Laois Cricket Club

Saturday - Lalor takes 5 wickets as Laois triumph over Malahide

The Laois II team continued their impressive run of form in the Leinster League in Togher on Saturday with a narrow seven run win over Malahide. Batting first, Laois looked like they were coasting to a big score thanks to strong batting at the top of the order by Norman Batanda (28), Willie Lalor (39) and Shazad (76). However, after having 171 on the board at the fall of the third wicket, Laois collapsed to finish 189 all out in the 33rd over.

In the field, Laois were put under pressure by Malahide, who only narrowly failed to reach the target before being finally all out for 181 runs, giving Laois a seven run victory. The Laois bowling must take great credit for securing the win. In particular, Willie Lalor showed great promise for the remainder of the season when he took 5 wickets in total for only 31 runs off his 9 over spell. He was well supported by skipper Iain Woodward (3 wickets for 35 runs off 10 overs).

Sunday - Laois lose to Clontarf in Senior II Cup

The Laois first team were less successful in their outing in the Senior II cup quarter final in Clontarf on Sunday. Having lost to Clontarf in last year’s final, Laois were eager for revenge. However, it wasn’t to be, as after leaving themselves a lot to do with the bat, Laois were beaten by 26 runs.

Fielding first, Laois struggled all day in the field. A lazy performance saw sloppy leaking of singles and boundaries, combined with failure to take all catching opportunities, resulted in Clontarf scoring very quickly early in the innings. Despite the usual tight bowling of Clint Wilkie in the middle of the innings (4 for 30 off 10), Laois were left chasing a high score of 271.

While the total was big, it wasn’t impossible. However, Laois lost too many wickets too early in the innings. When Armand Smit was caught on 28, Laois were 90 runs with 5 wickets down. However, a 94 run partnership by Rixi Fuller (32) and Shazad (67) brought the score to 184 when the 6 wicket fell, and Laois looked back in the game. But then the next 2 Laois batsmen failed to score and Laois looked dead and buried on 190 for 9. Not even a great captain’s knock by Jonny Yasin that saw 55 runs scored before the last wicket fell was enough to save the game, as Laois were eventually all out for 245 after 37 overs.