Merrion won the Womens Senior League [sponsored by Sprint Coatings] for the seventh time since the competition was relaunched in 1977. It was a tense evening as Merrion needed a win against The Hills to guarantee the league title. Going into the match three pathways were open. Merrion could win their match and secure their position at the top of the table. Merrion might lose and then the title would go to Pembroke, provided they won their final game against Leinster. The third option, which few expected, was that both the leading teams lost and Merrion would be the overall winners.
Merrion batted first in their away game at Milverton. Early wickets were lost and the total of 119/4 was thanks to 49* from Cecelia Joyce, with good support from Annabelle Squires [21]. It was a competitive, but not a convincing score and with The Hills getting a good start and generally keeping up with the run rate the tension rose. A couple of run outs helped but the bowlers could not make any inroads into The Hills’ batting. Their cause was not helped by conceding 8 no balls and 13 wides. In the end the game was lost in the 19th over for the loss of only three wickets.
Disappointment quickly turned to elation when the result of the Pembroke v Leinster was announced. In a very close game Leinster had won by 6 runs and thereby handed the title to Merrion.
A full account of the match can be found on the Cricket Leinster website. https://www.cricketleinster.ie/news/merrion-secure-title-in-tense-final-day-of-drama