LEINSTER MARCH TOWARDS TITLE WHILST DEMPSEY STEALS THE SHOW IN THE PARK

Last night’s Sprint Coatings Division One saw wins for Leinster, Phoenix, Merrion and The Hills, as the former took another massive step towards winning the league title yet again in the 2021 season.

We’ll start off however with the game from the Phoenix Park, where teenage Irish International Georgina Dempsey tore up the record book with a simply outstanding innings of 139 from just 68 deliveries including 14 fours and 5 maximums, as she propelled her side to a mammoth 222/1 in their 20 overs.

Dempsey’s innings is the highest score in the history of Women’s Senior T20 cricket, surpassing Gaby Lewis’ 126* which she had set just a few weeks ago on 22^nd of July, Lewis also previously held the top three scores in the category. She was accompanied by 29 from Ella Pasley, with whom she shared a stand of 106, before her and Lara Maritz shared an unbroken partnership of 116 for the second wicket.

Their total of 222/1 proved to be 36 too many for their visitors, as Pembroke could manage just 186/7 from their 20 overs. Dempsey was again on fire with the ball, taking 4 wickets including the top three of Mary Waldron (53), Hannah (0) and Lou Lou Little (51) whilst there were two wickets for Ashlee King as the home side ran out 36 run victors.

The featured game of the evening came from Rathmines, where YMCA, weakened by the absence of the Lewis sisters, won the toss and elected to bat first against Leinster. Stand-in skipper Jenny Gray and wicket-keeper Sarah Forbes opened the batting for the visitors. Both openers fell for just three apiece as Forbes missed a sweep off Eimear Richardson to be plumb LBW, whilst Gray was bowled by an excellent Ava Canning delivery.

YM’s innings could never get going from there, and they were not aided by an injury to Lucy O’Reilly which saw her need the assistance of runner whilst batting, and later prevented her from bowling. She became Canning’s second victim for 7 with the score on 28, and whilst Kate McEvoy dug in at the other end, Emma McEvoy and Amelia Flanagan both fell for ducks in the space of three balls off the bowling of Richardson. Just two runs were added between those wickets and the end of the openers spells, as after 8 overs Canning (2/10) and Richardson (3/15) completed their spells and passed the ball on.

Laura Delany dismissed Kate McEvoy for 6 in her first over, before running out Vanshika Shukla in Sue O’Connor’s first over from the opposite end. The Leinster skipper then dismissed Alice Tector caught and bowled, before bowling Lucy Deacon to claim her third wicket for just three runs. O’Connor then rounded off the innings by trapping Mya Naughton LBW for a duck to see YMCA all out for just 41.

Leinster sent out regular openers Rebecca Rolfe and Ellen Ridgeway in pursuit of the 42 runs they needed for victory, Rolfe was bowled in the first over by Kate McEvoy for a duck bringing Maria Kerrison to the crease in what was a change to Leinster’s usual batting line-up. Her and Ridgeway progressed the score to 21 before an Alice Tector over caused absolute havoc.

Firstly she pinned Kerrison in front to be LBW for 6, before more tight bowling accompanied by excellent fielding in the ring saw both Jenny Sparrow and Joanna Loughran run out. Emma McEvoy then entered the fray, replacing her sister, to bowl Ellen Ridgeway for 9. Ava Canning hammered the last ball of her over to the straight boundary, but she was no match for a Tector delivery in the next over and was out for 5.

When Emma McEvoy bowled Katie Dillon for a duck, YMCA had finally broken through to Leinster’s current internationals, as at 38/7 Eimear Richardson joined Isabel Saeed-Maguire. The pair added the four runs necessary to confirm the three wicket victory, retaining their unbeaten league season and move Leinster a step closer to the title.

In Milverton, The Hills pulled off an incredible turnaround to beat Clontarf, as an unbeaten 10^th wicket stand of 54 between Tess Maritz (39*) and Aimee Maguire (11*) including 20 runs off the final over saw them manage the improbable chase of 130 having been 76/9.

Batting first, Clontarf amassed 129/3 with contributions of 25 from Anna Kirk and 34 from Aoife Brennan supporting Alice Walsh’s top score of 35*. Katie Boylan (1/26) and Natasha Morton (1/16) the only successful bowlers for The Hills.

Three wickets for leg-spinner Cara Murray, supported by two apiece for teenagers Anna Marshall and Freya Sargent saw Clontarf squeeze The Hills to the brink of defeat at 76/9, before Maritz and Maguire came together to provide the heroics and see their side to an unlikely victory.

Finally in Malahide, Merrion batted first and thanks to 63 from Leah Paul and 50 from Rebecca Stokell put together a decent score of 142/7. Anna Kerrison’s 3/30 was the pick of the bowling wickets-wise, whilst Sarah Condron’s opening spell of 4 overs 1/8 ensured Merrion didn’t get off to the flying start Stokell is capable of.

Malahide were without the services of Amy Hunter this evening, and it was Anna Kerrison who stood up to the plate, and although her score of exactly 50 rounded off a good all-round day for herself, there just wasn’t enough support alongside her as they could manage just 121/6 in their 20 overs. Merrion’s spinners were on top as Julianne Morrissey took 2/18, but it was Celeste Raack who was the pick of the bowlers with 2/15 from her four overs.

SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE

At Observatory Lane
YMCA – 41/10, 11.5 overs (L Delany 3/3, E Richardson 3/15, A Canning 2/10)
lost to
Leinster – 42/7, 9.5 overs (E McEvoy 2/7, A Tector 2/18)
by 3 wickets

At Phoenix Park
Phoenix – 222/1, 20 overs (G Dempsey 139, L Maritz 33*, E Pasley 29)
beat
Pembroke – 186/7, 20 overs (M Waldron 53, L Little 51; G Dempsey 4/36, A King 2/18)
by 36 runs

At Milverton
Clontarf – 129/3, 20 overs (A Walsh 35*, A Brennan 34, A Kirk 25)
lost to
The Hills – 130/9, 19.5 overs (T Maritz 39*; C Murray 3/22, A Marshall 2/15, F Sargent 2/17)
by 1 wicket

At Malahide
Merrion – 142/7, 20 overs (L Paul 63, R Stokell 50; A Kerrison 3/30)
beat
Malahide – 121/6, 20 overs (A Kerrison 50; C Raack 2/15, J Morrissey 2/18)
by 21 runs