The numbers drawn in last evenings Lotto were;

4, 7, 9,29

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Luck Dip winners were Conor McManus and Willie Dwyer, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €2,400.00

The numbers drawn in The Lotto last evening were:

3, 6, 17 & 24

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were George Kitteringham & Liam Staunton, €25.00 each.

Jackpot for next week will be €2,350.00.

The numbers drawn in last nights Lotto were:

2, 4, 5 & 11

There was no winner of the Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Anthony Weldon and Any McGirl, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot for next week will be €2,300.00.

The numbers drawn in last nights Lotto were;

12, 17, 25 & 29

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Matt Dwyer and Martin Kavanagh, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €2,250.00

The Hills Cricket Club AGM will be held in The Hills Clubhouse on Monday, October 11th at 7.45pm (19.45)

Nominations are requested for the following positions;

President (Michael Dwyer, deemed elected)

President Elect (Customarily nominated by the President)

Chairperson

Hon. Secretary

Hon. Treasurer

Chairpersons of subcommittees as follows;

Adult Cricket Committee

Youth Cricket Committee

House Committee

Grounds Committee

Child Protection Officer

Designated Liaison Person (must have attended, or will attend, Safeguarding Children courses 1&2)

Three general Committee Members. Nominations must include the names of the proposer and seconder and must have been agreed by the person proposed and should be emailed to the Hon. Sec. at; thehillscricketclub.sec@gmail.com

Congratulations to our own Jane Maguire who has been selected for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. The team will play a 4 game ODI format series starting on October 5th in Harare. Well done Jane and the best of luck on the tour.

Tomás Rooney Murphy has won the Solomons Cup for the 2021 season. This honour is awarded for the best fielding performance in Leinster Cricket, the award was last won by Mike Baumgart, of The Hills, in 2013. Congratulations Tomás on a great personal performance for the season and on leading a great team in trying circumstances.

The numbers drawn in the Lotto last evening were;

3, 9, 15 & 32

There was no winner of The Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Tracy Clinton and Martin Russell, €25.00 each.

The Jackpot next week will be €2,200.00.

Emotion recollected in Tranquillity, Part 2.

Third Man

The first game in the Bua Kit Premier League between The Hills and Malahide was a great occasion because it constituted the restarting of 50 overs games after the one-year hiatus which was caused by the Covid pandemic. The day was gloriously sunny, The Vineyard was in its usual pristine condition and there was a palpable sense of excitement as The Hills won the toss and opted to field first. Two Malahide wickets were taken early on, but that was as good as it got for The Hills. By the end of Malahide’s innings, there were two centurions, (Matthew Ford, 109 runs, and Callum Riches, 140), and it had amassed the huge score of 334 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (29), Mark Donegan (28) and Andrew Kavanagh (29) played some beautiful shots, but scoreboard pressure told, and wickets fell at regular intervals. The Hills’ final total was 147, and its innings ended in the 31^st over. On this occasion, Malahide batted, bowled, and fielded better than The Hills. For The Hills, positives were in short supply, but in every walk of life, it is possible to have a bad day at the office. There was then a fortnight for the players to get back to first principles, reflect and return refreshed for the game against Phoenix in the Phoenix Park on 31 July.

With both teams having lost their opening games in the BuaKit Premier League, the spectre of relegation was going to loom large for whichever team lost this game.  Tomás Rooney-Murphy, Captain of the Hills, won the toss and opted to field first.  The Hills’ opening bowlers, Rooney-Murphy, and Dylan Blignaut, bowled with fire and accuracy, and Phoenix had only accumulated 9 runs by the 6^th over when the first wicket (Mc Donough) fell to a brilliant run-out by Cian Nulty. The two young Hills’ bowlers, Nulty and McGrane, complemented the opening pair brilliantly, and each of them took 2 wickets. Rooney-Murphy took 3 wickets, and the other wickets fell to Blignaut and Sameer Dutt. The Hills’ fielding was a considerable improvement on the previous game, and Extras were restricted to 16 runs (11 wides, 2 no balls, 1 bye and 2 leg byes).

