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Arachas Irish Senior Cup – Semi-Final Draw

Leinster v The Hills
Waringstown v Pembroke

Arachas National Cup – Semi-Final Draw.

Derriaghy v Rush
Muckamore v Cliftonville Academy

SHOCK DEFEAT- IRELAND LOSE TO OMAN by 5 wkts

Ireland 281/7 (50 overs; George Dockrell 91*, Harry Tector 52, Lorcan Tucker 26, Bilal Khan 2-64, Fayyaz Butt 2-65)
Oman 285/5 (48.1 overs; Kashyap Prajapati 72, Zeeshan Maqsood 59, Aqib Ilyas 52, Mohammed Nadeem 46*, Ayaan Khan 21; Mark Adair 2-47, Josh Little 2-47)

Ireland will have to do it the hard way to reach the World Cup. Losing to Oman, the weakest of the five teams, means Ireland will probably have to win the next three matches against Sri Lanka, Scotland and UAE to finish two of the teams in the two-match Series. It is difficult to pinpoint the problem, but having lost the two warm-up matches it was certainly not complacency.
Inconsistency with both bat and ball is evident, but defending 281 against Oman should have secured a victory against a minnow. Two weeks ago Ireland played against a rampant England team and although not successful, they were not disgraced. However, three more defeats means they will have to restore the confidence or suffer an ignominious departure from the World Cup hierarchy.
George Dockrell and Harry Tector batted well and Josh Little and Mark Adair took two wickets each, but it was a huge disappointment to lose.
The next three matches are cup finals!

The three-day Rario Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy Festival came to a close with the Northern Knights remaining unbeaten in the competition, while the home side Munster Reds got off the mark by defeating the reigning champions Leinster Lightning in the final game of the week.
The third day of the first T20 Festival saw the top two sides and the bottom two sides meet.

Match 1: Northern Knights v North West Warriors
Morgan Topping scored a half-century off just 28 balls, while Cade Carmichael and Ruhan Pretorius also chipped in with 44 and 43 respectively as the Northern Knights remained unbeaten in the Rario Inter-Provincial Trophy. In the Knights three matches this week Topping has scored 114 runs without being dismissed.
After being set a target of 165 for victory by the Warriors, the Knights - despite losing Ross Adair early – set about a confident run chase. Partnerships were key, with consecutive stands of 52, 45 and 50* ensuring the Belfast-based side cantered to victory with 23 balls to spare. 73% (or 122 runs) of the 167 runs the Knights scored came in boundaries with some specular shots, particularly down the ground, but instead of a flashing drive or lofted cut shot to bring up the winning runs, it was less impressively four byes that took the Knights to victory – regardless of the manner of the final runs, one thing was assured, and that was the dominance of the Knights this week.
Earlier, the Warriors’ Stephen Doheny top-scored with 39, before lofting one to Pretorius out near the boundary in the 13th over. Matthew Foster claimed four wickets for the Knights – his best List A T20 figures – as the Warriors ended their 20 overs on 164-9.
MATCH SUMMARY
Warriors v Knights, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 8 June 2023
Warriors 164-9 (20 overs; S Doheny 39, S Getkate 29; M Foster 4-30)
Knights 167-3 (16.1 overs; M Topping 51*, C Carmichael 44; L Doherty 1-27)
Knights won by 7 wickets

Match 2: Munster Reds v Northern Knights
Munster Reds found some good batting form in their final match of the three-day festival as they claimed their first victory of the week by beat Leinster Lightning by five wickets.
Needing 158 for victory, the Reds trio of Nathan McGuire (34), Murray Commins (37) and a quick-fire 28 from Connor Fletcher saw them reach their target with 23 balls to spare.
Having won the toss and electing to bat, Lightning captain Tim Tector and his opening partner Seamus Lynch started well - smashing ten fours between them.
When Lynch departed, Adam Rosslee came in at number three to anchor the Lightning’s innings and combined well with Sam Harbinson for a 62-run fifth-wicket partnership.
Rosslee fell five runs short of a half-century in the 19th over, while Harbinson finished off the innings with a boundary as the Lightning posted 157-5, which in the end wasn’t enough.
MATCH SUMMARY
Lightning v Reds, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 8 June 2023
Lightning 157-5 (20 overs; S Harbinson 45*, A Rosslee 45; L McCarthy 2-27)
Reds 159-5 (16.1 overs; M Commins 37, N McGuire 34; A Sidhu 1-16)

Reds won by 5 wickets

A swarm of bees may have forced players to dive for cover mid-game, but the native pollinators couldn’t prevent the North West Warriors and Northern Knights claiming important wins over their respective southern-based opponents on Day 2 of the three-day Rario Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy festival at The Mardyke.
The second match of the day was interrupted after ten overs of the first innings when the bees swarmed across the pitch - sending spectators, players and umpires diving for cover - and then began to make a hive on the fence in front of the pavilion. Eventually, a local beekeeper was found who secured the queen and then waited for her family to join her, before safely removing the bees.
As for the cricket, the North West Warriors won for the second time this week after a comfortable win over the Leinster Lightning, while the Northern Knights also secured their second win of the week by overcoming Munster Reds in the bee-delayed encounter.

