An article by 1st XI captain David Vincent

Leinster Senior Cup/Alan Murray T20 Cup Competitions

We kicked off our 2025 Open Competitions season with a home draw in the Leinster Senior Cup against North Kildare. Despite losing the toss and being asked to field first, we started the stronger of the two teams. Theo removed the North Kildare opener with only fifth ball of the game, and went on to pick up two more wickets in his opening spell. His opening partner Ben joined the party in the sixth over, picking up a wicket of his own to ensure we stayed on top of our opponents. From there the ball was passed to our test cricketer Humph, who ripped through the North Kildare middle and lower order with a miserly four wicket haul, including a barrage of short pitched bowling. Two further wickets for Yash ensured that the Trin would only be chasing 94 to progress to the next round. The Trin started the chase positively with the new recruit Macdara giving the new ball a thorough tour of the College Park outfield. The dismissal of the Trinity skipper didn’t halt the Trinity chasing juggernaut and we knocked off the runs for the loss of no further wickets, with Macdara making a stylish 60 and Forbsey seeing us home with 18 (we won’t mention the double bouncer…)

Our Alan Murray campaign began with a Friday evening fixture at home to Pembroke. One could say we were big underdogs coming into this fixture, mainly based off the presence of three full internationals and an Aussie pro in the opposition side, however the Trin are big fans of the old underdog story. Unfortunately, we didn’t get off to best of starts and with Pembroke raking up 130 runs in 12 overs, we feared we could be in for a long 20 overs. However, a remarkable spell of bowling from our big left arm quick Mikey ensured the run rate stayed in check. Mikey ended up with a nice little Michelle, and we were set 202 to win. An impressive opening spell from one of the Pembroke youths made life difficult for our top order, and we started our chase firmly on the back foot. A 117 run partnership from one of our own youths, Smithy, and the skipper ensured we got reached a respectful total, with Klaus also making a quick 16. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be enough and Pembroke ran out as the victors by 38 runs.

A bizarre series of events meant that our must-win fixture against Terenure was to be played in the idyllic, yet remote setting of Oakhill. Due to the remoteness of the ground, paired with the 6pm start time on a Friday evening, we fielded a team without many of our regulars. Despite this, when the coin landed as tails, we did not hesitate in electing to bat first. The skipper may have been rueing this call when he was dismissed in the second over and was quickly followed by the number 3 after a misunderstanding between the wickets. However, Macdara (43) and Smithy (35) set about rebuilding the innings and set a brilliant platform to finish the innings on a high. Useful contributions from Atko (17) and Rahul (12) propelled the Trin to 142, which on a tired pitch looked like a very competitive score. We continued this momentum into the second innings with two big wickets in the first two overs. Some very tight bowling through the middle overs ensured that Terenure were always behind the scoring rate. In the end, the scoreboard pressure was too much for our opponents and we won out by 37 runs. The wickets were shared round with two for Forbsey and the skipper, and one each for Atko and Kshitij.

After our commanding win in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup, we then drew Railway at home in the second round. Unfortunately, our first attempt to play the fixture was rained off, and the closure of College Park for a series of concerts meant we had to play the refix away from home. Unfortunately, unlike our first round game, our opponents had the stronger of starts as we struggled to adjust to the bowler friendly pitch. A gutsy 40 from Macdara, supported by 23 from Atko and 11 from Donncha ensured we reached 134, a total which we felt we could defend. However, the opponent openers stated positively and knocked off the runs with the loss of two wickets (one each for Humph and Atko). Unfortunately our long wait to bring the Leinster Senior Cup back to College Park would have to wait another year.

Our Alan Murray group was rounded off with an away trip to Rathmines to play Leinster. The Trin required a big win to advance our of our group and into finals day, so with this in mind we decided to bowl first. We started well, restricting our opposition to a manageable run rate on a pitch and ground that heavily favoured batting. However, one of the Leinster batters then put his foot down and propelled our opponent to an imposing total of 199. Atko was the stand out bowler, as he conceded only 23 runs of his four overs. The skipper also picked up two and Ben also got himself a wicket. A quick series of calculations in the dressing room confirmed that fact that the total had to be chased in double quick time, which was music to the ears of our Guernsey born opening bat Betley. He carted the Leinster bowling attack to all corners of Observatory Lane, as he racked up one of the most aesthetically pleasing 68s you will ever see. When he was dismissed in the ninth over, our total stood 84, and the Trin were dreaming that the Miracle of Rathmines may just come true. However, a strong come back from the Leinster bowling attack ensured that these dreams never materialised and we ended up 50 runs short of our target, despite a fluid innings of 40 from Forbsey.

U23s Ger Siggins’ District Cup

We started off our U23 District Cup campaign with a Wednesday night T20 game in College Park against North Leinster. Our team featured a number of Trin debutants, and it was two of these fresh faces, Donncha (34) and our Aussie ‘pro’ Boults (74) that led the way with the bat. The ever-reliable Forbsey also chipped in with a twenty to get us up to an extremely competitive total of 157. We started the second half with a wicket fourth ball of the innings and kept the pressure on the North Leinster batting lineup throughout the innings, ultimately restricting them to just 112. The wickets were shared around with Ben, Luke, Macdara, Donncha, and Atko all picking up a pole each.

