Scorecard

Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club 1st XI v Phoenix on Sat 15 Aug 2009 at 11.00am
Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club Won By 5 wkts.

Match report YMCA v Phoenix
At Claremont Road
WMK League - Section B.

There were three interesting matches on offer in Section A of the Leinster Senior League, but for me the obvious game to watch was the Section B top of the table clash between the leaders, YMCA, and their closest pursuers, Phoenix . What made it more interesting was that third-placed Malahide, with two games in hand, had an away banker of a fixture in Terenure.

The overnight rain stopped exactly at ten, as predicted by the BBC, and when I arrived at a damp Claremont Road , the umpires had already decided to put the start back to 11:30 with no loss of overs. Then, again predicted by the BBC, there were showers passing over, one of which was heavy enough to delay things a further thirty minutes and reduce the match to one of 46 overs. Phoenix won the toss and elected to bat.

In his second over James Parkinson got one to leave Graham Flanagan late enough to induce a nick through to James Shortt, to make it 1-1. In Reinhardt Strydom's third over the left-armer got one to carry on across Paddy Conliffe and find the edge, but the far from diminutive keeper spilled the catch.

Next over, Matt Plunkett-Cole got squared up by Parky's away swing and was lbw for 10 out of 19-2. Andrew Downton knows Parky from Sydney , and just blocked out his next two overs. The tall redhead took a break with figures of 7-3-7-2. Strydom had been relieved of his duties an over earlier, seemingly not on the friendliest of terms with his skipper Warwick Armstrong.

Before he was out, Plunkett-Cole had pushed a ball from Rainy gently toward mid off where Wazza was deep in tactical recluse. In a forlorn attempt to prevent the single, he swooped and . . . missed the ball, which dribbled away far enough for an easy second. Rainy's teapot was mirrored by Wazza's. Had this been the skipper's only fielding lapse of the afternoon it could have been easily forgiven and forgotten.

But wherever Wazza stood, there appeared a minefield between him and the ball. Not having a sniffer dog with him, nor any captive VC or Al-Qaida to push through first to trigger the explosions for him, he picked his way gently, gingerly and very slowly though the infield as the Phoenix batsmen ran singles at will. He needed a Princess Di figure to console him and kiss him better, but the only warm, furry thing in sight was Lewie's coiffured grey barnet.

Stu McCready had replaced Rainy and in his third over bowled a short one to Downton, who swivelled into a pull shot. The ball kept low, crashed into the pad, and the Aussie didn't even look up as he headed back to the pavilion for 6. 32-3 in the eighteenth over became 53-3 off 23 at drinks, Paddy Conliffe and David Langford-Smith launching the odd drive to the boundary.

Both batted very positively after the juice, and added 46 in six overs, running their singles, especially to the skipper, and crashing increasingly frequent boundaries, especially off Paul Beacroft. The 30th over was to be Smacker's last, and he tempted Conliffe into a swing and a miss, bowling him for 40 out of 90. In came Conor Kelly, who is always positive: he has to be.

He may lack technique, but he has a good eye, and with Lanky had added 56 in a further seven overs when he got in a tangle and lobbed the ball between mid wicket, Parkinson, and mid on, Carl Hosford. It was Hos's catch, Parky got out of the way, and Hos dropped it. As Gus Dunlop and Wazza disappeared to all parts, Lanky reached his fifty in the 40th over and started to become a danger to migrating birds and Cerebral Palsey Ireland as he went aerial.

The hundred partnership came in the 42nd over, was celebrated by a six to bring up Kelly's fifty, a single off a Wazza no ball, two off the free hit (there was an easy three, but Lanky was having fun), then six, four. The DLS ton came up in the 45th over, and Polly was lbw to Rainy next over, the last, for 58, a partnership of 161 in 16 overs.

There was still time for Lanky to whack Rainy over Cerebral Palsey into Sandymount Avenue . A replacement ball was found, which Lanky immediately dragged on to his stumps for 121 with 11 fours and five sixes. Phoenix finished with a 46 over score of 261-6, Parkinson taking 2/35, Strydom 2/41 and McCready 2/33. Beacroft's nine went for 54, Dunlop and Armstrong between them bowled nine overs for 93.