Match 1: North West Warriors v Leinster Lightning
A half-century from captain Shane Getkate saw his North West Warriors cruise to an 81-run victory over Leinster Lightning.
After being sent into bat first, the Warriors got off to a good start with Stephen Doheny and Aaron Gillespie putting on 41 for the first wicket. However, both were removed in the space of six balls, with the Warriors 49-2 after seven overs.
Getkate combined with Jared Wilson for a fourth wicket 65-run partnership, before a double-wicket maiden for Barry McCarthy in the 15th over – removing both Wilson and Cameron Melly – had the Warriors 120-5 with five overs to go.
William McClintock came in at number seven and smashed a quick-fire 34 from 13 balls, in a 46-run partnership with Getkate as the Warriors went on to post a competitive 180-7. McCarthy finished with the most economical four-wicket haul in Inter-Provincial T20 history with 4-12 from his four overs
In the Lightning’s response, the Warriors’ bowlers dominated as wickets fell with regularity. The Lightning batters struggled to get any rhythm going, except for McCarthy who rounded out a good all-round display scoring 27 – however, the Lightning were bowled out for 99 inside 14 overs, with only three of their batters reaching double-figures.

MATCH SUMMARY
Warriors v Lightning, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 7 June 2023
Warriors 180-7 (20 overs; S Getkate 55, W McClintock 34; B McCarthy 4-12)
Lightning 99 (13.5 overs; B McCarthy 27, S Harbinson 19; C Robertson 4-20)
Warriors won by 81 runs

Match 2: Munster Reds v Northern Knights
Ruhan Pretorius put in a Player of the Match performance as the Northern Knights beat the Munster Reds in a bee-shortened 12 over game at The Mardyke. Pretorius scored 44 runs along with 3-31 with the ball as the Knights won by seven wickets (DLS).
The game was interrupted in the 11th over with the Reds 91-2, after partnerships of 31 and 42 between Nicolaj Damgaard and Gareth Delany, then Delany and Murray Commins, had the Reds on pace to post a large total.
After a delay of 112 minutes play resumed, with the game reduced to 12 overs. Connor Fletcher was immediately caught and bowled by Matthew Humpheys as the Reds went on to post 106-5 from their twelve overs.
With a new DLS target of 129 for victory, the Knights opening pair of Pretorius and Ross Adair then combined for a 96-runs, before Pretorius was bowled by Ben White in the eight over
Despite also losing the wickets of Adair (39) and Neil Rock, the Knights went on to take the win with eight balls to spare.
MATCH SUMMARY
Reds v Knights, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 7 June 2023
Reds 106-5 (12 overs; G Delany 32, M Commins 28*; R Pretorius 3-31)
Knights 131-3 (10.4 overs; R Pretorius 44, R Adair 39; B White 2-22)
Knights won by 7 wickets (DLS)

On the opening day of Cork’s three-day Rario Inter-Provincial T20 Festival, the Northern Knights smashed the highest team score in the history of the Rario Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy as they scored 236-3 in their win over Leinster Lightning at The Mardyke (beating the previous best of 228).
The total included a 116-run fourth-wicket partnership – the Knights second highest T20 partnership in the competition.
Match 1: Munster Reds v North West Warriors
A 54-run fifth-wicket partnership between Scott Macbeth and Cameron Melly helped the North West Warriors take a six-wicket victory over Munster Reds in the opening game of the day.
Having found themselves 46-2 in the ninth over - after Stephen Doheny and Aaron Gillespie had been dismissed – Macbeth upped the scoring rate by smashing an unbeaten 40 runs off 24 balls, including four boundaries and a six. Melly followed his lead and scored an unbeaten 30 off 13 balls as the Warriors won comfortably with four overs to spare.
It was an excellent all-round bowling performance for the Warriors, with Trent McKeegan claiming 4-24 as the Reds were bowled out for 120 with seven balls left in their innings.
Having been put into bat, Munster Reds struggled to build partnerships throughout their innings, with the Warriors bowling unit finding plenty of movement from the pitch early on. Ryan Macbeth and McKeegan removed the first three batters inside the opening three overs, but despite a top score of 28 from Gareth Delany, and 22 from Liam McCarthy, the Reds could only total 120 all out.
MATCH SUMMARY
Reds v Warriors, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 6 June 2023
Reds 120 (18.5 overs; G Delany 28, L McCarthy 22; T McKeegan 4-24)
Warriors 125-4 (16 overs; S Macbeth 40*, C Melly 30*; L McCarthy 2-26)
Warriors won by 6 wickets.

