Third Man

With three defeats and no wins, this game was in the “must win” category for Clontarf, and of all the teams in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League, The Hills was probably the team that it would have chosen to play against when it was in this predicament because in the recent past, The Hills invariably reserved its worst display of the season for games against Clontarf. The Hills won the toss, elected to bowl,  and had a very positive start when it took a wicket when there were only 9 runs on the board. A period of circumspect cricket followed, and The Hills’ bowlers were totally on top in the early stages of the game. A second wicket fell when 45 runs had been scored, and it appeared that The Hills would be adding to Clontarf’s tale of woe. However, a stand of 122 runs between Eoin Delany (78) and P J  Moor (76) altered the complexion of the game completely, and when Eoin Delany was out with the score on 188, David, his brother, revelled in the challenge and scored a quickfire 49 runs. The last ten overs of an innings are crucial because whichever team comes out on top, goes into the second innings with a sense of momentum. Clontarf put on almost 80 runs in the last 10 overs and could be very content with its total of 246 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. With regard to the bowling figures for The Hills, Tomás Rooney-Murphy took 2 wickets for 51 runs off 10 overs, Dylan Blignaut took 1 for 35 off 10 overs, and Levon Shields took 1 for 33 off 5 overs.

247 runs was a daunting target for The Hills, and it became even more daunting when it lost 2 wickets with no run on the board. Mark Donegan (34) and Andrew Kavanagh (39) set about rebuilding the innings and compiled a stand of 57 runs. Dylan Blignaut (38) and Andrew Kavanagh added a further 48 runs, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, and The Hills was always well behind the required run-rate. There were contributions from Levon Shields (18) and Matthew Weldon (23), but the big innings which was required from at least one Hills’ player never occurred, and The Hills ended up on 195, beaten by 51 runs.

In many respects, this result was a self-fulfilling prophecy because in recent times, The Hills have rarely played well at Castle Avenue. What was unusual about this performance in comparison with other Hills’ performances this season, was that the batsmen who got starts did not go on to compile a big score. The ground fielding continues to be a source of concern, but the bowlers deserve credit for a disciplined display because only 5 bowling extras were conceded, and wicketkeeper Mark Donegan did not concede a single bye. The Hills will have an immediate opportunity to address some of the failings when it entertains Lisburn at The Vineyard on Sunday in the Irish Senior Cup. Until then, it is onwards and upwards.     

The numbers drawn in The Lotto last evening were;

1, 10, 25 & 32

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Pascal Henchy & George Kitteringham, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €4,300.00.

Many thanks to Specsavers Swords for their continued support.

Lucky Dip Draw

Cash Prizes

1st. €1000

2nd. €500

3rd. . €250

4th. €250

Are you feeling lucky? Tickets priced between €1 Minimum to €10 Maximum. Scratch ticket to see what your price is ..

Draw will take place on 3rd Sept 2022.

Live music By “The Macks” on the night with BBQ on the evening.

Tickets can be bought from any club member, behind the bar and at The HillBillies Cafe.

All support is welcome.

All fundraising goes towards club development

7th June 2022

Simon Adderley

Hills Minor B’s come back in some style!

Adamstown 118-7 (Nett 83) Lost to The Hills Minor B Navy 139-4 (Nett 119). The sun reminded us all what warm weather cricket is like and The Hills reminded us that never giving up is a great attitude to have in life. The Hills Captain Ryan Clinton won the toss and elected to bat first and The Hills pairs scored as follows:

Daniel Adderley & Tom Jackson 21-1 (one 4), Leo Russell & Sam Clinton 38-0 (one 6 and one 4), Ryan Clinton & Gary Costello 20-2, James Maguire & Callum Walsh 29-1, James Davies & Jack Sheridan 31-0 (two 4s). Giving The Hills a total 139 for 4 wickets (Net 119), a challenging total for Adamstown to chase.

Having taken an age to get through their overs the home team decided to attack the Hills bowling from the start with their opening pair returning 47-0 (special mention to Sharwan who batted beautifully for 35), second pair brought the score to 72-0 and third pair moving to 96 without loss until the 11th Over.Enter Jack (rocket arm) Sheridan rifling in a direct hit from long stop to bring The Hills their first wicket and restoring belief that was beginning to wilt in the evening sun.

