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Folks, I have around 300 cricket books that I no longer have space for and that I’d be happy to give to a good home! Nothing of any great value, I hasten to add, but some great reading and historical material. In the main, they cover the game and it’s players up to the 1970s. If you’re interested, and subject to our esteemed Eds publishing this, let me know. Otherwise, they’ll be heading for charity bookshops.

Shocker at Stormont as Ireland flounder
There could be no excuses as Ireland crumbled with both batting and bowling. The batting was a huge disappointment with only Stirling and Adair making any impact. At one stage Ireland were 54 for 7 and the result was all but done and dusted after 7 overs, although Adair's defiant 27 raised a few cheers. The crowd must have anticipated today after Monday, as the attendance was another huge disappointment. Do Ulster cricketers really warrant International matches, or is Cricket Ireland interested in the north because there was little or none publicity to promote the match?
The result confirmed a series win for New Zealand, leading 2-0 with a game to play. The final T20I will take place on Friday, 22 July at the same venue at 4pm.
MATCH SUMMARY
New Zealand 179-4 (20 overs; G Phillips 69*, J Neesham 29*; J Little 4-35)
Ireland 91 (13.5 overs; M Adair 27, P Stirling 21; M Bracewell 3-5)
New Zealand won by 88 runs

Anyone any spare tickets for t20 at stormont on Wednesday 20/7/22 or Friday 22/7/22? Thanks

Ireland Men v New Zealand Men, 1st T20I, Stormont, 18 July 2022

New Zealand win the first T20 match, but it could have been different

Ireland opted to bowl when Balbirnie won the the toss and it appeared to be the right decision after 19 overs. However, 154 became 173 and once again the visitors 'escaped' to reach a reasonable target. It was academic in the end as the Ireland batsmen lost most of their best performers and the late order couldn't salvage a win despite Mark Adair's cameo with 25.
Back to the table on Wednesday, and a better batting display is vital to avoid the T20 series is over with another match on Friday.

New Zealand 173-8 (20 overs; G Phillips 69*, J Neesham 29*; J Little 4-35)
Ireland 142 (18.2 overs; C Campher 29, M Adair 25; L Ferguson 4-14)
New Zealand won by 31 runs

Clear Currency Irish Senior Cup
Semi-Final Draw
To be played Sunday 31 July 2022
Phoenix v CIYMS
Lisburn v Clontarf

New Zealand beat Ireland by three wickets at Malahide on 12th July 2022, but not without its late traumas. However, most people will feel Ireland were short of 50 runs after they recovered from a dreadful start. The hero was George Dockerell whose 74 was tremendous to watch. Mark Adair's 27 not out was belligerent with some massive hits, but with two overs left, Ireland were all out, and perhaps that was the difference between winning and losing? Certainly Mark was up for it and clean bowled the first two batsmen at the start of the New Zealand's reply, but skipper Tom Latham and Finn Allen saw them home after a flurry of wickets in the mid order.
Roll on to the 3rd game on Friday although New Zealand won the series 2-0. However, the third rubber is a battle of bragging rights and the preamble of the T20 Series next week at Stormont.
Let's hope the local fans will support the match as the Dubliners were scant at Malahide!
Ireland 216 (48 overs; G Dockrell 74, M Adair 27*; M Bracewell 2-26)
New Zealand 219-7 (38.1 overs; F Allen 60*, T Latham 55; M Adair 2-29)
New Zealand won by three wickets

