Two weeks ago across the Open and Womens competitions Merrion had secured just one league title. By the end of the final week of the season we had four, with last round triumphs seeing Merrion teams come from behind to win three more leagues.
Perhaps the most dramatic victory was that of the 2nd XI [Open Competitions] in the Second XI Premier League when Merrion came from third place to overtake Pembroke and Malahide. At the start of the day Merrion had to defeat league leaders Malahide at Anglesea Road while Balbriggan [who had nothing to play for] had to prevent Pembroke winning in Jack Harper Park. Adding to the spice, the weather was inclement to say the least.
There was a delayed start in both games but Pembroke still managed 253/9 in their 32 over game. It might have been enough but it was never put to the test as a heavy shower ended the game at the half way point.
Meanwhile in Merrion the ground staff [led by Conor Austin] was doing everything possible to protect the pitch and make sure that the game could be played to a conclusion. It started off as a 43 over game and after a solid start from the top order [Daniel Forkin 35 / Vikan Dhiman 17 / Sean Stanton 22] the home team reached 76/1 in the 18th over. A mini-collapse followed but a 49 run partnership between Peter Forkin [31] and JJ Cassidy [21] rescued the innings. In the end a score of 187 all out in difficult conditions looked competitive.
And so it proved. Early wickets from Sean Stanton [2/18] and Hugh Kennedy [2/23] put Malahide on the backfoot and they never really recovered. Peter Forkin capped an excellent day by taking 3/24 and he was well supported by Vipul Kashyap [2/12]. Malahide were eventually bowled out for 100 in 21 overs. All in all an excellent team performance.
The full scorecard can be found here.
https://www.cricketleinster.ie/match-centre/match/2JME41RSKX
We have already reported on the Womens 1st XI winning the treble, https://www.merrioncricketclub.ie/homepage/merrions-women-achieve-the-treble/ but the 2nd XI added the league title to contribute to what proved an excellent season for the women. The manner of victory in this case, a walkover in the final round, did not take from the performance throughout the season in winning 10 games [plus a walkover] from 14.
The 3rd XI had no such pressure and eventually ran out comfortable winners of their league with 12 wins out of 14 games, with over 300 points, well ahead of their nearest rivals.