A convincing win by Merrion Women’s 1st XI saw them sweep past Pembroke in the final of the Sprint Coatings Senior Cup at Sydney Parade. Merrion were the holders and have now won the trophy eighth time.
Merrion won the toss and batted first and having got a steady start were 40 without loss after 8 overs. When Cecelia Joyce [15] was out Polly Inglis [60] joined Leah Paul [59*] and from a solid foundations the pair were able to build momentum, eventually scoring at just over 10 runs an over for the remainder of the innings. Merrion’s final total of 165 / 2 was well above par on a good central wicket but with long boundaries.
The value of a good start was brought into relief when the Pembroke top order collapsed against the Merrion opening attack of Niamh MacNulty and Síbha Bhoja. There was really no recovery possible from 22/4 and wickets continued to fall to the Merrion spin attack. The wickets were well spread but with three each MacNulty and Bhoja led the way.
The full account of the match and scorecard can be found on the Cricket Leinster website.