Swords 2 v. Halverstown

Swords 2 v. Halverstown

Leinster Division 13, Saturday 30th April
Swords won by 73 runs

We travelled to Swords to play our first league game. The katabatic winds had abated somewhat but it was still cold and 2 sweaters was the order of the day. This is a ground where the facilities are limited but Swords provided a yellow tent for us to change in which was much appreciated.

We fielded and the opening combination of Case and Threadgold performed well getting 2 wickets apiece bowling economically. Wickets fell early and Halverstown were dominant in the opening 20 overs. When Drumm came on to bowl Ajesh who had opened the batting for Swords looked as though he was going to offer resistance and indeed he smote the first 2 balls of that spell to the boundary. Drumm remained calm and bowled a delivery that Ajesh tried to hit into the airport but the ball looped and hung for just a second longer than the batsman had anticipated and the bails dropped to the ground. Drumm got another 2 wickets and ended the innings with 3 for 20. Des Gray got the other wicket in addition to which there was a run out. The run rate increased during the second part of the innings and the star performer was Roy Mathew with 55 supported by Sibu Jose on 23. A total of 170 runs that had seemed unlikely at one stage became the target.

Tea was taken and our hosts provided a chicken curry that proved most popular with both teams.  Given the weather conditions this was one of the highlights of the day.

The Swords supply of bowlers seemed inexhaustible and the Halverstown batsmen were put under relentless pressure. Only Ashmore (25) and Grey (13) got into double figures and there were 3 ducks. The second top scorer was Extras (22), which reflected the type of day it was for Halverstown. While Ashmore and Threadgold remained at the crease we seemed to be in with a chance and the run rate was up with the Swords first 15-20 overs. Once they went our chances dwindled although the tail enders put up a respectable performance without being able to put Swords under serious pressure.

This fixture was played in a friendly spirit and we are grateful to Swords for the generous hospitality at tea.

Next Saturday we travel to Bagenalstown in hope.