Laois Cricket Club

Record breaking success for Laois Cricket Club in Midland Cup Double

Laois Cricket Club saw club records smashed last weekend as they enjoyed a memorable Double success in the Midland Cup competitions.

In Bagenalstown Cricket Club, Laois first team won the Wallace Cup by defeating North Kildare by 3 wickets. Bowling first, Laois bowled exceptionally tightly, making scoring very difficult for the North Kildare batsmen. At the half-way stage, North Kildare had only scored 30 runs for the loss of 3 wickets from 22 overs, and had yet to score a boundary. North Kildare were eventually dismissed in the 44 over for a total of 122 runs. The Laois bowling and fielding was superb all-round. Opener, Clint Auret, was the most disciplined bowler, giving away only 6 runs from his 6 over spell. Jonny Yasin was the main wicket taker, taking 4 in total. In the field, a good catch on the boundary by Matthew Auret, and two runouts following fielding by Shazad were highlights of a good team-effort in the field by Laois.

Batting second, despite scoring steadily at 5 runs an over, Laois never really settled to build any steady partnerships. Loosing wickets steadily, Laois looked in real trouble when their seventh wicket fell in the 15 over with the score on 70. However, when Jonny Yasin joined Shazad at the crease, they built a steady partnership, playing sensibly by hitting the bad balls and respecting the good ones. Jonny (32 runs) and Shazad (28 runs) saw it home in the 22 over to take the game by 3 wickets. Shazad was honoured as Man-of-the-Match following his strong all-round performance – a popular decision among the travelling Laois supporter(s)!!!

Many thanks to Bagenalstown Cricket Club for their hospitality and work in hosting the final.

In the Dick O’Neill Cup final played at Togher, the Laois second team secured victory over Mullingar seconds in the most dramatic of styles. Batting first, Laois Scored a 315 runs off their 40 overs. Opener Mudassir scored a massive 157 runs – a new club record. Before this game, Clive Wardrop had (somewhat proudly) held the record of 156 runs. Congratulations Mudassir! Mudassir was also well supported by William Blackley (36) and Tom Cosby (66).

In the field, Laois dismissed Mullingar for 121 runs to take victory by 194 runs, with Adrian Tudor, Ben Hur and Clive Wardrop all taking 2 wickets each. Skipper Adrian Tudor was delighted to accept the trophy. It was also a special day for William Blackley who has played in every Dick O’Neill Cup Final that Laois Cricket Club has ever won – a great achievement.

Despite the competitive Leinster leagues (mainly involving Dublin-based teams) dominating the cricket calendar for most of the season, Midlands Cricket is an equally important part of the season for the Laois club. This is mainly due to the manner in which Midlands cricket is historically played, holding firm to some of the more traditional aspects of the game. While Laois have enjoyed success in Leinster in recent years, the winning these two competitions on Sunday remains a coveted prize. Well done to Jonny, Adrian and their two teams. Congratulations to Matthew Auret who was awarded ‘Midlands Young Player of the Year 2009.”

On Saturday, Laois first team beat Clontarf by 2 wickets in the Leinster League. Bowling first, Clontarf were all out for 138 thanks to the bowling of Armand Smit (3 wickets for 19 runs off 9 overs) and John Ozenbrook (2 wickets for 28 runs off 9 overs). Laois chased the total for the loss of 8 wickets thanks to Rixi Fuller (38) and Jonny Yasin (25).

Wallace Cup Final 2009. Laois vs. North Kildare @ Bagenalstown CC.

Sun 16 April 2009.