An eagerly awaited re-fixed match against The Hills in the Junior T20 Cup competition nearly faltered before it began on Thursday evening in The Village. Just as preparations were underway and the teams were in the changing rooms, the heavens opened and a massive thunderstorm crossed the ground causing coaches, players and ground staff running for cover.

After a wild and apocalyptic 40 minutes or so, brightness started to reappear and the noise of rock music from the concert in the Castle grounds replaced the thuds of thunder - time to play!

Winning the toss, Captain Jack Grant put The Hills in first, another good toss to win and rewards were reaped early as we skittled out the top four for 15.

What followed was an excellent display of sharp fielding (excellent from Oscar, Finn, James, Adam, Charlie & Daniel) fast and straight bowling (Matthew Langan 3 for 10, Mitch 3 for 14, Aaron 2 for 2) incredible catches (Charlie & Finn particularly). The Hills crumbled to just 60 all out in the 19th over.

A fired up Malahide came out to bat with confidence. With no signs of nerves, we reached the target in the 9th over for the loss of James & Matthew Clarke. Excellent again from Aaron (29 not out) supported by a calm Jack Grant (not out 6)

Another mature and conclusive performance from the Junior A Boys. Clontarf next week will be another test in the next round of the Cup.