Heart-break as New Zealand storm home in final over thriller
Michael Bracewell was the architect of a dramatic heist at Malahide as New Zealand sealed the first ODI against Ireland by one wicket with a ball remaining
His unbeaten century trumped a sublime hundred for Harry Tector and an all-round show from Curtis Campher, with Ireland denied their first-ever win over the Black Caps in heart-breaking circumstances.
Having put up 300 with the bat, Ireland carried the momentum into their start with the ball, Mark Adair and Craig Young each striking inside the first six overs. Debutant Finn Allen started positively before hitting the former up in the air, McBrine settling under the steepler, and the latter getting No.3 Will Young, forcing his namesake to edge behind.
The tourists were 19-2, and while there were hints of a middle-order rebuild, Campher interjected with a trio of vital interventions to keep Ireland on top. First he removed New Zealand captain Tom Latham, who was caught out by a full toss destined for leg stump. Then it was Henry Nicholls, outfoxed by a hint of away seam, before half-centurion Martin Guptill failed to get any bat on a pinpoint yorker and was bowled.
When Guptill fell, New Zealand were 120-5, with Michael Bracewell, just three ODI caps and four runs to his name, coming in to bat. He constructed a series of lower-order partnerships to bring the Black Caps back into the game, with Ireland striking to ensure they remained ahead of the game but New Zealand just about hanging on in the contest.
Glenn Phillips, on debut, contributed 38 before being removed lbw by Andy McBrine while Ish Sodhi kept New Zealand fighting with 25 before being run out by Campher. When Josh Little nicked off Matt Henry for a duck, Ireland were just two wickets away, with New Zealand still needing 84 off 7.2 overs. But as long as Bracewell remained at the crease, the Black Caps had hope, and as he continued to marshall the chase, the possibility of a stunning comeback grew more likely.
His hundred was brought up on the final ball of the 48th over, with Bracewell’s muted celebration indicating the job was far from done, and his task only grew tougher as Adair delivered an excellent penultimate over, conceding just four runs and bowling Lockie Ferguson with its final ball.
That left 20 runs needed to win and Bracewell on strike, with no margin for error, and he seized the moment, manufacturing the opportunity to hit to the leg-side and smashing three fours and two sixes to seal victory with a ball to spare. His score was the highest by a No.7 in a successful ODI chase.
Earlier Tector was the star of Ireland’s batting effort, making his maiden international hundred, though there were contributions from throughout the batting order. The 22-year-old came in with his side in trouble, openers Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling dismissed in single figures, and set about rebuilding the innings with a series of substantial stands.
Tector took his time to get set, choosing to rebuild safely at first, but scored more freely as the innings went on. His last 16 balls before being dismissed were despatched for 40 runs, with the flurry of strokes to bring up the milestone especially pleasing. Twice he advanced and timed Blair Tickner sumptuously to the rope, once on the off-side and once on the leg, before staying in his crease to the next two deliveries to nail a pair of orthodox cover drives, with four fours in four balls moving him from 85 to 101 in a flourish.
Although this marked Tector’s first international three-figure score, it was also a continuation of his excellent recent returns. The innings was his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score in ODIs (a feat matched only by Paul Stirling among Irishmen) with the run of form extending back to eight fifty-plus scores in his last 11 innings.
This wasn’t simply a one-man show, with Tector receiving sterling support from the rest of the middle order, who made a succession of increasingly aggressive cameos. McBrine continued to showcase solidity in his new role at No.3, making a steady 58-ball 39 in a half-century stand.
His departure saw Campher join Tector at the crease, and the two youngsters put on the day’s largest partnership. With Ireland scoring at just over four an over when Campher entered, the pair also added some vital impetus, with Campher scoring 29 off 23 balls at the end of his innings following a cautious start. The off-spin of Bracewell was lap-swept and thumped over mid-off and Henry thumped for back-to-back boundaries as Ireland upped the ante.
Campher fell for 43, Phillips beating his backfoot push with an off-break to claim his maiden ODI wicket, but Lorcan Tucker picked up the momentum immediately, slog-sweeping Sodhi for six off just the ninth ball he faced and adding 10 more off two balls in the legspinner’s next over.
His dismissal, holing out to an extraordinary, leaping one-hander from Bracewell on the boundary, precipitated a mini-collapse, with Tector and Adair following Tucker back to the pavilion, and it looked as if a slide of 12-3 had become 12-4 when Simi Singh was given out caught behind first ball. However, a review showed the ball had merely flicked the pad, and Singh made the most of the reprieve, striking a brisk 30. With George Dockrell, making his 100th ODI appearance, contributing 18, Ireland pushed up to exactly 300 by the end of the innings.
It was the hosts’ second-highest total at Malahide, and it gave them the ascendancy heading into the innings break. But, although they remained ahead throughout most of the chase, it was Bracewell and New Zealand who won out.
MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v New Zealand Men, 1st ODI, Malahide, 10 July 2022
Ireland 300-9 (50 overs; H Tector 113, C Camper 43; L Ferguson 2-44)
New Zealand 305-9 (49.5 overs; M Bracewell 127*, M Guptill 51; C Campher 3-49)
New Zealand won by 1 wicket