Match 2: Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights
Northern Knights smashed the highest score in the history of the competition, as an unbroken 116-run partnership between Morgan Topping and Neil Rock ensured a 73-run victory over Leinster Lightning in The Mardyke.
A 61-run opening partnership between Ross Adair and Ruhan Pretorius set the tone for the Knights - Pretorius going on to score 53 from just 33 balls.
At 120-3, Knights captain Rock came to the crease and took the reins of the inning, blasting eight fours and six sixes an incredible 79* from just 26 balls. Topping supported Rock with 57* from 30 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes, as the Knights posted 263-3.
In the Lightning’s reply, Mark Donegan’s 58 off 32 balls – which included a 76-run partnership with Greg Ford – couldn’t keep pace with the required run rate, eventually bowled out for 163 with 17 balls remaining.
MATCH SUMMARY
Knights v Lightning, Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, The Mardyke, Cork, 6 June 2023
Knights 236-3 (20 overs; N Rock 79*,M Topping 57*; A Sidhu 1-21)
Lightning 163 (17.1 overs; M Donegan 58, G Ford 31; T Mayes 4-28)
Knights won by 73 runs

Ireland displayed plenty of grit and determination on the third day at Lord’s, with a record-breaking stand between Mark Adair and Andy McBrine averting an innings defeat by England.
England eventually triumphed by 10 wickets, but only after Ireland had given their fans something to cheer after a tough first two days of the one-off Test.
Ireland ended the second day on 97-3, trailing by 255, after being bundled out for 172 in their first innings and conceding 524-4. An ankle injury to James McCollum meant they effectively had six wickets in hand, rather than seven.
Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector had stitched together a promising stand the previous evening and extended their association to 63 before Tucker was dismissed, bowled by Jack Leach off an under-edged sweep.
Tector brushed off the setback to move to his fourth Test half-century in as many games, but when he fell one ball after his milestone, cutting England debutant Josh Tongue to point, and Curtis Campher followed soon after, sweeping Joe Root to Ben Stokes at short fine leg, a quick finish looked a certainty.
Instead, McBrine and Adair put on a rousing partnership - Ireland’s highest in Test cricket - breaking the record of 115 runs set by Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling against Sri Lanka in their previous Test. Adair was the aggressor, taking the attack to the spinners with some brutal leg-side strokeplay before moving to his maiden Test half-century off just 47 balls with a wonderful piece of invention, ramping Stuart Broad over the keeper for four.
He continued to attack, making it three boundaries in three Broad balls and motored towards three figures. However, the stroke which brought up fifty also brought about his downfall, a ramped edge feathered through to Jonny Bairstow ending the stand on 163.
McBrine was content to play the supporting hand, but he unfurled some attacking shots of his own. Like Adair, he was severe on England’s slow bowlers, at one point blasting the ball through Leach’s hands as a return chance went for four, while he showed good use of the pace, guiding the ball past the slips cleverly and moving to a career-best score.
He slowed after Adair’s exit, with Fionn Hand departing for seven to give Tongue a five-for on debut but Graham Hume, at No.11, ensured England would bat again with consecutive boundaries off Root, a feat which elicited the loudest cheer of the day. Hume and McBrine negotiated an extended middle session to take the game past Tea and give McBrine a shot at a maiden Test century, but it wasn’t to be. Broad pegged back Hume’s off-stump, and Zak Crawley finished the 11-run chase with three boundaries in four balls.
MATCH SUMMARY
England v Ireland, Only Test match, Day Three, Lord’s, 3rd June 2023
Ireland 172 (56.2 overs; James McCollum 36, Curtis Campher 33, Stuart Broad 5-51)
England 524-4 dec (82.4 overs; Ollie Pope 205, Ben Duckett 182, Andy McBrine 2-99)
Ireland 362 (86.2 overs; Mark Adair 88, Andy McBrine 86*, Josh Tongue 5-66)
England 12-0 (0.4 overs; Zak Crawley 12*, Ben Duckett 0*, Mark Adair 0-12)
England won by 10 wickets

