This was one of the fixtures that we had targeted to get something out of, especially as we had beaten North County 5ths earlier in the season and done the double over them last season, unfortunately are friends from Balrothery seemed to have undergone a significant transformation being literally unrecognisable from the one we had come to know and love !!! Still we gave them a helping hand with some fairly ordinary bowling which allowed them to race to 50 in 7 overs. When we finally made a break through it was down to an absolutely stunning piece of fielding from Ryan Condron. Any catch taken when a high ball is dropping over your shoulder is a good one but to hang on when you are running at full tilt was an outstanding effort. Malahide continued to work hard in the field but a partnership of over 100 made in quick time for the 3rd wicket really took the game away from us. Suhaib came back for a 2nd spell and brought some much needed control, he eventually ended up with 5 wickets which was good reward for his perseverance. Alex Davies (2 for 39) bowled with good pace and was much better than his figures suggest. Ryan Court (1 for 27) bowled well and spinners Ryan Condron and Zac Woods-Oliver were good in the face of North County's onslaught. Their innings ended on 237 for 9 in 40 overs which was always going to be a tough target.

To have a chance we needed a good start which is exactly the opposite of what we got and after 5 overs we found ourselves at 11 for 3....Not ideal !  David O'Halloran and Ryan Court led the recovery with a partnership of 35 until Ryan was unluckily caught at slip after the ball had been fumbled by the gully fielder. As has been the norm for the 5ths this season David O'Halloran continued to accumulate runs with a mixture of patience, skilful placement mixed with regular boundaries. He passed 50 with ease and looked well set for a first ton when for the 3rd time this season he was out for 71. It needs to be pointed out that there is no doubt that David would have reached 3 figures had his dad not insisted on moving from the "lucky bench" he had been sitting on. As any body who has played the game will tell you, when things are going well you don't move seats !!! The 7th wicket partnership between David and skipper Jef Oliver (34) put on over 70 which got us our first losing bonus point. We got our next bonus point thanks to some good work from Ryan Condron (15no) and Cormac Burke who managed to get the final deficit to under 50. It looks like relegation is now a real possibility for the 5ths but as each week passes the contribution from the youngsters keeps rising. Every cloud and all that !!!