clíodhna O'Reardon for 13, bringing Miranda Andrews to the crease, who together with Maguire rotated the strike well, setting up a platform to attack the last 6 overs, which is just what they did. Firstly Maguire tucked into MacMahon for back to back boundaries in the 15th over, then taking another ten runs from the 17th over bowled by Rhianne Slevin.

Again it was a bowling change which did the trick for Leinster, as Sparrow returned to bowl Maguire for a well made 33 in the 18th over. This brought Amy Benson to the crease, and she picked up where Maguire had left off striking a brace of boundaries in the 19th over, before being caught at mid-wicket off the penultimate ball of the innings. But this was not before Andrews had gotten a boundary away as she finished unbeaten on 17. This gave The Hills 125/4 from their 20 overs, what looked at the innings' break to be a decent total. Jenny Sparrow (2/27) and Katie Dillon (2/25) the standout bowlers for Leinster.

Leinster knew they would need to bat well in pursuit of that total, and Ridgeway and Rolfe set the tone from the outset, showing intent with their running between the wickets, and punishing any errant bowling by The Hills during the PowerPlay.

Having made it to 41/0 off the first six, Leinster's openers pressed the accelerator, striking a boundary each in the 7th over, and not allowing The Hills' change bowlers settle into their spells. The partnership had to survive a scare in the 9th over however, after a slight hesitation between the wickets The Hills let a run out opportunity slip through their grasp, a moment which may have turned the game.

It wasn't to be the case however and after Ridgeway deposited a full toss over point for a one bounce four in the 10th over, the score was 88/0 and Leinster were in the driving seat. Rolfe was playing an excellent hand rotating the strike while her partner looked for the more attacking options. Their 100 partnership came up in the 13th over and after some more enterprising running and composed batting, four were needed when the 16th over began.

Ridgeway crashed the first ball through extra-cover almost to the fence, for a well run three, and when Rolfe nurdled a single into the legside, she brought up her personal milestone as well as the win for Leinster in just 15.2 overs.

Leinster skipper Sophie MacMahon was delighted with the win, saying; "A very convincing win, that was a brilliant chase by our openers, to chase that without losing a wicket was a great achievement. As well as that, a lot of our younger players really stepped up with the ball, which is brilliant to see"

Elsewhere. at Sydney Parade; Pembroke put together an impressive bowling performance to bowl Clontarf out for just 68, two wickets apiece for captain Orla Prendergast, Hannah Little and Anna Beale. Their chase began well, as opener Louise Little's 29 got them almost all the way to victory. That was before Christina Coulter-Reilly and Freya Sargent entered the attack, taking two wickets each and momentarily frightening Pembroke, who did reach their target of 69 for the loss of 5 wickets in the 13th over.

Meanwhile, the game of the evening was played at Malahide, where an unbeaten 90 from Robyn Lewis, supported by 45 from fellow opener Siuin Woods, helped YMCA to an imposing 166/2 from their 20 overs. A very imposing total, but one which proved to be just about within Malahide's grasp, Amy Hunter making 68 in a second wicket partnership worth 112 with Anna Kerrison (39). When this pair had departed, it was left to two Sarahs, Condron and Brophy to see the game home, with the former manufacturing 8 from the final 4 balls to see Malahide through to a magnificent chase, closing on 170/3 from the final ball of their 20 overs. An early contender for the best run chase of the season across the province!

Sprint Coatings Division 1 20-over

The Hills vs Leinster, Milverton, Thursday August 13th

The Hills 125/4, 20 overs (J Maguire 33, T Maritz 27; K Dillon 2/25, J Sparrow 2/27)
Leinster 126/0, 15.2 overs (R Rolfe 50*, E Ridgeway 45*)

Leinster won by 10 wickets