Dominant Dundalk cricketers see off Terenure

On a very wet and miserable Sunday afternoon, Dundalk Cricket Club hosted Terenure CC in a crucial match for the league title.

Despite adverse weather conditions, the game went ahead, largely due to the sporting spirits of both teams. Captain Mike Waterman won the toss for Dundalk and elected to bowl first. An early wicket for Andy Williams did not halt Terenure’s explosive start to the innings, with boundaries frequent on the wet outfield. Sid Nair reached 50 for the away side before a heavy downpour saw the game suspended for 45 minutes. After the restart, the soaked ball became a lot harder to grip, which led to many slips in the field, allowing Terenure to reach an above-par total of 151 from their reduced 30 overs.

Waterman opened the batting with Andrew Pike and the pair put on a solid 63 runs for the first wicket before losing their wickets in quick succession. Firstly, Pike was bowled by Ted Mullen for 39 and in the next over Waterman got caught by Phil Rout at mid-on, having scored 27. The next pairing of Sajan Jayaseelan and Steve McGrath reacted superbly under the pressure, playing steady yet offensive innings to see Dundalk over the line in the 26th over. The pair finished the game on 29 and 47 not out respectively and the result sees Dundalk remain top of the table with one final game remaining against Railway Union next Saturday. The Second Team also finish off their season at the weekend, with Rush the visitors to Dromiskin next Sunday.

Dundalk I: M. Waterman (c, wk), A. Pike, S. Jayaseelan, S. McGrath, A. Williams, Z. Babar, B. Shanmugam, G. Armstrong, K. Waterman, M. Mullen, C. Martin, F. Boyle

Double success for Dundalk Cricket Club

Dundalk Cricket Club enjoyed another weekend of double success, with both teams securing comfortable wins at home.

On Saturday, the first team, currently battling Swords for the league title, secured a 115 run win against Longford. Electing to bat first, Andrew Pike and Michael Hughes dug in but it soon seemed Dundalk were in trouble. At 63/5, Longford had the upper hand but a stellar innings from Phil Osborn, backed up by the sleek hitting of Sanjay Kumar powered Dundalk to a fine total of 217 from their allotted 40 overs. Man of the match Osborn finished 88 not out, but it was Kumar’s 37 that kickstarted the innings, the pair putting on 82 for the sixth wicket.

Longford’s chase began disastrously, with opening bowler Andrew Williams combining with Kevin Waterman for a catch off the first ball. Williams then repaid the favour twice-over, taking two catches for Waterman, whose 4-31 ripped apart the Longford batting line up. Longford were always on the back foot and Conan Martin wrapped up the win in the 29th over, giving Dundalk a crucial full bonus point win.

The following day, the second team cruised past Phoenix CC in overcast conditions. Batting first, Dundalk started slowly, and lost Derek Turner to Theo Dempsey’s bowling with just 7 on the board after 10 overs. However, Phoenix couldn’t capitalise and Dundalk put on 99 for the second wicket, with man of the match Glen Armstrong smashing his way to a first half century, the highlight of which were two huge sixes straight down the ground. Peter Phillips anchored the other end, playing a very intelligent innings for a career-best 38. Big-hitting cameos from Jiwan Jodhani and Faheem Khan pushed Dundalk past 150, before Michael Mullen slogged 18 off the penultimate over to set up a convincing total of 193.

The breakthrough in Phoenix’s innings came from a brilliant Derek Turner run out followed up by Sanjay Kumar sending James Maginninis back to the pavilion for a golden duck. Dempsey solidified the innings for the Dublin outfit, but wickets fell around him as he was caught in the deep by Kumar off Mullen’s bowling. Kapil Pun finished off the rout, taking three wickets in quick succession to wrap up the game for Dundalk, with Armstrong capping off the day with a superb one handed catch at mid off. The result leaves Dundalk precariously poised in the race for promotion, with second-placed Balbriggan travelling to Dromiskin next Saturday.

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Dundalk I (v. Longford): M. Waterman (c/wk), A. Pike, M. Hughes, S. Jayaseelan, S. McGrath, A. Williams, P. Osborn, S. Kumar, M. Mullen, K. Waterman, C. Martin

Dundalk II (v. Phoenix): J. Jodhani (c), M. Mullen (wk), P. Phillips, D. Turner, G. Armstrong, F. Khan, S. Kumar, B. Shanmugam, K. Pun, S. McDermott, U. Ofterdinger