A transformed Hills side dived to save 4’s (James M), produced another 2 run outs (Leo & James M) and gave us further wickets from Jack, Ryan, Tom (2) to come away with a hard-earned win.

Many thanks to Adamstown for producing very welcome food and drinks at the changeover, very much appreciated by all the players. Thanks to all the parents who made the journey and round the M50 in time for a 6pm start.

Third Man  9 July 2022

The return game between The Hills and YMCA in the IBI Corporate Finance League was played at The Vineyard on Saturday, 9 July. YMCA won the toss, elected to bowl, and the first Hills’ wicket fell when the score was 19 runs. Andrew Kavanagh (20) and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (48) combined to bring the score up the 81 runs before Kavanagh was stumped by Adam Roslee, YMCA’s new keeper. Cormac was adjudged LBW 10 runs later, and from a Hills’ perspective, it was important that the mistakes of last week’s game against Balbriggan were not replicated. Mark Donegan’s good form with the bat continued and he scored a superb 73* with shots all around the ground, and there were decent contributions from Dylan Blignaut (26) and Levon Shields (24). The Hills’ innings ended on 223 runs, and there was general satisfaction among the home supporters that the score was slightly above par.

From a YMCA perspective, a good start was imperative if the Hills’ score was to be threatened, and that did not occur. The first wicket fell when the score was 9 runs, the next one fell at 31 runs, and from that point onwards, wickets were taken at regular intervals. The only significant partnerships were 36 runs between Aaron Bailey (22) and Adam Roslee (9), and 25 runs between Tom Anders (44*) and Finn Conaty (3). YMCA’s final score was 124, and The Hills’ margin of victory was 99 runs.

For The Hills, the wickets were shared among Dylan Blignaut (2 for 19), Tomás Rooney-Murphy (2 for 23), Matthew Weldon (2 for 23), Jonathan Tall (2 for 26) and Ashley Bain (1 for 31). The Hills bowled well; Mark Donegan kept very well, but the general standard of The Hills’ fielding continues to be a cause of concern.  Next weekend is a very busy one for The Hills’ First XI with a league game against Clontarf at Castle Avenue on Saturday, and an Irish Cup game against Lisburn at The Vineyard on Sunday. Until then, it is onwards and upwards.  

Andrew Russell

July 2nd 2022

A familiar pattern is emerging over the course of the season where our young development team pits themselves against vastly more experienced teams full of late bloomers! This time round our 11 youths were up against 6 adults and 5 youths.

It is testament to the team’s spirit, that despite the gulf in experience they have taken these games to the wire every single week, never once dropping their heads.

The Hills captain. Joseph Russell, won the toss and elected to bat. Joseph (20) and Alan Courell jr (14) set a solid base of 48 against adult bowlers who would normally operate a few divisions above this standard.

A couple of quick wickets pegged the Hills back but Max Stead (26 n.o.) kept the scoreboard ticking over with some fluent batting. Max Brophy (28) and Peter Stead (8 n.o.) scored quick runs to set a total of 123 off 25 overs, the overs having been reduced to accommodate a request from Adamstown for a later start and the less than optimistic weather forecast.

The Hills got off to a flying start in the second innings with 3 smart run outs taking out the top order. Twins Brandon Vincenzo (0-12 off 5) and Tristan Vincenzo (1-15 off 5) kept the bowling tight and youngsters James Davis (aged 11) and Leo Russell (aged 9) got their first couple of overs bowling in senior cricket.

However, in the end Adamstown’s middle order batted well and squeezed over the line with a couple of wickets and a couple of overs to spare.

So, whilst a victory was once again just out of reach, the boys experienced the type of scenarios which will benefit their cricket development over the course of the next few seasons. Success for this team will be measured on how many of the boys progress up the divisions in adult cricket, and there is a good chance that 5 or 6 of them will be playing 4^th team cricket this weekend.

Thanks once again to Alan Courell for umpiring and Stephen Archer for scoring. Thanks also to Shane & Lydia Vincenzo and Jackie Courell who pulled together an excellent tea for the teams.