England’s top-order drove home their advantage against Ireland on Day Two at Lord’s as Ben Duckett piled on runs in the morning session before Ollie Pope hit a rapid double-century.
After declaring shortly after tea, Ireland lost PJ Moor and Andrew Balbirnie in quick succession, slipping to 18-2 before James McCollum left the field hurt. An authoritative hour of batting from Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector meant Ireland reached 97-3 by the closeAfter quickly eliminating the 20-run deficit they began the day with, England’s batters began to build a lead. Duckett reached his first century on home soil less than an hour into play, flicking a single past short midwicket and raising his fist in the air as he ran through. Three balls later and another single took Pope to fifty, the lead growing at a significant rate.
As the sun burnt away the early morning cloud, the Ireland bowlers continued to toil. With the break approaching, Duckett and Pope accelerated once more, Pope moving into the nineties with ten minutes left in the session. Duckett passed 150 runs in the same over - prodding the ball into the legside for two.
He carved yet another boundary from Fionn Hand’s next delivery to bring up the 200 partnership, taking England into the break with a lead of 153, having scored 173 runs in the session.
Pope got to his century with a scampered single two overs after play’s resumption, while Duckett continued to attack. However, a bowling switch to Hume finally found the breakthrough with a thick inside edge from Duckett. His off stump was flattened, forcing him to depart for 182.
Joe Root’s arrival at the crease initially meant a period of relative calm, but he and Pope soon upped the ante once more. He raced past 150 as the partnership with Root rapidly rose towards three figures.
By Tea, Pope was within three runs of a double-century while England’s lead had moved on to 331. The game moved on quickly after the break. Root was bowled by McBrine from the third ball of the session, coming down the pitch and undone by some turn. Pope brought up his double-century, but the very next ball, he too skipped down the wicket and missed, out stumped with Tucker having plenty of time to take the bails off. That was enough for the England captain who recalled his batters with a lead of 352.
A circumspect start by Ireland’s openers was broken by Josh Tongue’s first ball in the innings. He dismissed Moor lbw to claim his first Test wicket after going without in the first innings. A second came along in the same over as Balbirnie under-edged through to Jonny Bairstow, leaving Ireland 18-2.
A further blow came when McCollum had to leave the field hurt after twisting his ankle pivoting to play a short ball from Tongue. Paul Stirling came to the crease and looked in imperious form, drilling a couple of boundaries through the off side to move Ireland towards fifty.
He became Tongue’s third victim of the evening, gloving behind 45 minutes before the scheduled close of play.
Tucker and Tector remained determinedly in place to see Ireland to the close without further harm and put some pressure back on to England. Not content to allow Tongue’s short-ball ploy to continue without response, Tector even hooked the debutant for six, while each struck three boundaries.
They will resume tomorrow morning 255 runs behind with seven wickets in hand.
MATCH SUMMARY
England v Ireland, Only Test match, Day Two, Lord’s, 2nd June 2023
Ireland 172 (56.2 overs; James McCollum 36, Curtis Campher 33, Stuart Broad 5-51)
England 524-4 dec (82.4 overs; Ollie Pope 205, Ben Duckett 182, Andy McBrine 2-99)
Ireland 97-3 (26 overs; Harry Tector 33*, Lorcan Tucker 21*, Josh Tongue 3-27)
England lead by 255 runs.

Ireland were bowled out for 172 on Day One at Lord’s as Stuart Broad took a five-wicket haul before brisk fifties from both openers put England on top.
Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl first, putting Ireland into bat in overcast conditions. It was a momentous day for Fionn Hand, who was given a Test debut for Ireland, receiving his cap from PJ Moor before the start of play.
An initial four-over period of calm for Ireland’s openers was broken by Broad, who thumped the new Duke’s ball into Moor’s pad plumb in front to break into the batting line-up.
Two more wickets fell in the first half-hour of play, with Andrew Balbirnie lasting five balls before he became Broad’s second victim, hanging his bat outside off stump and nicking to Zak Crawley at second slip. Two balls later and Harry Tector was also heading back to the pavilion. A man had been placed at leg slip all morning and Tector rewarded the plan, flicking the ball straight to Matthew Potts.
In trouble at 19-3, it could have been even worse for Ireland as Paul Stirling almost became Broad’s third wicket in the over. He was given out off the first delivery he faced after the ball struck his pad in front of middle and leg but opted for the review. DRS showed the ball sliding down the leg side and missing the stumps to give Ireland an important reprieve.
A 45-run partnership between James McCollum and Stirling steadied the ship over the next hour of play. Stirling, as ever, took the aggressive approach, whacking boundaries off both Josh Tongue and Jack Leach and scoring at near a run a ball.
With 20 minutes to go before lunch, Stirling looked to unfurl an almighty sweep off Leach but clipped the ball with his glove. It popped gently up into the air for Bairstow to take a simple catch, Ireland losing their fourth wicket in the morning session with Stirling out for 30
After some chin music before the break from Tongue, McCollum resumed his stoical presence at the crease on 29 from 93 balls after Lunch. However, his vigil was brought to an end by a length delivery from Broad, which was nicked through to Joe Root at first slip. Lorcan Tucker followed him back shortly after, falling to Leach.
Curtis Campher looked in imperious form as the afternoon wore on. He drilled a cover drive to the boundary off Broad before timing a pull shot off Tongue for another four. Andy McBrine joined in on advancing the partnership, pulling Potts behind square with authority. However, he became Ireland’s seventh wicket to fall when he was dismissed by Potts, nicking behind to Bairstow for 19.
After Ireland made it through to the Tea break without further loss, Broad finally completed his five-for in his second over after the break, clipping Adair’s off-stump with an inswinger. It was his third five-wicket-haul at Lord’s and his first at the ground since 2013.
Ireland’s innings tailed off quickly after that. Campher’s stumps were broken when he danced down the wicket to Jack Leach and Hand nicked behind five balls later to bring the innings to a close on 172.
England’s openers then made great in-roads into Ireland’s lead in the evening sun. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett raced to a fifty stand in just 7.2 overs, before passing 100 in quick time.
Crawley rode his luck at times as he reached his half-century off 39 balls, inside edging down to the boundary on several occasions. He was out to a ball he struck firmly, as Hand just clung on to a brilliant caught and bowled to take his first Test wicket.
Duckett and Ollie Pope saw England through to the close with Ireland’s first innings lead just 20. England will resume on 152-1 tomorrow morning.
MATCH SUMMARY
England v Ireland, Only Test match, Day One, Lord’s, 1st June 2023
Ireland 172 (56.2 overs; James McCollum 36, Curtis Campher 33; Stuart Broad 5-51)
England 152-1 (25 overs; Ben Duckett 60*, Zak Crawley 56; Fionn Hand 1-42)
Ireland lead by 20 runs.

