Put into the field, Malahide's opening pairing of Charlie Askew and Beth Deacon bowled a great line and length.  They set an example that Matthew Langan, Oliver Jeffrey-Carrick, and Chris Deacon followed, all bowling with good economy.  Rohit Upadhyay and Michael Ranaghan took a wicket each.

Skipper, Howard Askew, explained to the team the need to attack they ball in the field and cut off the quick singles.  Malahide began to learn the lesson and the result was four run outs: one each to Rohit and Oliver and two to the excellent Beth.  Ronan Furlong is really developing as a keeper and kept tidily before swapping duties with Matthew who carried on the good work behind the stumps.  

Malahide had restricted Phoenix to 129, but our reply started badly with two wickets falling in the first over.  Chris (18*) and Mathew (35*) batted intelligently to rebuild the innings and put us in a good position at drinks when they both retired.  Unfortunately the batting that followed couldn't sustain the momentum, which left the adults the task of reaching the total.  The big-hitting Mark Deacon was undone by a straight delivery and then Howard demonstrated that it's possible to 'walk' on a run out.  In the end we fell 25 runs short of the target, a margin of defeat that emphasised the importance of every run stopped in the field.

Thanks to the parents on the boundary for the splendid refreshments and support.