The Hills 2008 Leinster Senior A champions
I didn't play Senior cricket: I wasn't good enough.
1989 was my first season of full-time umpiring, and while I may have stood in the odd Senior fixture that year, there is no way that Liam Keegan or Louis Hogan would have allowed me anywhere near any game of any importance.
I had played a lot of Senior 2, for Civil Service and Leinster, and so I had played against Paddy and Martin Byrne as they and Liam Archer brought The Hills through the Junior Leagues into Senior cricket. I had captained Leinster 3rds and 4ths, and played against the Dwyer brothers, Matt, Mick and Willie, when they were sprogs. I had also played against a young John Andrews. So half The Hills team that won the Senior league in 1989 were familiar to me at the time.
As I became a regular Senior umpire in the early 1990s, I got to know the other half of that side: Mark Clinton; Johnny Archer; Sean and Patrick Hoare; Gerry and Noel Harper. I remember one match in particular, in Anglesea Road. It was the season where pros were allowed on an experimental basis, and Merrion had a Jamaican quickie called Michael Thompson. Mark Clinton dumped him onto the pavilion roof, and Thompson walked back past me saying “That was a good shot, let's see if he can do it again.”
He bowled a fullish ball on middle and leg, which sailed even further, right over the pavilion. An over later, Patrick Hoare, batting with Mark, drove Thompson uppishly through extra cover for four. Michael was not impressed, and the next ball was delivered from two yards nearer to Patrick at least two yards quicker. It sailed perilously close to Patrick's bald spot and through to the keeper. “Ras!”, muttered Thompson.
The Clintons. from left to right, Mark, Luke, Joe and Joseph
A couple of years later, pros were allowed into the game on a permanent basis, and three of the very best, the very young André Botha, the young Trent Johnston and the not so young Nazeer Shaukat, started their Dublin careers. To the considerable benefit of Irish cricket, they're still going strong. It was a long time before The Hills decided to employ a professional, and the present pro, Max Sorensen, appears to be the first who has really fitted in.
The game in Dublin has changed, because a lot of overseas players, some full-time pros, some not, have decided that the opportunities for a rewarding, high-quality life in and around Dublin, incorporating reasonably high standard cricket, career possibilities that are much more open than in their homeland, plus a surfeit of highly attractive, often well-educated and always independent-minded young women, are just too good to resist.
So The Hills team of 2008 has the familiar surnames: Archer; Byrne; Clinton (x2); and Dwyer (x2). There's a local blow-in – O'Herlihy. And then there are the “foreigners” who so upset our Northern colleagues: Baumgart; Bray; Sorensen; and van der Merwe. I accept that there are pretty girls north of the border, but rewarding, high-quality life and high standard cricket?
Leinster, their opponents in Sunday's final Whitney Moore & Keller Senior A league match, are no different in composition. Dubliners - Dockrell, Jones, Miley, Molins, O'Dwyer, O'Herlihy – and “foreigners” Lennon, Mallon, Scholtz, Todd and Vermaak. The Hills just had to win to secure their first Senior league title since 1989; Leinster arithmetically needed one bonus point from the game to avoid relegation. Would either team be satisfied? Or both?
Thinking back to April and May, both teams have done much better than I expected. The Hills were a mess, relegation certainties in my book, to be accompanied by either Leinster or Malahide. The Milverton men have sorted themselves out, regained the fight that was so curiously lacking, and benefited enormously from the belated permission of the LCU to allow Development Officer Albert van der Merwe to play. He's a good cricketer, not a hired gun. Why would anybody want to stop anybody else from playing cricket unless he was Clint Eastwood (showing my age again)?
Leinster's weakish bowling is inconsistent, their powerful batting even more so, but they have taken advantage of Rush's implosion and should have the winter to deal with their section A problems. Luke Clinton won the toss for The Hills and elected to bat on a pitch that looked good, seamed around a bit, bounced a bit, and increasingly “stopped” from just short of a length: a pitch on which good batsmen could bat rewardingly and good bowlers could bowl and expect some assistance.