MATCH SUMMARY

Essex Men v Ireland Men, First-class match, Chelmsford, 26-28 May 2023
Essex 343 (71.5 overs; R Das 132, G Dockrell 74, M Adair 64; T Mayes 4-68)
Ireland 419 (87.5 overs; P Stirling 107, L Tucker 97, A McBrine 67; J Richards 5-96)
Essex 307-8 dec (53 overs; M Adair 85, W Buttleman 65; G Hume 3-49, T Mayes 3-55)
Ireland 232-0 (42.4 overs; PJ Moor 118*, J McCollum 100*)
Ireland won by 10 wickets

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today released the fixture schedule for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.
The event will see 10 teams competing for two spots in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup – the qualifier will be held in Zimbabwe from 18 June – 9 July 2023.
Each match will be high stakes, with teams contesting for two places at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India that gives them nine guaranteed matches at cricket’s ODI global showpiece.
The 10 teams taking part in the qualifier are split into two groups of five teams:
Group A:
Zimbabwe
West Indies
Netherlands
Nepal
United States
Group B:
Sri Lanka
Ireland
Scotland
Oman
United Arab Emirates
Each side will play the other teams in their group once with the top three from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. In the Super Six, they will play the sides they did not meet in the group stage.
All points won in the group stage will be carried over to the Super Six stage apart from those gained against the teams that fail to make it to the Super Six stage. The finalists will both progress to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
For the first time in this tournament, DRS will be used for all matches from the Super Six stage onwards.
The Qualifier is the culmination of four years of hard-fought competition that brings together the bottom five teams from the ICC Men’s CWC Super League, three automatic qualifiers from the ICC Men’s CWC League 2 and two teams who gained entry from the ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-o
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said:
“The countdown to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is entering the final stages and this event presents an incredible opportunity for teams to earn a place in the pinnacle event of one day cricket. The stakes don’t get any bigger in what will be a very competitive event enjoyed by fans looking to see who will join the eight teams that have already booked their tickets to India.
“With two former Men’s Cricket World Cup champions among the contenders as well as emerging cricket nations who are aiming to qualify for the first time, this unique event, featuring teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe will be a showcase of the global game.”
IRELAND MEN’S FIXTURES
Warm-up matches:
13 June: Ireland v USA, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
15 June: Ireland v Netherlands, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
Group A matches:
19 June: Ireland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
21 June: Ireland v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
25 June: Sri Lanka v Ireland, Queen’s Sports Club (start 9am local time)
27 June: Ireland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club (start 9am local time)
Super Six matches begin 29 June.

