Cricket

Cricket News 2008/2009

Senior Cricket

Last summer term was spoiled by a very wet May resulting in the cancellation of three of the four matches organised.  Nevertheless, a young, talented and enthusiastic squad had many enjoyable sessions, many of which took place in the nets.

Simon Casey’s contribution as Captain was outstanding both as a player on the field and an organiser off the field. His solid technique made him a very difficult opening bat to dislodge and he was also a useful back up bowler. He scored an excellent 25 not out in the past pupils game and took one wicket for 25 runs. His opening partner, Oliver Ind, continued to improve and again showed that he is a special talent with bat and ball. He rarely missed a practice session. He was unluckily run out in the past pupils game but took 2 for 5 in an impressive bowling spell. Alex Tibshraeny also impressed with bat and ball. He scored 11 runs and took 1 for 13 in the past pupils match. Tom Turkington showed that he is one for the future. He possesses a good temperament and times the ball beautifully. He scored an excellent 19 runs against some quality past pupil bowling. Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan performed enthusiastically behind the stumps and continued to improve. He scored a very useful 10 runs in the past pupils match. In the same match, Rory Hurley scored a fine 13 runs and displayed excellent timing of the ball. Andrew Power also timed the ball well and fielded enthusiastically. Adam Pennington and Greg Harrigan showed considerable promise as bowlers and both enjoyed putting bat to ball. Adam took 2 for 3 in the past pupils game. John Mc Evoy, though young, shows great promise for the future. He is enthusiastic and works hard to improve his game. Daniel James enjoyed the game and batted well-another talented games player. Barry Cunningham attended virtually every practice session and to everyone’s delight, took a wicket in the past pupils match.

Two talented cricketers reached the final of the single wicket competition. Ned Hodson won the final beating Alex Tibshraeny in a disappointing but dramatic final. Alex batted first and was out first ball after a fine catch by Andrew Power. Ned then batted and scored a run off the first ball-game over!

The awards for the season were as follows:

Batting Cup           :    S. Casey
Bowling Cup         :    O. Ind
All-Rounder Award:    T. Turkington
Fielding Cup          :    A. Tibshraeny

Finally, my thanks to Jim Doran for his enormous contribution to Midleton College cricket.  For Jim cricket is not just a game, it’s a way of life!

Form 1 (U13s) and Form 2 & 3 (U15s) Cricket 2009

Those all-too-familiar schools’ cricketing foes -  the all-too-brief Summer term and the all-too-fickle May weather -  combined forces with a vengeance this year to severely restrict the lower school cricket activity. This was a pity as both the U13 squad and, particularly, the U15 squad had the potential to give any other school or youth team in the province a serious run for their money -  as we will see later on in this article.

A further pity was that cricket for the girls was similarly restricted so there wasn’t the opportunity to build on the success of the sessions run the previous year. But 2010 is not that far away and the Summer term next year is longer!

Given the circumstances this report will focus on the vital contribution that lower school pupils made to the Midleton CC cricket teams in 2009.

But first a brief mention of the one cricket contest to survive the vagaries of the Summer term. This was the Form 2 & 3 single wicket competition which featured three exciting matches between four of the best of the lower school players.

Oliver Ind reached the final with a relatively comfortable win over Luke Deane but the other semi-final was a thriller with Tom Turkington just shading victory by two runs over John McEvoy.

The final was even closer with Oliver Ind and Tom Turkington tied on 11 runs each with victory going to Oliver as he had bowled no wides to Tom’s one.

U13s

Midleton CC U13s squad in 2009 was almost, but not entirely, composed of Midleton College and St. John the Baptist NS pupils, a tribute to the important contribution both schools make to the fostering of cricket in the East Cork area.

Luke Deane captained the Midleton CC U13s and had a tremendous season with the bat in both the club’s U13 and U15 league campaigns - he was dismissed only once in four outings at U13 level. Match figures of 49 not out and 5 for 18 in the end of season friendly at Lismore demonstrate that he is starting to realise his potential to become one of the leading players in his age group in Munster.

Captain Luke was to the fore in Midleton’s opening 38 run U13 League win over Lismore with an unbeaten 29 ably supported by Andrew MacGregor’s 17 not out. Andrew’s brother Ciaran (a St. John the Baptist NS pupil) bowled a tidy spell of 2 for 18 to help dismiss Lismore for 71.

But this was a very good team performance with everyone contributing. Cormac O’Sullivan has developed into a very competent wicket-keeper, Brandon McEvoy just keeps getting better and better as a bowler (and he can bat too) and Ed Keane, in his first season of cricket, is another College cricketer to watch.

Paul Kingston is another key contributor whose determination and positive attitude has seen him overcome several injuries in the past two seasons.

