A NEW CHAMPION IN THE OFFING - SPRINT COATINGS SEMI-FINAL ROUND-UP (JULY 16TH)

There will be a new name on the Sprint Coatings Leinster Senior Cup this year, as this evening's semi-finals have seen The Hills and Phoenix progress to the showpiece final on August 5th, defeating last year's finalists Pembroke and Merrion respectively.

Starting off in the Phoenix Park, the home side batted first, however they lost two wickets in the first over of their innings, as Síbha Bhoja knocked over both Georgina Dempsey and Siúin Woods when there were just two runs on the board.

Gaby Lewis took the game by the scruff of the neck, dominating firstly a stand of 69 with Nevedha Saravanarajan, who contributed 20, before a stand of 116 with Zara Craig, who made an unbeaten 41 from just 36 balls. When Lewis was eventually dismissed, the score was 187 and Phoenix were well ahead of the game, eventually finishing with 197/4 from their 20 overs.

Merrion's chase got off to a rapid start, as a new opening pair of Izzy Joyce and Rebecca Stokell put on a stand of 97 in the first 10 overs, before Joyce was dismissed by Arisha Foysal for exactly 50. Stokell added 20 with Annabel Squires before falling for 20, and there was double joy for Sophie McDonough just three balls later as she then dismissed Leah Paul as well.

Foysal then claimed the wicket of Squires, grinding the Merrion chase to a halt, and seeing her spell finish with 2/28, before McDonough rounded off her spell with another brace of wickets to finish with 4/27 in her four overs, as Phoenix restricted Merrion to just 162/6 and a 35 run victory.

Meanwhile in Skerries, once again The Hills batted first, and it was Tahlia Dunne who was in the runs this week. She batted excellently whilst wickets fell continuously at the far end, making 58 and not being dismissed until the 18th over of the innings with the score on 123.

Sarah Forbes and Mhairi Nicoll were the pick of the bowlers for the away side, taking two wickets apiece at a cost of 26 and 23 runs respectively, as in spite of these efforts, The Hills managed a strong finish as Rebecca Gough and Cliodhna O'Reardon both stepped up to the plate having moved up a position each in the order, with scores of 21 and 23* apiece.

The Hills defence got off to the absolute perfect start, as Lara McBride dismissed Orla Prendergast for just 2 and put the home side on the front foot. Elise Noble then affected the run out of Lou Lou Little, however Pembroke stayed in the game thanks to Forbes and Shauna Kavanagh. The pair advancing the score to 70 at the halfway stage,

At this stage however Forbes and Clare Shillington fell in the space of three balls, and Kavanagh was left to rebuild with Eimear Mullen. The pair added 50 for the 5th wicket, however the scoring rate just lifted too quickly, as excellent spells of 1/21 from Noble, and 1/22 from McBride, ensured that The Hills kept the pressure right on Pembroke, and secured a 17 run victory for the Skerries outfit.

The Sprint Coatings Senior Cup Final will take place on August 5th, in Sydney Parade, and will be live streamed on the Cricket Leinster YouTube channel.