Saturday 24th July - A fantastic win for a relatively young 4th team against Sanydford 1sts who are flying high in Division 7. This semi-final victory sets up a second Middle 2 cup final in four seasons, after 2007's win. 193 was either a good total if the game was played on the Mountpleasant square, or a below par total on the main square. 44-2 and then 79-3 was ok if not staggering, but the 4th wicket partnership between Neil Lyons (78) and Gavin Miller (53*) of 107 was the basis for the total. After a long absence from the game, it's great to see Lyons back in Leinster, and it won't be long before he's playing a higher level again. The only worry about 193-4 is whether there were more runs left in the locker. At 113-4, it looked as it that may be the case, with Sandyford in a pretty strong position. Scully had created some pressure, bowling eight overs for only 19 runs, and then Paul Delany, Bard Ovenden and Rutug Mehta combined to send the Sandyford middle and lower orders packing, the last six wickets falling for 23 runs. Delany had 3-37, Ovenden 3-12 and Mehta 2-5. Sandyford must be rueing the failure of the batsmen to build on that winning position.
Sunday 27th June - Back to league action. Mr Miller has this to say. "The skipper won a toss for a change (2 from 7) and decided to bat on a glorious day in Marlay Park against a strong Sandyford outfit pushing for promotion having lost only once this season. Unfortunately, the top order all gave their wicket away mostly to catches rendering Leinster 46 for 6 and 70 for 7. However, Michael Scully (31) and the senior pro Gareth Delany (47*) steadied the ship and kept the opposition out in the sweltering field for the 45 overs resulting in Leinster scoring 163 for 9.
This was unlikely to be enough runs though on a mat with a freshly cut outfield. Shair and Khalid Chaudary opened the bowling on their debut for the 4ths. Shair bowled with pace and bounce troubling the openers and was rewarded with 2 wickets (caught behind by stand-in wicket keeper G. Delany) for 49 off his 6 overs. Khaild also bowled well taking 2 for 37 off his 9 overs. We had Sandyford in some trouble at 85 for 5 but were unable to make another break through and get into the tail with the home side eventually cruising home in the 31st over. A disappointing result but perhaps to be expected with an under-strength 4ths team. The 4ths get only 2 points, so 74 from 150 (49.3%)
Saturday 19th June - Gavin Miller reports on the 4ths nail-biting victory over Dundrum at the weekend. "The skipper lost another toss leaving him at 1 from 6 as Dundrum elected to bat on a fine track on the main square. They got off to a good start putting on 40 for the first wicket in 9 overs. However, once the pace was taken off the ball by Paul Delany (8-1-25-2), Rutej Mehta (6-0-31-2) and Will Rolfe (7-0-28-3), wickets began to fall and the boundaries stopped. Important catches were held (including 2 from Steve Kenealy) along with good aggressive fielding meant that Dundrum were restricted to 176 all out in the 40th over.
Leinster's chase got off to a bad start with Rolfe stumped in the first over and then Bard Ovenden running himself out after scoring a quick 20. Kenealy (50) and Graham Whelan (35) then put on an vital 95 run partnership to get Leinster to 124 for 3 in the 29th over. Unfortunately, both got out one after the one leaving the middle order under some pressure to score at 5 an over for the last 10 overs. The pressure told as Gary Lawlor, Delany and Scully were quickly back in the hutch leaving Leinster in real trouble on 131 for 7 with 6 overs to go. The skipper batting at 7 kept the scoreboard ticking along as he tried to keep Leinster at the required rate as the remaining wickets fell. With 20 runs needed over the last 3 overs, Miller was joined by Dave Lyons batting at 11. Hard running between the wickets meant 10 runs scored off the 38th over and a couple of streaky 4s in the 39th resulted in only 1 needed off the last over which was duly scored by a jubilant Miller (22*) and ably supported by Lyons (9*). A fantastic victory considering Dundrum 1sts have won 7 matches out of 7 in the league. Next round - Ballaghadreen in the quarter final - thankfully at home!
