TALE OF THE TAPE – SECOND XI PREMIER LEAGUE 2023

Having most recently covered the Sprint Coatings Division One season which was won by less than one thousandth of a percentage point, the 1.5 point winning margin which Railway Union ended up securing the Second XI Premier League title by seems like an absolute chasm!

The eventual champions faced the first ball of the season, before completing their league-clinching run chase off what turned out to be the final ball bowled in the campaign, pipping Malahide by the aforementioned 1.5 points, with Pembroke a further point back in third place.

APRIL 2023

Kicking off in April, five scheduled fixtures gleaned three results. Railway kicking off their season with a victory over Clontarf in a low-scoring 35 over game. Stuart de Klerk the main contributor as he took 5/22 in Tarf’s chase as they fell 35 runs short of their target. The following weekend saw Ireland U19 Danny Forkin take 3/13 and make 41* in Merrion’s 9 wicket victory, also over Clontarf. Whilst in Sydney Parade, Greg Hollins’ century saw Pembroke make 217 against Railway Union, before veteran Bill Whaley took three wickets in securing a 55 run victory for the home side. With most of the sides still yet to kick off their league campaign, Merrion sat atop the league courtesy of a win and a no result at the end of April.

Danny Forkin produced the highlight performance in April

MAY 2023

May kicked off with three games on the 7^th, all of which went to form, 6 wickets for Peter Forkin this time seeing Merrion keep Malahide to just 116 before securing a comfortably 6 wicket victory. In Inch, a Sean O’Brien 6-for helped Railway bowl North County out for 68 and earn a 9 wicket win, before finally Pembroke chased down YMCA’s 181 with 2 wickets to spare, Greg Hollins the hero yet again with an unbeaten 83 in the chase. The following weekend saw just one game, YMCA however got their season up and running as the Thompson brothers ran amuck, Henry making 121, whilst Mitchell made 93 as they made 261/4 against Leinster, four wickets for Padraic Flanagan confirming the comprehensive victory by 124 runs. Leinster got themselves off the mark just three days later in a T20 game against Merrion, as a half-century for Tristen de Beer and 4 wicket for Chris Janik saw the Rathmines outfit secure a 19 run victory. A half-century from Andrew Delany helped Clontarf to 227/8 in Castle Avenue, setting them up for a 54 run victory and inflicting Pembroke’s first defeat of the season. The following day then saw Railway Union complete the double over North County, a half-century from Devesh Sharma at the top of the order, followed up by a five wicket haul for Ankit Bhave teeing up a 63 run victory for the home side and boosting them to the top of the table. Yet to taste defeat, Railway had won their three fixtures to date and sitting atop the table at the end of May.

Henry Thompson’s century lit the league up in May
JUNE 2023

The first game of June only took place on the 11^th, as Pembroke ran up a mammoth 342/7 against North County, centuries for Danny Hogan and Chris King the main contributors to a fine innings. Hogan completing an excellent day by taking 4 wickets in the chase as Pembroke ran out 127 run winners. The following weekend saw Railway keep the pressure on at the top as they saw off Leinster, batting first Railway made 217 thanks to 40s from Maneesh Mediboyina and Rob O’Brien, before three wickets for Hamza Maan helped Leinster fall to 185 all out and 32 a run victory for the league leaders. At the same time, a crazy game took place in Inch, North County making 309 all out off the penultimate ball of their innings, half centuries for Ben McBride, Forqan Hassanzada and Ashish Jain, helped by a remarkable 78 extras making up the bulk of the total. Pembroke got within 6 runs of North County thanks to 79 from Rob Kelly and 90 from Will Todd, however they came to rue the difference in the extras column, particularly the 6 penalty runs awarded against them for slow over rate. The two victories for Pembroke saw them move back within striking range of the top of the table, however Railway Union’s victory saw them retain their spot as the season went beyond the summer solstice with plenty of cricket still to be played.

Danny Hogan’s remarkable century & 4-wicket-haul was the highlight of June’s action

