In what has proved to be an excellent year for the Merrion youth teams, the club has reached the final of three out of the six All Ireland Youth Competitions, winning two. The latest to ascend the winner’s podium is the Boys U17 team.
On Friday [22nd Aug], at Anglesea Road, the U17s had to win through a tough semi-final against Lisburn before they could take on Brigade in the final. In the first game they lost the toss and were put in to bat. A careful start in the ‘power play’ put them under some pressure but critically they had not lost any wickets and were able to up the scoring rate in the second half of the innings. The foundations were laid by the openers Olly Molins [33] and Abhra Nasiri [29]. Seb Dijkstra then led the charge with 49 off 27 balls and had good late support from Kian Fredricks with 22 off 13.
A total of 157/4 in their 20 overs may have been a little less than Merrion were hoping for but it was certainly competitive with the added pressure on the visitors of having to chase in a semi-final.
An early wicket by Toby Houchin added to the pressure but a spirited Lisburn side kept in the game and managed to get to 114 for six wickets with five overs to go. Some big hitting towards the end caused some consternation among the anxious parents but the boys held their nerve and when Harry Walker [31 from 16 balls] became the ninth wicket to fall with the score 135 at the start of the 18th over the game was effectively won. Lisburn were finally bowled out in the last over for 143. Houchin was the pick of the bowlers with 3/18, but everyone got into the act [Nasiri 1/22, Dijkstra 2/28, Will Cleere 1/29 and Casey 2/45].
The final was against Brigade who also won the toss and put Merrion into bat. Again the openers, Sam McKee [38] and Molins [18], laid the foundations with 75 runs coming before the first wicket fell in the 10th. Dijkstra again provided the accelerant, this time reaching his half century before being caught for 60 off 31 balls in the 19th over. In this case the main support came from Cleere [14] and two late boundaries from Houchin [9 off 3]. In all honesty Brigade were generous with 21 extras and several expensive mistakes in the field.
Brigade got off to a flying start and were 35 in the 4th over before the first wicket fell. They continued to find the boundaries and had reached 81 in the 11th over when an excellent ball from Dijkstra deceived Charlie Gault [27 from 23]. Dijkstra then called his fellow leg-spinner Sam Casey into the attack and he took the two remaining top order batsman to end with figures of 2/22. At the other end Alex Casey got through the defences twice to finish with 2/10. With Nasiri [1/27] and Jack Casey [1/6] taking the other wickets the innings closed after 20 overs at 147/7.
The full scorecards can be found here
https://live.nvplay.com/play/?tab=c_matches#cffaf8ea6-12fa-422a-be4a-462d0ec19e02
While the bowling and fielding perhaps did not display the discipline of the Leinster Cup final against Railway Union, in both games wickets were taken at crucial points to ensure that neither game got away from them. In both matches the fielding was better than their opponents with some outstanding catches. Dijkstra did an excellent job getting the best from his team while Molins behind the stumps has a very good day taking important dismissals but also supporting the ground fielding.
Over the three Irish Cricket Union finals days Merrion teams [Girls U13, Girls U15 and Boys U17] won five of their six matches and claimed two trophies. One of the best years ever for our youth teams. The next All-Ireland outing for the club is the Womens T20 final on the 1st September.
The U17 Merrion Team. S Dijkstra [C], O Molins [WK], S McKee, K Fredricks, W Cleere, A Casey, T Houchin, S Casey, J Casey, B Gogan, A Nasiri.
The only outstanding question, who are the two interlopers in the parents / grand parents and team photo?