Knights slain by McCarthy’s scintillating century in final showdown of Inter-Provincial Cup
Barry McCarthy lit up his home club ground of Pembroke with a dazzling maiden List A century off 55 balls, to rescue his side from a precarious position before George Dockrell bagged five wickets as Leinster Lightning overcame Northern Knights in the final match of the Inter-Provincial Cup in 2022.
McCarthy’s previous best List A score of 43 was left in his wake as he plundered 110 from just 59 balls, featuring four fours and 10 sixes. With Match Referee Phil Thompson regularly pacing out to the middle with a new ball, McCarthy brought up his maiden century with a fast-run two, becoming one of only five men in List A history to score a century batting number 9.
Earlier in the day after being sent into bat first, the Lightning openers Simi Singh and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin got off to a sprightly start, striking 40 runs from the first six overs. Singh was the chief aggressor, smashing two sixes and two fours in an early assault on Knights’ captain Mark Adair. He then added a third maximum off Tom Mayes in the 8th over, before swinging across the line to a Ruhan Pretorius in-ducker and losing his off stump – out for 33 from 22 balls.
Andrew Balbirnie joined McLoughlin-Gavin at the crease looking to sustain the run rate, but a tighter line by Mayes (3-69), Pretorius and then Matthew Humphreys slowed the Lightning’s progress. With just 28 coming from eight overs, Mayes began to cause some difficulty with his extra bounce and variations of pace. He took two wickets in three balls in the 17th over – Balbirnie (9) and Tim Tector (0) – putting the Lightning on the back foot.
George Dockrell (12), Lorcan Tucker (11) and Greg Ford (21) added much-needed runs but left-arm spinner Humphreys (3-40) turned on the skill tap, deceiving Tucker, Ford and McLoughlin-Gavin (67) with near identical balls – quicker, lower, beating the bat and hitting the stumps.
At 166-7 in the 33rd over, the Knights looked well on top – but where cricket giveth, it can also taketh away – and the eighth wicket pairing of Barry McCarthy and Gavin Hoey began a remarkable counter-attack. The pair hit 88 from 73 balls, McCarthy plundering 61 of the runs from just 38 balls faced. The partnership swung the momentum towards the home side, and despite Hoey losing his wicket for 24, McCarthy continued the batting barrage.
McCarthy followed up the 88-run eighth wicket stand with a 59-run ninth wicket partnership with Josh Little, and when the Lightning innings was brought to a close on 315-9, the home side had smashed 114 runs off the last 10 overs.
With all the momentum of the match shifted into Lightning’s favour, the Knights batters needed a resolute and positive start. Ani Chore (20 from 24 balls) looked solid before thought he had flashed a ball wide of gully, only to watch on as Dockrell pulled in a spectacular diving one-handed catch.
James McCollum (41) and Pretorius (30) then put on 60 runs for the second wicket, before McCollum top-edged Dockrell on the sweep to be caught by Tucker and Pretorius played a lofted off-drive straight to long-off, giving Amish Sidhu his first wicket in Lighting colours. Dockrell then darted one through the defences of Mark Adair, bowled for 8, and the Knights had lost 3-12 in two overs to be staring down the barrel of a big loss.
It was then that Neil Rock and Cade Carmichael came together. The pair played without restraint and pushed the run rate upward – Rock bringing up his third career List A half-century from just 31 balls, while Carmichael supported Rock while still tipping along at a strike rate of over 120. From a position well behind the run rate required, the Rock-Carmichael partnership soon had the Knights in a position of near parity, but after amassing a 119-run stand in only 83 balls, McCarthy broke through by dismissing Carmichael for 43 off 35 balls – feathering a bouncer through to the keeper.
Rock tried to continue on his merry way, joined by Ross Adair, but it was McCarthy’s day as he accounted for Rock on 81 from 58 balls (9 fours, 4 sixes) miscuing a pull shot to be caught at cover by Hoey.
From there the ending seemed inevitable – the final four wickets fell for 5 runs and the Knights succumbed to defeat by 54 runs. Lightning skipper Dockrell finished with 5-49, while batting hero McCarthy finished with 2-32.
McCarthy was named Player of the Match.
That was the final match of the Inter-Provincial Cup competition with the Munster Reds being crowned champions for the first time.
MATCH SUMMARY
Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights, Inter-Provincial 50 over Trophy, Pembroke, 4 July 2022
Leinster Lightning 315-9 (50 overs; B McCarthy 110, C McLoughlin-Gavin 67 ; M Humphreys 3-40) Northern Knights 261 (42.5 overs; N Rock 81, C Carmichael 43; G Dockrell 5-49)
Lightning won by 54 runs

