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Fifth Team 2010
Captain |
Rory MacMahon  RHB DOB:--/--/-- |
Vice-Captain |
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Position 09 |
8th (Inter A) |
Star Men 09 |
Imran Mohammed, Michael Lenehan, Vikram Singh, Ikram Niazi, Bard Ovenden, Khizer Khan |
Leading 5ths run scorer (2001-present) |
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Leading 5ths wicket taker (2001-present) |
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5th XI News 2010 |
Saturday 29th August - At 51-5 and then 101-8, the 5ths were looking straight down the barrel of relegation. Then in strolls Bad Bard, the meanest number seven in town. The last five wickets added 109, of which Bard Ovenden scored 80. In partnership with Ross MacMahon and Mark Daly, Ovenden added 59 for the last two wickets, and purely and simply, this won the match for the 5ths. He's averaged only 14 with the bat for the 4ths this season, bu the step down a level worked wonders. Only Alan Godfrey (23) and Asim Mumtaz (11) got into double figures , as the Balbriggan bowling attack, including Fingal legend Albert Harper turned the screw. Once Bard had left his mark on the card though, there was always a chance, and the man himself performed again, taking a couple of wearly wickets to give Leinster a chance. C Malone, Hussein and Harper all got set in the middle overs, but Ross MacMahon and Mark Daly took crucial wickets to knock the wind out of the Balbriggan sails. 114 all out gave the 5ths 22 points. 106 from 275 is where they now stand. 38.5% will surely be enough to stay in Division 8 for 2010.
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Saturday 22nd August - It's difficult to know whether to politely put your head down and keep walking, or to to take your jacket off and help in some way. It's car crash cricket at the moment for the 5ths, and the end of the season can't come soon enough. The second leg in this double header against Clontarf went the same way as the first leg last week, another loss (this time by seven wickets) and the fifth league loss on the trot. The positives. - the tail wagged pretty well, but once the top order had departed for 42 (for 5), even if the tail had been wagged off the dog through over exuberance, it would still have been difficult to come up with a competitive total. Bharat Sharma top scored with 33, and numbers seven (Ross MacMahon) through eleven (Joe Lyons) all got into double figures, but 145 all out (with only five balls of the 45 overs remaining was never enough). Leinster were getting into trouble when Rob Abbott was scoring runs at this level in 2004, so I'm not sure how he's still playing at Division 9. An undefeated 66 from Abbott made sure there was no doubt about the result, and from 136-1, a couple of late wickets took some of the buff of mediocrity from the Leinster display. The LCU table has the 5ths on 88 points before this match, which means another 15 points have been deducted for a lack of umpires, and this could well be the same. That leaves the 5ths on 84 from 250 (33.6%). The next game is Balbriggan away, followed by YMCA away. At least a win is needed.
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Sunday 15th August - Amid the current gloom afflicting the batting order of the lower teams, there was at least the faintest glimmer in this 5 wicket defeat to Clontarf 4ths. Four batsmen made it past 20 (Richards 27, H Block 35, Dixit 23, K Chaudhary 32), but I suppose crucially,none of them went on to a bigger score. As a result, 190 all out was maybe an ok score, but the match would have been won if one of that quartet had made a 70. Richards and Block put on 72 for the first wicket, but by the time the sixth wicket had fallen on 145, the innings had lost it's way. In the end, when all is said and done and at the end of the day, one partnership was the difference between the two sides. Collier (51) and Nakka (76*) put on 121 for the fifth wicket, which rescued Tarf from 54-4 to 175-5. That Clontarf were in such dire staights early on was purely down to the efforts of Bharat Sharma, who's remarkable figures read 9-5-6-4. It takes more then one man to make a team though, and Clontarf had at least two. Two points to Leinster, and 103 from 225 (45.8%). It doesn't seem too long ago that the 5ths were sitting proudly on top of the league, but since then, it's been downhill all the way. Six of the last seven league matches have been lost, but with Sandyford 2nds struggling on 14% and Ireland Women on 25%, the 5ths should be safe.
