The high temperatures and sunny weather this weekend have led to some high scores and impressive run chases.
Clontarf and Phoenix have opened up a clear gap at the top of the Russell Court League Division 1. They did so in different ways. Phoenix, thanks to a century from Richard Lawrence, posted a score of 252/9 which proved far too much for Cork County, Reinhart Strydom taking 5/16. Clontarf, on the other hand, had a difficult run chase to negotiate and relied on an undefeated 119 from Brad Barnes to overcome the target of 258 set by The Hills. The end result is a 105 run win for Phoenix [5/0 points] and a four wicket win for Clontarf [2/3].
The other two matches in the league went much the same way. Leinster posted a big total [289/6] with sizeable contributions from George Dockrell [98], Craig Mallon [75] and Joe Carroll [56]. North County never really got going and were all out for 137 with no one getting to 30. Saqib Bahadur was the pick of the bowlers with 4/33. In the final game another century, this time by Jack Tector, saw YMCA succeed in an impressive run chase. Earlier Pembroke had posted 258/7 [Theo Lawson 82*] but it looked a little shy of what would be needed given a good wicket and sunny conditions. A couple of early wickets gave Pembroke hope but once Tector [105] and Oliver Gunning [87] came together for a 150 run partnership their fate was sealed. In the end a full point win for Leinster and 23 points for YMCA.
In RCD2, two of the more likely contenders for promotion had set backs. Malahide suffered their third loss in a row [v Balbriggan] and must now beat Trinity in a refixed T20 to have any realistic chance of moving up to D1 next year. Rush also lost in a very tight game v Railway Union. Balbriggan secured their first win of the season in style. A century from Connor Fletcher [115] at the top of the order with a scoring rate of 140 blew away the Malahide attack and opened the door to the biggest total of the day - 312/5. There were also half-centuries from Adrian Harper [51], Trent McGrath [53] and Ehtesham Ahmed [61]. Danny O’Shea’s solo effort of 86 [scoring at a rate of 162] briefly gave Malahide reason to hope but too many wickets fell at the other end and Malahide could only muster 233, losing by 79 runs. In the second game Railway posted a competitive total of 267/6 mainly thanks to 97 from Rachit Gaur and 56 from Abdullah Hafiz. For much of the second innings it looked like the Railway total would not be enough. The first wicket fell at 141 [Stephen Doheny 87 and Sean Monks 52] and Rush passed the 200 run mark for the loss of only two wickets. But a spectacular collapse saw Rush fall 11 run short. Interestingly it was Kenny Carroll, coming on as sixth change, who had the best figures [3/30].
In the final game Terenure continued their recent good run of form by comfortably defeating North Kildare by eight wickets. North Kildare batted first and were shot out for a disappointing 140. David Langford Smith, on his comeback, took 3/24. With their overseas player Givon Christian on debut making 66, Terenure had no difficulty passing this total.
So as we approach the halfway stage of the league [with nine matches still to be played as T20s] the shape of things to come is beginning to emerge. In RCD1 the question is can Phoenix continue to live with Clontarf and keep the battle for the title open. It is not impossible for someone from the pack [all the way down to seventh place] to emerge as a challenger, but the minimum two win gap will take a big effort to bridge. At the other end of the table Cork County have become detached and unless they can find form [or players] from somewhere it could be a long run in for them. As to whether anyone else will be concerned about relegation depends crucially on the outcome of the two remaining Dublin University matches in RCD2. With Malahide and Rush dropping points regularly the key issue will be whether they are able to overtake DU. If they don’t, and DU probably have to lose both their remaining matches for this to happen, then it is likely that only one team will go up. Assuming, as most people are, that Merrion will get one of the two possible promotion spots, then for the first time in years we could have most of the promotion and relegation issues settled by the middle of August. Of course then there was Brexit, Trump, Macron and the latest UK general election. So don’t rule out the unexpected.