They shoot horses.. Don't They?

One score plus ten years, equals thirty
his membership loyal, near unbroken
maybe a surprise, communal celebration
perhaps even pearl or diamond token
teammates past, present, show appreciation

Not so, expectancy, proved presumptuous
oh well, midst of busy, playing season
competitive minds, oblivious to sentiment
Saturday's must win game, the reason
an oversight, no worries, his moral unbent

Yet, brief ponder, mute, mobile communication
and chuckled inwards, reflecting accordingly
landline nowadays, archaic, near obsolete
skipper aware, of ever enthusiastic, availability
much later a text, 'old hand, take a backseat!'

And that was that, sad to report, he'd ran final race
just like an old derby horse, out to graze grass,
neither buy nor leave, dropped, what's more, forgot
denizen domiciled, ageism, a trait rather crass
reconcile, at least not a leg break, perish the thought!

Ireland gives India a scare in second T20I after heart-breaking run-chase falls four runs short
Match photography from Sportsfile
Scorecard here
Ireland Men gave India a huge scare in the second LevelUp11 T20I, falling to a four-run defeat in a match that saw both sides comfortably clear 200.
India captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first, but Ireland struck early. Ishan Kishan edged Mark Adair behind to Lorcan Tucker to leave India 13-1 inside three overs.
But then came a record-breaking partnership as Sanju Samson and Hooda went to work. It took the latter just five deliveries to hit his first six of the day, and he survived a brief scare a couple of overs later: the umpire raised his finger for LBW but a review showed Josh Little’s delivery to be pitching outside leg stump.
The Powerplay finished with India 54-1, and in came leg-spinner Gareth Delany. While his first over conceded just four runs, 15 runs followed off his next as the two batters ramped things up in the middle section of the innings.
The partnership, worth 176, was India’s highest in T20Is and also the highest for the second wicket in T20Is. It ended in the 17th over, when Adair produced an excellent yorker to bowl Samson for 77.
In the next over Hooda celebrated his first international hundred, reached off just 55 balls.
Wickets tumbled at the end of India’s innings – Little picked up a couple in his final over while Craig Young finished his spell with two wickets in two balls.
India finished on 225-7, setting a steep target for Ireland. Yet Paul Stirling got his team off to the perfect start, dispatching Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 18 off the opening over of the innings.
At the other end Andrew Balbirnie took a while to get going, failing to score from his first seven deliveries. But an audacious sweep off Bhuvneshwar saw him get off the mark with a six, and not long after he dispatched Hardik Pandya for a six over extra cover.
Fifty was brought up inside four overs, but the pair did not survive the Powerplay; Stirling’s blistering knock of 40 off 18 balls finished when he was bowled by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
Delany was then run out for 0 by Pandya in the seventh over, but Balbirnie maintained his momentum; he even survived a stumping after Bishnoi was found to have overstepped at the crease.
Balbirnie advanced to a half-century off just 34 balls and then took 10 off two Harshal Patel deliveries. But Patel bounced back, getting Balbirnie to slap the ball straight to deep point on 60.
It was up to Harry Tector to resurrect the chase, and he found a fine partner in George Dockrell: together they put on 47 off just 21 deliveries.
Tector departed for 39 off 28, but the big hits kept on coming from new man at the crease, Adair, with Harshal’s final over going for 14.
Adair’s spree continued into the final over with back-to-back boundaries off Umran Malik, but the India quick recovered to deny Ireland a famous win, with just three runs coming from the last three balls.
Ireland were still able to record their second-highest total in men’s T20Is, just short of the 225-7 against Afghanistan in 2013.
MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v India, 2nd T20I, Malahide, 28 June 2022
India 225-7 (20 overs; D Hooda 104, S Samson 77; M Adair 3-42)
Ireland 221-5 (20 overs; A Balbirnie 60, P Stirling 40; R Bishnoi 1-41)
India won by 4 runs

