SKELLIG SIX 18 SENIOR CUP FINAL (5TH AUGUST)

The Open Leinster Senior Cup is a very historic competition with a rich heritage and has been played in various formats over the decades. This 2023 iteration is being played as a white-ball (coloured kit) knock-out competition. The competition itself dates back 87 years to 1935 and was initially played for by eight clubs - Leinster, Civil Service, Clontarf, Merrion, Dublin University, Pembroke, Phoenix and YMCA.

This season’s edition of the competition sees Clontarf and The Hills facing off in Sydney Parade, in a repeat of last season’s Alan Murray Cup Final. The full programme for the game can be found here. The Hills are something of a bogey team for the Castle Avenue side in competition finals, with that victory in 2022 being the third consecutive occasion in which the Skerries outfit have seen off Clontarf in finals.

Both teams have been confirmed for the weekend, with the sides set to line-up as follows;

CLONTARF (President: Sue O’Neill)
Eoghan Delany – captain
PJ Moor – wicket-keeper
Ryan Karunakaran
David Delany
John McNally
Fionn Hand
Robert Forrest
Ruan Cronje
Andrew Poynter
Luke Thomson
Cillian McDonnell

The Hills;
Andy Kavanagh – captain
Mark Donegan – wicket-keeper
Murray Commins
Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin
Bhavesh Lakhotia
Nicolaj Damgaard Laegsgaard
Nathan Rooney
Tómas Rooney-Murphy
Cian Nulty
Sean McNicholl
Jonathan Tall

Starting off with the Clontarf side, they have had a relatively settled team in the past couple of weeks, however the fact that Dublin University appeared in this competition earlier in the season means that David Vincent is cup-tied and therefore unavailable, his place in the batting line-up is filled by coach Andrew Poynter, with the former international a more than adequate replacement with bat in hand.

The side boasts a wealth of all-rounders, making for a batting order that on paper looks almost impenetrable, skipper Eoghan Delany has occupied a new role at the top of the order this season, and will likely be joined by their latest recruit in Ryan Karunakaran. PJ Moor, John McNally, Fionn Hand, David Delany and Robert Forrest make up a middle order full of explosive power and run scoring ability, with Delany and Forrest in particular both playing a massive role in their mammoth quarter-final run chase in Malahide in early June. McNally has powered some excellent innings’ of late, in particular a quick half-century for the Lightning Bolts on their recent trip to the North West. Hand and Moor are a pair of big-game players who are both capable of delivering game-changing contributions with the bat if they can get themselves in. The key for this top 7 will be that the opening pair can lay a solid foundation, to allow the middle order play in a positive manner, if this doesn’t happen, the adaptability of David Delany will be important for the rest of the players in the middle order to bat around.

With the ball, the all-round abilities of Hand and David Delany are both well known to most cricketers in the province, that doesn’t however make their opening spells any easier to face, with the pair both bowling with good pace and movement, it will be a massive challenge for their opposition. Backing up that main pair of bowlers, Luke Thomson is the third seamer, and he comes into this game having bowled an excellent 18^th and 20^th over in their semi-final victory over Railway Union last week, John McNally is the other seam-up option in the attack. Clontarf’s most potent weapon all season however has been their spin attack, overseas man Ruan Cronje has a fantastic white-ball record across his two seasons in the club, whilst left-armer Cillian McDonnell has proven time and again to be an extremely economical option with the ball, that pair will be vital throughout the middle overs, particularly if The Hills get themselves off to a good start.

The Hills have returned to full strength for the first time in a number of weeks this weekend, after a mixture of various niggly injuries (Commins & Donegan) and international duty (Laegsgaard) saw them missing out on at least one of their regular top 6 for most of the past 6 weeks. The bowling unit has also been restored to it’s usual balance of three seamers and two spinners.

With the bat, the return of Murray Commins at the top of the order is a massive boost, with him set to occupy that slot alongside Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin. Commins blitzed a rapid 80 in last week’s semi-final victory over Leinster, and has backed that up with a half-century for the Munster Reds in the IP20 festival this week. Nicolaj Laegsgaard has shown some fantastic ball-striking ability in the white-ball formats so far this season, and could well occupy a role slightly higher in the order than he has in red-ball cricket because of that. Nathan Rooney in the middle order has also had a couple of telling contributions to the campaign, with an unbeaten half-century against Pembroke in the quarter finals, backed up by 36 off just 15 balls in the semi-final against Leinster. That four, added to Bhavesh Lakhotia who also made a half-century in the quarter-final stage, and Leinster Lightning batsman Mark Donegan, gives The Hills a line-up that is certain to cause some issues for Clontarf should it get up and running.

With the ball, the opening pair of Laegsgaard, who’s left arm offies have proved very effective in the PowerPlay and Sean McNicholl will need to be miserly at the beginning to put some pressure onto Clontarf’s ball-strikers to hit out earlier than they might like. They are supported by more seam from Tómas Rooney-Murphy, who provides control and movement along with an incredible competitive edge, and Cian Nulty, who’s ability to bowl a real heavy ball at good pace makes him another point of difference for the side. The attack is rounded off by left-arm spinner Jonathan Tall, who has caused his oppositions plenty of problems all season. Whilst there isn’t an obvious 6^th bowler in the side, skipper Andy Kavanagh and Lakhotia have both bowled on occasions this season, and could provide the extra option should it be required.

This game is likely to see an extremely fiery opening spell from Clontarf’s star man David Delany, who is playing in his first Senior Cup Final. His return to the side in the second round of this competition back on June 11^th has proved to be the catalyst for a major upturn in form, and there’s no doubt he will once again be crucial to the Clontarf cause with the ball. The Hills themselves have a man very much in-form batting at the top of the order in the shape of Murray Commins, and off the back of his match-winning semi-final knock, and half-century in Sydney Parade on Tuesday, he is sure to be looking to once again take the game to Clontarf here. This battle at the top of The Hills’ batting innings is sure to prove to be vital regardless of whether it’s at the start of the match, or beginning of the chase, an early wicket for Delany would give ‘Tarf bundles of momentum, whilst a fast start for Commins would put the Skerries men in the driving seat.

KEY BATTLE: David Delany vs Murray Commins

Cricket Leinster thanks June O’Connell & all at Skellig Six 18 Distillery for their support and partnership – as our official spirits partner, Skellig’s products are now sold in many club facilities across the province and we encourage all clubs to support Skellig Six 18 as the business continues to grow from its proud base at Cahirciveen in County Kerry.

Thanks also to all members of our CL Patron’s Club – there are now over 100 CL patron members whose contributions directly support our many youth & women’s development programmes. We are also hugely proud of our multi-year partnership with Lords Taverners Ireland through which we jointly provide that all important sporting chance to many young people with special needs (via our table cricket programme).

We are delighted that the Senior Cup trophy will be presented by June O’Connell, CEO Skellig Six 18 Distillery as part of the after-match presentation party which will be hosted by our CL President, Pat Banahan. The Final will be live-streamed via the CL YouTube channel with full commentary throughout and we hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy a great day of club cricket.