WM League - 14 September 2008

Malahide 153/8 off 50 overs v The Hills 21/1 off 7 overs Match Abandoned

On a dewy morning the toss was won by Malahide, who surprisingly decided to bat first. Nick Turner started brightly with a series of drives through the gaps, but tight bowling by both Sorenson and skipper Luke Clinton kept a lid on things.

The introduction of spin twins - Dwyer (Matt) and van de Merwe (Albert) - after only ten overs really turned the screw on Malahide and 46/1 became 68 for 5 with Van der Merwe in particular getting excessive turn and unpredictable bounce. Their twenty overs saw them concede 23 runs each, with one wicket for Matt and three for Albert.

As is often the way the arrival of Phil Markey, coupled with the return of Sorenson and the introduction of the other Dwyer, changed the game somewhat. A series of very big hits from Phil (22 off 14 balls), one in particular agreed by all to be the biggest seen in Malahide (the ball landed in the gardens on the far side of the road), gave Malahide the impetus needed to set a reasonable total of 158 off their 50 overs. Andy Pyne was the last man standing with 22*. Max bowled his ten for 19 (without success) and Luke's ten went for 35 (just the one wicket). Mike Baumgart bowled 4 overs of makeweights and picked up a very reasonable 2/13.

As the teams went off for tea the drizzle started and the covers were put on. The drizzle got steadier, but then diminished and the players were able to make it out for a reduced innings of 35 overs (128 was the revised target). Paddy Byrne was well beaten by a snorter from Getgate that saw the off bail land at least 15 yards outside the big circle, but that was the only real moment of note before the rains closed in and the day was abandoned after only 7 overs.