INDIA WIN T20

MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v India, 1st T20I, Malahide, 26 June 2022
Ireland 108-4 (12 overs; H Tector 64*, L Tucker 18; Y Chahal 1-11)
India 111-3 (9.2 overs; D Hooda 47*, I Kishan 26; C Young 2-18)
India won by 7 wickets

Clear Currency Senior Cup and National Cup
The draw for the quarter-finals has been determined as follows (home team listed first):
Clear Currency Irish Senior Cup quarter-final draw
The Hills v Lisburn
Balbriggan v Phoenix
Pembroke v CIYMS
Clontarf v Leinster
Remaining Irish Senior Cup Schedule
Quarter-Finals: 17 July 2022 (reserve date 24 July)
Semi-Finals: 31 July 2022 (reserve date 7 August)
Final: 27 August 2022 (reserve date 7 September)
Clear Currency National Cup quarter-final draw
County Galway v Terenure
Ballyspallen v Railway Union
Cregagh v Rush
Derriaghy v North County
Remaining National Cup Schedule
Quarter-Finals: 17 July 2022 (reserve date 24 July)
Semi-Finals: 31 July 2022 (reserve date 7 August)
Final: 28 August 2022 (reserve date 11 September)

Former Ireland captain Porterfield retires
Irish cricket legend William Porterfield has today announced his retirement from international and representative cricket – leaving the game with many records and memorable performances, including being the longest-serving Ireland Men’s captain by some considerable distance.
Porterfield, 37, amassed 310 caps (across all formats) for Ireland after making his international debut in a First-class match against Namibia in May 2006. He ends his career as the third most capped Irish international and second-highest run-scorer for Ireland.
The left-handed top-order batter, who started out playing his club cricket with Donemana, struck the first of his 18 centuries for Ireland against the MCC in a one-day match at Lord’s in August 2006, going on to register 9,507 runs for Ireland at an average of 31.07, and a best of 186 against Namibia in 2015.
Of his more iconic innings, Irish fans fondly remember his 107 against Pakistan in Adelaide at the 2015 Men’s World Cup and his 112 against England in an ODI at Malahide in 2013 as two of his best knocks
A renowned slip fielder and inner-ring fielder, he also took 146 catches and effected 24 run outs during his international career.
Porterfield made the move early to base himself in England, after featuring for the MCC Young Cricketers, and had a successful county career with Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. In latter years, he became a stalwart of the North West Warriors in the Inter-Provincial Series in Ireland, showing his enduring run-scoring abilities finishing fourth-highest run-scorer in both the domestic 50-over and T20 competitions in 2021.
As a captain, Porterfield led the senior Irish side an incredible 253 times - taking over from former skipper Trent Johnston in 2008 at the age of 23 (the second-most appearances as Irish captain was Johnston with 60). Adding to his longevity in leadership roles, Porterfield had also led national youth sides from Under-13s level upwards, and also took the reins of an ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI side that played an England XI in 2012. 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.

