LEINSTER SCHOOLS SEAL SENSATIONAL LAST-DITCH WIN IN HOLYWOOD!

It was a truly remarkable end to Day 2 in the traditional Two Day Schools InterPro this evening, as for the second year in succession, Leinster Schools strangled a last ditch win out of their Northern counterparts with just minutes remaining in the match.

Like last year's fixture, it was the side from the North which won the toss and elected to bowl first. Leinster lost some early wickets, being reduced to 43/3 inside the first 15 overs of play, before a strong partnership of 60 between Bruce Whaley and Rob O'Brien took the score up well past 100.

The loss of Whaley for a fine 60 was more or less the end of the resistance for the Leinster side, as they succumbed to some strong bowling on the fresh Seapark wicket, eventually all out for 165 in the 38th over of Day 1.

This meant Leinster had a good run at the afternoon session in which they could attack the Northern batting line-up, however the rewards were not immediately forthcoming, as the home side moved to 77/2 after just 21 overs. Dangerman Seb Yates marshalled the side through a mini-collapse, finishing Day 1 on 107/5 with the game evenly poised.

The North got off to a strong start on Day 2, adding 46 runs to their total in the first 30 minutes of play, however, the next 10 were all about Leinster, as Benjamin Dillon claimed three of the five wickets to fall for just 5 runs, seeing the hosts falter from 153/5 to 157 all out in double-quick time, leaving Leinster with an 8-run lead and marginal advantage in nice batting conditions.

Things started poorly however, skipper Ethan Clarke watching on from the non-strikers end as three partners came and went before the score had reached 30, however that only succeeded in bringing Rob O'Brien to the crease, and The High School duo went about their work professionally.

At lunch they had brought their lead up beyond 130, with Clarke having passed his half-century in the process. The tactics post-lunch would prove crucial in this instance, and Leinster elected to go after the game with the aim of declaring with enough time to bowl their opposition out.

That was aided heavily by Rob O'Brien making brisk work of the task of bringing up his century, and in doing so guiding his team to a lead of 249. O'Brien's tempo of innings had meant that Leinster would have approximately 45 overs to bowl at their hosts.

The final innings got off to a dream start for the Leinster side, as Ethan Marshall blew opener Robinson's front pad off first ball of the innings. The Leinster seamers shared the wickets around in the spell before tea, leaving the North 22/3, before the second ball after tea saw Athur Morphew dismissing the dangerous Yates, a huge wicket after his first innings 71.

With 5 wickets needed in just over an hour, Leinster turned to their spinners, and just like in Merrion last season, the Belfast-based side had no answers for Rob O'Brien, who rolled out 12 overs of leg-spin claiming 2/32.

The hosts were just 10 minutes away from claiming a draw, before a heroic last-ditch spell from Bruce Whaley saw the Railway Union wicket-keeper claiming the final two wickets of the innings, not conceding a run off his spell, as Leinster Schools ran out 129 run winners with just 7 minutes to spare in the day!

Congratulations to all players involved in this victory, a brilliant days cricket played out in high drama, and a brilliant result for the Leinster Schools side.

Thanks also to the coaching/management team of Rob Delaney, Robert Forrest and Kenny Carroll for their work with the side across the two days.