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Saturday 14th August - A victim of the mid-summer fixture back log and both Wexford matches being rained off, this Wexford away match was shoe horned in with 2nds, 4ths and 6ths matches. It never ceased to amaze how member's plans seem to change as soon as the words, "Wexford away" come from the mouth of the captain. So off went the 10 men to the south-east (mercifully there was an LCU umpire so the 5ths didn't have to play with nine). With only five 5ths regulars deigning to make the trip though, it was always going to be tough against a Wexford side in the higher reaches of the table. So it proved as Snelling and Murphy took 7-25 between them to blast the 5ths away for 70. Leinster did manage to take five Wexford wickets when they batted, but as two of them fell to Ben Rutherford, the 8th bowler used, it can be assumed they weren't vital to the outcome of the game. Two points, so 101 from 200 (50.5%)
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Monday 2nd August - A thoroughly entertaining Bank holiday match, but more disappointment as the 5ths went down by 25 runs to Wicklow County 2nds. It will be a while before the new club's teams find their proper level, and at the moment, the visitor's 2nds are playing a couple of divisions too low. John Fitzsimons is a pretty decent player up in Division 3/4, and is far too good in Division 8. He eased himself to an impressive century, although was the last man out on exactly 100. At 107 with out loss, it looked as if it would be so many more, but Colm Byrne took a career best 5-21 (and against Wicklow County this season has figures of 9-46) to reduce County to 173 all out. The openers got 100 and 54, but no one else got in double figures. For a while it was more like a throwback to a Carribbean match of the mid 1970's as the Wicklow County bowlers provided a fussilade of fearsome proportions, but Charles Richards, hooked, pulled and plundered his way to a 50, (helmetlessly) and with Alan Godfrey doing likewise, it looked as if a home victory was on the cards. But as on Saturday, the middle order frailties were displayed. 99-2 became 131-6 and then 145-6 became 148 all out, as victory hopes were flattened. So it seems as if the Division 8 title is now a fading hope - four points from this encounter meaning 99 from 175 (56.6% - with possibly some umpiring penalties as well)
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Saturday 31st July - The 5ths unbeaten start to the season is starting to seem like a distant memory. In the here and now, this was another game that should have been won, after Syed Akbar took his best bowling for the club of 4-13 to leave YMCA at 134-9. That total wasn't as bad as it looks though as that Kenilworth grass just gets longer and longer, and with the 5ths batting line-up looking shorter and shorter, it was game on. five of the top six got starts, with Rory MacMahon top scoring with 28, and at 103-4, those 32 runs really should have been attainable. It wasn't to be though. as that wiley old dog Kamal Merchant went throught the tail (4-16) as those last six wickets fell for a pathetic 12 runs. Five points gained, 95 from 150 (63.3%)
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Sunday July 25th - A momentous day is some respects - a cup semi final with the prospects of playing the final in Observatory Lane, and Leinster's maiden fixtrue against West Dublin side Adamstown. With little previous form to go on, it was a tough one to pre-judge, but one would have though that the 5ths league form this season thus far would have made them favourites. Paul O'Boyle, the driving force behind Adamstown had other ideas. On the same ground where the 5ths had struggled to get 90 runs the day before, O'Boyle top scored with 54, as the newcomers posted an impressive 211-8 from 40 overs. Captain Sunil scored 46 as the pair put on 83 for the 3rd wicket, a record in matches between Adamstown and Leinster. Bharat Sharma took 3-44, but in truth, the Leinster bowling struggled. It was a tough task to chase anything over 200, but at 143-4, and Dixit and Sharma at the crease, victory looked possible. That man O'Boyle then returned to the action, taking 4-31, as Leinster collapsed to 150-8, and despite 19 from Ed Wyeth at the end, the dream of playing a cup final in Rathmines ended, the shortfall being 11 runs.
