Last weekend's action in the Leinster Senior Leagues clarified issues at the top of Section B and the bottom of Section A, but went nowhere towards resolving the destiny of the Senior League title. First the two results that I forecast wrongly.
At Castle Avenue Leinster had the first leg of what turned out to be a very good weekend for them. They kept Clontarf to a very gettable 193-7 off 50 overs and then got it with two balls to spare. Bill Coghlan (38) and Rod Hokin (62) laid a foundation for Clontarf, but only Greg Molins (35*) could prosper against disciplined bowling from the Rathmines men, led by Carlos Brathwaite with 3/32.
Up front, runs came from Jason Molins (48), and the middle order did the rest, Ian O'Herlihy scoring 44 and Craig Mallon 37. Across the bay at Anglesea Road, Merrion rolled over North County for 112, Tiktish Patel taking 4/15 and Simon Morrissey 3/22, only new boy Thinus Fourie getting past 30. Kade Beasley (38*) and John Anderson (32) made sure of victory by six wickets inside 30 overs.
At Milverton all The Hills top order except Mike Baumgart contributed to a total of 263-6, Albert van der Merwe making 50 and compatriot Max Sorensen 79. For Pembroke, only leg-spinner Andy Leonard (2/45) and straight-breaker Anthony Brooks (2/49) went below fives. When Brooks was fourth out at 46 it was all over, but a fine innings of 77 from Ryan Hopkins, and cussid resistance from Allan Eastwood (44) and Robert Garth (29*) got the 'Broke up to 218-8.
Pembroke are now three wins behind Leinster with five matches to play, and their only hope of survival would appear to be an implosion by North County, but the Balrothery outfit have 25 points more and two games in hand. The Hills lead the way, but have played a game more than Clontarf, Railway and Merrion, all three less than 10 points behind them.
In Section B Phoenix recovered from 32-3 to post a 46-over total of 261-6 courtesy of a ton by David Langford Smith (first 50 in 22 overs, second fifty in 5, with 11 fours and five sixes) backed by 40 from Paddy Conliffe and 58 from Conor Kelly. YMCA chased it down with ease, having three overs to spare. Reinhardt Strydom scored 94, Stu McCready 51 and James Parkinson 35*.
On the magic carpet at Terenure Malahide amassed 283-6, Callum Riches scoring 65, Matt Daykin 75 and Jimmy Govan 72. Kenny McDonald scored a rapid 41 to give CYM a sniff, but nobody could hang around long enough and productively enough with Brad Rasool. CYM got to 245-9 with Rasool eventually out for 100.
Phoenix must now win at Malahide on August 29th and hope other results go their way if they are to finish in the top two. They don't even have the consolation of the 4FM Alan Murray Twenty20 trophy. In the first semi final they were blown away by Max Sorensen (4/15), making only 89 in reply to 154-6 by The Hills (van der Merwe 47, Sorensen 37).
The second semi was also one-sided. More disciplined bowling and fielding by Leinster kept Railway Union to 107-7. That score was passed inside 14 overs for the loss of Jason Molins (49) and Mark Jones (34).
The final was a magnificent exhibition of what club cricketers can do if it's their day.After Jason Molins was out first ball, a 21-ball fifty from Carlos Brathwaite, a fifty-ball 91 from Mark Jones and 37* from skipper Anton Scholtz took Leinster to 200-6. The Hills never gave up the chase, finishing only 24 runs short with an unbeaten 57 from Patrick Byrne.
Everything should be clearer in both sections after this weekend's games.
There's an early start to the weekend at Anglesea Road, where Merrion entertain Pembroke on Friday at 11 a.m. The 'Broke must win, but they won't. They get a second bite at the same cherry on Saturday at Sydney Parade, and they might win this one.
That will put pressure on whoever loses at Inch, which will be Leinster. That, however, will be the only Fingal success, as The Hills will be well and truly stuffed at Park Avenue by Railway Union, and in Section B Rush will lose at Malahide. YMCA will win part II of the Battle of the Boyne. Those results will mean that Phoenix must beat Old Belvedere on the southern side of the park wall: they will.
Cheers,
Stu.
Copyright: Cover Point
