Scorecard

Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club 1st XI v North County CC on Sat 26 Apr 2014 at 12.30pm
Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club Won by 20 runs D/L.

Match report YMCA v North County
By Stu Daultrey / Coverpoint

Brass monkeys stepped gingerly into the stiff easterly breeze that swept across Sandymount on Saturday morning, and spits and spots of rain scuttered across YMCA's ground, but the opening Division 1 match of the 2014 season between YMCA and North County started on time and in decent light.

Conor Shiel had won the toss and asked the home team to set a score, so Tom Fisher, a very recent acquisition from Terenure, and Aaron Bailey took guard against Eddie Richardson from the Wes Earl end and Conor Shiel from the Aviva end. Progress was slow, four leg byes being the principal contributor to the total until the seventh over, when Bailey pulled Richardson for two.

The left-handed Fisher was beaten several times outside his off stump, edging short of slip on one occasion, and a better throw would have run him out as he backed up over-enthusiatically, but a cover drive for a couple off Shiel seemed to indicate he'd settled in.

After five overs from the Wes Earl end, John Mooney replaced Richardson, and immediately Fisher flashed outside off stump and Conor Armstrong pouched the catch at second slip, Fisher gone for 11 out of 24. Coming in at three, Alan Lewis cover drove Shiel to the rope then square cut him for two, and looked in decent nick.

Shiel removed himself from the attack and brought on overseas player Tim Affleck to bowl his off breaks. The only scout outside the circle was John Boy at deep square. The Aussie produced a half tracker which Lewie pulled, but got a thick top edge which propelled the ball straight down John Boy's throat. Lewis gone for 16 out of 45.

Simi Singh, normally so good and positive with his footwork, was caught on the crease and lbw to Affleck for three out of 51. Nathan Rooney replaced Mooney, which seemed to spur some aggression from Bailey. A top-edged pull fell safe, but next over he found the middle as he slog swept the off spinner for four.

In Affleck's next over Bailey swished and missed before poking the ball straight to Richardson at mid on to be caught for 20 out of 68. The skipper had come in at five, and cover drove Rooney for three before driving Affleck straight for 6. Drinks were taken at 82-4.

van der Merwe continued to play positively, and when Mooney came back into the attack he nicked him short of slip, leg glanced him for four, pulled him for four then miscued to Richardson, out for 30 of 100. Just after Rob Garth joined Jack Tector rain stopped play for three quarters of an hour or so, but because there's half an hour's grace, only two overs per side were lost.

Affleck finished his tidy spell, and young Kashif Ali was given a spell from the Wes Earl end, purveying a lively left-arm over. Tector square drove him for four, and edged another to the rope, but I thought he showed plenty of promise and could develop into the fifth bowler County need when they're short of personnel.

Talking of missing bodies, I enquired after the Beaver and was told that Adam Coughlan, as a season ticket holder, was at the Theatre of Wet Dreams for the beatification of Saint Ryan. Conor Shiel took over after his off spinner had bowled out, but got no joy as Garth edged him over extra cover for four, then Tector on drove him for three.

There was another rain interruption in the fortieth over which resulted in two more overs per side being lost. On resumption the YM pair had six overs to convert 146 into a decent score that could be defended, and they made a fair fist of it, both men taking a six off John Mooney's last over, Tector to reach his fifty.

He was then bowled by Ali for 53, Garth finished with 40* and Sean Mcauley 2* as the innings closed on 193-6. The D/L system adjusted this to 200, so County would require 201 to win. Best figure for the visitors were those of Affleck, 3/31. John Boy's nine overs yielded 2/51, Richardson's nine 0/28 and Shiel's nine 0/38.

The weather had brightened up, and no further interruption looked likely, so County didn't really have to worry about the D/L par scores - 201 would win it no matter how it was achieved. Simi Singh took the new ball and bowled a maiden of off breaks. Bobby Gamble bowled an over of lively medium pace and conceded two runs.

Next over Simi penetrated Mossie Shiel's defence and hit his leg stump. In his third over Simi conceded five wides then had Conor Armstrong caught by Rob Garth. 8-2 became 13-3 when Tim Affleck nicked Simi through to keeper JJ Cassidy. So County had Eddie Richardson joining John Mooney, and neither of them was going to die wondering.

