Nenagh Cricket Club

Sport / Club Notes

Nenagh pull away at top of league
Nenagh Cricket Club opened up a gap at the top of Division Two of the Munster Cricket Union with a straightforward victory over Co. Kerry on Saturday last at Ballyeighan. Having already defeated Kerry twice this season in the reverse league fixture as well as the Minor Cup, the North Tipp boys were confident of making it a hat-trick, provided the rain held off. After winning the toss and deciding to bowl, Nenagh overcame a slow start to crack open the Kerry top order, with Kannan Sreenivas and V Anulal removing the openers, and Jojin Mathew maintaining his excellent recent fielding form with a sharp run-out. At 20-3, Kerry looked to recover control by sending in two defensive batsmen to build a platform, and though they only scored 10 runs in their partnership, it lasted nearly 12 overs and looked like frustrating the home side even further until Aji Anthony nipped in with two quick wickets either side of a strike from part-timer Tiju George to leave the score at 48-7 at the drinks break. George then picked up a second shortly after the resumption, and Ginson Abraham bowled one and ran out another to finish a depleted Kerry side's innings at 57 all out.

With iron clouds lurking ominously upwind, Nenagh then knew that their best chance of maximum points from the fixture was to finish their chase a quickly as possible, and openers Tom Paul and Jojin Mathew both departed for 11 each in the search of quick runs. Nenagh then shuffled their order to give a chance to returning batsman Sandeep Kurian, who played his way in against some wayward bowling but eventually departed somewhat unluckily for a 13-ball duck, before Ginson Abraham and Thomas Mathew saw the home side over the line in uncomplicated style. Abraham sealed the victory with a well-placed 4 and a sweetly-struck straight 6.

The comprehensive victory sees Nenagh maintain their perch at the top of the division, a position solidified by Cork Harlequins' loss the previous weekend to local rivals Cork County. At the halfway stage of the league season, Nenagh remain undefeated at the top with 136 points, with Harlequins in second with 89 points and a game in hand. The sides will face each other twice before the summer is out, with those fixtures sure to be the deciders as to where the league title ends up this year. However Nenagh's attention now turns to the cups, with a Junior Cup clash against North Tipp rivals Thurles on Saturday 22nd at Ballyeighan.