Cork County continued their positive run of form following their demolition of Limerick Raiders in the Munster Senior Cup quarter final at the Mardyke. Next up over the June Bank Holiday weekend were tricky away ties at Midleton in MCU Division 1 and Leinster CC in LCU Division 2.
Saturday June 4th
The away trip to Midleton brought the Mardyke side to unfamiliar territory with the East Cork club having moved from their old grounds at Midleton College out to the grounds of Midleton RFC. The home side won the toss and put the league holders into bat on the new artificial surface and immediately County were in trouble losing Shannon Madden and the returning Robert Duggan, both adjudged caught behind. Both the openers were soon followed by overseas player George Barry who was out to an excellent diving catch at point. At 9-3 the County middle order had to scramble into action with Ross Durity and Sidhz Joshi joining each other in the middle; what followed was an outstanding exhibition of composure and power as both batsmen recorded centuries – Durity (164) and Joshi (127*) in a Club record 280 run 4th wicket partnership to take the game away from the home side to leave Cork County on 348-5 after their 50 overs.
In response, Midleton put up a brave fight after losing some early wickets with middle order batsman Robert Smyth (110) recording a century of his own. James Duggan, who returned to the County side following his college exams, finished up with figures of 4-30 having bowled some excellent line and length. Overall it was a lacklustre fielding display from the Mardyke side as they had one eye on Monday’s trip to Rathmines and also having put such a large total on the board for Midleton to chase. In the end they bowled out the home side for 236 which handed County an impressive 112 run victory.
MCU Division 1:
Cork County 348-5 beat Midleton 236 all out by 112 runs at Midleton RFC.
Monday June 6th
Bank holiday Monday brought a tough trip up to Observatory Road in Rathmines for a clash with high flying Leinster CC. The home side, who were relegated from Division 1 last season, are hoping for an immediate return to the top division and so represented a good barometer for the Mardyke side. On a decent looking wicket Cork County skipper, Bruce Koch, won the toss and decided to bat. His decision was vindicated with another solid start from the opening partnership of Durity and Madden with Durity in particular looking very fluent in the middle. The partnership was broken with the score on 40 after Durity was adjudged LBW by Buksh. Barry entered the fray with some explosive hitting down the ground but a missed timed drive saw his demise to a straightforward catch at extra cover. Koch then proceeded to stroke the ball around the famous Rathmines ground with typical aplomb with hint of power every now and then. Unfortunately the middle collapsed around him with Joshi, O’Leary, Fogarty and Wootton all departing for a combined score of 4 as a result of some superb swing bowling from Carroll! Former skipper, Robert Duggan, joined Koch at the crease and attempted to get his captain on strike as often as possible entering the final 10 overs and with the batting power play imminent. However, following a sharp piece of fielding from Jones, Duggan was run out and Koch (76) soon followed leaving County with a total of 203 to defend.
With a total probably 20-30 runs short of a satisfactory score to defend, County knew they needed early wickets and they delivered with an exemplary opening attack from Bruce Koch and George Barry. Barry probed with excellent line and length while Koch bowled with great venom as they both tore into the Leinster top order removing the two dangermen Jones and Schultz with the score still under 70. Some exceptional keeping from wicket keeper Shannon Madden aided the two openers reducing the home side to 74-7. County’s fielding was generally excellent with one or two exceptions. However, a superb 8th wicket partnership between Byrne (36) and man-of-the-match Carroll (66) brought Leinster to within victory but County fought back to bring themselves to the verge of victory with the home side on 181-9. Carroll continued to play in a composed manner and guided his side to a nail biting victory by 1 wicket with a boundary through mid wicket with only 3 overs remaining. It was a great spectacle for the neutrals with both sides going toe to toe in a fine game of cricket.
LCU Division 2:
Leinster 203-9 beat Cork County 202 all out by 1 wicket at Observatory Lane.
