Harlequins Cricket Match Report

Tuesday 11 July 2006

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Harlequins  
Britwell  

By Philip Russell

On a showery day we welcomed a well seasoned Britwell Slomé team (who had previously toured in 1999) to Cork Harlequins. Again our new artificial strip came to the rescue and allowed us to play cricket.

Harlequins combined youth with experience and we utilized the cricketing expertise of our guest player Tom O'Brien by nominating him Captain. Tom - astutely assessing that Britwell had been partaking of countermeasures to our miserable Summer - had them batting without the toss of a coin.

Early hostile bowling by Johno Frankham, Donavan Gee and Dylan Martin threatened to wrap up the match before tea. Sportingly Tom, between the showers, reverted to his and my attempted spin; and he gave all the youth (who yet again excelled themselves) a bowl. Kara Madden's arrival to open the Bar seemed to coincide with a dramatic resurgence in Britwell's batting and their lower order took the score to a very respectable 173 for 7.

Tom O'Brien opened our batting like a man on a mission (this transpired to be a 7.30pm tennis match some 20 miles away) and with Liam Hale we got off to a brisk start. Wickets fell regularly and with Tom departing having scored 31 it was backs to the wall. Emmet Long had to retire (having scored his first ever 6) for a hurling match and it was left to Donovan Gee to save the match. His slogging developed a certain finesse as his innings proceeded and in the last over he both scored his maiden half century and steered us to a draw. Quins scored 154 for 7 (with no one else left to bat).

Britwell represented all that is good about club cricketers on tour - and they gave (well there was a little price to pay!) the few remaining Quins players mementos of their Irish Tour 2002. We all hope that they will return in the near future.

Harlequins Team: Tom O'Brien; Liam Hale; Donovan Gee; John Frankham; Philip Russell; Robin Russell; Dylan Martin; Ryan Martin; David Gash; Emmet Long. Absent: R. Duggan