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Saturday July 24th - Back to the league campaign on Saturday, and with Leinster 4ths and Sandyford 2nds tied up in a cup match, it would be interesting to see who had the most strength in depth. With hindsight it's possible to say no- one. Sandyford struggled to 91 all out, Babu top scoring with 28, and Shiyas Basheer being the pick of the bowlers with 2-4. Leinster looked dead and buried at 20-5 and then 64-8 as all the Sandyford bowlers found success. Colm Byrne joined Peter May at 71-9, and the two batted sensibly, knocking off the singles, and hitting the winning runs in the 47th over. A great win which keeps the 5ths at the top of the league, 90 from 125
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Saturday July 17th - Game number six of the 2010 season, and win number five saw the 5ths advance to the semi final of the Intermediate Cup with a fairly straight forward victory over Clontarf 4ths. In fairness to Clontarf, they were struggling to put together a side due to an "event", but with fixtures piling up, there was little alternative. It wasn't looking good for Leinster at the beginning though, with regular wickets falling. 48-4 became 95-7, but one man stood firm with a quite magnificent 72* - step forward Rakesh Dixit. Charles Richards scored 23 at the top of the order, but Dixit was the only one who rose to the challenge, with the Kenilworth grass getting long in preparation for the rugby season. With Rakesh guiding operations, the last three wickets added 59 runs, which proved crucial. Fior Clontarf, Furlong (3-25) and Kirk (3-35) were the pick. The Clontarf innings followed a similar pattern, with one notable exception - no one played the Dixit role in the middle. Bharat Sharma was the instigator, taking 5-14 as first change, and once the top order was gone, there was little Tarf could do. Gareth Delany took 2-9 at the end, and the 5ths advance to a Inter Cup semi against Adamstown.
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Sunday June 27th - After a fairly sparse early season fixture list, it's time for the 5ths to get serious. The first examination was this clash against Balbriggan 2nds, currently lying on 3rd spot. The examiners studied the paper and marked it as an E. Not really too many positives to take from the performance. Only Ross MacMahon and Shair Chaudhary passed 20, which at least is good from a youth development point of view. It was a fairly steady collapse, partnerships stubbornly refusing to develop. Take your pick as to the best /worst part of the innings - 33-3, 57-5, 83-7, 141ao. Anderson was the pick of the Balbriggan bowlers with 3-21. Peter May knocked over the openers to give Leinster some hope, with Balbriggan at 14-2, but an 55 run partnership between skipper Valson (49*) and Hugh Cashell (35) put the visitors on the road to victory. Three more wickets fell, but Balbriggan 2nds (who need to be playing at least two divisions higher for the sake of Balbriggan CC) got home pretty easily with 38 balls and five wiketd to spare. Three points for the loss, which leaves the 5ths on 70 from 100 - still top.
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Sunday June 20th - The 5ths excellent start to the season continued with a big victory over North County that wasn't quite as big as it appears on first glance. It was all North COunty 4ths for the first part of the afternoon. With only Charles Richards standing firm (an eventual 33), wickets tumbled. When Richards was the 7th man out, Leinster had only 57 runs on the board. The wickets were shared around, with Shine the highlight with 3-28. But the match defining period of play was about to be entered. Skipper Rory MacMahon and Khalid Chaudhary put on the highest 8th wicket partnership that I have on record in recent years. They added 111, taking the innings from calamity to comfort, 175 all out. MacMahon snr scored 47, Chaudhary snr 63*. With Charles Richards scoring 33, and the other eight, 20 between them, it was definitely one for experience. In fairness to North County 4ths, LCC 5ths are a league above them, and the difference showed in the second innings, as County quickly collapsed. Dixit (2-18 from 6) and May (1-8 from 6) kept it tight, before Chaudhary father and son finished the game off, Shair with an impressive 4-13, Khalid a man-of-the-match 3-17. The next round is either Clontarf 4 or Sandyford 2 at home, on a date still to be decided.
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Monday June 7th - The Bank Holiday Monday trip to Wexford seems to have become a tradition in recent years, but as in 2009 it wasn't to be. The forecast rain came at 11.30, with the 5ths having only left 10 minutes earlier. Many thanks to Ravi in Wexford for the early call. What did we used to do before mobiles?
