Nenagh maintain 100% record to go top in Division 2
Nenagh Cricket Club continued their excellent start to the season with an imperious win over Cork County which saw them rise to the top of Division 2 for the first time in the club's history. On a changeable day at Ballyeighan Cricket Ground the hosts batted first for the fourth consecutive match, although this time they were inserted by the opposition who, having won the toss, hoped to exploit the blustery conditions.
Nenagh began at a bright pace, with returning opener Tom Paul carving a boundary inside the first over, and they rattled along to 17 off the first three overs before Paul was harshly given out caught behind off his glove for 9. Naoise Brooke and Mathew Thomas then tried to see off the lively Cork opening bowlers, who were generating good pace and swing, before Brooke lost his off bail to a good ball for 3. Unfortunately for the batsman it was the last ball before a heavy shower held up play.
After the break, which was long enough to see the game reduced by an over each side, Thomas and new batsman Jomy Joseph rebuilt Nenagh's innings from the wobbling position of 23-2, with Joseph striking some impressive shots, including a towering six over extra cover. Joseph then attempted one shot too many and was caught out on the boundary for 14 runs which were valuable enough for the attacking fashion in which they were scored. At 45-3 though the recovery was still in doubt, and captian Ginson Abraham, returning to the side after missing the Minor Cup fixture in Kerry on bank holiday Monday, came in and put on a 58-run partnership with the tenacious Thomas. It proved to be a match winning effort from the pair, as by the time Thomas departed the score had moved on to 103, and the game was set up for Nenagh's lower order to swing away merrily from a solid platform. Kannan Sree crashed a fierce 31 from just 19 balls which might have interested any passing IPL scouts, and V Anulal chipped in with 15 hard-run runs. Ultimate credit must go to Abraham, however, who recorded 52, reaching his fifty in the final over, before having to retire hurt having twisted his ankle running for a second off the penultimate ball of the innings. It looked like being a blow to Nenagh's superiority, as the captain was due to open the bowling, but ultimately it didn't matter.
The Cork County innings never really got off the ground. V Anulal removed both openers early on with some fiesty pace bowling, and Sebastian Joseph chipped in with a cobra of a delivery to add to the pressure. Aji Anthony then gave a further indication of Nenagh's vastly improved ground fielding efforts this season when he effected a run-out with a bullet throw, and with the score at 28-4 the game was firmly sliding towards a home victory. Bibin Joseph was then denied a maiden wicket for his new club after a hugely partisan call ruled that a spectacular close-field catch from Kannan Sree was not clearly out. It mattered little in the end as Aji Antony claimed the same wicket a couple of overs later, but it was an unfortunate moment for Bibin. With the Cork innings broken, Nenagh juggled their bowlers and were perhaps a little guilt of letting the game drift, but V Anulal returned to pick up two more wickets to give him figures of 4-19, and Naoise Brooke finished off the innings with a pair of strikes as the visitors were bowled out for 82.
The 102 run victory sees Nenagh sitting pretty at the top of the division, over 50 points ahead of second place and with maximum bonus points for the season thus far. With a place in the Minor Cup semi achieved, and division 2 status effectively assured halfway through May, Nenagh now turn their attention to the Junior Cup, where they face a derby match against good friends Thurles on 25th May at Ballyeighan.
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