Sunday 30th May - The winning skipper put his thoughts on a postcard, which are repeated here for your delectation. "Old Belvedere won the toss (leaving the skipper 1 from 5) and elected to bat first on an excellent track on the main square. The opening bowlers of Stephen Pulbrook and an extremely hungover Michael Scully kept a tight leash on Belvedere as they struggled to get going in the opening 10 overs with Bard Ovenden taking a spectacular catch in the covers for the first wicket. Scully picked up a second wicket and remarkably bowled straight through for figures of 9-3-25-2. Paul Delany bowled his customary tight spell taking 3 wickets for 17 runs off 9 overs while Rutej Mehta was back on form with 8.1-0-20-2. Belvedere wickets fell at regular intervals as they never really got going eventually all out in the last over for 164. Overall, another good performance in the field and the mood was high at tea as it was felt that such a target in 45 overs should not pose a problem on the main square.
The Leinster innings got off to an excellent start with Will Rolfe (24) and Clive Colleran (64) putting on 75 for the first wicket. When Clive got out to a long hop rat, only 50 was needed with 14 overs to go and 7 wickets remaining. It wouldn?t be Leinster though without making things difficult as the game was allowed drift and the run-rate increased. With 5 overs remaining, 25 was needed and the batsmen on the side-lines started to get twitchy in case they had to go in and score quickly. Fortunately, they weren't needed as Graham Whelan (25*) and Paul Delany (20*) brought it home with 5 balls to spare in the last over. Leinster win by 6 wickets." Leinster 23 points, or 72 from 125 (58%), which is good enough for second or third spot.
Sunday 16th May - Gavin Miller pens a few words on the 4ths defeat to Dundrum on Sunday.
"Leinster finally won a toss (1 from 4) and batted first on a hard and fast mat in Wesley College. The openers got us off to a reasonable start with B. Ovenden (23) and W. Rolfe (27) putting on 35 for the first wicket though Will "The Cat" Rolfe can count himself lucky having being dropped at least 4 times (including first ball at second slip). After that it was only really R. Mehta (32) who managed to get any serious runs as the Leinster batsmen struggled against the pace and bounce of the Dundrum bowlers. Leinster ended on 139 for 9 in their 45 overs which was never going to be enough against a big hitting Dundrum side.
Dundrum got off to their customary Twenty20 flyer scoring nearly 60 off the first 8 overs. The ball flew in the air everywhere in those overs but unfortunately not into a Leinster hand. After the openers were eventually dismissed, some tight bowling from Lappin and Miller stemmed the tide of runs and wickets began to fall. However, the damage was already done and despite Dundrum's middle-order looking nervous for a while, they strolled home comfortably in 26 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Another 40 runs for Leinster might have made it interesting but ultimately, Dundrum's strong bowling attack was too much for a Leinster side used to slower grass wickets.
Highlight of the day? Probably "The Cat" Rolfe calling for ice after a short ball hit him in the arm. And the rest of his team politely reminding him of his location on a back pitch in Wesley". Leinster get 3 points, taking the 4ths to 49 from 100 (approx 49%)
Monday 3rd May - The 4th's great start to the season has come to an end with a 3 wicket defeat to Sandyford. Gavin Miller's report follows.
"Sandyford won a crucial toss (leaving Miller at 0 for 3 for the season) and stuck us in on a very soft wicket which was always going to get better for the team batting second as it dried out. The initial instructions were not to get bowled out for 60 but openers Bard Ovenden (17) and Will Rolfe (28) actually got us off to a good start. It was hard going during the middle overs though with variable bounce and good accurate bowling from Sandyford. Graham Whelan looked in good form for his 15 before missing a straight one, Gareth Delany batted solidly if for not many runs. The skipper got 27 and Rakesh batted well at the end for 20. We ended up with 160 for 8 in our 45 overs which we would have taken at the start of the day but was perhaps 20/30 runs too light looking back at it.
In any event, the score was defendable but would require tight bowling to build some pressure. Unfortunately, Sandyford got off to a flyer and were 50 off about 6 overs. Paul Delany then came on and slowed down the run-rate while also taking wickets finishing with figures of 9-2-33-3. It looked set for a very tight finish as Sandyford lost wickets in the middle order leaving them on around 130 for 7. However, batsmen 9 came in and put paid to any hopes we might have had for another dramatic victory two weeks in a row.
