Season Review - Senior League Cup Group B

Today’s review comes from the other half of the LHW Financial Planning Cricket Leinster Senior League Cup, this was the bigger of the two groups, with 8 teams competing. The Premier League was represented by YMCA, Malahide, Clontarf and The Hills, with the remaining four teams being Championship sides, Balbriggan, North County, Railway Union and Terenure.

This ultra-competitive group opened up with a pair of derby games either side of the Liffey, the first of which was the opening Game of the Day of the season. North County got first use of their home pitch against Balbriggan, and after John Mooney (22) and Salman Aziz (25) had set a platform, Jonno Andrews’ 47* took them to a competitive 126/5. Matthew Varner the pick of the Balbriggan bowlers taking 2/15. Any designs Balbriggan had on chasing the runs were in tatters inside Eddie Richardson’s opening spell, the North County skipper taking three of the first 4 wickets to fall. Dhram Singh then entered the attack and bowled a brilliant spell of 3/4 from his allocation of overs to ensure his skipper didn’t even need to bowl his final over to secure a 37 run victory for the home side. In the Sandymount battle of the day, Railway got first use of the pitch in Claremont Road and thanks to 64 from Kenny Carroll and 43 from Danny Barclay, set YMCA a target of 146 to surpass. Captain Jack Tector (23) and fellow opener Mitchell Thompson (27) set the base, and, after a wobble caused by Prabanshu Kamal’s 3/28, it looked as if Bobby Gamble’s 33* was going to assist the home side to victory, however when he lost Tom Anders for 21 late on Railway were able to just about assert themselves on the game, and run out three run victors. The third game on day one saw Terenure travelling to The Hills, the away side batted first and after the powerplay had reached 60/0 with Séamus Lynch (34) and Dewald Barnard (20) setting the platform, at this point, Jonathan Tall entered the attack for The Hills, he took 3/23, knocking the stuffing out of Terenure, Cian Nulty then blew away the lower order with his 3/13 and with that they had held the visitors to just 108 all out. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Athar Farooqi settled the chase with an opening stand of 39, before both fell in quick succession, leaving Mark Donegan (37*) and Levon Shields (27*) to complete a fairly straightforward chase inside 11 overs. Finally, Clontarf travelled to Malahide, where the home side got first use of their track. Alan Reynolds blitzed 61 from just 29 balls and support from Arjun Muntha (38) and Greg Ford (36) led them to a total of 171/6, Kashif Ali the only bowler to escape real punishment with 2/23. Clontarf were never really in the hunt after openers Robert Forrest (30) and Andrew Vincent (27) had been dismissed and stumbled their way to 126/7 in their 20 overs. Cameron Shoebridge the pick of the Malahide bowlers with 3/13 from his 4 overs.

Week two saw Terenure travel to Malahide for an early start. Having elected to bat, Séamus Lynch’s 50 again gave a good platform to the away side, however after he was dismissed only captain Dónal Vaughan (24) could manage double figures and the visitors could muster only 107/6 in 20 overs. Arjun Muntha and Greg Ford made unbeaten scores of 39 and 57 respectively as Malahide knocked off the total one down in the 13^th over. Railway also travelled to Fingal, where they faced Balbriggan, the Park Avenue side were asked to bowl first and did an excellent job, restricting the home side to just 68/9 from their 20 overs. Oliver Perry was the pick of the bowlers, with his right arm seamers claiming 3/8 from 4 overs, whilst there were two wickets apiece for Eoghan Grehan, Hashir Sultan and Alex Stiles. After losing skipper Glenn Querl early in the piece, Kenny Carroll (25*) and Alex Stiles (32*) saw Railway to a comfortable 9 wicket win in the 17^th over. North County had another derby to contend with as they welcomed The Hills to Inch. The home side batted first and like the previous week, Mooney and Aziz set a platform, making 32 and 33 respectively. This week however it was captain Eddie Richardson who’s 43 guided his side to a solid 139/8 in their allocation. Tomas Rooney-Murphy’s 5/22 ensured that the game never got away from The Hills. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin’s 53 again was the platform for the chase however on this occasion the visitors just couldn’t get ahead of the run-rate and this led to regular wickets. North County eventually eking out a three run victory by restricting The Hills to 136/7. Game-week two’s Game of the Day was Clontarf’s visit to YMCA, the away side batted first and started well, Robert Forrest’s 36 accelerating his side to 48/0. Mikey O’Reilly then entered the attack for YM and his spell tore Clontarf to shreds, his 5/24 brought the Castle Avenue side to 66/7, and eventually to 96 all out from their 20 overs. Thoughts of a simple run chase were short lived when YMCA were 34/3 however Tim Tector’s 33 and Bobby Gambles unbeaten 28 countered tight four over spells by Shariful Islam (2/19) and Conor Kelly (2/13) and saw the home side to a 5 wicket win in the last over.

