The numbers drawn in the Lotto last evening were:

6, 11, 16 & 22

There was no winner of the Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Paul McGrane and Martin Russell, €25.00 each.

Jackpot for next week will be €1,500.00

We’re back in Inter-Pro action tomorrow as Munster Reds take on North West Warriors in the penultimate #IP50 series match, live from The Mardyke in Cork! Match Starts at 10:45am – be there!

http://bit.ly/IP50CompCentre

http://bit.ly/CILiveMRvNWW#MRvNWW#IP2021

Congratulations go out to Mark Donegan on his selection.

Details of the full squad at the link below:

https://www.cricketleinster.ie/news/leinster-bolts-squad-announced-for-future-series-14-6-2021

For the second weekend in a row, the atmosphere at a cricket ground was more
akin to a carnival than a sports venue, and the palpable sense of joy among
players and spectators at being either involved or present at a cricket match
was pervasive. Even a one-way traffic control system on the North Circular Road
and cones located all over Chesterfield Avenue could not dampen the spirit of
goodwill which was complemented by beautiful sunshine and a cloudless sky.
(That’s enough padding, give a report on the game, Ed.!).

The Hills won the toss and opted to field first. Last week, the alarm
occurred in the first over of the Hills’ batting, but on this occasion, there was a
concern in the first over of the bowling when Tomás Rooney-Murphy pulled up
with what appeared to be a strained groin. He managed in some discomfort to
complete the over, but it was obvious that he would not be able to bowl any
more in this game. The Phoenix openers, Grassi and McDonough, were
proceeding very sedately until the third over when McDonough fell to a
magnificent catch by Levon Shields off the bowling of Dylan Blignaut. Luke
Clinton replaced Tomás at the Pasley End, and he bowled superbly. Jamie Grassi,
the former North County player, was clean bowled by Luke when the score was
35, and Luke’s figures for his spell were 4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 7 runs.
The next wicket to fall was that of Adam Chester, caught by Mark Donegan off
the bowling of Jonathan Tall.

With George Dockrell self-isolating, there was a lot of pressure on Tyrone Kane, and he responded brilliantly by scoring 82 runs off 40 balls. In the 14 th over, 24 runs were scored, and the pessimistic Hills’
supporters were hoping that the team would not have to chase any more than
160 runs. Over the years, spin bowling has been the bane of Fingal cricketers,
but on this occasion, it was its salvation because Sameer Dutt took the all-
important wicket of Kane thanks to a very smart catch by Mark Donegan, and
Sameer followed this up with a catch off his own bowling to take the wicket of
James Maginnis. Killian Everard took the wicket of Aaron Cawley, caught by
Luke Clinton, and Phoenix had collapsed from 125 runs in the 17 th over to 137
runs for 6 wickets.

With clubhouses out of bounds, the Hills’ external catering department
(Helen Farrell and Michael Dwyer) rose to the occasion, and a magnificent
repast was enjoyed by the multitudes during the break between innings. The
Hills’ reply to the Phoenix total was measured and calm, with the first wicket,
Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (11) falling to a wonderful catch by Stephen Moreton,
off the bowling of Aaron Cawley when the score stood at 30. Levon Shields continued his rich vein of form and with Murray Commins brought the score up to 70 runs when he was out on the last ball of the 8th over. Mark Donegan (37) and Murray Commins (37) batted superbly, and the required target was achieved in the 17th over.

This was a very professional performance by a highly motivated, well-managed team. The bowling unit continues to impress, and the batting looks to be very solid. Next week, Trinity College visit the Vineyard, and all home
supporters hope that the team can finish unbeaten in the first series of games.
Until then, it is onwards and upwards.