Bobby Gamble produced a shortish ball to Richardson which he pulled towards mid on, where Alan Lewis was positioned. The Silver Fox produced a salmon leap worthy of Leixlip and plucked the ball out of the heavens. County were sixteen for four and in very deep doo-dah.

A very cautious Ciaran Garry joined a restrained John Boy and made haste slowly (to quote Julius Caesar) until John Boy on drove Simi twice over the rope. Albert van der Merwe had replaced Gamble from the Aviva end, and was forced through the covers off the back foot and straight driven for four more by John Boy.

Mooney pulled Rob Garth for four when he replaced Singh, and at drinks it was 63-4. After John Boy off drove Yaqoob Ali to the boundary he reached fifty out of eighty off Garth, but in that over Garry was bowled for 12. Niall McGovern miscued Ali to Garth to make it 85-6, but Nathan Rooney hung in with Mooney and the pair saw off Garth and Ali to leave 69 to get off the last eight overs.

Mooney swept van der Merwe for 4, then Rooney straight drove him for another. Albertus Magnus then took a gamble and brought on Jack Tector with his off breaks instead of Bobby Gamble's medium pace, and it worked. John Boy made a mess of a reverse sweep and was bowled for 86. Conor Shiel immediately poked a catch to Garth.

Next over Tector had Rooney caught by van der Merwe for 22 to make the score 161-9, but Jamie Grassi kept going, slogging Tector for 6 then gaining another maximum with a much more authentic slog sweep. But he shuffled across his stumps looking for a third and was lbw for 22 out of 180.

YMCA's narrow win owed much to steady bowling and more to County's top order collapse. Tector finished with very flattering figures of 4/23, Singh with 3/26, Gamble with 1/12 off his nine, Ali 1/35 off nine and Garth 1/40 off 9. Both teams will improve as the season develops - they'll have to.

Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
11w 3b 5lb 
for 6 wickets
19
194		        
Tom D.L. Fisher ct Armstrong b Mooney 11 37 29.73
Aaron M. Bailey ct Richardson b Affleck 20 54 1 37.04
D. Alan Lewis ct Mooney b Affleck 16 20 1 1 80.0
Simi Singh lbw Affleck 3 5 60.0
Albert Van Der Merwe ct Richardson b Mooney 30 45 3 1 66.67
Jack B. Tector b Ali 53 62 2 1 85.48
Robert A. Garth Not Out  40 51 2 1 78.43
Sean C. Mcauley Not Out  2 2 100
Bobby N. Gamble  
J.J. Cassidy  
Yaqoob Ali Shah  

North County CC Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
E.Richardson9.002800.003.11
C.Shiel9.003800.004.22
J.Mooney9.0051225.505.67
T.Affleck10.0131310.333.10
N.Rooney4.001600.004.00
K.Ali5.0022122.004.40

North County CC Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
20w 4b 5lb 
for 10 wickets
29
180 (46.0 overs)		     
C.Armstrong ct Garth b Singh 1 18 5.56
T.Sheil b Singh 1 12 8.33
T.Affleck ct Cassidy b Singh 2 8 25.00
J.Mooney b Tector 86 95 7 3 90.53
E.Richardson ct Lewis b Gamble 0 9 0
C.Garry b Garth 12 55 21.82
N.McGovern ct Garth b Yaqoob Ali Shah 1 5 20.0
N.Rooney ct Van der Merwe b Tector 22 53 1 41.51
C.Sheil * ct Garth b Tector 0 2 0
J.Grassi + lbw Tector 22 14 2 157.14
K.Ali Not Out  4 5 80.0

Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Simi Singh10.032638.672.60
Bobby N. Gamble9.0212112.001.33
Albert Van Der Merwe6.003500.005.83
Robert A. Garth9.0040140.004.44
Yaqoob Ali Shah9.0135135.003.89
Jack B. Tector3.002438.008.00

  • Umpire :
    C.Colleran & J.McGeehan
  • Scorer :
    Andrew Mooney