Congratulations to our Women’s 2nd XI on their Cup Final win on Friday evening in North Kildare.
Batting first, Pembroke were restricted to 79 due to wonderful bowling Maria O' Halloran (4-20), Rebecca Moore (2-12) and Sarah Brophy (1-19) backed up by enthusiastic fielding and 2 excellent run outs including getting the dangerous Lucy Little who, when it looked like a miss field, fell to a smart reverse throw from keeper McCann. With some smart catches in the field including both Sarah Brophy and Maria O’Halloran taking 2 catches off their own bowling the steady falling rate of wickets falling and lack of partnerships meant the 4 runs an over target looked achievable.
But runs on the board are what count and Pembroke were not giving up without a fight. They bowled well and like Malahide before them took key wickets resulting in the run rate pushing up to over 6 an over. The Village support quietened somewhat in middle of the innings but with the experienced Barbara McDonald coming in at No 7 she steadied the ship and with some key partnerships based on strong running & boundaries with Becky and Sarah she pushed the score on and with 2 overs left herself & Isobal needed 6 runs. The travelling Village support (team really appreciated the support and felt it as a bonus rather than a pressure) had by now found their voices and every ball was met with an accompanying groan or cheer. 2 singles and a no ball off the 2nd last over meant and with Babs facing and pressure bowling on the RU opener we were confident. A dot, a dot and then Babs played her text book coaching cover drive and pushed the ball over the rope for 4 and victory – yes the shot she drills into the girls for hours & hours won the game.
The Village support which had been keeping their voice boxes lubricated with copious amounts of excellent NT tea erupted in cheer. A thoroughly deserved win built around solid wins, a great squad and a season of hard work with wins in previous rounds against North Kildare, Leinster over 2 nights in Observatory Lane and Railway Union meant the cup was coming back to Malahide again. Team captain Sorcha O’Carolan Murphy accepted the cup and graciously thanked Pembroke for participating in a thrilling contest. Cups are hard to win with 2012 and 1998 being the only previous times we have won it in the 32 years of its existence. The Cup was brought home and the ladies clapped & cheered by the members in the club house with the traditional bubbly being fizzed about.
The recipient of player of the Player of the Match went to Maria O'Halloran for her bowling which included a hat trick. Well done everyone, not only a great team performance but a great squad performance as there were a number of ladies who played in earlier games not available. It shows the talent coming through from underage girls’ cricket is strong and future is bright