The Hills W1 V Clontarf W1, first game of the season playing a cup match. The Hills with a strong team, having a strong bowling line up. A great night for a T20 The Hills girls were ready as well as the strong team from Clontarf. Skipper Miranda won the toss and elected to Bowl first, as a team the bowlers were ready. Opening with Jane Maguire and Katie Boylan bowling, attacking the wicket every ball. Katie B coming back after a break hasn’t lost her strong action eyeing the wicket every ball.  Fielding has dramatically improved, everyone ready and determined to stop the ball as they come. Clontarf had a good partnership but was broken after Ashling Byrne came on getting the ball to nick Aoife Brennan onto point, where a fine catch was taken by Tess Maritz. The Hills bowlers held their line and length and stayed strong. The strength of the Clontarf batting line-up was emphasised by the difficulty the home side were having winkling them out. A sharp piece of fielding by Ashling saw C. Coulter-Reilly (43) run out, but there were no further successes in the field and ‘Tarf finished their 20 overs on 108/4. Chasing 108,

The Hills built some good partnerships Jane Maguire (37), Katie Boylan (16*), and Miranda Andrews (12) bringing their side to the final over needing 17 runs but Katie and Tracy Clinton (9*), despite a spirited effort fell 10 short of their target at 99/5.

All in all, this was a very good performance from a side bereft of a number of their colleagues and further troubled by an injury to Lulu Boylan who rolled her ankle while fielding, thereby precluding her from adding her fire power to the batting effort.

Reporting by The Allrounder

Arriving at Kentstown, with the sun bleaching, the Hills 3rds kicked off their season in the GSCI Intermediate T20 Cup. As always in the early part of season, winning the toss is key. A quick surmise of a green bowler’s paradise of a wicket, and with no warm up matches allowed, confirmed this. As the coin was flipped by the home skipper, away skip, Matthew Richards, bellowed out “tails” (for Wales of course). Unfortunately, a big fat juicy melon of a head landed and I started crossing everything I could, in the hope the skip would go against his instincts and bat first. What seemed like an age for a decision to be made, resulted in the visitors, rightly being inserted to bat.

The early match score: 1-0 to Knockharley.

Openers Matthew Richards and Gavin Morgan (returning after some time away from playing), set about building the innings. Slow and steady was the order of the day as the batsman got to grips with a slow, low pitch with inconsistent bounce. A few boundaries later, including a beautiful deep extra cover lofted drive by Gavin and the half way point was reached. The Hills arrived at the brief drinks break at 10 overs with 50 runs on the board and no loss of wickets. Progress had been slow but it seemed a par score, based on how the pitch was behaving. The openers got together and agreed to kick on and drive up the run rate. But as is so often the case, a new bowler and a brief break resulted in a wicket first ball after resumption of play. Gavin clean bowled by the Knockharley skipper for 31. Youngster Lorcan Woodhouse joined Matt at the crease but his innings was to be short-lived. It did not take long for the pitch to misbehave and a ball that got stuck in the pitch was spooned for the simplest of catches at short extra cover. Lorcan giving a glaring scowl at the surface as he departed. Next up at no 4. was Mo (Muhammad Hassan). Our mean bowling, big hitting regular the last couple of years. His partnership with Matt was stopped before it got started as Matt (19) out bowled. 3 wickets in 3 overs. A partnership was needed and so it proved vital as Mo was joined by Sam Smyth, making his 3rd team debut. Between them they put on a crucial 38 run partnership. Mo’s big hitting began, including a mighty 6 over deep midwicket, drawing grasps from the crowd. Not to be outdone by his partner, Sam combined to rotate strike intelligently, mixed in with a couple of excellent shots for boundaries. His eventual dismissal for a quickfire 13, coming from being called through for a run by his partner, than not even Usain Bolt would have made. Ever so reliable Aijaz Farooqi, brought his unique blend of talent and experience to the crease. After a couple of typical crafty shots to find gaps for boundaries, he lost his batting partner. Mo out for 24 off 20, clean bowled. A priceless innings. Young Conor O Brien entered the fray with 3 overs to spare. A difficult situation for anyone, knowing runs were needed and no time to assess the pitch. He had not troubled the scorers by the time he departed. Out bowled having faced 4 balls. Next and the final partnership was a father and son combo. Ashad Farooqi joining dad in the middle. A quick discussion was had before Ashad first ball, deposited the dangerous opening bowler back over his head for a georgeous looking straight drive for 4. The bowler acknowledging not a bad ball – just a very good shot. Absolute essential runs at this stage. A couple of runs later and the final score of 118 was reached. It looked a pretty good score. Gary Woodhouse, our ever-dependable scorer and supporter, nodded his approval.