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Sunday May 23rd - Rory MacMahon scored his third fifty in his last six knocks, leading to another excellent 5th team comeback against Sandyford 2nds on Sunday. Sandyford had first dig, and Chris Ousterhuizen (who seems to be playing against Leinster every week which is fairly ironic) went for a duck early. However runs from Babu (31), Santosh (24), Naseem (42) and Meher (30) gave Sandyford a fighting chance with 173 all out. All the bowlers were tidy, Peter May with 3-24, Shairafgan Chaudhary 2-15 and Mr Howard Block 2-28. All that good work soon went out the window, as the Sandyford change attack ripped out the 5th's top order, to leave LCC at a slightly precarious 62-5. Skipper MacMahon now joined Alan Godfrey, the pair restoring some pride with a partnership of 64 before Godfrey was removed by Santosh for 27. MacMahon was now getting into his stride, and with Chaudhary jnr, now put on another 38, reducing the deficit to only 9. Ed Wyeth couldn't repeat the previous week's heroics though, and at 165-8, it was anyone's game. However Peter May stood firm, MacMahon kept going to 60*, and despite a rather nasty dropped catch in the mouth at the end, (get well soon Mr Langton), Leinster sneaked home. A provisional 21 points from the match, leaving the fifths at a healthy 67 from 75 (89.3%)
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Saturday May 15th - A great rearguard action by Shairafgan Chaudhary and Ed Wyeth saw the 5ths keep their unbeaten record, after a 88 run over Wicklow County 2nds in the picturesque setting of Rathdrum RFC. The 5ths , led by Bharat Sharma were in early problems, as Richards, Chaudhary snr and Sharma all fell cheaply, but then a procession of batsmen made scores. Asim Mumtaz made 22, Rakesh Dixit 39 and Ben Rutherford 22. But Leinster must still have been in some trouble (maybe 160-8?) when Ed Wyeth joined Chaudhary jnr. The two took the score onto 215-8 with Chaudhary scoring 44* and Wyeth 36*. The star of the Wicklow innings from a Leinster point of view was Colm Byrne, who took a career best 4-25 from 9, as the new super-club collapsed to 127 all out. 24 points to the 5ths, who move to 46 from 50 points (92%)
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Sunday May 2nd - From a neutral's perspective the match against Ireland Women is always a slightly bitter sweet one. The national team had six players from LCC playing (Kenealy (S), Delany, Scott-Hayward, Lyons, Gee and Kenealy(A)) so there was a sizable part of me that would have liked to have seen a high scoring close encounter. It wasn't to be, mainly thanks to Rakesh Dixit, who has sprung out of the blocks this season with bat and ball. After Shillington departed early, Isobel (26) and Cecilia Joyce (24) looked to have put the visitors into a strong position. However, Dixit and then Sharma blew away the top order (Dixit 4-27, Sharma 2-14), and when no one else managed to get into double figures, the end was nigh. The bottom square has been a bit up and down this season, so 150 may have been a decent score - 92 wasn't. The 5ths huffed and puffed though, and must have been something like 70-6 before Charles Richards (21*) and Ed Wyeth (10*) came together to see MacMahon's men home. Earlier, Asim Mumtaz had top scored with 22. For the Ireland tesam, Isobel Joyce was had the best figures, 2-32, although all the bowlers deserved some credit, as the 5ths fell over the line in the 34th over. LCC 22 points (88%)
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Although the new season will bring opportunity to many, Leinster 5ths will still miss out, as they have the 4ths in the division above them, and hence won't be able to move up. There is though the carrot of the Intermediate Cup Final in Rathmines, with the 6ths also competing. What price a 5ths vs 6ths final in Observatory Lane? Probably about 1000-1. There're plenty of other reasons to get excited though. Division 8 is a mix of the former Inter A, Inter B and even a couple from Junior A, but despite that, it is hard to predict. Sandyford 2, Wexford, YMCA 3, Clontarf 4 and Leinster 5 are the five teams from Inter A, and should remain known quantities. Wicklow County 2 could be anything (but should be fairly strong) and even the two teams from Junior A should be able to hold their own. Balbriggan 2 should benefit from the gradual strengthening of that club, and Ireland Women are now a vastly more efficient outfit than they were when getting relegated for several seasons. Rory MacMahon takes over the reins, possibly a tough task for someone who only came back to the game last season. But two 50s to finish off the season confirmed his pedigree, and there's no reason why the 5ths shouldn't be competitive. The fixture list is a little lopsided - after the inter club match that will be the Ireland Women game in Observatory Lane, they travel to Wicklow, Marlay Park and Wexford, before seven home games across June, July and August. Trips to Clontarf, Balbriggan and YM close the season. Prediction? 4th out of eight.
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