JULY 2023

July began with a rare full round of fixtures on the first Sunday of the month, Malahide ran up 299 at home against Leinster, with Adam Doyle’s 115 being the highlight, whilst there was also 71 for Mohit Sane. Sane then added 3/22 as Leinster were held to just 163/9, giving the Village a 99 run victory on DLS. There was another low-scoring affair in Castle Avenue, as Liam Gilhooly took 5/16 for the home side in restricting North County to 105 all out, helping Clontarf eventually secure a 5 wicket victory. Pembroke and Merrion played out the closest game of the round in Sydney Parade, the hosts making 216 thanks to 6 scores between 26 and 34. The chase followed a similar theme as Peter Forkin’s 42 and Akshay Dubey’s 47* were enough to help the visitors to a 4 wicket victory. That afforded Railway Union the chance to extend their lead atop the table. They did just that as half-centuries from their middle order pair of Mediboyina and Rob O’Brien guided the side to 259/6, before Zaman Safi’s 4 wicket bag rolled YMCA over for 167 and handed Railway a 92 run victory. A week later it was back to almost “normal service” with just two games on, YMCA doubled up, firstly hosting Merrion. The visitors batted first and 94 for Grant Glutz saw them rack up 255/7 in their 50 overs, Srihan Karpe’s 3/17 the only bowler to escape punishment. In response, the home side could manage just 198 all out, as veteran “Shami” Ahmed made 55, whilst Glutz rounded off an excellent day taking 5/31. Sunday saw YMCA bat first, and saw more runs for Ahmed, who this time put together 71 out of a total of 179 all out, as David O’Halloran took 4/14 for Malahide. 63 from Timcy Khanduja was the backbone of the chase as Malahide ran out powerful 5 wicket winners. The following weekend saw Merrion beat the rain in beating North County, the Inch men falling to 65 all out before Merrion knocked off the runs inside 12 overs with 8 wickets to spare. Three rain-offs saw no more cricket until July 27^th, when Merrion hosted Pembroke. The away side batted first, and 71 from Danny Hogan, supported by half-centuries for Greg Hollins and Zach Micklewright guided them to 337/7, an excellent all-round effort from Pembroke saw 6 bowlers share the 10 wickets as Merrion were all out for 165 giving the visitors a comprehensive victory. YMCA’s miserable run continued, as three wickets for each of Ravi Kumar and Neil Boyne saw Malahide bowl them out for just 95, before Rohit Pahuja’s unbeaten 59 guided the Village to a 7 wicket win. Rain put paid to Pembroke’s visit to Leinster in the final game in the month, however the three way battle between Pembroke, Railway Union and Malahide was really hotting up, particularly after excellent months for Pembroke and Malahide.

July saw Malahide get on the charge thanks to the in-form David O’Halloran’s flying return from injury

AUGUST 2023

August kicked off with a horribly damp weekend, Pembroke managing a remarkable DLS victory over YMCA on the 5^th thanks to a good start to their chase between Ethan Clarke and Greg Hollins, who had the side 121/1 chasing YMCA’s 227. Henry Thompson’s earlier century the highlight of the game overall. Bank Holiday Monday saw Pembroke run up 300/7 against Malahide, Greg Hollins’ 90 the mainstay of the innings, whilst Zach Micklewright’s 16 ball unbeaten 56 put the cream on top. Malahide could manage just 166 in response, as Fiachra and Donncha Tucker took 4 and 3 wickets respectively. The final game of the bank holiday weekend saw Leinster restrict Clontarf to just 154 all out, 3 wickets for each of Amit Whagware and Chris Janik, before 41 from Jack Salter and an unbeaten 43 from Devan Keenan guided the home side to a 4 wicket victory. Just one game took place the following weekend, as Railway hosted Merrion in the first of the games between the two sides in the season. Half-centuries for Danny Forkin and Vaibhav Sapra guided the visitors to 224 all out, before Forkin followed up his batting efforts with 4/36 in 10 overs as Merrion ran out 60 run winners. Three fixtures on August 20^th saw the top of the table return to normality. Malahide chalking up 317/8 against Merrion, Timcy Khanduja with 83 whilst Mohit Sane top scored with 91, in reply Merrion could muster a mere 124, Sane claiming three wickets with Ben Askew’s 5/29 the pick of the bowling for Malahide. Meanwhile out in Inch, Leinster bowled first in the shortest game of the day, as 5 wickets for Jack Barry, as well as four for Chris Janik, saw North County all out for just 87. Leinster’s chase was far from convincing but they did eventually seal a 4 wicket win. Finally Railway Union fell to their second consecutive loss, with a mixture of events meaning they now hadn’t won since July 2^nd. Tom Johnson was the thorn in their side on this occasion, making 66 out of YMCA’s 174, before Railway fell to 99 all out. Some midweek T20 action saw YM put Clontarf to the sword next, making 159/2 in the first innings thanks to half-century from Vipul Kashyap and an unbeaten 49 from Nathan Johns, before excellent spells by Padraic Flanagan and Srihan Karpe led the Claremont Road outfit to a 16 run victory. August 26^th saw the game between Clontarf and Leinster rained off, the only game of the day in the league falling foul of the weather. The 27^th saw Pembroke beat off Leinster in a low-scoring affair, the Sydney Parade side were all out for 153, Avril Shukla taking 3/25, not for the first time this season, Pembroke were indebted to an excellent spell by Fiachra Tucker, who took 4/21 as Leinster fell to just 96 all out, keeping Pembroke’s title hopes alive. Clontarf batted first against YMCA, and 72 from David Vincent guided them to 209 all out. YMCA were never on top in the chase and wickets fell consistently as they fell to just 94 all out, Paul Ryan taking 3/19 the pick of the ‘Tarf bowling unit. The big swing at the top of the table came in Park Avenue, where Malahide batted first. They made 172/8 in their reduced 35 overs, as Aaron Doyle top scored with 46. Railway’s chase was always just about ahead of DLS, until three quick wickets saw them fall to 112/6, at that point however, Shakir Afridi’s unbeaten 38 from just 24 balls saw the side to victory with 4 wickets in hand, jumping Railway above Malahide in the table and giving them a foothold at the top of the table. Yet more midweek action took place on August 29^th, the mid-table clash between Merrion and Clontarf was lit up by an absolutely exhilarating 51-ball 96* by Aaron McGeehan, as ‘Tarf ran out 6 wicket winners in their chase of 134, with 15 overs to spare. More T20 action followed in Sydney Parade two days later, Malahide batted first and an even more astonishing knock by David O’Halloran, of 136* from just 64 balls, led them to 222/3 in 20 overs. Pembroke were never with the chase and fell 49 runs short, with nobody making more than 28.

