With a sense of relief, and a helping hand from Merrion, Dublin University secured a narrow victory in the refixed RSA D2 match in College Park last night. In the final analysis the win by five wickets in the final over looked comfortable enough but it was Merrion who let slip the chance of springing a surprise.
Merrion II batted first and got off to a quick start thanks to Kade Beasley and Alan Parkinson. A few wickets lost and a late rally had Merrion on 111/4 with three overs remaining. That they only managed another ten runs for the loss of four wickets was the first opportunity missed. The main architect of the collapse was Conor Hoey who ended his four over spell with 4/9.
A score of 122 in twenty overs is no longer considered a major challenge and when DU raced to 25 in three overs the contest looked to be all but over. But an excellent four over spell by Stewart MacDonald [3/13] brought Merrion back into the game. In the end Dhruv Kapoor and Wian Verwoerd saw the students home in the last over. In this case a helpful Merrion contributed 24 extras [17 wides and 5 no balls]. The second opportunity missed.
The victory by DU, and the double points it brings, almost certainly assures them of Division II competition next year. With matches against Leinster II and Balbriggan to come they are in a good position to match their third place performance of last season.
For Merrion it is a chance missed and the battle to avoid relegation goes on. The full scorecard can be viewed in Results.