Leinster 7 v. Halverstown

Leinster Division 13, Sunday 24th July

Halverstown won by 77 runs

“Our opening batsmen have got the religion”.

Our skipper, Mick Neville, was back together with Barry, John, Neville and Richard. It is a friendly and happy dressing room with a lot of smiles, welcomes and a few handshakes. Mick has definitely improved our time keeping but he could turn his attention to Leinster 7 whose prevarication added about three quarters of an hour to a game that was already delayed by rain.

We won the toss and elected to bat. Following the disciplined opening partnership of Ronaldson and Wardrop in Laois the openers got their heads down. When the second wicket fell we were 105 runs to the good. Barry (59) and Mick (34) both looked sharp and did their job of seeing off the opening bowlers. If Leinster thought the pain was over it had actually only just begun. Moon came to the crease and hit 80 not out in the remaining 15 overs. At one stage there were 3 fielders placed in the same position waiting for a catch, which came several times but did not go to hand. Another ball was hit out of the ground and into a neighbouring garden. When John Threadgold joined the party with 6 overs to go he played the ‘elder statesman’ and pushed singles into the gaps leaving Moon on strike. This unselfish and strategic insight helped to add another 50 runs.

Case (18 for 1) and Threadgold (9 for 2) opened the bowling with their usual precision and frankly the stranglehold that they exerted, Leinster never looked in the race. For the first 12 overs they scored at a rate of 1 an over such was the accuracy of our bowlers. It is very reassuring for the skipper to open with these two and still have Moon and Ashan to follow. Moon was 36 for 4 at the end and Idrees also got a wicket. The ground fielding was sharp and Moon, a man of few words, observed laconically that Mick was fielding like a 21 year old. Its great to have him back fit and well.

Barry took an astonishing catch. It was hit with such ferocity that had he missed it A and E would have been the next stop. Moon took a catch at slip and such is the good humour in this team that he went over to Idrees who had difficulty with a similar catch previously and told him that was the way to do it.  Big smiles.

Idrees with his slingy action probably doesn’t get the wickets he deserves. In one over the first 4 balls would have given him wickets on another day but he is relentlessly cheerful.

After 40 overs they were 137 for 8 and we had secured victory by 77 runs. The clock showed 7.45 pm and so we were just in time to get the last train home!