Fiachra Tucker’s form with the ball saw Pembroke finish August at the top of the league table

SEPTEMBER 2023

Pembroke entered September top of the table, however they were overtaken by Railway on the third, as they met Clontarf at Park Avenue. The away side batted first and could manage just 174 all out Luke Thomson top scoring with 41 as 7 Railway bowlers shared the wickets. An excellent chase was led by Sahil Safi and Zaman Safi, with the pair finishing up with 78* and 63 respectively as the home side secured an 8 wicket win to bring them to the top of the table once again. A remarkable game in Anglesea Road saw Merrion defeat Leinster by 1 run off the last ball of the game, the home side made 187 thanks to a top score of 39 from Danny Forkin, as Avril Shukla took 4 wickets to give Leinster a good chance. At 73/5 the visitors were in a lot of trouble, however Devan Keenan and Chris Janik’s 50 partnership put them within shouting distance of the score, and needing just 5 runs with 2 wickets in hand Leinster were surely favorites, however two wickets, including Keenan for a heroic 57 meant Merrion were victorious off the final ball of the 50 overs. The final game of the day took place in Inch, where North County batted first against YMCA, 30s for Ciaran Sheridan and Digamber Mishra seeing them to 202 all out. The backbone of YM’s chase was 69 from Yash Balasubramaniam, however 3 wickets for both Mishra and Anthony Mooney saw County restrict YM to just 174 and a 28 run win for the home side. The final piece of T20 action of the season saw Pembroke rack up 177/7 at home against Clontarf, 37 from just 23 balls from Zach Micklewright the highlight of the innings. Clontarf were up against it from the outset, and couldn’t retain their run rate for long enough as three wickets for each of Joe Prendergast and Luke Murray saw them all out for 134 and pushed Pembroke back to the top of the table, and clubhouse leaders in the title race! Malahide started the weekend in third position, and they visited North County on September 9^th, 99 from Timcy Khanduja was the main contributor as they racked up 290 all out. Mohit Sane then turned it on with the ball, producing 4/15 to restrict their hosts to 149 all out, a 141 run victory which saw the side move a lot closer to the top two, but remain in third position. The final day of the season was September 10^th, and the first result came from Claremont Road, where North County batted first. 58 from Ciaran Sheridan got the visitors off to a good start, before 4/30 for Padraic Flanagan reduced County from 114/3 to 145 all out. YMCA were professional in their chase, 30s from Nathan Johns and Vipul Kashyap supporting an unbeaten 45 from Yash Balasubramaniam as they ran out 7 wicket winners. The next result to come in saw Malahide visiting Clontarf, the away side batting first and running up 225 all out, thanks to 30s from Aaron Doyle and Ravi Kumar, made at opposite ends of the batting line-up. Liam Gilhooly taking 4/42 the pick of the Tarf bowlers. Clontarf’s chase began reasonably, at 63/2 they were in a decent position, until Diarmuid Burke got into his stride taking 5/21 in his 10 overs, knocking Clontarf over for 111 and securing a 114 run victory which saw Malahide leapfrog, for a couple of hours at least, from third to top of the table! The final result of the season saw a humdinger of a game in Anglesea Road, Merrion batted first against Railway Union, and propelled themselves to a brilliant score of 263/9 in their 50 overs, skipper Peter Forkin top scoring with 72, with 49 from Danny Forkin and 43 from Sean Stanton supporting him. For Railway only Shakir Afridi managed more than one wicket, he was the pick of the bowlers with 2/26. This meant Railway Union needed to chase the total down for the loss of 7 wickets or less to be crowned league champions. After Sahi Safi fell cheaply, a partnership of 81 for the 2^nd wicket, 50 for the 4^th wicket and 64 for the 5^th wicket meant Railway were always just ahead of where they needed to be to secure the title. Devesh Sharma and Talha Tallat both made 40s to keep the chase on track, but it was 66 from teenager Rob O’Brien which was the mainstay of the chase throughout the middle overs, as the away side secured victory and the Second XI Premier League title with 4 wickets and 23 balls to spare in their league season.

RAILWAY UNION - 2ND XI PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FOR 2023!