The third round of fixtures saw YMCA play yet another home game, on this occasion welcoming North County, and yet again the visiting side got first use of the pitch. 38 from Salman Aziz, supported by 26 from skipper Richardson saw them get to 117/6, Tom Anders’ 3/21 saw him the pick of the YM bowling attack. Mitchell Thompson’s 34 anchored the early part of the chase before Tim Tector came to the crease and blew the North County bowlers away with an unbeaten 43 from just 21 balls, Manmeet Singh’s 2/9 the only real resistance which meant YMCA lost 5 wickets in their chase. Railway travelled to Malahide where the home side batted first Greg Ford’s 29 and Alistair Frost’s 32 helped get them to 113/7 from 20 overs, some excellent spin bowling from Prabhanshu Kamal and Alex Stiles, 8 overs taking 3/32 between them helping to keep the home side reigned in. Railway’s chase centred around captain Glenn Querl’s 42 however when he was dismissed by Cameron Shoebridge as the first of a 4 wicket burst for the fast bowler Malahide turned the screw and never really let Railway get close in a 13 run win for the home side. Clontarf’s first home game of the season saw them welcoming The Hills to Castle Avenue, Forrest again led from the front with 71 out of their total of 137/4 from the 20 overs. Yet again it was McLoughlin-Gavin who was the mainstay of the chase making 34, however Clontarf consistently took wickets, with two apiece for David Vincent, Conor Kelly, Ehtesham Ahmed and Ben McCabe as they bowled The Hills out for 110 from the last ball of the 20 overs. The final game of this round saw Terenure travel to Balbriggan where they were asked to bat first by the home side. Séamus Lynch again took centre stage for the visitors making 84 from just 53 balls, to help his side to reach 169/4, Farooq Nasr with 2/34 the only Balbriggan bowler to make any sort of impact. Balbriggan’s response never really got going, and in spite of the best efforts of Ghanim Dara (29), Nasr (30) and captain Nathan Rooney (28), they were always behind the run rate, three wickets apiece for Zubair Khan and Sadiq Safi as well as two for stand in skipper Diarmuid Lynch meant Terenure ran out 30 run winners.

