In recent years there has been some discussion about whether the 60 Over competition used for the Leinster Senior Cup had a future. Players liked the change from the standard 20/50 overs formats but it took up the whole day [and often quite late into the evening], caused some disruption to youth cricket on Saturday mornings and involved extra cost on clubs in staging the matches.
Against this the 1st Round of the LSC yesterday showed up some of the strengths of the competition. In Castle Avenue Clontarf appeared to be down and out at 84/6, chasing Leinster’s first innings of 200, when Adrian D’Arcy and Joe Morrissey put together a century stand that set up a great win. D’Arcy carried his bat for 114 and led Clontarf to a remarkable victory. In the first innings Leinster also had to recover from the loss of early wickets [M Granger 5/24] and JP O’Dwyer [58] and T Ritchie [93*] also had a partnership of over a 100.
In the Park, Phoenix looked to have laid the foundations for a win with a massive first innings total of 327/7 [Anderson 91, Taylor 79 and Ahmed 76]. But YMCA kept their composure throughout their innings and maintained a steady pace, keeping wickets in hand and never letting the run rate get out of hand. A win by eight wickets sounds comfortable enough but a couple of wickets at any stage could have turned the match on its head. As it transpired YMCA planned it perfectly and secured the win in the gloom in the 59th over. There were two centuries in the innings Jack Tector [107] and Simmi Singh [125*].
Milverton saw another tense match with fluctuating fortunes. Pembroke batting first and lost early wickets but a century stand between Jono Cook [70] and Lorcan Tucker [50] saw them post a competitive 249/9 in the 60 overs. Although The Hills reached 100/2 in very good time and looked comfortable, wickets fell steadily thereafter and when the 7th wicket went down at 167 Pembroke were well on top. But Tomas Murphy led a fightback and at 198/7, with plenty of overs remaining, The Hills looked like they were back in with a chance. But three wickets for four runs from Jack Balbirnie, introduced late in the innings, finished off the match.
Although North County could be said to have never really lost control of their match against Balbriggan they were made to fight all the way. Balbriggan were another team to lose early wickets and Mooney and Harper with out with only four runs on the board. Balbriggan made something of a recovery from their disasterous start but the final total of 135 never looked like being enough. North County also lost a couple of early wickets but at 89 for the loss of only two wickets the game seemed in the bag. But six more wickets were to fall before North County were finally able to get over the line.
The Cork County v Railway Union game was abandoned with Cork in a strong position. Malahide defeated Rush but there were no reports on the match and no scorecard.
The debate will continue on the merits or otherwise of having a 60 over competition. But there were more centuries yesterday than in all the league matches played in D1 and D2 so far this season. Of the four matches reported on, all were competitive, one featured a run-chase of considerable merit and another may well prove to be one of the games of the season. The longer form of the game seemed to offer something different in terms of batting and bowling. It may not be the ideal preparation for the multi-day form of the game but it does provide something not found in the standard 20/50 formats. Certainly there have been many one-sided 60 over matches in the past, especially when the team batting first posts a large total. But as yesterday demonstrated the run chase, whether counting down a large total, recovering from a ‘lost’ position or defending against a batting fight back, is great for the spectators [if hard on the nerves]. It is also where the character of players and teams are forged. The longer form of the one-day game allows the batting team time to recover from a collapse and keep the game alive. It gives time for batsmen to build an innings. It tests the stamina, fitness and concentration of players. Whether this is enough to justify its continued existence is really up to the players to decide.