The next week, we returned to College Park for another Wednesday night t20 fixture, this time against South Leinster. Just like the week before, we won the toss and elected to bat first. Betley (23) got us off to a strong start, however a strong response from the South Leinster bowlers resulted in us losing three wickets in the powerplay. We managed to wrestle back control of the game through a strong partnership between Forbsey and Smithy, which was eventually broken when the later was dismissed for a well made 31. Forbsey then injected some momentum into our innings and was then dismissed himself just after making the first half-century of the season for the Trin. Lower order contributions from Ebrahim and Yash propelled us to 158, and a total that we felt was very competitive. Our opening bowler Atko then started like a house on fire, with a double wicket maiden in the very first over. The Trin bowlers the continued to keep the pressure on the opponent batters. And as the required run rate began to rise, the wickets started to fall. A lower order partnership threatened to make this game a close one, however the Trin ran out winners by 20 runs. Donncha, Atko, and the skipper each picked up 2 wickets, while Macdara claimed one as well, and Yash was unlucky not to pick up one.

Next, we welcomed South Leinster back to College Park as we looked to kick start the 50 over part of this competition. Unfortunately, this would have to wait as we fell foul to the weather, and the game was rained off.

The next week, we were back again in College Park to play North Leinster in a 50 over game. A strong North Leinster bowling performance made life very difficult for the Trin batters, and in the end, we were bowled out for 87. Dinesh top scored with 16, while Macdara (14) and Donncha (13) also made contributions at the top of the order. We started our innings with what was seeming like our usual wicket in the first over, however, our opponents made light work of chasing down our total, and we were forced to accept defeat by 7 wickets. Dinesh rounded out a good all-round performance with two wickets, while Donncha also picked up one scalp with the ball.

The skipper reverses one to the boundary

Two days later, we looked to bounce back from our earlier defeat when we played South Leinster again in College Park. We seemed to be regretting our decision to bat first as we lost three early wickets. However, a brilliant partnership between Lango and Swaroop (who both reached half centuries) ensured that the ship was steadied, and we could go about building a good score. Contributions from Boults, Yash, and Screech ensured that we set South Leinster 192 runs to take the victory. A disciplined pair of opening spells from McCabe and Yash ensured that our opposition couldn’t get off to the flier they wanted, and a flurry of wickets just after the powerplay confirmed that the Trin were well and truly on top. However, our opponents recovered well, ensuring that the game was still very much in the balance. When we took our seventh wicket of the innings with the opponent on 149, we felt victory was within our grasp. Unfortunately, the South Leinster lower order rallied well around their set batter and reached our target with two wickets in hand. There were two wickets each for McCabe, Yash, and Boults, while the skipper also picked up one.

After a series of disappointing 50 over loses, we looked to restart our campaign with back to back t20s in College Park. We started the day by welcoming South Leinster back to CP. We started the game strongly, conceding only 32 runs in the opening powerplay while picking up three wickets. The wickets continued to fall through the middle overs as we restricted the number of boundaries our opponents were able to hit. The skipper then returned to stat-pad a few wickets in the final over, and we ended up bowling out our opponents for 116. The skipper ended up with 4 (burglary), while Yash, Forbsey, and our new Aussie quick Rory also picked up two each. Our innings initially started positively, however, the early loss of our openers threatened to make the chase interesting. However, a chanceless partnership between Forbsey and our overseas pro Boults steadied the ship and swung the odds strongly back in our favour. Boults was the star of the innings, finishing with 63 red, while Forbsey (20), Macdara (11), and Swaroop (10) ensured we chased the total with time to spare.

After a generous helping of sandwiches provided by the pav, we set about rounding out our 20 over campaign with a 100% win rate. Our opponents this time were a strong North Leinster team, who the neutral might say were heavy favourites going into this game. Our opponents started the stronger of the two teams as we lost two early wickets. However, we managed to rebuild the innings through contributions from the skipper (40), Swaroop (29), and Boults (16). We finished our twenty over on 122, which we felt could be difficult on an ageing CP wicket. We took the field in the second innings feeling positive about our earlier efforts, while Muller’s words seemed to disrupt the focus of our opponents' openers. The Prince of CP, Atko started the innings like a steam train, dismissing all of the North Leinster top 3, while conceding only 11 runs from his four over spell. The rest of our bowlers continued this momentum, with Macdara picking up two wickets, and Yash and Forbsey adding one each to their wicket tallies. A fine performance in the field, led by the returning Raj, ensured that the South Leinster batters had too much to do in the final overs, and we ran out as victors by 23 runs. A victory that would live long in the memory for the Trin.

We went into our final game in the U23 District Cup with a simple equation. If we won, the trophy would be ours. We travelled out to Oakhill again, to play this game and we were feeling optimistic that we could return to Dublin with our first major silverware in over fifty years. Unfortunately, we didn’t get off to the strongest of starts, losing three wickets in the powerplay. However, Forbsey was determined to not let the difficult pitch get then better of him, and he knuckled down for a gritty, but well made 69. He was well supported by future Trin prospect Seb (26) and Yash (25), as we fought our way up to 183. Atko struck early once again, and more tight bowling from the Trin men ensured the opposition could only score 52 runs from the opening eighteen overs, when the second wicket fell. What followed was a remarkable spell in the game, where the Trin picked up four wickets for just 4 runs in only seven balls. This brought the score to 97-6 off 26 overs, and we felt victory was not far away. In spite of this, the North Leinster batters had other ideas, as they put on a fighting forty run partnership. A second flurry of wickets then left the Northsiders nine down, still requiring 21 runs. However, a gutsy performance by the opposing number 11, and an unbroken 40 by their number 8 saw our opponents reach their target with just 10 balls to spare. Atko picked up three wickets, while Yash and Boults added two to their tallies. McCabe and the skipper also chipped in with one each. Unfortunately, the Trins long wait for silverware must go on for another year.

DUCC 1st XI 2025 Season Recap