Leinster made it two wins in two years as they defeated he North West to claim the Under 13 Interprovincial on a low scoring final day.
Leinster went into the closing day with a slight advantage with a win and a no result under their belt meaning they sat one point ahead of Munster and the North West who were level with one win apiece.
Bowling first on a variable Mardyke pitch, Leinster had the North West top order under pressure from the off which brought wickets with regularity. David Delaney was the destroyer-in-chief for the boys in blue as the young Clontarf man took three wickets for just 8 runs.
The victorious Leinster U13 squad at a visit to the Lord Mayor of Cork on Wednesday. Pic: Joe O'Mahony
Delaney was well backed up by Ross Staunton who also took an impressive three wickets for just five runs as Leinster steamrolled the North Westerners for just 69.
Despite losing three wickets, Leinster never looked like faltering during their response and they ran out comfortable winners to take the title with Jack Tector (28*) and Rory Anders (21*) seeing them home.
Up the hill at Cork Harlequins, the ground showed no signs of yesterday’s heavy rain and the sun shone brightly making the perfect setting for a days cricket.
However, it was far from a runs feast at the Farmers Cross ground as Munster struggled to put vital runs on the board against an accurate NCU attack. John Kelly top scored with 27, while opener Rory O’Keeffe made a quick fire 19 before he was dismissed.
The pressure appeared to be too much for the Munster-men as they were guilty of no less than five run outs. When the top order failed to fire, the tail was left exposed and they had to settle for 83 all out in the 36th over.
When play eventually got back underway after a long lunch break, the NCU’s response was initially far from convincing as they found themselves two down after the first over as Munster pace-man John Kelly continued his fine form from yesterday.
However, the supporters nerves were put at ease as Warringston’s Adam Dennison dug in and worked hard for 57 not out to see his side home for a six wicket victory; Matthew Hurst was the next highest scorer on 12.
MCU v NCU - Farmers Cross
MCU: 83 all out after 34.1 overs
J. Kelly 27, R. O’Keeffe 19, R. Jones 12, M. Hurst 2-10 (6 overs)
NCU: 84-4 after 35 overs
A. Dennison 57*, M. Hurst 12, J. Kelly 2-28
NCU win by 6 wickets
NWCU v LCU - Mardyke
NWCU: 69 all out (R. Staunton 3-5, D. Delany 3-8)
LCU: 70-3 after 25 overs (J. Tector 28*, R. Anders 21*)
LCU win by 7 wickets and take the title
© 2010 Munster Cricket Blog
July 7th, 2010 → 5:44 pm @ admin
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