It was a different story when Midleton travelled to face Cork County in August. A below par performance in the field allowed County to run up a total of 115 for 7.  Ciaran MacGregor was once again the pick of the Midleton bowlers with 1 for 14 off his 4 overs.

County’s total was well beyond Midleton on the day as only Cormac O’Sullivan with 12 managed to get into double figures.

The match against Cork Harlequins was rained off but the season ended on a high note with a 17 run defeat of Lismore in the friendly match in late September. Apart from Luke Deane’s match-winning performance noted above, it was Midleton’s fielding which caught the eye with superb catching from Andrew McGregor (2) and James Pope (1) and first rate bowling from Brandon McEvoy (2-16) and Andrew McGregor (1-6).

Midleton College players who featured in the U13 campaign included Luke Deane, Eoin Doyle, Ed Keane, Paul Kingston, Andrew McGregor, Brandon McEvoy, Cormac O’Sullivan and James Pope.

U15s

Thirteen Midleton College players contributed to Midleton CC U15’s victorious campaign in the 2009 Munster U15 League.

The performance in the opening League match against Cork Harlequins was ample proof of the old maxim, “bowlers win matches, batsmen lose them”.  Quins had no answers to Midleton’s six-man bowling attack and struggled to a total of 52 all out.

Captain Tom Turkington (1-6) and John McEvoy (0-10) produced seam bowling which was, at times, unplayable with Rory Hurley (2-6), Adam Pennington (1-5) and Ned Hodson (2-15) also wicket-takers in a flawless fielding and bowling display.

Although openers Daniel James and Bryan Moore went early, 52 was never going to be a defendable total and Midleton coasted home by eight wickets well inside the distance.

The weather took a hand for several weeks with Midleton’s comprehensive 189 run defeat of an inexperienced County Kerry side the only match completed until the end of season showdown versus Cork County at the Mardyke.

On a belter of a track, short or off-line bowling would be punished which is what too many of the Midleton bowlers provided and they were promptly despatched to all parts of the ground.

Only Tom Turkington’s bowling figures (0-29) survived the onslaught as County racked up 218 for the loss of just one wicket.
With Midleton needing to score at a rate of more than 7 runs per over, a big ask at any level of cricket, the smart money was on the Leesiders to take home the Denis Ryan Trophy in its inaugural year of competition

But Midleton openers Tom Turkington and Luke Deane were not daunted by the large target and both batted brilliantly under pressure before Deane was out just two short of his half-century with the score on 122.

The tide seemed to have turned in County’s favour as two further wickets followed in quick succession including skipper Turkington departing for an excellent 69, his second successive half-century.

His departure brought Ned Hodson and Oliver Ind together with 78 needed for victory with just under 10 overs left.  Showing admirable composure and batting intelligently Hodson (45no) and Ind (29no) pulled off a remarkable last-gasp win for Midleton by 7 wickets with just 3 balls to spare.

Midleton College players who featured in the U15 campaign included Tom Turkington, Luke Deane, Rory Hurley, Ned Hodson, Oliver Ind, Daniel James,
Brandon McEvoy, John McEvoy, Andrew McGregor, Bryan Moore, Adam Pennington, James Pope and John Sweetnam.

My thanks to everyone who participated in both school and club cricket in the past year, it continues to be a pleasure to coach in Midleton College and my thanks also go  to Clive Seale for his invaluable help with facilities and organisation.

It’s good to report that retirement has not lessened John Levis’ passion for and commitment to cricket in Midleton College and, as always, his support is integral and greatly appreciated.

The 2009 lower school cricket awards were as follows:
Form 1 Cricket Awards:    
Best Batsman        –     Andrew MacGregor;
Best Bowler        –     Andrew MacGregor;
Best All-rounder     –     Cormac O’Sullivan;
Most promising newcomer     –     Paul Kingston.

Form 2 & 3 Cricket Awards:
Best Batsman         –     Oliver Ind;                                                    
Best Bowler         –     John Albert McEvoy;
Best All-rounder    –     Thomas Turkington;
Most Improved Players (Joint Award) – Luke Deane, Rory Hurley, Adam Pennington.
The Spirit of Cricket Award
Donncha Gethins
 

Other Cricket News

Oliver Ind, John McEvoy and Tom Turkington were selected for the Munster U13 interprovincial team with Luke Deane nominated as the squad’s non-travelling reserve whilst Alex Tibshraeny was capped at U15 interprovincial level.

In June Midleton College Cricket Coach James Doran was appointed by Cricket Ireland as the first-ever Cricket Development Officer for the Munster region and in July he managed the Irish U15 team at the European Championships in Scotland.
- J.M.D.