The numbers drawn in last nights lotto were;

31, 11, 20, 19.

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Alan Courell & Mary O’Dwyer, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €4,000.00

Third Man

With North County and The Hills level on points going into the last series of games in the Sports Hub League Cup, the situation regarding the second qualifying place could not have been more finely poised. Both teams knew that it was not going to be sufficient to win their respective games because the place in the semi-final would be gained by the team which gained the higher number of bonus teams. This gave rise to a range of dilemmas for captains if they won the toss; would it be preferable to field and hope that the opposition would be bowled out cheaply or opt to bat and score so many runs that the opposition would be batted out of the game? Tomás Rooney-Murphy, The Hills Captain, chose the second option, and The Hills batted first.

The first Hills’ wicket (McLoughlin-Gavin) fell when 28 runs had been scored, and the second wicket (Kavanagh) fell 4 runs later. There was then a stand of 31 runs between Mark Donegan and Dylan Blignaut, which ended when Mark was out for 8 runs. Dylan and Levon Shields gave momentum to the innings and were particularly severe on any loose bowling. A stand of 125 ended when Blignaut had scored 73 runs,  but Levon continued imperturbably to score his maiden century (112) for The Hills. In his magnificent innings, he faced 104 balls, and hit 14 fours and two sixes. Tomás Rooney-Murphy and Levon had a stand of 35 runs, and allied to 24 Extras, The Hills’ final score was 259 runs.

There was a consensus among Hills’ supporters and some of the Terenure players that the par score was in the region of 270 runs, in view of the lightning -fast outfield and the superb wicket. Predicting a par score is a very hazardous activity at the best of times, and it is often wiser to reserve judgement because the only score that matters is the figure that the chasing team manages to achieve. The Hills had a dream start in the second innings with a wicket being taken by the Tomás Rooney-Murphy /Donegan combination when Terenure had only scored 9 runs; the second Terenure wicket fell to a caught and bowled by Levon Shields when the score was 57. Athar Farooqi took a wicket with the first ball that he bowled, and that was thanks to a magnificent catch by Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin. Ashley Bain took the next three wickets, but Henry Dall, the Terenure opening bat, was batting beautifully, and the more pessimistic Hills’ supporters were thinking that the chances of qualifying for the semi-final were becoming progressively more remote. Matthew Weldon had struggled to a certain extent in his first spell, but when he came back to bowl for his second spell, he took the key wicket of Dall. Tomás Rooney-Murphy and Dylan Blignaut wrapped up proceedings with the last two wickets, and The Hills’ margin of victory was 36 runs. The bowling honours were taken by Tomás Rooney-Murphy (3 for 33), Ashley Bain (3 for 34), Athar Farooqi (1 for 21), Dylan Blignaut (1 for 35) and Matthew Weldon (1 for 39). Had The Hills done enough to qualify? No. North County won its game by 7 wickets, and thus qualified for the semi-final.

From a Hills’ perspective, it was a question of what might have been, and the loss to North County in the first game meant that the team was on the back foot for the rest of the campaign. There are many positives however because the team is responding well to Jeremy Bray, the Club Coach and Tomás Rooney-Murphy has engendered a good spirit among the players. The batting has been  brittle at times,  but the bowling is solid, and some wonderful catches have been taken in the field, with the wicket-keeping of Mark Donegan being especially noteworthy.   The Hills’ next outing is on 2 June against North Kildare in The Maws. Until then, it is onwards and upwards.

The numbers drawn in the Lotto last evening were:

1, 4, 28 & 29

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Martin Kavanagh & Michelle Everard, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €3,950.00.

Third Man

22nd May 2022

In recent years, games between The Hills and Dublin University have been contested fiercely with no quarter asked for or given. Two years ago, Dublin University won a close game at The Vineyard, while last year, The Hills won a close game at College Park. Both teams were still in contention to qualify for the semi-final but were dependent on the result of North County’s game against Phoenix. Dublin University won the toss and opted to bowl in very favourable bowling conditions. The Hills’ top order batsmen struggled to cope with a ball that was swinging, and wickets fell with monotonous regularity. Of the top six batsmen, only Andrew Kavanagh (14) had a score in double figures. With 7 wickets down for 68 runs, it appeared that the faithful at The Vineyard would have another early finish, but on this occasion, it would be The Hills that would lose. Cometh the hour, cometh two men. Tomás Rooney-Murphy (50) and Athar Farooqi (43*) batted brilliantly to bring the score up to 157, and then there was a last wicket partnership of 27 runs between Athar and Luke Clinton which gave The Hills a competitive total of 184 runs.

 After a beautiful tea, hostilities recommenced, and from a Hills’ perspective, it was essential to take early wickets. The Trinity batsmen were very circumspect against the opening bowling of Dylan Blignaut and Tomás Rooney-Murphy, but a wicket was taken eventually in the seventh over when Mark Donegan took a superb catch off the bowling of Dylan Blignaut. The fall of the first wicket brought Nicolaas Pretorius, the former Hills’ player, to the crease and he batted very well for 52 runs while wickets kept falling at the other end. There were a number of rain delays, and the two umpires were confronted with difficult situations which they handled with diplomacy and calmness. Pretorius was out when Murray Commins took a catch off the bowling of Dylan Blignaut, and that shifted the balance in favour of the bowling side. The last 4 Trinity wickets were taken for 37 runs, and there was great elation at The Vineyard when Collins was run out by the Kavanagh/ Donegan combination.

