The numbers drawn in The Lotto last evening were;

 4, 20, 23 & 27

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Tod Riley & Edel Costello Nugent, €25.00 each.

Jackpot for next week will be €5,450.00

Thanks to Skerries Organic Farm for the continued support.

The Hills will face Trinity College in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup.

Full details of the draw can be found on the following link;

https://www.cricketleinster.ie/news/leinster-senior-cup-draw-2023-confirmed

The following were the winners in our Christmas Draw which took place last evening:

1^st Prize, Hamper; Grace Campion

2^nd Prize, Turkey & Ham; David Rogan

3^rd Prize, Giant Cuddly Toy; Jack Sheridan

4^th Prize, Christmas Cake & Pudding; Martin Byrne

5^th Prize, Mini Hamper; Dylan Hoare

6^th Prize, Bottle of Cognac & Bottle of Whiskey; Ray Moran

7^th Prize, Box of Chocolates; Martin Byrne

8^th Prize, Bottle of Bailey’s & Bottle of Gin; Joe Archer

9^th Prize, Four Bottles of Wine; Brodie Clinton

10^th Prize, Bottle of Cognac; Anna Butterly

11^th, The Mystery Prize; Jim Bennett

Congratulations to all our winners!

The numbers drawn in The Lotto today were;

7, 13, 18 & 24

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Laura Martin & Conor Donoghue, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €5,400.00

With Thanks to The Shoe Horn, Skerries for their continued support.

Do you want to be The Hills Cricket Club Women’s Player/ Coach next Summer? Express your interest by emailing your CV and cover letter to Miranda Andrews at miranda29andrews@gmail.com.

We’d love to hear from you.

Our Annual Christmas Raffle will take place on December 18th in conjunction with The Santa Party. You can get your hands on a card for this by contacting Martin Russell on the following email address: martinrussell111@gmail.com.

The numbers drawn in The Lotto last evening were;

5, 8, 16 & 17

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were John Scally & Miranda Andrews, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €4,350.00.

Many thanks to C&T Supermarket for their continued support.

Third Man

On a gloriously sunny day, Lisburn Cricket Club’s players, officials and supporters were welcome visitors to The Vineyard for the quarter-round game in the Irish Senior Cup. Lisburn lie top of the NCU League, thanks to a record of 8 wins and only 1 loss, and the “word on the street” was that Faiz Fazal, the overseas player, was a superb cricketer. However, it was emphasised that Lisburn’s cricket team was far from being a one-man band, and that it had a number of other very competent cricketers in its ranks. The Hills welcomed back Murray Commins after a long absence through injury, and it was hoped that his return would provide an extra impetus after the disappointing defeat against Clontarf on the previous day.

Lisburn won the toss, elected to bat first and The Hills’ opening bowlers were subjected to some very harsh treatment by Fazal (39) and Jonathan Waite (45). By the start of the 10^th over, Lisburn had scored 80 runs, and Hills’ supporters were talking in terms of the team chasing at least 350 runs. Fazal’s wicket was the first to be taken, thanks to a smart catch behind the wicket by Mark Donegan off the bowling of Ashley Bain. Waite was clean-bowled by Tomás Rooney Murphy when the score was 97 runs, and two further wickets were taken in quick succession thanks to a run out and another clean-bowled by Rooney-Murphy. At 103 runs for 4 wickets, it appeared that The Hills had come back into the game, but it was at this juncture that Lisburn’s strength in depth became evident. David Millar scored a superb 77; there were also contributions from Adam Berry (17), Robert Rankin (13), and Mark Berry (25), and Lisburn’s final total was 248 runs all out after 41 overs. The Lisburn players and coaching staff were very disappointed that they had not succeeded in batting out the overs, and The Hills were very pleased to have clawed their way back into the game.

This was not one of The Hills better performances with the ball, and Ashley Bain (2 for 39) was the only bowler to have an economy rate below 4. Tomás Rooney-Murphy took 2 wickets for 45 runs in 7 overs; Jonathan Tall’s figures were 2 for 55 and Levon Shields took 3 for 45 in 9 overs. 12 wides were bowled, and the fielding continues to resemble the parson’s egg – “good in spots”.

The Hills did not have the hoped-for good start. The first wicket fell when there were 24 runs on the board, the next wicket fell on the same score, and the third wicket fell when the score was 50 in the 15^th over. Murray Commins (56) and Mark Donegan (49) combined very well to bring the score up to 145 runs, and Hills’ supporters were daring the hope for a positive outcome to the game. However, in a situation similar to the Clontarf game, the batsmen who were in did not go on to accumulate big scores. After the departure of Donegan and Commins when the score was on 154 runs, there was big pressure on Dylan Blignaut to bring the team home. He batted competently, but again when he was well-set, he was out on 31 runs. Tomás Rooney-Murphy scored 12 runs; Extras were a very generous 33 runs, and The Hills ended on 215 runs which was a deficit of 33 runs.

It is important to maintain a sense of perspective and balance when commenting on a disappointing result. There is a good spirit among The Hills’ players, and they show a strong commitment to the club. However, it is necessary to take a long, hard look at the results of the past two days, and the common element in each game was that players who are well-set are tending to lose concentration and to make poor decisions in terms of stroke-making. Talented players do not suddenly become poor players, and confidence is a huge element in every sport and in every walk of life. The away game against Phoenix on Saturday next is the ideal opportunity for the players to return to their early season form. Until then, it is onwards and upwards.