The U13A boys finished second in a competitive, tense and entertaining encounter at Rush.  At the start of the innings, Malahide took the name of the opposition as an instruction.  We reached 96 off the first ten overs, thanks to Wilhelm’s 28, Jack’s 18 and Elliot’s exhibition of power hitting (retired on 31), including one six that cleared the protective netting by some distance.  In the next ten overs, the Rush bowlers regained control taking vital wickets and becalming our batsmen.  Only Oliver J-C kept the score ticking over with 13 not out and Malahide ended the innings on 134 for 6.  

The trajectory of the Rush innings mirrored ours, thanks in part to some overly generous bowling and fielding from Malahide.  Mathew and Wilhelm stemmed the run flow, but we only took one wicket, a superb direct hit for a run out by James.  Rush overhauled our total with just eight balls to spare to win by 9 wickets.  

The differences between the sides were minimal, but where they lost one wicket, we lost six and where they held their chances, ours failed to stick.  Ten more runs scored or saved in the field might have turned the game for Malahide, but by such small margins are close games decided.  To push a good Rush side close is no small achievement and the boys' keenly-felt disappointment can act as motivation for future games.