To the certainties of death and taxes, can be added the facility of sports’ teams to induce all forms of stress and anxiety in their supporters as players contrive to make what appear to be straightforward tasks very difficult. It appeared that the required runs would be scored without too much difficulty, but wickets began to fall with frightening regularity, and with 5 runs required, Jonathan Tall, who had left the field due to an injury during the first innings, was obliged to limp to the centre as The Hills sought to achieve the required target. He faced 4 balls, and with a combination of forward defensive pushes and a deft flick, ensured that the onus would be on the imperturbable Dylan Blignaut to finish the game, which he did with considerable aplomb by scoring 4 runs. Despite this victory, The Hills’ batting continued to give cause for concern. Blignaut (37*) batted superbly, and there were contributions from McLaughlin-Gavin and Commons, but the Extras conceded by Phoenix (39) were the top score of the day. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and the 20 points opened The Hills’ account in the League.

The title of one of Edna O’Brien’s novels is “August is a Wicked Month” and this was a particularly apposite comment on the inclement weather which bedevilled the Hills’ fixtures during the month. On 7 August, torrential rain in North County Dublin caused the postponement of the game against Merrion. The following week in another rain-affected game, The Hills scored 175 runs for 7, and had YMCA on 105 runs for 6 when the umpires decided that bad light had rendered further play impossible. On 21 August, The Hills had Leinster 69 for 5 in Rathmines when there was a rainstorm of biblical proportions, and the game was abandoned.

The series of abandonments and the decision to end the league season on 4 September meant that there was a glut of fixtures on the last week in August and the first week in September. On 26 August, The Hills played Merrion in a 20 overs per side game, and it is one of those unfortunate ironies that over the past number of years, the Hills First X1 has reserved its worst performance of the season for its games against Merrion CC. The Hills won the toss and decided to bat first. The accepted wisdom regarding the optimal way to play T20 games is that it is essential to accumulate runs during the first six overs when the fielding restrictions favour the batting side. Alas from a Hills’ perspective this did not occur, and by the end of the sixth over, the home side had only scored 23 runs and lost 1 wicket in the process. For the duration of The Hills’ innings, there were cameos and brief flourishes, and the most productive partnership (42 runs) was between Andrew Kavanagh (19) and Dylan Blignaut (25). The statistics for the innings reveal the extent of the Hills’ batting woes. The Hills ended on 102 runs which was appreciably below the number required to trouble a highly talented Merrion batting side.

When defending a low score, the tone is set by the early overs but by the end of the Power Play, Merrion had scored 45 runs and lost no wicket. The seventh over produced 14 runs, and at this stage, the game was over as a contest. The Merrion batsmen gave an object lesson in chasing a low score, by blocking the good ball, and hitting the bad ball for either 4 or 6. The game ended in the 16^th over, with Merrion scoring 103 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Given the congested nature of the Hills’ programme, this was not an opportune time for recriminations, but to concentrate on redressing the balance with strong performances against Pembroke, Leinster, YMCA, and Clontarf.

The Hills travelled to Sydney Parade to play Pembroke in a vital league game with another defeat making the prospect of relegation from the Premier League a live possibility. Pembroke won the toss and opted to bat first, but the Hills’ opening bowlers, Dylan Blignaut and Tomás Rooney-Murphy bowled with great accuracy and fire to maintain constant pressure on the Pembroke batsmen. By the end of the seventh over, Blignaut had taken two wickets, the first wicket falling to a smart catch by Murray Commins at first slip, the second wicket to a catch behind the wicket by Mark Dwyer. Pembroke wickets fell at regular intervals, but the Lawson brothers, Theo (73*) and Paul (26) stood firm and ensured that Pembroke ended on the competitive total of 192 runs. The Hills’ spinners, Sameer Dutt (1 wicket for 19 runs in 10 overs) and Jonathan Tall (2 wickets for 39 runs in 10 overs), bowled very well, and their bowling was complemented by a superb performance in the field, with eight catches being taken.

Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin scored a well-deserved half-century (53 runs), and Murray Commins showed the form which had remained latent up to this juncture for The Hills CC. He batted until the 44^th over and scored a brilliant 79 runs to bring the target within manageable proportions. Twists and turns of fate are one of the constants in the lives of supporters, and with three successive LBW decisions, the brows of the six Hills’ supporters had become progressively more furrowed. There was then a stumping, and it appeared that The Hills were going to be on the wrong side of another close game with Pembroke. The cousins, Tomás Rooney-Murphy and Cian Nulty maintained their composure in this highly pressurised situation, and Cian’s three fours ensured that the required runs were obtained without any further alarms. This was a fine performance by the Hills’ players, with bowling, fielding, and batting being a vast improvement on the efforts in the previous game.

The flurry of re-fixed games continued unabated as The Hills visited Leinster CC for a 20 overs per side game. Due to pressures of work, The Hills had three changes from the team which had beaten Pembroke on Saturday. Lorcan Woodhouse came into the team, Andrew Kavanagh took the wicket-keeping slot, and there was a first-team debut for Sam Smyth. Saturday’s victory had lifted the relegation pressures on The Hills, but this was not the situation for a Leinster team which up to that point had failed to win any game in the BUAKIT Premier League.

Leinster won the toss and opted to bat first. It was evident that the fear of relegation had produced a highly motivated team, and by the end of the 6^th over, Leinster had accumulated 56 runs for the loss of a single wicket. The introduction of Jonathan Tall, the left arm spinner, induced a slowing of the run-rate initially, and then he took the prized wicket of Joey Carroll, last Saturday’s centurion, and former Hills’ player. At the other end, the first ball which Sam Smyth bowled in Premier League cricket dismantled the stumps of Bilal Azhar (38) who had been batting brilliantly. According to one of The Hills’ statisticians, this was the first occasion that a debutant has taken a wicket with the first ball that he bowled in Senior cricket. A variety of Leinster cricketers got starts, but none of them went on to make a significant contribution to the score, and Leinster’s final total was 156 runs 8 wickets.

A target of 157 runs to win was very challenging, and there was the ever-present fear of deteriorating light. The Hills’ opening pair, Cormac McLoughlin (21) and Bhavesh Lakhotia, had accumulated 36 runs when Bhavesh had to retire injured due to a hamstring strain. Bhavesh’s injury brough the in-form Murray Commins to the crease, and he proceeded to bat brilliantly. With Dylan Blignaut as his partner, this pair had added 42 runs to the score when Dylan was run-out due to confusion in the first instance regarding an LBW appeal. 20 more runs were added when Andrew Kavanagh became the second run-out victim of the evening. With the pressure mounting and the light deteriorating, Murray Commins (51*) and Cian Nulty (18) displayed superb game management skills by ensuring that The Hills remained ahead on the DLS score. The 16^th over was the pivotal one which effectively decided the result as 23 runs were scored (3 sixes, 2 singles, and 3 no balls) off Saqib Bahadur. Cian Nulty’s wicket fell when the score was 138 runs. This left Tomás Rooney-Murphy and Murray Commins to negotiate whatever overs were going to be allowed. After the third ball of the 18^th over, the umpires decided that it was no longer possible to continue, and this decision produced lengthy and heated discussions while the light deteriorated even further. In the end, this was a magnificent batting performance by The Hills CC. Murray Commins batted superbly; there were valuable innings from Dylan Blignaut (24), Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (21), Cian Nulty (18), and Bhavesh Lakhotia (16*), and a challenging target was achieved under adverse conditions.