DUNDALK - The Cricket Ireland Annual General Meeting 2023 was held on Sunday, where a new President was named, the 2022 financial accounts accepted, and four new independent directors were approved by the Board – one of which is former Ireland Men’s captain, William Porterfield.
The meeting was attended by the Cricket Ireland voting members, Board Directors, the Cricket Ireland President, Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer. All recommended proposals were passed at the meeting.
FINANCIAL RESULT
The AGM noted approval of the accounts by Board resolution at its April meeting for a financial year in which Cricket Ireland delivered a deficit of €176,184, driven largely by the continued fallout of Covid-19 and significant cost rises caused by external inflationary pressures.
Andrew May, Chief Financial Officer at Cricket Ireland, said:
“Although Cricket Ireland delivered a deficit of €176K for the year, we saw our income increase by 48% to €12.9M, with a strong increase on broadcast, match day and sponsorship income after the return to full activity post Covid-19. However, while our income grew significantly, our cost base also grew by approximately €3.5M which was a combination of our largest-ever season, significant inflationary pressure and ongoing dependence on costly temporary infrastructure to deliver our fixture obligations.
“In 2023, we come to the end of our current funding cycle with the ICC and while the year will be a challenge financially, we are very optimistic about the financial stability of the organisation in 2024 and beyond. We are planning on having a deficit of €4M for 2023 which will be financed through a $5M ICC loan to see us through year and into the next funding cycle with the ICC in 2024.”
ANNUAL REPORT
The Cricket Ireland AnnualReport can be found here.
APPOINTMENTS
Four new Board members were appointed at the meeting:
William Porterfield (Independent Director)
William needs very little introduction. He is one of Ireland’s most decorated cricketers, having amassed 310 caps (across all formats) for Ireland after making his international debut 2006. He ended his career as the third most capped Irish international and second-highest run-scorer for Ireland. The left-handed top-order batter from Donemana Cricket Club, struck the first of his 18 centuries for Ireland against the MCC in a one-day match at Lord’s in August 2006, before going on to register 9,507 runs for Ireland at an average of 31.07.
As captain, Porterfield led the senior Irish side an incredible 253 times. He led Ireland to two 50-over World Cups and five T20 World Cups, but perhaps his most significant moment as captain was leading Ireland Men’s team out at its historic first-ever Test match in May 2018. William is currently coaching in the UK with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.
Martina McDonnell (Independent Director)
Martina has over 20 years of marketing and communications experience. She is currently Marketing Director with Meta, and has delivered increased brand awareness through on social media platform campaigns, cross media partnerships and industry marketing to maximise the impact of owned, paid and earned channels. Martina has also developed programme extensions to drive diversity and inclusion for women (#SheMeansBusiness), Armed Forces Community, minority owned businesses and under-represented youth.
Mari O’Leary (Independent Director)
Mari is a highly experienced executive/non-executive director, and business owner with over thirty years’ experience in the marketing, public relations and communications sector. She is the Managing Director of an independent boutique PR and marketing company (O’Leary PR & Marketing) and has a proven track record of delivering strategic counsel across a wide range of industries/sectors.
Mari has also gained extensive experience contributing at a board level including as the former Chairperson of the Public Relations Consultancy Association (PRCA) and President of Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) Ireland.
Siobhan McBennett (Cricket Leinster nominee)
Siobhan has been an important leader of the volunteer cricket community for more than 45 years. Her involvement in cricket started in her home town of Mullingar, initially as a scorer but also as a player & administrator. Her volunteer “career” really took off when she became involved in both Rush CC, her local club and Dublin University CC, where she worked. Her involvement in Rush CC has seen her operate at every level of the club. Her work as President and separately Chair saw significant advancements in the club both on and off the field. She is renowned for her administration of Youth Cricket in the club, with a special focus on Girls & Women’s Cricket. Siobhan is also passionate about inclusion within cricket at all levels.
No stranger to operating at National level, Siobhan was previously Chair of the then Irish Women's Cricket Union and was instrumental in its amalgamation with the then Irish Cricket Union. She was Manager of the Ireland Women’s Team from 1992 to 1996, including the ground-breaking World Cup in England in 1993. Siobhan is also a highly qualified and experienced scorer/scorer tutor (at all levels) and has the distinction of having been the only female President to-date of the Leinster Cricket Umpires & Scorers Association.
Siobhan has been on the Board of Cricket Leinster (CL) since its incorporation in 2017 and has been Chair of Women's Cricket in Leinster since 2019. In addition, she is a member of the CL Cricket Committee and is the 2023 CL President Elect, so she will become the CL President for 2024.
The new Directors will replace Michael Howard, Barry Tucker, Gary Keegan and Julie Fenton.
The addition of three women to the Board now means that Cricket Ireland will satisfy the 40% female representation by National Governing Bodies (NGB) required by Sport Ireland. The Board is also working towards delivering the requirement to have a 50/50 male/female Board by 2025.

