PEMBROKE SCRAPE THROUGH IN DRAMATIC FINISH!

This evening’s game of the day saw plenty of drama, as Pembroke saw off The Hills by 4 wickets with just 2 balls to spare.

The Hills skipper Aisling Byrne won the toss and elected to bat first, their innings however got off to a dreadful start as Clíodhna O’Reardon was run out without facing a single delivery, Robyn Searle dominated a partnership of 30 with Aisling Byrne before the latter was bowled by Louise McCarthy, then 18 runs later both Naomi Matthews and Searle were dismissed for 5 and 30 respectively in consecutive balls to Kimli McDonald, leaving the away side 53/4 and in a bit of trouble.

Miranda Andrews however took the game into her hands and shared a partnership of 41 with Katie Boylan who made 11, before an unbroken stand of 29 with Aimee Maguire (12*) saw them to a final total of 123/5 in their 20 overs. Kimli McDonald was the pick of the Pembroke bowlers taking 2/11 from her 3 overs, whilst Louise McCarthy also bowled excellently to take 1/13 from 4 overs.

Pembroke’s reply started well, Mary Waldron and Clare Shillington bringing the score to 28 before the latter was dismissed for 9 by Lara McBride, Waldron dominated partnerships of 24 with Lainey Martin and 29 with Zoe Bell, bringing the score to 86 before disaster for the home side.

Firstly Louise McCarthy ran herself out by taking on Lara McBride at mid-wicket, before Mary Waldron hit the following ball straight up in the air for Naomi Matthews to take a comfortable return catch, Isobel Jennings was adjudged to be run out just four runs later and at 90/6 Pembroke were in a far less comfortable position than they had been 10 runs earlier.

Mhairi Nicoll and Lucy Robinson added 16 runs before the latter retired, bringing Anna Beale to the crease with 18 runs needed to win. Beale swatted a boundary immediately to the deep square leg boundary to calm the Pembroke nerves slightly.

Good rotation saw just 7 needed from the final over, when Beale hit the first ball for four again to deep backward square it was followed by a dot, wide and a single, bringing Mhairi Nicoll on strike with one to win, a wide unfortunately was a rather anticlimactic finish to the game, however a four wicket win sees Pembroke through to the semi-final stages.

They will face Clontarf after their own four wicket victory against Malahide in Castle Avenue, the away side made 88/6 thanks to 33 from Anna Kerrison, Emma Butler the pick of the bowlers for the home side taking 2/13 from 4 overs. Freya Sargent’s unbeaten 24 was the main contribution in the chase as Beth Deacon took 2/16 for the away side.

YMCA meanwhile had a comfortable 42 run win over Phoenix in the park, Sophie Strickland made an unbeaten 62, whilst there were 21 apiece for Sarah Forbes and Kate McEvoy as they scored 137/4 in their 20 overs. Forbes was then the pick of the bowlers for the away side taking 2/10 as Phoenix could manage just 95/4 from their 20 overs in reply.

In Anglesea Road Merrion batted first and made 163 from their 20 overs, Celeste Raack and Annabel Squires shared a 97 run opening partnership as the skipper passed a half century. Two wickets for Síbha Bhoja was the stand out bowling performance as the home side restricted Leinster to just 126 in spite of a half-century from teenager Joanna Loughran, seeing Merrion to a 37 run victory.

SPRINT COATINGS SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINALS

WEDNESDAY 13^TH JULY

At Sydney Parade – Pembroke vs Clontarf

At Claremont Road – YMCA vs Merrion