CUP FINALISTS DOMINANT AGAIN AS SMALL AND CONDRON CLAIM DIVISION 2 AWARDS

Yet again the Division 2 awards are claimed by the finalists of the Division's Cup, with Junior Cup champions North Kildare producing one winner, whilst runners-up Malahide accounted for the other successful candidate.

The leading batter in the 2021 edition of the Sprint Coatings Division 2 is Lucy Small. Small was a welcome return to North Kildare this season, having decided to return to the club where she learned her cricket.

The right-handed batter took a few innings to get going, but was remarkably consistent throughout most of the season. She passed 50 four times, twice going on to make a century – 110* against Clontarf 2^nd XI in a 47-run victory, and 103* against Malahide 2^nd XI in an incredible 146-run win. Small was player of the match in the Junior Cup Final, scoring 51 to help her team to a 31-run victory.

All told, Small made 492 runs in the season at an average of 82. Her teammate Melissa Scott-Hayward came second with a tally of 451 at an average of 75.2, and Leinter youngster Joanny Loughran came in third place with a run total of 298 at a healthy average of 42.6.

The bowling cup was a tight affair, Malahide’s Sarah Condron winning the award through slightly more economical figures in the end. Condron took on the captaincy of Malahide’s 2^nd XI in 2021 to work on her batting and she had a good year with the bat. But it is still her bowling that is most impressive.

The right arm swing bowler was economical in every game, her best performances came against YMCA 2^nd XI in the semi-final of the Junior Cup (4-0-15-3) which Malahide won by 3 runs. Soon after she took four wickets against Clontarf 2^nd XI, going for just five runs in her three overs.

She was impressive against a strong North Kildare 1^st XI; in a league game which her team lost by 146 she had remarkable figures of 4-0-13-2, and in the Junior Cup final – which her team lost by 31 runs – she bowled five overs, taking two wickets for just 8 runs.

Condron finished the season with 17 wickets at an average of 8.35. YMCA’s Alice Tector was close behind, also taking 17 wickets but at a slightly more expensive average of 8.35. In third place was last year’s winner of the award – Lauren Wilde from Rush took 16 wickets at an average of 8.69.