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Clontarf v Railway Union: Lewis Hohn Williams LCU Senior Cup Final played at College Park, Saturday 24th July

Morning showers delayed the start of the Lewis Hohn Williams Senior Cup Final in the VarsityWorld Theme Park for half an hour, and because water had got under the covers during the week, when Railway Union won the toss they had no hesitation in putting Clontarf in to bat.

Apart from being slow, and stopping a bit from the pavilion end, there were no gremlins in the pitch, and Bill Coghlan and Richard Forrest made sedate progress, Bill booming the odd big drive and Richard nurdling the odd single.

Kevin O'Brien and Saad Ullah drew blanks, and gave way to off-spinner Greg Lambert and skipper Trent Johnston.  TJ got the wickets off zero by moving one off the seam from the library end and finding the edge of Forrest's bat on its way through to Sam Farthing.  Forrest had made 12 out of 42.

While Bill kept booming his drive, Rod Hokin was very restrained, and the pair took till 25 overs to get to 66.  Mo Tariq replaced TJ, and immediately had the desired effect when Coghlan, on 40, played a back foot force into the covers which Dhruv Kapoor stooped to hold on to – a good catch.

Tariq's slingy action was ideally suited to the conditions, and he hustled a short one onto Hokin a little bit more quickly than anticipated.  The intended pull shot steepled to mid off where Graeme McDonnell made no mistake, Hokin gone for 9.

Eoghan Delany came in, nicked off first ball to Farthing, and departed.  66-1 had become 71-4.  Alex Cusack and Adrian D'Arcy battled to 90, Cusie playing a couple of nice square drives, but Darce was struggling, and put out of his misery when bowled by TJ for 3.

Ullah came back from the library end, got one to lift on Cusack and take the top edge.  Farthing, standing up, grabbed the catch at the second attempt, appealed and Clive Colleran lifted the finger.  Cusie hung around for a second or two, but disappointment, not injustice, was his problem.

Clontarf's 7-11 all like to hit the ball, but all appreciated that if the score of 90 could be doubled, that might just be enough.  None of them is even vaguely proficient at working singles, so it was block, block, block, hit, hit, block.

Vijay Gopal had a mini flurry of boundaries and was then bowled by O'Brien for 17 – 110-7.  Joe Morrissey had another flurry then went back into block mode.  Greg Lambert came back at the pavilion and, now that the pitch had dried, was getting big turn and a little bit of lift.

The lift did for Richie Reid as he played forward to TJ at silly mid on.  Turn and lift caused JoMo, 18,  to sky a catch to Tariq at mid on, and a straight ball was more than enough for Paul Ryan.  Clontarf had slithered from 66-1 to 134 all out in 50.5 overs.

None of the Railway bowling figures looked bad.  Lambert's (3/18), Tariq's (3/19) and TJ's (2/18), looked pretty good.  All the Wheeltappers and Shunters had to do now to claim their first Senior Cup since 1967 was to play straight now the pitch was turning and stopping.

But was it turning and stopping for the Clontarf bowlers?  Well, no, it wasn't.  You couldn't take liberties, but if you played through the line of the ball you weren't going to get out.  And Kenny Carroll and Tom Fisher played in exemplary fashion for 18 overs, compiling 64 runs.

Clontarf's response to inevitable defeat was to build the pressure on the opposition and the umpires.  The slightest uppish shot was greeted with loud “oooohs”.  The odd play and miss generated “aaahs”.  Anything that hit the pads produced a cat's chorus of “howzats” followed by teapots and head-holding intakes of breath as “not out” came from the relevant umpire.

Kenny Carroll played and missed at Vijay Gopal, and the ball was gathered by Adrian D'Arcy behind the stumps.  A huge appeal went up, led by D'Arcy and reinforced by Hokin running from slip towards the bowler, arm cartwheeling in appreciation.

Kenny hadn't been within an asenine bray of the ball.  Umpire Clive Colleran said “not out” and asked Joe Morrissey to control his troops.  When the ball was returned to Vijay he kicked it away in disgust at the decision.  That just ain't on.

There was a complete absence of teapots, head-holding, and oohs and aahs when Hokin dropped Fisher, 34 at the time, at slip.  But I suppose neither umpire was at fault for that, and couldn't be  victimised.  And no 'Tarf player was going to say “Rod, you should have caught that.”

In the next over from the library end Carroll wafted at Gopal, skewed the ball over cover, and Eoghan Delany ran back to take a good catch.  Kenny gone for 20, with the score on 64.  Graeme McDonnell came in and he and Fisher played carefully to tea at 90-1 off 28 overs.

After tea Bill Coghlan's variegated trundle came into its own.  Fisher miscued him to Delany to be out for 43 with no addition to the tea score.  Three runs later Kevin O'Brien edged him to slip where Hokin did what he usually does – catch it.

Johnston played a couple of nice shots then lobbed Ireland teammate Cusack to Delany at cover – 104-4.  Conor Mullen nicked Cusie through to D'Arcy – 115-5.  Dhruv Kapoor was lbw to the next ball – 115-6.

I didn't notice anybody from Clontarf approaching Clive Colleran, aggressively or conciliatorily, asking him if he'd like to reconsider either or both of those decisions,  Strange, that, when they'd been so insistent that he'd been wrong so many times before.

Mo Tariq hung around with Graeme McDonnell without scoring until Railway were within seven runs of victory.  Then he nicked Coghlan to Hokin at slip, and on the same score McDonnell was lbw to Cusack.  Again, I didn't notice any sign of doubt after the appeal was answered in the affirmative.  “Are you sure, Clive, not missing leg, no?”

McDonnell had made 28 and seen his side to the brink of victory.  Saad Ullah will never die wondering if you pitch the ball up to him.  Coghlan did, and got hit for 2, 4, 1 to bring the scores level.  Sam Farthing steered a single off the last ball of the 45th over to get the win.

A match that was all done and dusted an hour before had kept the by now large crowd in VarsityWorld intrigued and enthralled.  People who knew nothing about cricket (not including the LCU Senior Executive Committee, who were busy with their G+Ts) were excited.  This is good for the game, isn't it?

The sponsor, Alan Lewis, gave the MoM to Mo Tariq for making the initial dent in the Clontarf batting.  Trent Johnston thanked the parish priest for providing the hall, winners medals were distributed, but no losers medals.  Why not?  Clontarf got to the final, they nearly pulled off an unlikely victory, and no memento?  That's mean.