The Hills’ players had no time to rest on their laurels after Monday’s win at Rathmines, and they welcomed YMCA to The Vineyard on Tuesday evening. A combination of work pressures and injury meant that The Hills made four changes from the team which beat Leinster with Sameer Dutt, Athar Farooqi, Will Archer and Mark Donegan replacing Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin, Lorcan Woodhouse, Cian Nulty and Bhavesh Lakhotia. YMCA won the toss and opted to bat first. It is a convention in 20 overs cricket that it is essential to score heavily during the 6 Power Play overs, and Rory Anders implemented this requirement to its fullest extent. In a fearsome attack on The Hills’ opening bowlers, he managed to lose 1 ball, score 2 sixes, 5 fours, have a strike rate of 194.12% and by the time his wicket was taken by Sameer Dutt, he had added 33 runs to the YMCA score. At the end of the Power Play, YMCA had scored 54 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. From the 5^th over onwards, the spin twins, Sameer Dutt and Jonathan Tall managed to put a brake on the scoring rate, and YMCA wickets began to fall at regular intervals. Vipul Kashyap (24), Roy Maltby (19) and Michael O’Reilly (14) made valuable contributions to the YMCA score, and at the end of the first innings, YMCA had accumulated 139 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

The Hills’ reply had the worst possible start, with a wicket falling to a run out on the third ball of the first over. Tomás Rooney-Murphy sacrificed his wicket when there was a mix-up between himself and Murray Commins regarding a quick single. This brought Mark Donegan to the crease, and he played some beautiful shots, but when the score was on 16, he was deceived by a quicker ball from Cillian McDonnell.  There was a stand of 36 runs between Murray Commins and Dylan Blignaut (9), but Dylan’s wicket fell to a catch behind the wicket by JJ Cassidy off the bowling of Rory Anders. The next stand was for 51 runs between Murray Commins and Will Archer (17), but the required rate was rising all the time, and there was an element of panic setting in. Murray Commins (55) who had batted brilliantly for the third successive day was out when the score was 106; he was followed immediately by Athar Farooqi who was dismissed first ball, and Will Archer was clean bowled by Rory Anders 2 runs later. At the start of the 17^th over, 32 runs were required off 4 overs with 4 wickets in hand. The next partnership between Sameer Dutt and Sam Smyth added 5 runs when Sam having batted with great maturity was out to a catch on the boundary. With 2 overs remaining, 25 runs were required, and it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that the home team was going to come up short, but Killian Everard and Sameer did not entertain such negative thoughts. In the 19^th over, Sameer hit 2 fours, 1 six and this over yielded a total of 17 runs to leave The Hills needing 8 runs to win. Killian took a single off the first ball, Sameer hit a four off the next ball, and then he hit a single. With 2 runs required off 3 balls, there was tremendous pressure on Killian, and the next ball was a dot. With great aplomb, he played a beautiful cover drive which sped to the boundary, and The Hills had won a tremendous game amid scenes of great euphoria.

In recent years, Clontarf CC has had the Indian sign over The Hills, but with three wins in a row, it was a confident Hills’ First X1 which welcomed Clontarf to The Vineyard on Saturday last. Depending on other results, it was possible that the winners of this game would be playing against Merrion in the final of the BUAKIT Premier League on Saturday, 11 September.

Clontarf won the toss and opted to bat first. Dylan Blignaut and Tomás Rooney-Murphy, bowled with great accuracy, and the first Clontarf wicket (P. J Moor) fell in the 6^th over when the score was only 22 runs. Worse was to follow for Clontarf when the ever-reliable Eoghan Delany was out for a 2-ball duck, caught by Mark Donegan off the bowling of Dylan Blignaut. Clontarf wickets continue to fall regularly, and with the score at 38 runs for 4, it appeared that The Hills would be chasing a low score, but Fionn Hand (38) and David Delany (39) had other ideas and shared a partnership of 72 runs. In the 32^nd over with the score on 110, Hand was out, stumped by Mark Donegan, off the bowling of Jonathan Tall. Robert Forrest’s wicket was taken in the same over, caught and bowled by Tall, and The Hills had taken back control of the game. Clontarf’s last four wickets only added 21 runs to the score, and its final score was 131 runs.

