Although the victory by eight wickets might suggest otherwise, the semi-final match between Pembroke and Merrion in the Senior Womens Cup was a close fought affair. It says a lot about the improvement in the standard of the womens game, especially the bowling and the fielding, that between the main teams there are no easy pickings for the batting side. Fields are well set and for most of the innings runs have to be accumulated.
Pembroke batted first and despite losing Kim Garth and Cathy Murphy early, Shauna Kavanagh and Louise McCarthy batted steadily and brought the score to over 100 before McCarthy was out in the 19th over. The final score of 113/3 looked a little below par for which Merrion could thank their four main bowlers Rachel Delany [1/23], Hannah de Burg White [1/9], Isobel Joyce [1/19] and Julianne Morrissay [0/19].
A couple of lively spells from Kim Garty [1/8] ensured that Merrion would have to fight for their runs. A solid start from Kate McKenna [30] and Leah Paul [23] came to an end with an outstanding piece of fielding from Kavanagh who made a great stop and then threw down the wicket to run out Paul. Joyce [41*] came in at number three and gradually with McKenna took the game from Pembroke with a stand of 67. McKenna was out late on but the damage had been done and Merrion won with six balls to spare.