Warriors slay the struggling Knights; dramatic tie between Reds and Lightning

Shane Getkate was in inspired form for North West Warriors as they continued their assault on the Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy with a six-wicket DLS victory over a struggling Northern Knights team, while in the second game of the day Munster Reds remain unbeaten following a highly dramatic tie with Leinster Lightning at Bready Cricket Club.
This is Day One of the second of three T20 Festivals for 2022 with the weekend’s fixtures being:
10/06/2022 North West Warriors v Northern Knights (Warriors won by 6 wickets (DLS))
10/06/2022 Leinster Lightning v Munster Reds (Game tied (DLS))
11/06/2022 Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights 11am (local time)
11/06/2022 North West Warriors v Munster Reds 3pm (local time)
12/06/2022 Northern Knights v Munster Reds 11am (local time)
12/06/2022 North West Warriors v Leinster Lightning 3pm (local time)
Game 1: North West Warriors v Northern Knights
An 80-run third-wicket partnership between Shane Getkate and Stephen Doheny helped North West Warriors make it three wins from four games in the Inter-Provincial Trophy following a six-wicket DLS victory over Northern Knights after the game was reduced to 14 overs due to rain.
MATCH SUMMARY
North West Warriors v Northern Knights, Inter-Provincial Trophy, Bready, 10 June 2022
Knights 148-7 (20 overs; J McCollum 49, R Pretorius 30; A McBrine 2-22)
Warriors 111-4 (13.1 Overs; S Getkate 46*, S Doheny 35; J Manley 2-35)
North West Warriors won by 6 wickets (DLS) with 5 balls to spare
Game 2: Munster Reds v Leinster Lightning
There was nothing to separate the still undefeated Munster Reds and the Leinster Lightning in a thrilling match to close day one of the summer’s second IP20 Festival - the match ending in a tie. Requiring three to MATCH SUMMARY
Leinster Lightning v Munster Reds, Inter-Provincial Trophy, Bready, 10 June 2022
Lightning 149-8 (18 overs; G Hoey 39, H Tector 29; G Delany 2-18)
Reds 137-6 (16 overs; PJ Moor 40, C Campher 29; G Hoey 2-24)
Game tied (DLS)

Andy McBrine the ultimate Warrior in Battle of the North.
The North West Warriors completed a 63-run victory over the Northern Knights at Stormont, to go joint top of the Inter-Provincial Cup table.
Andy McBrine was the main aggressor, his innings marked by resplendent drives through cover and mid-off when the bowlers erred too full and peppering the square boundaries when the Knights dropped the slightest bit short. Ben White was the victim of three late cuts in the space of eight balls, first to the left and then right of backward point, and one clipped fine just before arriving in the wicketkeeper’s gloves in a passage of play that underlined McBrine’s form and ability to toy with the fielders.
McBrine brought up his second List A century in as many games, in the 36th over, off just 113 balls, with a pull shot to the midwicket boundary. As is typical of the man, McBrine would barely interrupt his focus to acknowledge the landmark and soon after he hit towering sweeps for a six and four as the Warriors hurtled along.
To their credit, the Knights chopped and changed their bowling in search of breakthroughs and fought bravely with the bat, but the Warriors were just too strong on the day.
MATCH SUMMARY
Northern Knights v North West Warriors, Inter-Provincial 50 over Trophy, 2 June 2022
North West Warriors 304-4 (50 overs; A McBrine 117, S Doheny 97; T Mayes 1-44)
Northern Knights 241 (46.1 overs; A Chore 65, N Rock 62; C Olphert 3-83)
NW Warriors won by 63 runs