With a score of 131 to chase, it was only necessary for The Hills to bat sensibly, but this is easier said than done. When Murray Commins, the in-form batsman of recent games was out for a duck, and he was followed by Bhavesh Lakhotia (2) thoughts of a facile victory for the Hills, evaporated. Mark Donegan (15) and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (35) steadied matters to a certain extent, but Mark was out when the score was 41, and Cormac departed at 55 runs. The Hills’ innings now resembled that of Clontarf with 4 wickets down for not many runs, and the bowling side in the ascendancy. Initially, Dylan Blignaut and Andrew Kavanagh weathered the storm, and gradually attacking shots began to be played. Dylan’s final score was 59*, and Andrew scored a hard-fought 17*. The target score was achieved in the 38^th over, and The Hills had won four games in a row to end the season on a high note.

The Hills’ First X1 did not bring any silverware to The Vineyard this season, but its record of 3 wins out of 5 in the T20 competition and 5 wins out of 7 in the BUAKIT Premier League was testimony to a wonderful level of consistency. Tomás Rooney-Murphy, the captain, has led by example and engendered a fine spirit in the team. At different times throughout the season, different players have stepped up to the plate with the bat, and in characteristic Fingal fashion, the bowling and fielding performances have been at a high level in most of the games. With young cricketers developing nicely on the First X1 and successes at youth level, the future at The Vineyard is very bright.

Last Words for 2021 Season

For players and supporters, it is a privilege to play or attend games at The Vineyard, and it is important to recognise the role which many people play in ensuring that the facilities at the ground are among the finest in the country. We thank the Chairperson, the other officers, and the Executive committee members for their commitment and dedication to The Hills CC. There are often references to ground staff and bar staff, but these are misnomers. The people who work on the grounds and behind the bar are volunteers who give freely of their time, energy, and expertise for the good of the club, and we are greatly indebted to them. We thank the other sub-committees such as Communications, the House Committee, Catering, Youth Cricket, Men’s, and Ladies Cricket for their vital contributions to the success of the club. We thank the players, scorers, and management teams for their wholehearted endeavours for The Hills CC, and lastly, we recognise with gratitude the wonderful sense of camaraderie and support which are ever-present features of The Hills CC. Until next season, and with every good wish for a safe and healthy close season, it’s onwards and upwards.

“Emotion recollected in Tranquillity” (William Wordsworth)

Third Man

In another Covid-dominated year, Executive members, players, and supporters had to cope with a range of imponderables. Initially, it was thought that the 2021 season would be a replica of the 2020 season with only T20 games being played, and that there would be no relegation from the Premier League. An earlier that anticipated relaxation of the Covid restrictions meant that it was back to the drawing board for the administrators. It was decided that the cricket programme in Leinster would be a T20 League Cup competition, played in groups of 4 on a home and away basis, and a 50 overs league which would consist of 7 games, with teams only playing each other once. At the end of the league programme, it was intended to have a final between the teams which finished first and second, and the last team in the league would be relegated. The information regarding relegation caused clubs to re-appraise their plans for the season, and quarantine restrictions for people from many countries added another dimension to the planning difficulties.

The Hills’ First X1 had a new-look about it. Due to injury, it appeared that the great Naseer Shaukat would be unavailable for a considerable period; the equally great Luke Clinton was winding down his First team career due in part to his wonderful commitment to youth cricket at The Hills CC, and Devender Ranolia and Bhavesh Lakhotia had departed to fresh fields at Observatory Lane. On the positive side, Dylan Blignaut joined the club as our overseas player; Sameer Dutt came to the club via Clontarf, and in a brilliant coup by our Executive, Murray Commins was recruited when it was discovered that he was ineligible to play in the NCU due to visa issues.

