20 Overs game played at The Vineyard in pleasant weather conditions.

The toss was won by Clontarf who decided to have a bat.

The Hills went into the game having secured a two game winning streak in recent weeks so the question was could they continue that momentum into tonight’s game given the abundance of talent on show in the Clontarf side?

Clontarf started slowly only scoring 47 in their first 10 overs. Thanks to some very economical bowling from Katie Boylan and Jane Maguire we were off to a great start with the prospect of a modest target to chase. That was all to change for the second part of the Clontarf innings with the run rate increasing thanks to a very well managed 35 from Aoife Brennan, 25 from Anna Kirk and a supporting 15 from Anna Marshall. Alice Walsh contributed a quickfire 35 from 25 to post a final total of 129. A wicket each for Natasha Morton and Katie Boylan were the highlights of The Hills attack.

So a target of 130 to win seemed very reasonable given recent form but with the exception of Aisling Byrne (17) our front up batters failed to fire on the night. Clíodhna O’Reardon (10) and Miranda Andrews (11) steadied the ship for a while and gave supporters some brief belief that we were still on track for a win. That hope faded quickly with the loss of three quick wickets with the score still on 69. All hope rested on Tess Maritz (39 off 21), batting at number 8, young Aimee Maguire batting at number 11 and with 54 needed off 4.4 overs. Supporters suggested all sorts of Chris Gayle like combinations that were needed to win the game. What happened next was just extraordinary, Tess Maritz took the lead role and trusted her partner (Aimee Maguire) to take runs when they were there, running 2’s and singles when they could, putting the fielders under pressure. While the junior partner at the crease Aimee (11 from 13) never flinched or let the pressure get to her and ran aggressively at every opportunity.

With 20 runs needed off the last over how could The Hills possibly close this game off with a win. Enter the quiet but purposeful Maritz twin who had already decided that a win was still possible, a 2 from Aimee followed by a single left Tess on strike, 4 runs to long off, a dangerous head height no ball dispatched to the square leg boundary for (5), 2 to long on, 5 needed to tie, boom, 6 dispatched to Joe Archer’s field secured victory with one ball to spare. What a way to finish an incredible game, a record breaking 54 for a 10^th wicket partnership.

We are delighted to hear that our own Matthew Weldon has been selected in the Ireland Under 15 squad. Matthew will be lining out today when his team take on the Ireland Under 17’s in Carrickfergus. Well done Matthew and the best of luck at the game.

The numbers drawn last night in the club lotto were:

5, 6, 15 & 23

There was no winner of the Jackpot.

Luck Dip winners were Tracy Clinton and Kathleen Gavin, €25.00 each

The Jackpot next week will be €1,900.00.

Congratulations and best of luck to Alan Courell and Tom Hurley who have been selected for

Leinster U11’s to play the Northern Cricket Union in an Interpro series this week.

The numbers drawn in The Lotto last evening were;

11, 16, 25 & 29

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Liam McAuley and Caroline Clinton, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot for next week will stand at €1,850.00.

2nd August 2021

50 Over game played at The Vineyard

The Hills won the toss and elected to bat first

The Hills started strongly with a 29 run partnership by Tess Maritz (17) and Clíodhna O’Reardon (8) before O’Reardon’s wicket fell in the 9th over. Maritz and Jane Maguire fell quickly afterwards in the 10th over. This brought Katie Boylan (25) and Aisling Byrne (33) to the middle who put together a critical partnership of 74 runs before Katie departed in the 25th over with the score on 105. Further contributions came from Amy Benson (14) and Miranda Andrews (10) bringing the final total to 155 in the 36th over with Hannah Corcoran carrying her bat. YMCA were generous with their extras of 43 enabling The Hills post what looked like a competitive score. Pick of the YMCA bowlers were Amelia Flanagan with 6 wickets for 25 off 7 overs and 2 wickets each for Kate McEvoy and Katie O’Reilly.

YMCA got the run chase off to a fantastic start with a 57 run partnership between Robyn Lewis (28) and Sarah Forbes (40). Lewis departed in the 15th over adjudged LBW off the bowling of Aisling Byrne. Forbes continued the run chase but struggled to find partners to stay with her, she eventually succumbed to the bowling of Aisling Byrne caught at midwicket by Chloe Ericson in the 25th over with the score on 92 for 5. The rest of the YMCA batters doggedly stuck around for another 15 overs finishing up on a total of 133 all out. Pick of The Hills bowlers was Aisling Byrne with 4 wickets for 25, Natasha Morton 3 for 40, Aimee Maguire with 2 for 10, Jane Maguire 1 for 30 and a very economic 10 overs from Katie Boylan. The Hills winning by 22 runs