The Hills’ bowlers were superb with Blignaut taking 4 wickets for 34; Tomás Rooney-Murphy, 2 for 30; Levon Shields, 2 for 10 and Jonathan Tall, 1 for 41. Although he did not take a wicket, Ashley Bain bowled with great control, and his 7 overs yielded only 20 runs. The Hills’ fielding was excellent throughout the innings; Mark Donegan was brilliant behind the stumps and took 3 catches, one of which was an absolutely magnificent effort. Andy Kavanagh took 2 catches and was involved in a run-out, and special mention is merited by Katie Boylan who sub-fielded very well for the injured Luke Clinton. With news filtering back to The Vineyard that North County had been beaten by Phoenix, The Hills and North County are now neck and neck for a place in the semi-final. The Hills can look back on a very satisfactory weekend which yielded two victories and will look forward to the visit of Terenure to The Vineyard on Saturday next. Until then, it’s onwards and upwards.

Third Man

21st May 2022

The opening games of the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup are always eagerly anticipated because they provide the opportunity for teams from the different cricket unions to play against each other. The Hills CC, winners of the competition in 2012 and 2014, faced the arduous trip to Ballymagorry in County Tyrone to play against Fox Lodge. After a week of torrential rain in the North-West, there was a great deal of uncertainty regarding the possibility of the game being played at all, but the optimists prevailed, and after a one-hour delay for some work to be done on the run-ups, the toss was taken. Fox Lodge won the toss, and somewhat surprisingly decided to bat.

Dylan Blignaut who bowled a brilliant unchanged spell of 8 overs, took a wicket off the third ball of the first over, and then bowled Marco Marais with the first ball that Marais faced. Marais, Fox Lodge’s professional, was the player on whom Fox Lodge’s hopes resided, and his dismissal effectively ended the game as a contest. Blignaut and Tomás Rooney-Murphy imposed a stranglehold on the batsmen and runs became as scarce as hens’ teeth. 2 wickets for 2 runs became 3 wickets for 6, 4 wickets for 6 and 5 wickets for 11. There was then a 14-run partnership before the 6^th wicket fell, and the last 4 Fox Lodge wickets were taken for 4 runs. Blignaut was the undoubted star of the show with 7 wickets for 12 runs; Tomás Rooney-Murphy took two wickets for 12 runs and the other wicket was taken by Ashley Bain. The Hills’ fielding was tremendous with superb catches being taken by Blignaut, Bain, and Andrew Kavanagh, and there was a magnificent stumping by Mark Donegan. The Fox Lodge innings ended in the 15^th over, and The Hills faced a target of 29 runs.

 Levon Shields and Andrew Kavanagh opened the batting for The Hills, and Shields started like a man who wished to get home early because he had scored 23 runs out of the first 24 runs before he was dismissed by a ball that kept low and would have caused a problem for any batsman in the world. Mark Donegan and Andrew Kavanagh brought proceedings to a close in the 5^th over, and The Hills CC had overcome its first hurdle in its quest for Bob Kerr Irish Cup glory. Of necessity, celebrations were muted because The Hills CC had a very important Sports Hub League Cup game against Trinity College on the following day.  Onwards and upwards.

Martin Byrne and Mrs Maureen Byrne

Mrs Maureen Byrne, who celebrates her 100th birthday today, has had a lifelong involvement in cricket. Her late husband, Gerry, was a leading officer in the Fingal Cricket League for over 50 years. Her sons, Paddy, and Martin, played for the Hills CC with great distinction for many years, and have also served as officers of the club. Her grandchildren, Patrick, Darren, Amanda, Robert, and Alice, have continued the Byrne family’s commitment to the Hills CC.

Maureen, a founder member of The Hills in 1969 and also a Life Member, has been one of the leading lights of the Ladies Committee which has won for The Hills a richly deserved reputation for the quality of its hospitality. High class lunches and teas have been prepared and provided over many, many years with great courtesy, willingness, and pride.

Maureen has always been extremely thoughtful, and before the washing-up commenced, she would ask one of the members to check if there was any person in The Vineyard who hadn’t been invited in for a cup of tea and a sandwich. When the washing-up was completed, she would undertake a lap of the boundary with one of her close friends so that she could exchange pleasantries with her friends and visitors. She is extremely positive by nature so if a Hills’ team was having a bad day, she would just say, “sure, aren’t they doing their best”, or  “things will be better next week”. While she was always very proud of her family’s achievements, she was equally generous in recognising the achievements of other players.

In the recent past, Maureen has not been to The Vineyard quite as often as she did in former times, but she continues to look at cricket on the television, especially when Eoin Morgan, that proud son of Fingal is playing. Prior to the Covid restrictions, commemorative events were held to recognise various anniversaries for cricket clubs and cricket organisations. 

Maureen attended the Nostalgia Evening which was held to mark The Hills’ 50th Anniversary, and the club marked the occasion by presenting Mrs Byrne with a bouquet of flowers. The standing ovation which accompanied the presentation was an indication of the great esteem and affection in which she is held. There was a similar presentation to Mrs Byrne after the Tribute Evening for the Fingal Cricket League.

Members of the Hills and the wider Cricket Leinster community join with the Byrne family in sending its best wishes and congratulations to Mrs Maureen Byrne on reaching this wonderful milestone. 

Ad multos annos!

The numbers drawn in the Lotto last evening were;

10, 13, 15 & 23

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Monica Monahan & Jeanine Byrne, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €3,900.00.