The numbers drawn in the Lotto this week were

1, 7, 9 & 12

There was no winner of the Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Matt Dwyer and George Kitteringham, €25.00 each.

Jackpot for next week is €1,600.00

If you would like to take part in the weekly Lotto you can do so at the link below:

https://play.clubforce.com/play_newa.asp?ll_id=2702&fbclid=IwAR3nKTdwsoIExvD2kkBxnedRLZKgynDHc7UwCMLlf2suQBV6ruzSv-5DHJE#Anchor

Eddie Dwyer of ED SPORTS will present a pop-up shop at The Vineyard on Wednesday next the 30th from 5.00 pm. ED SPORTS is The Hills’ official supplier of playing kit and is also one of Ireland’s leading retailers of cricket equipment.

Third Man

In this the fourth series of games in the League Cup, the Hills had an immediate opportunity to avenge last Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Trinity.  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. The first Trinity wicket fell to the Blignaut/ Kavanagh combination when the score was only 7. Another wicket fell on the next ball, bowled by Tomás Rooney-Murphy, and caught by Will Archer. 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 today, 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 continues 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.

            This was an exciting game, played in a good spirit by two evenly matched teams. Last week, Trinity College took 7 catches; this week, 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 continue to impress, but the batting is still brittle. With 3 wins in the League Cup, the team can face its final two matches in the League Cup with confidence, so until next week when The Hills visit near neighbours, North County, it is onwards and upwards.

The numbers drawn in the lotto last evening were:

1, 2, 22 & 28

There was no winner of the Jackpot.

Lucky Dip winners were Moina Farooqi & Ray Moran, €25.00 each.

Jackpot for next week will be €1,550.00

The Hills v Dublin University, 19 June 2021 Third Man

University sports teams tend to vary appreciably in quality from year to year, and according to Sanil Gupta, the Trinity Captain, the present team is the strongest one to represent the college in years. The validity of this assertion was going to be subjected to a severe examination when Trinity visited The Vineyard to play the unbeaten Hills’ X1.

            Trinity won the toss and opted to field first. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin hit two beautiful fours in the first over but was then out to a catch by P. Duffy, off the bowling of Sam Streek when the score was 11. From a Hills’ perspective, this pattern was to repeat itself on 6 other occasions when poor shot selection resulted in players being out to catches.  The second Hills’ wicket (Levon Shields) was taken when the score was 20 runs, and a period of consolidation followed. Mark Donegan (21) and Dylan Blignaut brought the score up to 59 when Donegan was bowled by Collins. The next wicket, that of The Hills’ captain, Tomás Rooney-Murphy fell when the score was 72. Blignaut (51) and Andrew Kavanagh (12) had a partnership of 40 runs, and by the 16^th over, the Hills had scored 112 runs, but then a series of disasters befell the home team. Firstly, Blignaut was out to catch, and he was followed by Kavanagh one run later. The last 6 Hills’ wickets fell for 19 runs, and the score at the end of the 20^th over was 131 runs. 

            The consensus among the home fans was that The Hills’ score was about 30 runs short of a winning total, but it is never wise to speculate on these matters because of the vagaries of cricket. 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 it would be manifestly unfair to judge the team too harshly on this performance. In any event, there is an immediate opportunity to avenge this defeat when The Hills will play Trinity at College Park on Saturday next. Until then, it is onwards and upwards.