Leinster T20 Cup 2022
Final: The Hills beat Clontarf by 5 wickets
Milverton, 9 August.
Clontarf 135/7 (20 overs; PJ Moor 36, D Delany 31, E Delany 31*; L Shields 3-19, Ash Bain 2-19)
The Hills 136/5 (19 overs; D Blignaut 42*, L Shields 31, M Commins 21)
JIm Bennett presents the cup to Andrew Kavanagh (Cricket Leinster)
Dylan Blignaut’s unbeaten 42 steered The Hills to a five-wicket win against Clontarf in the Alan Murray Cup final at Milverton. Chasing 135, the game was in the balance at 90 for 5, despite breezy cameos from Levon Shields who hit 6 fours in his 31 and Murray Commins (21 from 10 balls; 3 fours, 1 six). Blignaut and skipper Tomas Rooney-Murphy (17*) added 47 in six overs to seal victory with 11 balls to spare. The German international’s 42 came from only 24 deliveries and included three fours and three sixes. Earlier, PJ Moor (36) and David Delany (31) had shared an opening stand of 50 in 5 overs, but were pegged back by wickets for Shields (3-19) and Ash Bain (2-19). Eoghan Delany’s steady unbeaten 31 took Clontarf to 135 for 7, but it proved not to be enough. The Hills will now host Cork Harlequins in the All-Ireland T20 semi-final on Sunday.
Andrew Kavanagh and Tomas Rooney-Murphy
Semi-Final: The Hills beat North County by 9 wickets.
Milverton, 22 July.
North County 78 (16.5 overs; E Richardson 32; D Blignaut 3-13, J Tall 3-14, L Shields 2-21) The Hills 80-1 (9.3 overs; M Commins 45*)
Jonathan Tall who took 3 wickets
The Hills won a bloodless Fingal derby against North County to reach the final of the Alan Murray Cup. Batting first, County’s innings was soon in tatters, Jamie Grassi out in the first over, and Malcolm Nofal run out in the second. It continued in that vein, at one stage 20 for 5. Eddie Richardson’s 32 (4 four) gave a modicum of respectability but 78 all out is never going to win a game. Dylan Blignaut and Jonathan Tall took three wickets each, while there were two for Levon Shields. The chase was over before the halfway stage with Murray Commins hitting 5 fours and 3 sixes in an undefeated 45 from 2 balls, while Levon Shields made 20 not out in the emphatic 9-wicket win.
Semi-Final: Phoenix lost to Clontarf by 22 runs.
Phoenix Park, 22 July.
Clontarf 144-4 (20 overs; D Delany 73, D Vincent 36)
Phoenix 122-8 (20 overs; L McDonough 28; L Thomson 3-15, D Vincent 2-25, D Delany 2-28)
Luke Thomson took 3 wickets (Deryck Vincent)
Clontarf are through to the T20 final after defending 144 to win by 22 runs against Phoenix in the Park. The hosts drafted in New Zealander Luke Georgeson from CSNI, and he had an immediate impact dismissing PJ Moor for just a single. David Vincent (36) and David Delany then added 58 for the second wicket as Clontarf laid the foundations. The in-form Delany hit 8 fours and 2 sixes in a top-score of 73 from 53 balls as the Castle Avenue side ended on 144 for 4. Teenager Luke Thomson (3-15) took the huge scalps of Georgeson, Tyrone Kane and Stephen Black to put the brakes on the chase. David Delany and David Vincent took two wickets apiece to complete fine-all round matches – the latter having the dangerous Adam Chester stumped and completing a brilliant caught and bowled off Ben White.
Luke Thomson of Clontarf
Group A
| P | W | T | NR | L | Pts | NRR | |
| Clontarf | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3.98 |
| Railway Union | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.56 |
| Malahide | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -0.02 |
| Adamstown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3.61 |
Railway Union beat Malahide by 4 runs.
Park Avenue, 21 June.
Railway Union 168-3 (20 overs; K Carroll 61, A Matthew 50, H Sultan 46*)
Malahide 164-7 (20 overs; R Hackney 95, F McAllister 26; H Maan 2-23, S O'Brien 2-25, A Matthew 2-39)
Kenny Carroll hit 7 fours and 3 sixes as he top scored with 61 from only 35 balls as Railway Union took on Malahide. The former Irish international added 103 in ten overs with Alan Matthew (50), and Hashir Sultan (46*) kept the runs going as they made 168 for 3. It didn't look enough though as Ryan Hackney made 95 from 59 balls (7 fours, 4 sixes), but he just couldn't get his side over the line as with 12 needed off the last over, he fell to Sean O'Brien (2-25) as Malahide ended four runs short.
Clontarf beat Adamstown by 8 wickets.
Castle Avenue, 21 June.
Adamstown 101-9 (20 overs; A Tariq 25; J McNally 3-7, M Butler 2-13, R Cronje 2-14) Clontarf 105-2 (10 overs; R Cronje 47, J McNally 24)
Clontarf flexed their muscles with a comfortable eight wickets win at home to Adamstown. John McNally took three wickets as the visitors were restricted to 101 for 9. AAron McGeehan fell first ball of the chase, but Ruan Cronje then hit 10 fours in his 47, adding 86 in just 40 balls with McNally (24) as Clontarf sealed the win with ten overs to spare.
Group B
| P | W | T | NR | L | Pts | NRR | |
| North County | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5.08 |
| Merrion | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4.78 |
| Balbriggan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -2.65 |
| Civil Service | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -7.68 |
North County beat Civil Service by 141 runs.
Balrothery, 21 June.