YMCA’s first away game of the season saw them travel to Milverton to face The Hills, who needed a win to revive their chances of qualification. YM’s bowlers were still in flying form however and this time it was Cillian McDonnell’s 3/20 and Mikey O’Reilly’s 2/17 which helped restrict their opposition. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin was yet again in the runs, top scoring with 36 as The Hills made their way to 127/7. YMCA’s chase stumbled and threatened briefly to fall flat on its face thanks to two wickets apiece for Khalid Bilal and Killian McGrane, that was until Bobby Gamble and Wilhelm de Klerk came together at the crease. Both made 39, with the latter not out at the end as YM again won by 5 wickets in the final over. Terenure were hosting their first home game of the season against Railway Union, the home side chose to bowl first and wickets for Diarmuid Lynch (3/25) and Mark Thomas (2/19) restricted Railway to 69/5, before Philippe le Roux’s 35 got the visitors to 138/7 from their 20 overs. Terenure never really got going in reply, only Dewald Barnard managing 20 as 4/23 from Oliver Perry as well as 3/15 from Digamber Mishra meant they were all out for just 91 in the 19^th over, a 47 run win for Railway. Clontarf welcomed winless Balbriggan and batting first, anchored by 31 from Andrew Delany the home side posted 108/6 from their 20 overs. Matthew Varner’s 2/13 alongside 2/18 from Abdul Sattar helping to restrict the hosts. Balbriggan’s chase relied heavily on Ghanim Dara who appeared to take the responsibility to bat through the innings, when he became Conor Kelly’s third of four victims for 41 Balbriggan’s resistance was all but over and they could only manage 96/8 from their 20 overs, a 12 run victory for Clontarf. The final game of this round was between North County and Malahide, at Inch. The home side batted first and thanks to Eddie Richardson (44*) and Jonno Andrews (41) posted a good score of 160/4 from 20 overs. Adam Coughlan the pick of the Malahide bowlers with 2/27. Malahide were well in the game in the chase until captain Fintan McAllister suffered an unfortunate serious injury whilst batting on 37. The delay to the game meant the innings was cut short, and North County had won by 9 runs on the DLS system.

Round 5 saw Malahide travel to The Hills, and batting first made the most of some good conditions. Alan Reynolds made 46, before Greg Ford 64 and Alistair Frost 38 were both undefeated in seeing the Villagers to the highest score in the group this season of 190/3. In that context, Devender Ranolia’s figures of 1/8 from 4 overs with 2 maidens, were made all the more remarkable. Unsurprisingly, Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin was once again the mainstay of The Hills innings, but even with his 72 complemented by Levon Shields making 41, the home side could muster only 131/5, Cameron Shoebridge taking 2/15, with stand in captain James Newland taking 2/19. Clontarf visited Terenure and thanks to 41* from Eoghan Delany to go with 37 from Robert Forrest posted 141/6 from their 20 overs. Diarmuid Lynch and Mark Thomas again picking up a brace of wickets each. Teenager Ben McCabe then had a day out, opening the bowling he took the first 5 Terenure wickets to fall, finishing his spell with 5/12. David Delany and Conor Kelly also took two wickets apiece as the home side were all out for just 47. That loss for Terenure gave Balbriggan a chance to leapfrog them and get off the bottom of the table. Farooq Nasr made 51 as they batted first at Claremont Road, leaving YMCA a target of 119 to win. There were two wickets each for YM bowlers Tom Anders, Mikey O’Reilly and Mitchell Thompson. The hosts then launched a Tector shaped assault on the target, captain Jack starring with 74 from just 33 balls while Tim managed 36 not out to complete the chase inside the 11^th over. North County’s visit to Railway saw them batting first, former Railway man Dhram Singh top scored with 31, whilst Ciaran Sheridan made 21 as County were all out for 89 in the final over. Again Railway’s spinners doing the damage, three wickets apiece for Prabhanshu Kamal and Alex Stiles, whilst Eoghan Grehan had two on this occasion. Kenny Carroll anchored the chase, making 40, and was only dismissed with just 3 runs left to win the game as Railway got across the line with 7 balls to spare. Owen Graham the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, taking 3/17 from his overs, supported by Manmeet Singh who took 2/18.