Saturday June 11th
Following the disappointment of the 1 wicket loss to Leinster CC, County faced another tricky away trip the following weekend with a journey down to Carriganore in Waterford to face WIT. Last season the Mardyke side found both of their trips to Waterford more than a difficult obstacle so they were not underestimating the task in hand this year. However, with a crucial LCU Division 2 home tie against Old Belvedere the following day, County rested some first team regulars. In the absence of Bruce Koch, Ross Durity captained the side which saw senior debuts for both seamers Brian O’Leary and Farhan. The match also saw the return of Brad Morgan to the Cork County senior side after his ‘brief’ hiatus to Cork Harlequins last season. WIT won the toss and decided to bat. An innings typified with plenty of aerial shots saw the home side set a total of 213 with Haq Nawaz reaching 53 with debutant Brian O’Leary finishing with figures of 3-39.
On an artificial with uneven bounce, Cork County openers Shannon Madden and Ross Durity were determined to establish a solid start. After an uncomfortable innings, Shannon was caught behind for 15 and he was soon followed by overseas player George Barry who was adjudged LBW to Adeel. Robert Duggan joined Durity in the middle and both experienced batsmen were eager to consolidate the innings. However, Durity soon departed to an excellent caught and bowled by Adeel. Des O’Leary joined Duggan and both combined to form a solid partnership with both players playing some nice shots down the ground and square of the wicket. With County cruising towards victory, O’Leary mistimed a full delivery and was clean bowled by Nawaz. A well crafted innings by Duggan saw him soon reach his half century and he began to open up with victory in sight and finished the game on 77 not out. Victory was secured with Creedon dispatching a full delivery from Adeel to secure an impressive 5 wicket victory at a demanding venue.
MCU Division 1:
Cork County 215-5 beat WIT 213 all out by 5 wickets at Carriganore.
To view the full scorecards please click here.
West Indian all-rounder Andrew Saul replaced Duggan and looked to accelerate the run rate with typical West Indian gusto. Saul’s brief cameo was ended when he was out to a good catch on the boundary at long on. Sidhz Joshi joined Wootton at the crease and began to work the ball around with his trademark craft and skill. As he adjusted to the conditions, Joshi soon expanded his shot play with some impressive sweeps and drives through the covers. Joshi was ably supported by Wootton until his demise when he was adjudged LBW by umpire Michael Hickey to a ball from off spinner Aftab. Big hitting Darren Fogarty joined Joshi in the middle and both steered County towards a respectable target, both began to pierce the Raiders ring field at regular intervals. Joshi was spectacularly run out on 45 by some sharp fielding by Alam off his own bowling. Matt Reed soon followed after a mix up between the wickets with partner Fogarty. Fogarty then was the final wicket to fall with the score on 162 after he was caught in the deep by Usman Khan.
For Cork County, off break bowler Andrew Saul was now dominating the Limerick side with some excellent line and length, giving the Raiders’ batsmen no width to free their arms. Saul finished his superb ten over spell with figures of 1-14 with no less than seven maidens. Left armer, Sidhz Joshi, and off-spinner Ciarán Healy also combined to frustrate the Shannon siders as County sought to break the partnership of Aftab and Usman. The reintroduction of skipper Bruce Koch finally saw the removal of Usman who was tricked by a well disguised slower ball from the quickie and provided Healy at mid-off with a comfortable catch. The big wicket of Usman was soon followed by Aftab who was trapped LBW by Joshi. With the Limerick Raiders slowly edging towards the target of 163 for victory, the home crowd began to get a little nervous. However, the league holders showed great character and nerve as they picked off the final two wickets of Sajid Javid and Qasim Zaidi. Zaidi was the final wicket to fall to a great catch at slip by Andrew Saul off the bowling of Joshi (2-22).
The efforts of the steering committee led by Shay Livingstone, John Power and David Griffin and the project management team of Matt Reed and Stephen Hickey which combined to oversee the superb renovation of the clubhouse and Pavilion following the severe flooding of November 2009 were duly noted and graciously appreciated by all in attendance. Congratulations were also aknowledged for Bruce Koch on winning the Munster Player of the Year in recognition of his outstanding season and also for Chris Banon who won Munster U-17 Player of the Year after a superb breakthrough season for the Presentation Brothers College youngster.
