The Hills Vs Railway Union (July 11, 2010)
The clash between The Hills and Railway Union, two of the strongest teams in Leinster Cricket in recent years, drew a large, enthusiastic attendance to the Vineyard on Sunday last. Railway Union won the toss and elected to field, and may have regretted this decision because the first Hills wicket (Calder, 52) did not fall until the score was 114. This was the best opening partnership by The Hills for a number of weeks, and it provided the foundation for a very solid batting performance, with the top scorer for The Hills being Jeremy Bray with a sparkling 93. There were solid contributions from Max Sorensen (19) and Naseer Shoukat (21), and a scintillating 39 from Joseph Clinton which pushed The Hills's score to a very impressive 265.
If Railway Union was to chase this score, it was imperative for them to have a good start, and the opening pair of Kenny Carroll and Tom Fisher batted very cautiously to put on 56 for the first wicket. Graham Mc Donnell was then outwitted by Matt Dwyer, and the second wicket fell at 72. There followed a tremendous partnership of 114 between Carroll (85) and Conor Mullen (54) which brought the score to 186, and caused a great deal of anxiety among the home supporters.
However even during this partnership, the required rate was escalating due to some very tight bowling by Jeremy Bray (0 for 28) and Matt Dwyer. The return of Max Sorensen and Naseer Shoukat to the bowling attack maintained this pressure, with Sorensen taking 4 wickets for 45, and Shoukat taking 3 for 52. The final seven Railway wickets fell for 54 runs, and The Hills were victorious by 25 runs.
This was a much improved performance from The Hills with a greater degree of solidity in the batting, and much more intensity in the bowling and fielding departments. Matt Dwyer made a very welcome return to first team duty, and The Hills's fans can now look forward to a visit to Malahide on Saturday next with renewed confidence.
