HIGH FIVES FOR TONGE AND BALA AS BOLTS VICTORIOUS IN THE MARDYKE!

It was utter dominance for the Sherwin O'Riordan Leinster Lightning Bolts this afternoon in The Mardyke, as five-wicket hauls for Mark Tonge and Yash Bala saw them securing a victory, and accompanying bonus point, by 258 runs to top the One-Day table after the opening round of fixtures.

Whilst the bowlers were ultimately the stars of the show, the day kicked off brilliantly for the batters in the Bolts side, as firstly Philippe le Roux won the toss, and then the Lightning prospects went about their work. 66 were added for the first wicket before Matthew Langan was run out for 20, however he and Tom Johnson had gotten the side off to a strong start.

Johnson added a further 86 with left-hander Rob O'Brien, before he was dismissed for 68. This brought the skipper le Roux to the crease to join his Railway team-mate, and that duo added exactly 50 before O'Brien was third out for 86 from just 78 deliveries.

John McNally joined his captain in the middle, and the Bolts' innings went into overdrive, the pair adding 80 in the next 51 deliveries before le Roux was fourth out for 52, the third man to pass a half-century in the innings. This didn't deter McNally however, as he quickly became the fourth man to pass the milestone, before dominating a stand of 48 in the final 22 deliveries, eventually finishing unbeaten on 81 from just 37 balls, including three fours and six maximums in boosting Leinster to 330/5 in their 50 overs.

The lunch break was about the only respite that the Munster Heat could avail of all afternoon, as the first over of their chase saw Mark Tonge setting the tone, with a double wicket maiden essentially ending any slim hopes the side had of mounting a decent chase.

Tonge went on to claim five of the first seven wickets to fall, finishing with excellent figures of 5/35 in a fiery seven over spell that saw Munster reeling and the score on just 57.

Yash Bala had joined him in the attack, bowling the 12th over, and he too claimed two scalps in his first six deliveries, dismissing Stevenson and Shinde and in doing so exposing the tail.

Bala didn't need long to wrap up proceedings, as he ultimately one-upped Tonge, finishing with 5/11 in just 4.4 overs and seeing the Leinster Lightning Bolts utterly comprehensive winners inside just 19.4 overs, with skipper le Roux not even considering the use of a fifth bowler.

That tees up an important pair of games next week, as the Lightning Bolts will play host to the NCU side on Tuesday and Wednesday (11th & 12th) in Oak Hill.