North County 214-5 (20 overs; M Nofal 134, J Andrews 40; B Thambi 3/20)
Civil Service 73 (18.4 overs; U Azhar 3-14, A Ghaffar 3-18, G Muhammad 2-8, M Nofal 2-16)
Malcolm Nofal launched a brutal attack on the Civil Service bowlers on his way to a match winning 134. The overseas professional hit 16 fours and 7 sixes in his 65-ball innings. sharing a second wicket stand of 154 in 12 overs with Jonathan Andrews (40) as County posted 214 for 5. In reply CS were bowled out for 73, with three wickets apiece for Usman Azhar and Abdul Ghaffar.
Merrion beat Balbriggan by 44 runs.
Anglesea Road, 21 June.
Merrion 178-6 (20 overs; F Marais 31, S Modgill 28, M Lewis 27, J Carty 23, S Stanton 21*; C De Freitas 2-19, D Lues 2-51)
Balbriggan 138-10 (18.3 overs; G Ford 36, D Lues 32, K Ali 25; D Forkin 3-29, T Stanton 2-14, H Kennedy 2-19)
A solid batting effort from Merrion helped them beat Balbriggan by 44 runs at Anglesea Road. Franco Marais top scored with 31, while 20s from Swapnil Modgill, Mike Lewis, Jack Carty and Sean Stanton helped them to 178 for 8 - two wickets for Chris De Freitas and Dylan Lues. Skipper Greg Ford top scored with 36 in the chase, while Lues made 32, but three wickets for spinner Daniel Forkin, plus two apiece for skipper Tom Stanton and Hugh Kennedy ensured the 44-run win.
Group C
| P | W | T | NR | L | Pts | NRR | |
| Phoenix | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -0.97 |
| Leinster | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.33 |
| YMCA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.51 |
| Terenure | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3.07 |
Terenure beat YMCA by 6 runs.
Terenure, 21 June.
Terenure 181-9 (20 overs; S Lynch 64, D Lynch 55; R Anders 3-26, R Wilson 2-47)
YMCA 175-8 (20 overs; R Anders 54, T Tector 33, A Bailey 29; A Doyle 2-21, M Cotter 2-36, Z Khan 2-39, R Grover 2-44)
Seamus Lynch continued his weekend run blitz as he clubbed 7 sixes and 5 fours in his 64 from just 21 balls, sharing an opening stand of 98 in 50 balls with his brother Donal, who cleared the ropes four times in his 55. Rory Anders took three wickets to stem the flow as Terenure finished on 181 for 9. Anders then hit 5 sixes and 5 fours in a quickfire 55 from just 22 balls as 76 runs came in the powerplay. The home side though chipped away, taking wickets at crucial times to eke out a six-run win against YM.
Leinster lost to Phoenix by 3 runs.
Rathmines, 21 June.
Phoenix 139-9 (20 overs; A Chester 34, B White 29; B Azhar 3-19, B Mitchell 3-21, J Carroll 3-34)
Leinster 136-10 (18.5 overs; B Mitchell 78; T Dempsey 3-28, B White 3-33, D Ranolia 2-23, O Hald 2-28)
Phoenix recovered from 47 for 6 to post 139 at Rathmines. Adam Chester made a run-a-ball 34, while Ben White hit 5 fours in a quickfire 29. For the home side there were three wickets apiece for Joey Carroll, Bilal Azhar and Ben Mitchell. The Australian then looked to be easing his side to victory as he hit 9 fours and 4 sixes in his 78 from 45 balls, but White, Devender Ranolia, and Oliver Hald kept plugging away, and with eight wickets down, five runs were still needed. Theo Dempsey (3-28) then dismissed Jack Barry and Aviril Shukla to clinch what looked an unlikely three-run win.
Group D
| P | W | T | NR | L | Pts | NRR | |
| The Hills | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1.72 |
| Rush | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.31 |
| North Kildare | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.25 |
| Pembroke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -1.17 |
The Hills beat Pembroke by 8 wickets.
The Vineyard, 21 June.
Pembroke 140-7 (20 overs; D Hogan 39, S Gupta 31*, JJ Garth 25; D Blignaut 3-27, A Farooqi 2-19) The Hills 141-2 (16.1 overs; D Blignaut 84*, C McLoughlin-Gavin 41*)
It was the Dylan Blignaut show at The Vineyard as the German international firstly took three wickets to keep Pembroke to 140 for 7, with runs from Danny Hogan (39), Sanil Gupta (31), and JJ Garth (25). The Hills lost two quick wickets in the reply, but were blown away then by Blignaut's blitzkrieg of boundaries. He smashed 8 sixes and 4 fours in his unbeaten 84 from juts 51 balls, sharing an unbroken third wicket stand of 129 with Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (41*), to get the win with almost four overs to spare.
North Kildare tied with Rush.
The Maws, 21 June.
Rush 178-8 (20 overs; L Johnson 55, A Abbasi 36, J McGee 27; K Sidiqi 4-28)
North Kildare 178-6 (20 overs; M Patel 48, K Pawar 41.H Maroof 27, A Sattar 25; J McGee 4-35)
Llew Johnson's run-filled season continued as he hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in a rapid 55 from just 21 balls to help Rush to 178 for 8 at The Maws - four wickets for Khawaja Murtaza Sidiqui. Indian overseas professional Kaustubh Pawar (41) and Monil Patel (48) got the reply off to a flyer, but were pegged back by four wickets for Jack McGee. 12 were needed off the last over, and when Abdul Sattar cleared the ropes from the first, the home side were favourites. However, with two needed from the last ball, Sattar was run out attempting the second to ensure honours were even in a pulsating contest.
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