For the League Cup campaign, the Hills was drawn in a group with North County, Dublin University, and Phoenix, with the opening game of the season being against our neighbours, North County on 7 June 2021.  The overwhelming emotion at the belated start of the season was a sense of unbridled joy. The outfield looked brilliant; the pitch was superb, and the officials implemented the Covid procedures with great efficiency and good humour. The Hills’ bowling quintet of Tomás Rooney-Murphy, Dylan Blignaut, Killian Everard, Levon Shields, and Sameer Dutt, looked 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.

The second game of the season was against Phoenix CC at the Phoenix Park. Phoenix had been very active during the close-season and had recruited George Dockrell and Tyrone Kane. Conor Shiel had transferred from North County, and during the previous season, they had acquired the services of Aaron Cawley and Jamie Grassi. The Hills won the toss and opted to field first, and there was an immediate crisis when Tomás Rooney-Murphy pulled up with what appeared to be a groin strain. The evergreen Luke Clinton stepped into the breach, and in a brilliant spell, bowled 4 overs, 1 maiden, and took 1 wicket for 7 rows. This performance rendered talk of an imminent retirement very premature. 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. The Hills’ reply to the Phoenix total was measured and calm.  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 8^th over. Mark Donegan (37*) and Murray Commins (37*) batted superbly, and the required target was achieved in the 17^th over.

The next game was against Dublin University, a team which according to Sanil Gupta, its captain, was the strongest one to represent the college in years. Trinity won the toss and opted to field first. Due to a combination of poor shot selection and superb fielding, 7 of the Hills’ batsmen were out to catches. The final total of 131 runs was deemed to be about 30 runs short of a par score but given the vagaries of cricket it is never wise to pontificate on such matters until the end of the second innings. When a team is defending a small score, it is imperative that wickets are taken early so that the chasing side is put under pressure. Unfortunately, from a Hills’ perspective this did not occur. The first Trinity wicket (Hogan) fell to a run-out when the score was 23 runs. This brought Nicolaas Pretorius, the former Hills’ player to the crease, and just as former players invariably score the winning goal when they return to a club, Nicolaas anchored the Trinity innings. In partnership with David Cosgrave, he put on 65 runs before Cosgrave (39) was bowled by Luke Clinton. Three Trinity batsmen in a row were adjudged LBW, and this set up an exciting finale, but Nicolaas (54*) stood firm and with Jack Atkinson ensured that Trinity reached the required target. On this occasion, the batting, bowling, and fielding displays of The Hills were well-below the standards which had been achieved in the previous two games but in any event, there was an immediate opportunity to avenge this defeat when The Hills played Trinity at College Park on the following Saturday.

The Hills won the toss and opted to field first, and this decision was more than justified by a combination of incisive bowling and good fielding. At the end of the power play, Trinity’s score was 14 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. A period of consolidation for Trinity followed, and Nicolaas Pretorius (45*) continued his one-man crusade against his former club, during which he played some wonderful shots. Unfortunately for Trinity, wickets fell with great regularity at the other end, and its final score was 96 for the loss of 5 wickets.

The Hills’ bowlers were superb with the Captain, Tomás Rooney -Murphy leading the way with 4 hostile overs, during which he took 1 wicket and conceded only 11 runs. Dylan Blignaut bowled 4 overs for 15 runs and took 1 wicket. Sameer Dutt’s figures were 3 overs for 14 and 1 wicket, while Killian Everard continued to improve, and took 1 wicket for 18 runs in his 4 over spell. This bowling performance was complemented by good ground fielding and some fine catches. The Trinity cognoscenti were not too downhearted with their team’s score, and informed the visiting spectators, all five of them, that scores in the 90s were winning totals in College Park.