Wazza had warned me that tea would not be able to compare with the feast served up in the reverse fixture at Phoenix , which was special, but the sangers, cake and bikkies were good, and Lewie and Rainy went out well-fed to face Andrew Downton and David Langford Smith.

Lanky looked pretty sharp, and Lewie edged him between first and second slip for four before edging another low to be well snaffled by Paddy Conliffe. Replacement living legend Gus Dunlop worked the ball around, but never looked comfortable, though Rainy played some nice shots in a developing second wicket partnership.

On 15, with the total on 50, there was an enormous appeal from Lanky against Gussie for a caught behind down the leg side, and next ball for a leg before, but shortly afterwards he succumbed to the gentler pace of Paddy Conliffe and chipped one to Nat King-Cole for 21 out of 62. Stu McCready is a higher class, more mature version of Conor Kelly, and essentially biffs anything in his half, preferably straight.

He gives chances, and was spilled by Kumar early on. Rainy had already been dropped by Corie Dickeson shortly after Dunlop was out, and it was there that Phoenix lost the match. Andrew Downton had a rare ordinary afternoon with the ball, Conliffe and Kelly were very ordinary, and the Phoenix spinners were just rubbish.

Rainy and Smacker reached drinks at 138-2, more than half way there, with Rainy past his fifty. Despite losing Smacker just after he'd got to fifty out of a partnership of 94, Paul Beacroft survived two run out chances to add 52 with Strydom. Then we had an outbreak of dirty swine shouting and bat waving. Is this yet another pandemic?

So-called, self-styled leg-break bowler Stevie Neill tossed one up to Rainy who swept and missed. Umpire Clive Colleran answered the leg before appeal in the affirmative, but Strydom, six short of his third ton of the season, waggled the bat in Clive's direction and left as sick as the proverbial parrot. Then Beekers prodded half forward to Lanky and was horrified to see Marty Block in full chung mode. More bat-waving, more “body language”, but off he had to go for 24.

However, 208-3 to 214-5 was but a hiccough in YM's easy progress to victory. The uncomplicated James Parkinson (stop it or whack it) and the technically highly competent Carl Hosford (five years ago he was opening the batting for South Leinster) saw them home with three overs to spare, Parky 35* and Hos 19*.

Lanky bowled well enough for his 2/32 off 8, but the other figures are as unflattering as Susan Boyle's. But at least she can sing when she's not winning. Malahide won at the Chlee, so barring miracles, Phoenix are stuck in Section B.

The Stu Daultrey Column.

Phoenix Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 6 wickets
0
261 (0.0 overs)		     
M.Plunkett-Cole lbw  Parkinson 10
G.Flanagan ct  Short, Bowled Parkinson 1
P.Conliffe b  McCready 40
A.Downton lbw  McCready 6
D.Langford-Smith b  Strydom 122
C.Kelly lbw  Strydom 57
C.Dickenson Not Out  1
M.D.Masud Ahmed Not Out  1
A.Stone  
M.Kumar  
S.Neill  

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

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
James N. Parkinson10.0335217.503.50
Reinhardt Strydom9.0241220.504.56
Stuart R.S. McCready9.0133216.503.67
Paul K. Beacroft9.015400.006.00
Angus R. Dunlop3.003000.0010.00
Warwick V. Armstrong6.006300.0010.50

Y.M.C.A. Cricket Club 1st XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 5 wickets
0
263		        
Reinhardt Strydom lbw  Neill 94
D. Alan Lewis ct  Conliffe, Bowled Langford-Smith 4
Angus R. Dunlop ct  Plunkett-Cole, Bowled Conliffe 21
Stuart R.S. McCready ct  Downton, Bowled Kelly 51
Paul K. Beacroft lbw  Langford-Smith 24
James N. Parkinson Not Out  35
Carl R. Hosford Not Out  15
Simon B. Wilson-Moore  
A. James Short   1
Warwick V. Armstrong  
Lee C. Cole  

Phoenix Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
A.Downton9.024600.005.11
D.Langford-Smith8.0132216.004.00
P.Conliffe6.0043143.007.17
C.Kelly9.0160160.006.67
M.D.Masud Ahmed4.002600.006.50
M.Kumar4.002400.006.00
S.Neill3.0026126.008.67

  • Umpire :
    C.Colleran & M.Block
  • Scorer :
    L.McGeehan