Overall, Leinster battled hard but the team batting second was always going to be in the driving seat in this match. In the end, vice-captain Ovenden summed it well:- "we were simply out-gunned by a couple of players". A week's break before taking on Dundrum away in what is likely to be a tough fixture." The 4ths pick up 3 points, giving 46 from 75 (61.3%)
Saturday 24th April - Before most players have got the kit down from the attic, the 4ths have already won two matches. This one was a nailbiter of the highest order, with Rakesh Dixit and Stephen Pulbrooke being the heroes with a partnership of 35 for the last wicket to see LCC home. Skipper Gavin Miller adds:
"I lost the toss for the second time in a row and Merrion elected to bat first on what looked to be a good junior square wicket. It was another good fielding performance by Leinster with the wickets being shared around by the bowlers and all catches bar one being held. At one stage, Merrion were about 50 for 5 but a couple of lower order batsmen got them up to 132 all out.
However, we could tell by the wicket that Merrion's score was reasonably competitive as a number of wickets had fallen due to the ball not coming onto the bat as quickly as the batsmen thought leading to a number of catches (including 2 caught and bowled). The bounce was also variable with the customary number of "rats" accounting for a couple of batsmen. Leinster's batting would require "getting in line, getting forward and hitting the bad ball". Unfortunately, those instructions weren't always applied as Merrion bowled well. We lost wickets on a regular basis leaving the score at 98 for 9 when Rakesh Dixit batting at 11 joined Stephen Pulbrooke at the crease. The captain tried not to get too excited as the pair chipped away at the target - Stephen batting beautifully straight, taking 1s and 2s and never looking in trouble while Dixit scored boundaries. 35 runs needed became 25, then 20. One of the Merrion openers returned and went for 11 in an over and all of sudden, belief grew. The dangerous change bowler was seen off and then Dixit hit a 4 followed by a 3 to allow Leinster snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Pulbrooke and Dixt the heroes with 17 and 20 not out respectively and Dixit the man of the match with bowling figures of 7-3-9-2.
So it's now two victories out of two but the batting will need to improve if the winning start is to continue." The 4ths now have 43 from 50 points - 86% for those of you who are asleep
Saturday 17th April - The best possible start from the as they got 23 points from a possible 25 against Trinity 2nds in a glorious College Park on Saturday. Clive Colleran was the hero with half of the runs, but it was the bowling of Mssrs Pulbrooke and Hanby, along with DIxit and Sharma that set up the victory. Captain Gavin Miller adds these words. "It was a good batting track and we did well to restrict Trinity to 140 with extras being top scorer for them. Stephen bowled well at the start taking a wicket in his first over and was probably unlucky not to get any more. Brian was very threatening and also could have had more. Bharat's figures speak for themselves.
Batting-wise - Clive batted for 35 overs for his 70 which is slow for him but understandable considering the start of the season. Rutej got out to a good ball. Bard batted well and out-scored Clive when he was in. After I got out, Rory batted solidly with Clive (partnership of about 40) letting Clive score the runs and Rory was out with only 1 run needed.
Overall, the game was really won in the field. 140 was never going to be enough for Trinity to defend as it was a very good batting track considering it's only April." The scorecard and stats will be on the site as soon as I have them.
Season preview - The same problems were experienced last year by the 4ths as many other of our junior teams - a lack of stability and too many players. Hopefully that should change this year on all teams, but especially with Gavin Miller having his hands on the tiller of the 4ths. Division 7 itself is a little more straight forward than some of the other divisions, containing the bottom six from last year's Middle B (Sandyford 1, Dundrum 1, Leinster 4, Old Belvedere 3, Malahide 4 and Trinity 2) and the top two from Inter A (Knockharley 1 and Merrion 5). There's no real way of predicting how this would turn out, but expect the order to be fairly similar to last year. Expect some availability problems for the 4ths towards the end of August, as the last two games are in Bird Avenue and Cabra. A top 4 finish, but possibly not promotion.
RHB, RM, DOB: --/--/--