The penultimate round of fixtures saw the first of only two no results in the group, as Balbriggan’s tie with The Hills fell foul of the weather. The big game of the day was between Malahide and their guests YMCA. Malahide needed a win to keep their qualification prospects in their own hands. YMCA welcomed back their international contingent for the first time in the season and batting first their impact was to the fore, as Harry Tector made 41 to help get his side to 112/8 from a reduced 17 overs. There were three wickets each for James Newland and Alistair Frost, with Cameron Shoebridge again taking two. Arjun Muntha’s 25 helped to put Malahide in the driving seat at 67/2, however two wickets in two balls just 5 runs before the rain came again left them 5 runs behind on DLS when the game ended. Simi Singh contributing two vital wickets to the YMCA cause in this instance. In Park Avenue, Clontarf bowled first and managed to restrict the home side, no player scoring more than Glenn Querl’s 22 as Railway managed 109/7 from their allotted overs Conor Kelly the pick on this occasion for Clontarf with 3/15 from his four over spell. Railway’s opening pair of Perry and Grehan had ‘Tarf in real trouble at 3/6, before David Delany settled things down a bit however once he lost brother Andrew nobody could stay at the crease with him. Alex Stiles and Hashir Sultan sharing the next four wickets to fall, before Prabhanshu Kamal knocked over the final three wickets to leave Clontarf 94 all out in the 19^th over. In Terenure, North County batted first and made their way to 140/8 from their 20 overs, Niall McGovern making 43 sharing partnerships with Aziz and Richardson who made 18 each. There were 4 wickets for Zubair Khan as he took two in each of his two over spells. There was a rain delay early in the Terenure innings, which left the revised DLS par at 122 from 17 overs, Dewald Barnard started well in the chase before being sold up the river by his partner for 22. Luckily Mick Cotter managed to somewhat atone for the error in making 63* as he and Dónal Lynch’s 50 partnership took Terenure to the brink of victory. With 4 needed from the last ball, a dropped catch on the boundary meant Terenure scrambled three, and a tie was confirmed as the result. Eddie Richardson’s 1/10 from 4 overs proved vital in ensuring County didn’t let Terenure get away in the run chase.

The final round of fixtures began with the news that North County versus Clontarf had succumbed to the weather, whilst Railway Union and YMCA both entered knowing victories would secure qualification for the semi-finals. The latter visited Terenure and having won the toss, the hosts elected to bat first, Séamus Lynch made 39, dominating an opening partnership with returning captain Dónal Vaughan who made a more sedate 35, after this pair however no player really got going, and the home side could only manage 123/8. Mikey O’Reilly’s second spell yielded three wickets to help tie Terenure down, with support from Tom Anders who took 2/20. YM were in a spot of bother at 40/3, which could have been 40/4, but having been given an early life, Harry Tector made the most of it, striking 54 in boundaries out of his total of 64 and with support from brother Tim (27*) they secured qualification with a 6 wicket win inside the 15^th over. The team hoping to capitalise on any slip up from the top two were Malahide, and thanks in the main to 48 from Greg Ford, they posted 104/9 in Balbriggan. Abdul Sattar’s 4 wickets were supported by two apiece for Syed Haris and Matthew Varner. Once again it was Ghanim Dara (29) who attempted to anchor the chase for Balbriggan, however once his partnership with Rooney (23) was broken, wickets fell at regular intervals and Malahide were able to keep their hosts at arm’s length, holding on for a 4 run victory. Victories for the two divisional rivals meant Railway could not afford to slip up against The Hills in their third consecutive home game, the hosts batted first and thanks to a pair of 26s from Kevin O’Brien and Glenn Querl managed to make their way to 120/9 from their 20 overs. There were two wickets each for Tomas Rooney-Murphy, Jonathan Tall, Devender Ranolia and Levon Shields as a good all-round bowling effort from the visitors prevented Railway from running away from them at any stage. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin was again the top scorer for The Hills, however his 22 and Ranolia’s 19 saw them as the only two players to pass 10 in the away side’s innings as Railway, led by Prabhanshu Kamal’s 3/22 kept them to just 80/8 from their 20 overs. This 40 run victory secured top spot in Group B for the Park Avenue side and a home tie against Pembroke in the semi-finals, whilst YMCA finishing in 2^nd would have to contend with a trip to Phoenix.