Cork County faced a tough weekend of fixtures with the 1st XI taking on North County 1 in Leinster Division 1 and Co. Galway 1 in the Munster Premier Division while the 2nd XI travelled to Manor Fields in Adare to take on Limerick 2 in Division 1.
Leinster Division 1
County went into the tie in search of a much-needed win after disappointing recent results and following defeat in the Irish Senior Cup away to Bready. After a pleasant start to the day weather wise, the rain set in which meant the match ended up being reduced to 33 overs a side.
CCCC never really got going against North County and despite a not out 55 from captain Stephen Grobler the home side reached just 136 all out. For North County, Eddie Richardson (3-23) and Andrew Sheridan (3-27) were the pick of the bowlers. A target of 137 to win never looked enough and so it proved with North County winning by four wickets in the 26th over despite a flurry of late wickets for the Cork men. Gary King was the pick of the Cork County bowlers taking 3-28 in an excellent spell of quick seam bowling.
Cork County 136-8 (Grobler 55*, Coleman 29, E Richardson 3-23, Sheridan 3-27) lost to North County 141-6 (Grassi 41, Andrews 40, King 3-28, Saddique 2-33) by 4 wickets at the Mardyke. scorecard
Munster Division 1
While the 1st XI faced the stiff test of North County 1 at the Mardyke, the 2nd XI made the trip up the N20 to face Limerick 2 at Adare. After losing the toss, the Cork men were put in to bat in damp conditions which suited the seam attack of Limerick. A steady start from Robert Duggan (49) followed by a powerful 73 from Anthony O’Reilly and finished off with 41 not out from Scott McNamara, saw the Leesiders to a sizeable 270-9.
In reply, early wickets from Justin McGurk and Saleem Mir (3-23) meant the Limerick innings never got going despite a big hitting 77 from Shane Burke. The hosts were finally all out for 191 and the win puts the 2nd XI top of the table with two wins from three. Next up they welcome Tipperary County 1 to the Mardyke in the Junior Cup Quarter Final.
Cork County 270-9 (O’Reilly 73, Duggan 49, McNamara 41*) beat Limerick 191 all out (Burke 77, Mir 3-23, Duggan 3-33) by 79 runs at Manor Fields, Adare. scorecard
Munster Premier Division
Following a disappointing home defeat to North County, the 1st XI faced a stiff test in the Premier Division against Co. Galway who have always proved difficult opposition in both league and cup. With the wicket at the Mardyke still appearing a little green after the rain on Saturday, the hosts lost the toss and were asked to bowl with Gary King and Adil Hameed taking the new ball.
Despite the early loss of Mohammad Ali, Co. Galway relied on steady partnerships to reach 207-9 off their 50 overs despite some slack fielding from Cork County which included a number of dropped catches. The pick of the Cork County bowlers was young Diarmuid Carey with 4-40.
With 208 required to win, the home side lost opener Scott McNamara for just 3 after a steady start alongside Ross Durity. Robert Duggan came in a three and in partnership with Durity began to chip away at the Galway target despite some tight seam bowling from the visitors. County reached the target for the loss of just the one wicket thanks to the superb partnership of over 190 between Durity (102 off 132 balls) and Duggan (79 off 111 balls) which meant County have now won two from three in their quest to retain the Premier Division title. Next up are table toppers Limerick at the Mardyke on Sunday, 28th May.
Cork County 210-1 (Durity 102*, Duggan 79*) beat County Galway 208-9 (Carey 4-40) by 9 wickets at the Mardyke. scorecard
It has been a season of progression for Cork County 2nd XI, following on from their Junior Cup Final disappointment in 2015.
Complemented as only experience allows through the performance and on pitch guidance of John Power, Justin McGurk and a cameo by Andy Wootton.
