2009 Season
Laois 1st II returned to winning ways with a comfortable victory over league leaders The Hills in Togher on Saturday.
Fielding first, Laois took wickets quickly thanks to steady bowling from the Laois attack. The return of Armand Smit and Clint Wilkie (3 wickets each) to the side put Laois into a strong position and had The Hills under a lot of pressure with only 80 runs on the board for the loss of 8 wickets. However, a bad spell of fielding allowed The Hills back into the game as there No. 9 batsmen scored 60 runs helping them to a total of 167 all out.
In reply, Laois got off to a good start thanks to Shazad and Mudassir. Laois chased the required runs with relative ease, with captain Jonny Yasin top-scoring with 50 as Laois came home winners by a 4 wicket margin. Laois will be hoping to build on this perfromance as they play Malahide away next Sunday.
On sunday, Laois 3rd II also played The Hills in Skerries in the Leinster Junior Cup. Laois fielded first and were happy to dismiss The Hills for a modest total of 150. Laois felt confident of chasing the runs, but the weather had different ideas. On 40 for 2, the game had to be abandoned due to rain, leading to the game being decided on a "bowl out" (cricket's equivalent to a penalty shoot-out). Unfortunately, luck was on the side of The Hills, as they won the bowl out 3-2, and now proceed to the semi-final. A disappointing result for Laois, but the third team is well ahead in the Leinster League at present, so skipper Adrian Tudor will still have a good opportunity to bring a trophy home to Laois season.