Scorecard

North Kildare Cricket Club Men's 2nd XI v Leinster 4 on Sat 15 Sep 2012 at 12.30
North Kildare Cricket Club Won by 26 runs

Match report The Mens 2nds welcomed league winners Leinster to The Maws last Saturday. With seemingly little to play for, these end of season matches tend to offer little in the way of excitement....or do they?

Having lost the toss, Gordie was delighted to be asked to bat first on a used wicket that would inevitably offer assistance to the bowlers as time went by.

So the pre-match team talk went something along the lines of "Right lads, lets get a good start again from our openers - just like last week". Ok, so that didn't go exactly to plan as the openers Gareth & Safdar were sent back to the pavilion with a single apiece. Neil Vorster (37) and Zak Khan (12) rebuilt things somewhat until Zak was nailed in front. 37 for 3 off 7 overs.

Not wanting the Leinster bowlers to settle, the skipper decided to promote Arun Nair to No. 5, who duly obliged by bludgeoning 22 off 18 balls. Arun has shown himself to be a very capable batsman this year, who would score more runs if he would perhaps choose the right ball to have a go at!

Wickets fell regularly, leaving North Kildare on the brink at 103 for 8 with 17 overs remaining. With Gary Hunt & Sajjad Maqsood at the crease, there was hope that a decent score could be achieved. They put together a match winning partnership of 65 in 15 overs. Gary (40 not out) played some text book cover drives and punished anything loose, while Sajjad (24) played a more patient role before he unleashed a truly enormous six to the longest boundary on the ground.

Sajjad was eventually caught, and the innings folded as Jonathon Flattery got his off stump flattened, with the total on 170. Even with a shortened boundary, 170 would take some getting on a wicket that was as unpredictable as the Irish weather. If the North Kildare supporters were excited by the 9th wicket partnership of Gary & Sajjad, more was to follow in surely one of the most incredible opeening overs of an innings ever seen at The Maws.

So here was the game plan. Keep it tight and apply pressure - and pressure causes poor shot selection - which brings wickets (sometimes!). The skipper chose to open with Shiv Sethi (9-3-18-5) from the pavilion end. First ball - dot. Second ball - wicket. Third ball - dot. Fourth ball - wicket. Fifth ball - dot. Sixth ball - wicket. No spitting deliveries, no turn - just three batsmen that simply missed straight balls.

By the end of his 4th over, Shiv had taken 5 wickets for 1 run. He spoiled those figures by going for a further 17 runs off his remaining 5 overs and by failing to take any more wickets! An incredible spell of bowling that ripped the Leinster top order out, leaving them 11 for 5 on a pitch that didn't really misbehave too much.

Worse was to follow for Leinster as Kumar tested out Arun Nair's throw (well, bowl) from the deep. Shiv did the rest and Leinster were 32 for 6 off 11 overs. Neil Vorster (6-2-11-0) and Safdar Hussain (9-2-23-1) came on with the intention of strangling the Leinster batsmen (not literally, you will understand). This went according to plan, as the next two batsmen put together a partnership of 53 runs, but using up a further 22 overs in the process. The pressure eventually told, and Safdar got his reward by clean bowling O'Gorman with the score on 85 for 7.

However, of concern to North Kildare was the fact that the required run rate hadn't gone above 7 the entire innings and that the Leinster No. 6 Mehta was still at the crease. With the short boundary to the trees looking inviting, this chase was still on for Leinster.

Having juggled his bowlers around, the skipper decided he would squeeze Leinster by bringing on Zak Khan (8-0-34-1) from the far end. Zak is a very useful cricketer. An attacking batsman - who on his day can take opposition bowling to the cleaners - Zak is a very capable wicketkeeper and more than useful bowler. He did his job perfectly, conceding only a couple of boundaries at a time when boundaries were exactly what Leinster required.

Special mention must go to Jonathon Flattery for his part in the run out of the Leinster No. 9. A crisply struck shot saw Jonathon dive full length to his left to parry the ball, which fell to Shiv who threw in over the top to complete the job.