The left-handed Jeremy Bray is more than a good bat, his right-handed partner Patrick Byrne is no mug, and the Leinster opening bowlers Byron Vermaak and Will Lennon can get it right, although they haven't always done so this season. The score had reached 20 when Vermaak did get it right. Patrick Byrne couldn't get out of the way of one that lifted from just short of a length, and Ian O'Herlihy took a good catch behind the stumps high and to his right. Barry Archer was on the same Leinster U15 team as Ed Joyce that I umpired in Cabra in nineteen hundred and frozen-to-death, and although he lacked Ed's total and complete class, he was pretty bloody good, the two of them miles ahead of anyone else.
Barry got his Irish caps, and thoroughly deserved them, but his technique has always been prone to looseness and he suffers from lapses in concentration. And so the two left-handers batted against decent bowling: Bray totally focused and tight in defence, murdering the odd bad ball and occasionally playing his ace, the back-foot force through the covers off anything slightly short or a fraction wide; Archer playing and missing far too often, but then pulling anything a fraction short through mid wicket.
Barry had a life on 30 when he was dropped by Mark Jones at slip off Anton Scholtz, who had replaced Will Lennon down the hill after the Kiwi had bowled his 10 overs straight through for 30 runs. Scholtz's off breaks and Keeley Todd's medium pacers didn't maintain the control for Leinster, and first Bray, then Archer, accelerated to their fifties and a century partnership. I have no idea why Scholtz delayed introducing George Dockrell into the attack until the 29th over.
Leinster needed a wicket, and got it immediately when Archer miscued the Ireland U15 slow left-armer to Jones for 51 off 92 deliveries with the score on 128. Mike Baumgart immediately set about all the Leinster bowlers except Dockrell, and three overs of pies from Jones and Rob Miley down the hill went for 36 runs. Miley should have held on to a return catch from Bray, 79 at the time, but the big Aussie just got his head down and made sure of his ton. Dockrell was relieved of duties from the pavilion end after 7 good overs for 27, but returned to bowl the last two down the hill (why not three?).
Bray had passed 100 by 16 when he took a liberty with Dockrell, and Craig Mallon took a well-judged catch at deep mid off. 231/3 became 234/4 when Baumgart's offensive, 53 off 36 balls, was ended by a return catch by Vermaak. Max Sorensen and Michael O'Herlihy sacrificed themselves to Dockrell, and The Hills closed on 245/6, with nine extras. Vermaak took 2/40 off his ten overs, and Dockrell 4/34 off his nine. Leinster have the batting to chase such a good score, but they needed a good start. Craig Mallon and Byron Vermaak were both watchful against Sorensen especially, who generated as much pace as I've seen from him. But there was too much effort, apparently, and after 17 balls he had to retire with a side strain.
Jeremy Bray finished the over, and then Joseph Clinton took over at the pavilion end. The score had reached 23 when Craig Mallon inexplicably ran himself out for 14, and that was the cue for Joseph to make an impact in a way that he has rarely done this season. First he had the left-hander Todd caught behind for a duck, and then bowled Jason Molins for a single: that was 30/3. Luke Clinton quickly got off spinner van der Merwe into the attack down the hill, and he bemused Vermaak into shouldering arms to one that turned back to hit off. Ian O'Herlihy is by nature an aggressive bat, but to wander yards up the track and miss is foolhardy rather than aggressive. Had he doubled back quickly he might have got away with it, as Barry Archer fumbled the ball before removing the bails.
Leinster were 47/5, still 99 runs from the bonus point they needed to be absolutely safe from relegation. Mark Jones and JP O'Dwyer appreciated the need for runs – neither is hard-wired to hang around without scoring – but Jonesey's familiarity with defence is about the same as that of Juande Ramos, and he swished and swotted his way to 19 out of 70 before popping a return catch to van der Merwe. Dockrell came in and displayed an immaculate forward defence as he helped JP add 28 more runs.