In reply, the first Hills’ wicket (Cormack McLoughlin-Gavin) fell when the score 21, and the next wicket (Andrew Kavanagh) did not fall until the score was 39. Mark Donegan and Dylan Blignaut (9) brought the score up to 63, and it appeared that the target was going to be achieved with consummate ease, but it never wise to count chickens before they are hatched. Wickets continued to fall, but if Mark Donegan was at the crease, there was no necessity for panic despite the run-rate increasing. When the wily veteran, Conor Hoey, took his 300^th wicket for Trinity, and Mark Donegan (43) was out to a catch by D. Hogan off the bowling of Streek in the 19^th over, Trinity had high hopes of completing the double over The Hills. In the last over, 7 runs were required for victory and Will Archer played an amazing shot which eluded the wicketkeeper and went for 4 runs. Archer was out on the second last ball of the game, and Luke Clinton faced the last ball with one run needed for victory. Luke charged the ball, and it went past the bat and the keeper, so the winning run was a bye.

The previous week, Trinity College had taken 7 catches; in this game, they dropped two straightforward catches, and in the words of the cliché, “catches win matches.” For The Hills, it was a relief to get over the line today. The team’s bowling and fielding continued to impress, but the batting was still brittle.

The penultimate game of the League Cup campaign was a top of the table clash at The Inch against North County. In what cricket commentators refer to as “seam-friendly bowling conditions”, Eddie Richardson, North County’s Captain, won the toss and not unexpectedly decided that his team would field first. Mark Donegan (34) continued his impressive form, and there were cameos by Andrew Kavanagh (23) and Will Archer (18), but a score of 130 runs appeared to be well-short of being a competitive total. The bowling honours for North County were taken by Richardson with 5 wickets for 20 runs in 4 overs while Andrew Sheridan took 2 wickets, and there was a wicket each for Abdul Ghaffar, John Mooney, and Cian Mulvaney.

Local derbies are notoriously difficult to predict, and the Hills’ opening bowlers, Dylan Blignaut and Tomás Rooney-Murphy set about showing that the visitors were not going to lie down without a fight. By the eighth over, North County had lost 4 wickets with only 34 runs on the scoreboard, and the visiting supporters dared to hope. Amidst the carnage, Niall McGovern batted in an imperturbable fashion and his innings provided the foundation for the onslaught which John Mooney launched on the Hills’ bowlers. Mc Govern (37) and Mooney (53*) brought the North County score up to 120 runs when McGovern was clean bowled by the returning Blignaut, but it was too little, too late for The Hills. The remaining runs when knocked off with consummate ease by Mooney and Sludds, and North County reached the target in the 18^th over.

For The Hills CC, this was a disappointing performance. There was no lack of effort; the bowling is competent, but the batting unit did not reach anything like the standard of which it is capable. This defeat ended The Hills’ hopes of reaching the play-off stages of the League Cup, and the game on the following Saturday against Phoenix would only be for pride. As it happened, this game did not take place due to inclement weather, so the record for the League Cup campaign was 5 games played, 3 wins and 2 losses.

It was evident where the difficulties lay. The leading batsman, Mark Donegan scored 182 runs at an average of 45.5 runs per game, whereas no other batsman managed to score 100 runs. Dylan Blignaut scored 99 runs in 5 games, and Levon Shields was the next highest with 94 runs in the 3 games that he played. Unfortunately, Levon’s season was ended after 3 games because of a collision with a sightscreen. Regarding the bowling, nine bowlers were used. The most successful were Dylan Blignaut (6 wickets), Tomás Rooney-Murphy (5), Sameer Dutt and Killian Everard (4) and Luke Clinton (3). Mark Donegan took 4 catches, and there were 2 catches for Andrew Kavanagh, Tomás Rooney-Murphy and Levon Shields.

A review of this part of the season would have been “a lot done, more to do”. There was a good spirit among the players, the captaincy of Tomás Rooney-Murphy was very positive, a total of 15 players had been involved in the games with some of the younger players showing great promise and there was a perception that some of our batsmen such as Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Murray Commins would sparkle as soon as the 50 overs league commence. Until the next exciting instalment, its onwards and upwards.