G.Morgan 31

M.Hassan 24

M.Richards 19

S.Smyth 13

So, a defense of our 118 began. The ecomomic and deadly duo of Raja and Mo, set about the openers early. Knowing that boundaries were not going to be easy, rotation of strike was used effectively by the batsman. A similar pattern had developed with slow progress and a foundation being built as was the earlier Hills innings. Mo and Raja had bowled 3 each and kept the run rate down. The first bowling change brought instant results. Young debutant Sam Smyth picking up 2 wickets in his first over and changing the course of the match. The 1st wicket a sharp catch by Conor O Brien and a wicket maiden. His 2nd wicket picking up Knockharley’s dangerous number 3 batsman and regular top scorer as he was bowled without scoring a run. Sam’s family were watching, delighted by his impact. Now it was time to put our hosts to the sword. When you need a wicket who do you call? King of swing Jay Magee of course. He duly obliged with the first of his 3 wickets, clean bowling the young opener with a typical bamboozling in swinging delivery. The young lad appeared to have seen nothing like it. He duly followed that up shortly with another, caught by a sharp low catch by the magic man behind the stumps, Paul McGrane. Not to be outdone by the evergreen Jay, Sam picked up his 3rd wicket, as Aijaz Farooqi took a simple catch off good length bowling. It’s about this time every game, Jay usually says something like “it’s not doing much, take me off if you like”. But perseverance and faith is often a key ingredient to success and so it proved as Jay was asked to finish his allotted overs. And faith was rewarded with the last of Jay’s 3 wickets. Paul McGrane taking a remarkable catch diving low to his right, as the batsman chased a wide one and an edge was found. The next over Sam Smyth completed his 4 wicket haul as Gavin Morgan took a skyer from his gully position. Sam had 1 ball left of his 4 overs, chasing that elusive 5 wicket milestone. The tension was electric. The delivery was not. A leg side delivery ensued, but a dot ball was had. However, the job was done. 4 wickets. 1 maiden. 8 runs off his 4 overs. Top stuff from anyone and key in the middle overs. Especially from a young debutant. Off he proudly marched to do his fielding duties. Next, was our young spin twins bowling together in unison, Lorcan and Ashad. Batsman being unable to pick them as they beat the bat time and time again. Ashad eventually rewarded for excellent bowling with a wicket caught by dad Aijaz at mid-off. The openers Raja and Hassan finished things off, thankfully in an uneventful style and a great match was brought to a close. The Hills had won by 17 runs.

S.Smyth 4 overs. 8 runs. 4 wickets.

J.Magee 4 overs. 24 runs. 3 wickets.

Ashad Farooqi. 2 overs. 9 runs. 1 wicket

R.Akbar. 4 overs. 17 runs.

M.Hassan. 4 overs. 23 runs

The hosts skipper was impressed. He commented how they had a strong team this year and were hoping to do well. Playing at home on their wicket, they expected to beat most teams. But the Hills had other ideas.

Man of the Match: Sam Smyth

Only 1 person in consideration for man of the match. Young Sam batted well and excelled with ball in hand. Completely changing the course of the match in our favour. Until his introduction the match was 50/50 at best. Knockharley may even have been favourites, until he began his spell.

Last word from captain Matthew Richards: “Fantastic win and true team effort to claim victory. Every single player can take a look at the player next to them and be proud of how they played. They all contributed in some way. The batting and bowling can take credit of course, but I was most impressed with our fielding today. I said before the game, that for me fielding is more important than any other part of the game for us as a team. As it sets the standard of how we want to play. The lads all put 100% effort in. I could talk about every player in some way. But it would be wrong of me not to mention man of the match Sam Smyth. Sam was on 3rd team debut and you would never have known. He played like an old head and didn’t try to do too much, which was key. He kept his length consistent and beat the bat many times to go along with his 4 wickets. Top effort Sam and the match ball was well deserved. There won’t be many teams in our cup, who go away first game of season, on a very tricky surface, who are asked to bat first, when no warm up or friendly matches have been allowed and still win convincingly. My thanks to Knockharley for being such great hosts. Let’s continue to work hard in nets with our coaches and use this first win to drive the momentum and direction of our season. It was great to see so many young players in our 3rds team. This is the youngest 3rds team we have had in some time. Those previous young 3rds players are now playing 1st and 2nd team cricket. So, it will be great to provide a pathway for their development this season and combine that with a winning mentality.”