By now van der Merwe had finished his ten overs, taking 4/12 (two of those were wides!), and took up a position at mid on to his replacement, Mike Baumgart, also allegedly purveying off breaks. JP had already tested out the Byrne cousins (Malcolm was sub fielding for Sorensen) at deep mid on and deep mid wicket off Mark Dwyer's bowling, and found them wanting.
It didn't take JP long to locate the bold Albert, who didn't want (if you follow me), and ten runs later Dockrell prodded Baumgart to Bray. That was 108/9, and the only reason Leinster weren't facing relegation was that Malahide had pinched a bonus point off of Rush. Safe in their section A future, Will Lennon and Rob Miley showed their supposed betters how it could be done, having no problem with Mark Dwyer, Mike Baumgart and the returning Luke Clinton.
They had secured a by now irrelevant bonus point and put on fifty when the old war horse, Matt, returned from the pavilion end to replace his son (whose ten had gone unrewarded for 37). Rob Miley felt the hand of history drawing him up the pitch, missing, to be stumped for 12. Will Lennon remained 44* as Leinster were all out for 161. Joseph Clinton finished with 2/25 and Baumgart 2/26. The only survivor of the 1989 side had claimed the final wicket to give The Hills the Senior League title. He was congratulated by another survivor, John Andrews, who was umpiring at Matt's end.
Elsewhere, North County beat Merrion by 6 wickets, and will finish 2nd if they beat Clontarf in the now dead outstanding match. I write this on Tuesday 23rd, and I wouldn't be surprised if the match scheduled for Castle Avenue tomorrow never happens. Why lose a day's pay for no reason (answers on a postcard to Mary Sharp, TCD)? Rush beat Malahide by 42 runs, but the 22 points they earned couldn't haul them past Leinster's total, and they were relegated with the Villagers.
Rush and Malahide both have good youngsters, but at the moment too many of them are too young, and a season or two in section B will not be a disaster for them. While Malahide will hang on to their good, experienced players, and always get a good pro, I worry that Rush might have difficulty in persuading los tres amigos (I must get that translated into Urdu), Nazeer, Tipu and Shahid, to stay on. And will Dan van Zyl return for them?
North County are still the team to beat (and The Hills did just that when it mattered), but they need another slow bowler. I rate slow left-armer Simon Willis of Munster Reds very highly, but who cares what I think? Unless they recruit a couple of bowlers, Leinster will be section A cannon-fodder next season, as will be Pembroke if they don't replace Rick Francis and Jonno Cooke. If Merrion lose Matt Petrie, by a distance the best bowler in the country, they could well join Leinster and the 'Broke in the doggy doo-dah.
Section B is seriously short of talent, and it's better that their poor teams aren't in section A giving easy wins to all comers. Phoenix have some potential, but Ben Dunk and Sammi Singh apart, there's nothing in CYM, Old Belvedere and YMCA to get excited about. Munster Reds should be good, but Ted Williamson and Bruce Koch don't travel, Jim Birchall rarely does, and Mike Martin is going back to the land of the Lord of the Rings.
Talking of lack of talent, there's the subject closest to my heart and expertise: umpiring. There are four top-class umpires in the LCU, and three more who could be and really should be. There are six Senior matches each weekend, so assuming everybody is available every weekend, five umpires have to be appointed from the has-beens (and never-really-weres), the never-will-bes, and the rest (a couple of whom have talent).
Most weekends the also-rans have to fill up to eight places. That's a damning indictment of years of ineptitude, incompetence and smugness in the recruiting and training procedures and practices of the LCUSA. (I don't excuse myself from those criticisms.)
After two years lying flat on my back in St. James's, I have thoroughly enjoyed the 2008 season. I look forward to next season, where it's hard to see winners of the League, Cup and Irish Senior Cup coming from outside the quartet of The Hills, North County, Clontarf and Railway Union. I hope NCU and NWCU cricket improves beyond the four or five decent sides they currently have, but I don't see them climbing out of the comfortable little rut they self-pityingly wallow in.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I give you a toast.
To Matt Dwyer: player, selector, coach, administrator, groundsman, clubman, winner; one of the best things ever to happen to Irish cricket.
Cheers,
Stu
