studaultrey.com

Storm Cricket Trophy Final, Claremont Road, 24th July: Clontarf 2 v Merrion 2

After the Lord Mayor's Show of the LHW Senior Cup Final came the St Patrick's Day Parade of the Storm Cricket Trophy Final, as Clontarf 2 played Merrion 2 at Claremont Road.  Regular Merrion skipper Cillian O'Donoghue had cup-tied himself by playing for the firsts the day before and had to watch from the balcony.

There was a minimum of first team experience on the Merrion side, but quite a lot running through the Clontarf ranks.  Merrion won the toss and had a hit, left-hander Mike Tichband and Kirk Shimmons facing up to Andy Cullen and left-armer Ian Dent.  After eight overs Tichband still wasn't off the mark, and when he got a full delivery he swotted it towards mid on where Niall Delany held on to a good catch.

That was 19-1 and brought in Alan Parkinson, who was immediately dropped off his own bowling by Dent.  Shimmons played well until he was bowled by Delany for 26 in the 16th over.  Neil Brown, whom I'd not seen before, looked a good, correct bat and immediately played several good, correct shots.

Parky worked away, stopping the straight ones and biffing the overpitched ones, having another life on 20 when Cullen spilled a firm hit at mid off.  Drinks were taken at 90-2, and the scoring accelerated thereafter, both batsmen getting after Connor D'Arcy's straightbreaks and Vijay Gopal's dibbly-dobblies, and both closing in on their fifties.

Brown reached his off 48 balls out of 144. One run later, Parky miscued one of Dent's slow left-armers to Gopal to be out for 46.  David Watkins came in and helped Brown add 51 in eight overs before being caught by Gopal off Paul Ryan for 13 in the 40th over.  Sanjay Saharan swished at everything, was dropped by Ryan on 1 then bowled by Cullen for 6.

The same fate befell another dervish-like innings, this time for 5 from Anish Raghavan.  With the overs running out Brown reached an excellent century off 92 balls with one six and ten fours.  He then wandered down the wicket and was smartly stumped by Richard Forrest, the first time there was an affimative response to his umpteenth theatrical appeal.

Rich, please cut it out – it's either stupid play-acting or it's cheating – either way it doesn't belong in the game.  But I forget: the big boys on the telly do it, so every schoolboy and every fourth team gobdaw has to do it.  Ross Watkins (18*) and Matt O'Driscoll (3*) took the 50 over score to 253-7, a testing target.  The 'Tarf bowling figures were in the main tidy.

Ronan O'Reilly and Mark Collier began the pursuit against Robbie Ensor and Matt O'Driscoll.  Rashers spanked two lovely boundaries off O'Driscoll's first over, one backward of point, one through extra cover.  In Ensor's fourth over Collier pushed half forward and was lbw for 4, which brought in Forrest.

He and O'Reilly both looked in good touch, and the score advanced to 45 in the 12th over when Forrest (14) called for what looked like a routine single, but Rashers set off, stopped, and returned to the non-striker's end leaving his mate like a Castlemahon chicken – plucked, stuffed and oven-ready.

Never mind, there was still a lot of batting to come, or there was on paper, anyway.  Vijay Gopal quickly got to ten then had a mow at O'Driscoll and was well-taken by Parkinson at slip.  The first ball of Wijesundera's first over from the Sandymount end saw a huge appeal for a caught behind which went unrewarded.

A boundary and a couple of balls later O'Reilly went more sideways than forward and was given out lbw for 24.  Rashers looked aggrieved, but my photo showed him no more than eighteen inches in front of the batting crease – if it was straight it was out.  The end was nigh.

Delany nicked off, Paul Ryan missed a straight one, Maybury was so plumb lbw that Andrea Bocelli would have given it, Connor D'Arcy gave Neil Brown catching practice and Andy Cullen was also obscenely lbw, the last three wickets to David Watkins.  The only 'Tarf batsman below 3 to have shown any fight was Brian McDermott, and he was last out for 18, stumped by Ross Watkins off Shimmons.

Clontarf were all out for 122 in 34 overs, a hugely disappointing effort in front of a big crowd in glorious weather.  Sum Wijesundera took 2/31 and David Watkins 3/12.  For the sponsors, David Drane, a former Merrion player, talked no guff (LCU Presidents please note: it can be done) and gave out the medals.

Derek Dockrell, YMCA President, gave Man of the Match to Neil Brown with the minimum of guff, and should have been thanked publicly for the superb organisation and presentation of the ground and the facilities for the entire day.

It was a marvellous weekend for Merrion, a club that seems to be able to combine the development of local talent with the judicious use of overseas-schooled players.  Throw in the conveyor belt of pretty girls and who could wish for more?  There's even the book of the film of the play now, with the publication of Alan Little's History of Merrion Cricket Club.  Hurry, hurry, while stocks last.