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Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup Final: Merrion v Railway Union, played at the Inch, Balrothery, on Saturday 11th September

As I drove to Balrothery on Saturday morning there were showers about, and it was no surprise to find the Inch quite damp.  The pitch itself was playable, but the surrounds needed time to dry.  Not too long after the scheduled start time the umpires decided that play could begin if both captains agreed.

Trent Johnston was happy to go, but Johnny Anderson wasn't, so play eventually started at 12:30 after umpires John Andrews and Louis Fourie had satisfied themselves that even the outfield, still boggy in parts, was no longer an impediment to play.

This was the first time this millennium that Dublin-based umpires had stood in the Irish Senior Cup Final, and they represented the Leinster Cricket Umpires' and Scorers' Association for the first time.  The last Dublin-based umpire appointed to the final was a member of the politically incorrect Leinster Cricket Umpires' Association.  Mind you, that guy revelled in being politically incorrect, and still does.

TJ won the toss and decided to bat.  Both Kenny Carroll and Tom Fisher like to get right onto the front foot and drive, but will happily pull or cut should the bowler tire of being driven and pitch one short.  Simon Morrissey and Alex Chetkovich kept the ball up to the bat and bowled well enough to concede only 36 off the mandatory Power Play.

Merrion called the Bowling Power Play straight away, Fisher drilled Morrissey at ankle height  past Anderson at short mid on, and then the Railway openers got after Chetkovich.  Titiksh Patel was called into the attack earlier than usual, and with only three outfielders he wasn't his normal parsimonious self.

The five-over Power Play yielded 36 runs and included a tough caught and bowled chance from Fisher to Morrissey.  Carroll was within a boundary of his fifty when he played well forward in Simon Morrissey's last over and was very surprised to be given out lbw.  Louis doesn't get many wrong, and the ball wasn't short enough to be a certainty to rise above stump height.  Kenny had to go for 46 out of 89.

Morrissey finished with 1/41 off his ten, and was replaced at the road end by Dom Joyce for a few overs, but he easily was picked off by Fisher and Graeme McDonnell.  McDonnell was his usual busy self, manufacturing shots for ones and two and despatching any pie offered.  Drinks were taken after 25 overs with the score on 120-1.

Patel and off spinner Greg Clarence conceded only 22 in the next five overs, so the 30-over total, which you're supposed to double as a good estimate of the final score, pointed to Merrion having to chase 284.  That wasn't out of the question: on a very similar deck they scored 275 here in the quarter final.

In the 32nd over McDonnell lifted Patel to Rory Allwight to be out for 34, and six overs later Fisher miscued an Anderson leg break to Morrissey to depart for a well-made 69 out of 176.  Kevin O'Brien had had enough of a reconnaissance, and started to biff the bowling to all parts.  Patel had finished with 1/48, Anderson withdrew himself from the firing line, and the others suffered damage.

O'Brien reached 50 in the 45th over out of 230, the first of the Batting Power Play, and now Trent Johnston produced the howitzer and began to endanger birdlife.  The buzzard that had inspected the Inch earlier had found a safe thermal a mile away, the rooks absented themselves, even the ravens kept very quiet, and the swallows decided it was time to leave for South Africa.

Ball after ball sailed into and over the pavilion, and for some variations on the theme, the sturdiness of the netting at each end was tested.  Trent reached 50 in the 48th over and finished on 71*.  Kevin ended on 76*.  The Batting Power Play yielded 76 runs and the final over another 20, for Railway to close on 317-3.

There was a shower during lunch, so the interval, which had been reduced to 30 minutes, actually lasted a bit longer than the originally scheduled 45.  The O'Brien/Johnston partnership continued, this time with the ball.  Ben Ackland scored a single of the first over, which also contained a wide, and so faced Johnston's first over.  He drove uppishly but firmly, but Trent plucked the ball from the air and ran widdershens in aeroplane mode.

Greg Clarence played out the rest of the over, but when he got up to Kev's end he was served a few short balls which he tucked away.  After O'Brien's third over, another loose one, Mohammed Tariq replaced him from the road end.  That over went for 13, so Saad Ullah got a go and went for 14.

After 9 overs Clarence had reached 50* out of 61, with Dom Joyce on 6*.  The mandatory Power Play finished on 66-1, and as Clarence began to coast, Dom Joyce accelerated mainly with drives.  Paddy Conliffe bowled one OK over then a poor one, and then Kenny Carroll did the same.

Joyce even drove Johnston for a couple of fours, and when the big fella bowled out with 10-3-28-1, over a hundred runs had been conceded at the other end, and Merrion were miles ahead of the D/L par of 97-1.  Joyce reached fifty in the 21st over, and he and the pro took it to 161-1 after 25.

A group of us on the balcony had been speculating how much more play there would be.  We knew that there would be a result now that 20 overs of the second innings had been completed, and that Merrion would have to lose a bucket of wickets to fall behind on D/L.  I wondered why no drinks appeared after 25 overs, and got my answer at the end of the next over.

With the score on 164-1, Clarence (80*) and Joyce (72*) embraced each other, shook hands with the Railway boys and the umpires, and danced off.  Following the regulations, play had ended at 18:40 with Merrion victorious by 36 runs on D/L.

It was now a beautiful evening, the sun throwing long shadows across the ground, as the area in front of the pavillion was prepared for the final ceremony.  When it happened it went on for ten minutes too long as dignitary after dignitary had to thank everybody at great length, to be followed by the captains doing the same thing.

We could have had twenty minutes more play and still thanked everybody once!  Phil Simmons gave the Man of the Match to Greg Clarence, understandable, deserved, but still tough on Trent Johnston.  John Anderson received the Cup from Hope Kerr and the celebrations began for real.

Railway had scored over 300 and lost comfortably.  Would they have done so if Greg Lambert had played?  He keeps his offies right up to the bat, and I would be amazed if he'd gone for ten an over.  OK, OK, if mi tia had cojones she'd be mi tio, but I was really surprised when Lambert wasn't selected.

Excellent hosting of the game from North County, United pegged back for a draw by Everton, and an Arsenal win: a pretty good day with some memorable batting from both sides.  I enjoyed my Montepulciano that evening.