William Wilson named new Cricket Ireland President

Former Brigade cricketer, William Wilson has been confirmed as the new President of Cricket Ireland following today’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), replacing the outgoing David Griffin.
William was set to be announced as Vice-President, however, when presumptive President May Sharp had to withdraw for this year for personal reasons, he has stepped up into the President role for the next 12 months.
Winning two Irish Senior Cups as a player for Brigade Cricket Club, William began his cricket career with Foyle College at underage level. He went on to play for Creevedonnell Cricket Club in Derry/Londonderry, then moved on to Brigade Cricket Club in 1982, playing under the legendary Roy Torrens. He eventually replaced Roy as captain of the club following Roy’s retirement.
William was fortunate to have played in an incredible five Irish Senior Cup Finals, winning two of them – in 1996 against Leinster and 1999 against Limavady. He said:
“All those finals were very special to me and, of course, to Brigade Cricket Club.”
In 2001 William retired from the game as a player and became involved as a North West selector and as a Representative on the Irish Cricket Union’s Cricket Committee. He was appointed Irish Selector for the North West for the duration of Adrian Birrell’s tenure as Ireland Coach, and for two seasons with Phil Simmons.
After being announced as the new Cricket Ireland President William said:
“It’s obviously a great honour for me to become President of Cricket Ireland, representing both the North West Cricket Union and being the third member from my club, Brigade, to have that honour following the late David Todd and of course, more recently, the late Roy Torrens.
“I would also like to mention Mary Sharp, who unfortunately was not in a position to take on the role of President this year. I wish Mary well and hope to see her at some point during the season.”
What is he most looking forward to about his role as President over the next 12 months?
“I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to watch both our men’s and women’s teams during the course of the coming year and, of course, to meet and chat to representatives of the opposition during those matches.
“We have a very full calendar of cricket over the next 12 months with World Cup qualification very much to the forefront. I’m looking forward to a busy and hopefully successful year both on and off the field.”
The upcoming Test match against England at Lord’s in June will also be a highlight:
“I’m really looking forward to our visit to Lord’s in a few weeks’ time for the Test match. I was present in 2019 when we bowled England out for 85 in the first innings of our previous test match. Unfortunately, we lost the match in the end, but hopefully we can go one better this time.”

IRELAND HAMMERED!
MATCH SUMMARY
Sri Lanka v Ireland, First Test match, Day Two, Galle International Stadium, Galle, 16th April 2023
Sri Lanka 591-4 (131 overs; Dimuth Karunaratne 179, Kusal Mendis 140, Curtis Campher 2-84)
Ireland 143 (52.3 overs; Lorcan Tucker 45, James McCollum 35, Harry Tector 34, Prabath Jayasuriya 7-52)
Ireland 168 (54.1 overs; Harry Tector 42, George Dockrell 32; W Mendis 4-76)
Sri Lanka won by an innings and 280 runs

The second and final Test begins on Monday, 24 April at the same venue.

Centuries from Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dinesh Chanidmal continued Sri Lanka’s dominance with the bat on day two before Ireland lost five wickets in the final session to finish the day on 117-7, trailing by 474 runs.
After starting the day on 381-4, Sri Lanka continued to pile on the runs, despite threatening Irish bowling, in particular from Mark Adair. Samarawickrama scored his maiden Test match century before Sri Lanka eventually declared on 591-6.
Harry Tector and James McCollum built a 70-run partnership in the evening session after Ireland lost two early wickets. But two wickets in two balls prompted an Ireland collapse, with three more going down before the end of play to give Prabath Jayasuriya his fifth Test five-for in ten innings.
At the beginning of the day Ireland were looking to quickly run through Sri Lanka's middle order to avoid another heavy day in the field. There were positive signs early on, as Curtis Campher sent nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya back in the second over of play, pinned in front lbw.
Andy McBrine also struck early, his first ball of the day claiming Dhananjaya da Silva, hit on the pad plumb in front for 12. But the home side had it pretty much all their own way from there on out.
Samarawickrama and Chandimal started their partnership with a flurry of boundaries, five coming in four overs as they took advantage of the harder new ball. Chandimal was first to his fifty, shortly after the pair had brought up the 450 milestone for their side.
Chandimal survived a review a few balls later, given not out and just clipping leg stump on impact - umpire’s call. That was to be Ireland’s last realistic chance of the innings. Samarawickrama, playing his first Test since 2017, brought up his maiden Test fifty and the team 500 with the same stroke, pushing a single into the offside in the penultimate over before lunch.
Following the theme of day one, the middle session was the most bruising for Ireland, with the sun at its hottest and the pitch with nothing in it for the quickly ageing ball. Chandimal brought his century up first, again with a boundary but through the covers this time. It was his 15th hundred in Test cricket and his fifth at Galle.
Samarawickrama brought his maiden Test ton up in the following over with back-to-back fours - the first century by a Sri Lanka wicketkeeper since 2016. The partnership between Chandimal and Samarawickrama, that finished unbeaten on 183.
At the end of the over in which Samarawickrama reached his century, Karunaratne declared with Sri Lanka on a massive 591-6. That left Ireland just over half an hour in the session to bat.
They were left 0-1 after Murray Commins was cleaned up by a peach of a first delivery from Vishwa Fernando. The ball pitched on middle stump and shaped away from Commins’ bat, snaking past his outside edge and clipping off stump
Just four balls later, Andrew Balbirnie was also on his way back to the dressing room, having been caught brilliantly by Nishan Madushka at short leg. Balbirnie had middled the ball off his pads, but straight to Madushka, who managed to parry the ball up before grasping onto it on his second attempt.
Tector and McCollom gave Ireland room to breathe, however, building a firm partnership to see them through to tea on 27-2. They continued after the break, putting on a fifty-run partnership in 17 overs and pushing on late into the session. Tector smashed a maximum off Ramesh Mendis high over long-on, the only six of the day.
Disaster struck, however, when Ireland lost three wickets in as many overs. Tector edged a drive off a tossed-up ball from Jayasuriya before Campher fell two balls later also looking for the drive. McCollum was Jayasuriya's next victim, bowled this time by a ripper of a ball which took out his off stump.
PJ Moor caught behind for 14 followed by George Dockrell lbw for two gave Jayasuriya yet another five-for and left Ireland 117-7 at the end of play. Lorcan Tucker will resume on 21 tomorrow morning, with Andy McBrine unbeaten on five.
MATCH SUMMARY
Sri Lanka v Ireland, First Test match, Day Two, Galle International Stadium, Galle, 16th April 2023
Sri Lanka 591-4 (131 overs; Dimuth Karunaratne 179, Kusal Mendis 140, Curtis Campher 2-84)
Ireland 117-7 (45 overs; James McCollum 35, Harry Tector 34, Prabath Jayasuriya 5-42)
See full scorecard