The Allrounder

Reporting by Third Man

Under normal circumstances, the start of a new cricket season can evoke all kinds of emotions, some of which are dependent on player movements during the close season, but in this Covid-dominated year, the overwhelming emotion at the belated start of the 2021 season was a sense of unbridled joy. At the outset, it is important to recognise and thank the Executive and members of the Hills CC for the way in which The Vineyard was presented for the home game against near neighbours, North County CC. The outfield looked brilliant; the pitch was superb, and the officials implemented the Covid procedures with great efficiency and good humour. Under a cloudless sky and in beautiful sunshine, all was set fair for a great day’s sport and for re-unions with old and new friends.

                The Hills won the toss and opted to field first. The opening bowlers, Tomás Rooney-Murphy, and Dylan Blignaut, bowled with accuracy and pace, and ensured that North County did not get off to the proverbial flying start. At the start of the 4^th over, there were only 7 runs on the board. In the 4^th over, Tomás clean-bowled Niall McGovern, and 2 balls, later, Salman Aziz was out to a good catch by Athar Farooqi off the same bowler. At the other end, John Devane (29), was batting steadily and with the assistance of Jonathan Andrews brought the score up to 42 before Jonathan was clean bowled by Killian Everard.  Killian also clean bowled Eddie Richardson when the score was 53 runs. The 5^th wicket partnership between John Mooney (31) and John Devane added 52 runs to the score, but Devane fell to a caught and bowled by the impressive Levon Shields when the score was 105. The next two wickets fell for 2 runs, with the prize wicket of John Mooney falling to a smart catch in the deep by Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin, off the bowling of Tomás Murphy. Seán Sludds (21*) and Luke Whelan brought the North County score up to 137 runs for 8 wickets. The bowling honours fell to Tomás Rooney-Murphy (3 for 19), Levon Shields (2 for 9), Killian Everard (2 for 32) and Killian McGrane (1 for 24) with Dylan Blignaut bowling his 4 overs for 15 runs.

                Spectators at games between Fingal teams know that it is unwise to speculate regarding what constitutes a winning score, and this became even more apparent when in reply, The Hills lost 2 batsmen (Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Murray Commins) when there was no run on the board. A superb partnership of 92 runs between Mark Donegan (47) and Man of the Match, Levon Shields (46*), brought about the necessary consolidation for the home side. Both players batted superbly; they ran well between the wickets and dealt firmly with any loose bowling. When Mark was out to a fine catch by Andrew Sheridan on the mid-wicket boundary off the bowling of Seán Sludds, the score was 92. Dylan Blignaut (27*) and Levon ensured that there were no further alarms, and the game ended in the 17^th over with The Hills on a score of 139.

                In many respects, this was a strange encounter because it lacked the passion which often permeates games between Fingal teams, and it appeared that everyone was delighted to be playing and looking at cricket. Normally, mistakes on the field can be the subject of recriminations but today, good humour and tolerance were abundantly in evidence and the beautiful sunshine added to the carnival atmosphere. Being aware of the adage that “one swallow does not a summer make”, any conclusions which might be drawn from this game are by their nature very tentative. The Hills’ bowling quintet of Tomás Rooney-Murphy, Dylan Blignaut, Killian Everard, Levon Shields, and Sameer Dutt, looks to be a very competent unit, and the batsmen, Mark Donegan, Levon Shields, and Dylan Blignaut did all that was required to win the game. On a day when cricket was the winner, it is onwards and upwards for the game against Phoenix CC at the Phoenix Park on Saturday next Third Man.