Zak's good work with the ball would count for nothing if we were unable to match that work at the other end. The skipper placed his trust in Dáire O'Neill (4-0-16-1) to do the job - which he did perfectly - knowing that Dáire wouldn't let him down. When the Leinster No. 10 sliced a catch to Gordie off Dáire's bowling, this meant that 49 runs were required off the last 6 overs with one wicket remaining.

The last wicket pairing pushed the score on by a further 22 runs until Zak bowled Mehta off the last ball of the penultimate over. So victory by 26 runs against Leinster meant that - coupled with results elsewhere - the 2nds will finish in third place in Division 7 for the second year in a row. With neither league champions Leinster nor runners-up Merrion eligible for promotion, we are hopeful that Cricket Leinster's OCC will look upon us favourably for promotion into Division 6 for 2013.

And now for the Oscars acceptance speech....there are so many people to thank for helping put together the Mens 2nds this year. Firstly, to my family - Ruth, Ethan and Eli for being at (nearly) every game and looking after the drinks and teas. Speaking of teas, Henry Graham deserves a special mention for always being there on match days. For setting the tables, for helping serve the tea and for ultimately helping to tidy up. Many thanks Henry.

Gerry Fennell was a near ever-present scorer for us. Having a dedicated scorer is something that most teams do not have. Its bad enough trying to get willing and able umpires, never mind get someone who understands how to score. So Gerry, your work was much appreciated by everyone.

Anne-Marie & Colin O'Neill were frequent assistants when it came to lifting out drinks and cutting pizzas at tea! Thank you.

I think all visitors to The Maws will be particularly impressed by the way in which the grounds are presented. Congratulations to all at SOLAS for a wonderful job.

Someone that has done incredible work behind the scenes is Ger Horn. As match secretary, he has the unenviable task of organising the registration of our players with Cricket Leinster - not to mention the arranging of the club's fixtures. He looks after the North Kildare CC website and Facebook page and provides regular updates of all teams in the club via these media. He has given sound advice on selection throughout the season, and the entire club - probably without realising it - owe him a huge thanks.

Finally, to all 31 players that played on the 2nds this year - thank you and well done. We now have a 2nd XI that is competitive and capable of beating any team in the league on our day. A team that plays to win and to enjoy our cricket - whilst playing it in the right spirit.

Gordon Clarke






North Kildare Cricket Club Men's 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
6w 6b 2lb 
for 10 wickets
14
170
(42.4 overs)		    
Gareth Moxom st Paul Rodgers 1
Safdar Hussain ct Paul Rodgers 1
Neil Vorster ct Susheel Kumar 37
Zakrya Khan lbw Paul Rodgers 12
Arun Nair ct Paul Rodgers 22 1
Dáire O'Neill ct Susheel Kumar 5
Shiv Sethi ct Susheel Kumar 6 1
Gordon Clarke ct Susheel Kumar 7 2
Gary Hunt Not Out  40
Sajjad Maqsood ct Asif Saeed 24
Jonathan Flattery b Asif Saeed 1

Leinster 4 Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Paul Rodgers9.013548.753.89
Jono Frankham6.013400.005.67
Asif Saeed8.4222211.002.54
Susheel Kumar9.032746.753.00
Rutej Mehta4.002000.005.00
Malcolm Rule6.012400.004.00

Leinster 4 Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 8w 7b 5lb 
for 10 wickets
21
144 (44.0 overs)		     
Malcolm Rule b Shiv Sethi 0
Will Rolfe b Shiv Sethi 1
Chris Ooosthuizen b Shiv Sethi 0
Asim Nazir lbw Shiv Sethi 0
Rory MacMahon ct Shiv Sethi 8
Rutej Mehta b Zakrya Khan 66
Susheel Kumar Run out  9
Conor O'Gorman b Safdar Hussain 18
Jono Frankham Run out  9
Asif Saeed ct Dáire O'Neill 5
Paul Rodgers Not Out  7

North Kildare Cricket Club Men's 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Shiv Sethi9.031853.602.00
Sajjad Maqsood4.021700.004.25
Neil Vorster6.021100.001.83
Safdar Hussain9.0223123.002.56
Arun Nair4.00900.002.25
Zakrya Khan8.0038138.004.75
Dáire O'Neill4.0016116.004.00

  • Umpire :
  • Scorer :
    Gerry Fennell