Two late wickets gave Ireland hope on an otherwise dominant day one for Sri Lanka in Galle. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis both scored centuri as the home side piled on 386 runs for the loss of four wickets.
Karunaratne won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bat first on a placid Galle wicket. He nearly carried his bat through the day’s play, scoring his 15th Test century and putting on a big second-wicket partnership with Mendis worth 281 runs, the highest-ever Test partnership at Galle.
Ireland made two crucial breakthroughs at the end of a long day in the field however, as Mendis and then Angelo Mathews fell within three overs of each other. Mathews only lasted three balls before taking a wild swipe at a delivery from Ben White, out for his fifth Test match duck.
Sri Lanka had started positively early in the day, racing to 40-0 after the first ten overs of the Test. With minimal assistance in the pitch for the seamers, Mark Adair was into the attack early in the day but gave little respite for the Ireland fielders, Karunaratne taking two boundaries off his first over.
As the scoring rate continued to increase, Ireland found a much-needed breakthrough in the first hour. Curtis Campher took his first Test wicket with a ripper of a delivery to dismiss Nishan Madushka for 29. The ball just nipped away from an off-stump line to take the outside edge of Madushka’s bat through to Lorcan Tucker behind the stumps.
However, that was to be the last wicket for over two sessions worth of play. Karunaratne reached his half-century before lunch off 69 balls, with Mendis going into the break on 33 - 119 runs scored in the session.
The middle session was particularly bruising for Ireland as the Sri Lanka heat reached its peak. Mendis hit the first maximum of the day, smashing Andy McBrine high over long-on to bring up his half-century. The hundred partnership came up two overs later.
As Ireland toiled without success, the run rate crept back up over four again and, less than two overs after the partnership passed the 150 milestone, Karunaratne reached his hundred with a front-foot drive through cover. In four Test innings this year, Karunaratne has passed fifty in all but one of them; this was his first century since March last year against India in Bengaluru.
Mendis was also closing in on his century but would have to wait until after the interval to pass three figures. Between them, Mendis and Karunaratne scored 126 runs off 28 overs in the afternoon session. It took Mendis five balls to move from 94 to his hundred. He reached the milestone with a single to backward point, having ramped Mark Adair to the boundary for four off the previous delivery.
The two batters continued their march deep into the evening session, bringing up the 200-run stand by taking ten runs of one McBrine over. After a first scare for Sri Lanka in several hours - Ireland losing a review checking a caught behind - the partnership became the highest ever in a Test at Galle. It passed the previous record of 267 set by Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim for Bangladesh in 2013.
But, just as Ireland faced the realistic possibility of taking just the single wicket in the day, George Dockrell made the breakthrough. He trapped Mendis LBW looking for the sweep – the review from Mendis showed all three reds to give Dockrell some reward after he conceded 59 runs from his previous ten overs.
Two overs later, and Ireland had their third. Mathews chased a short and wide delivery from Ben White, the ball taking a feather from his top edge and through to the keeper. A bonus for the tourists at the end of a difficult day
Karunaratne’s extraordinary innings also came to an end before the close of play. He was caught behind for 179, playing the shot of a batter who’d been at the crease all day, wafting his bat outside off and finding a nick.
Ireland will resume on Day Two looking to run through Sri Lanka's middle order to build on a positive end to the day.
MATCH SUMMARY
Sri Lanka v Ireland, First Test match, Day One, Galle International Stadium, Galle, 16 April 2023
Sri Lanka 386-4 (88 overs; Dimuth Karunaratne 179, Kusal Mendis 140, Curtis Campher 1-44)