MCC withstand the Heat in Munster
A 13-man MCC squad travelled to Cork last week for their annual out-match tour against Munster Heat, the development squad for the list-A provincial team, Munster Reds.
The three-match series was to be played at Cork Harlequins Cricket Club and represented a first opportunity for the majority of the squad to play at this venue – which has undergone recent impressive work, notwithstanding the weather, to develop their turf wickets into a batter’s paradise.
Or so MCC believed, winning the toss on Wednesday and electing to bat in the 50 over fixture. 20-4 paints a rather different story but credit should be given to young seam bowler Zubair Khan (4-23) who bowled beautifully with the new ball to put MCC in jeopardy. Thankfully, MCC rallied and middle-order magnificence from Gumbs (65, 70 balls), Dickinson (52, 53 balls) and McCabe (70, 56) placed MCC in a commanding position after 50 overs, finishing 281 all out.
MCC Squad:
Front Row – D Russell, S Gumbs, H Pilkington (capt), C McCabe, A Wilson
Back Row – R Davies, M Wood, G Hoey, S Stacey, C McDonnell, J Schmidt, S Assani, St J Pilkington (scorer), M Dickinson
In winds so strong that one of the sightscreens blew into the adjacent road, MCC took the field and bowled impressively from the outset – Wood and Stacey striking early with the new ball. Once the meaningful Munster partnership of Kumar and Upman (51, 50 balls) was broken by a neat Pilkington run out, MCC were on the charge. Fresh from a near run-a ball 50, Dickinson (5-40) bowled imperiously to wrap up the Munster innings for 158. A convincing win for the Club but an impressive fight from a Munster team who have precious little experience in red ball cricket. MCC were certainly due a sterner test in the shorter format, in which their opponents specialise.
And so it proved on Friday when the Club faced a Munster team bolstered by a number of their list-A squad returning from their fixture versus the Northern Knights. Following significant overnight rain, a competitive toss saw MCC inserted in the first innings of a t20 game. With meaningful contributions from most of the top order – led by a swashbuckling 43 (31 balls) from Davies, MCC finished on 169-9. This proved to be a long way short of par as the wicket dried out and Kruger (109, 62 balls) and Saghir (47, 25 balls) took MCC bowling to the sword. 3 overs, 0 for 19 from Schmidt was the pick of the MCC bowling as they were defeated by a hefty 9 wicket margin.
A rapid delivery from Michael Wood tests the Munster Heat opener (photo credit Glenn Brokenshire, Programme Coordinator, Munster Cricket Union)
With weather warnings of Storm Hannah approaching fast, the final game of the series was shortened to a t10. Reeling from their recent defeat, MCC were keen to make amends. Winning the toss and electing to bowl – the Club made a reasonable effort to curtail the relentless aggression of the Munster batters. Ireland international, Gavin Hoey (2 overs 1-6) arguably the pick but an excellent spell from Stacey (2 overs 1-15) and an outstanding death over from Schmidt 1-6 saw MCC set 102 from 10 overs to win the game and the series.
What was to follow was nothing short of the rallying cry demanded by their captain. Gumbs launched the first ball for 6 and MCC were away. Hoey (51, 18 balls) and Davies (44, 18 balls) saw the job off in style and MCC romped to victory in 6.3 overs.
Fetch that! Shelvin Gumbs in full flow (photo credit Glenn Brokenshire, Programme Coordinator, Munster Cricket Union)
A final word of thanks from Hugh (Captain, tour manager 2020-2024):
“It has been a true privilege to manage this trip and there are really too many people to thank by name in this report. Munster Cricket and our hosts, Cork Harlequins CC and Cork County CC do an incredible job and provide unmatched hospitality. In particular, the generosity and hard work behind the scenes from Joe Moynihan to make sure these trips are such a success (particularly during the covid years where we were dealing with so much uncertainty) is incredible and very much appreciated. Many thanks too, to all of the players who have toured during my tenure and have put in so much hard work on (and off) the field to ensure that this trip is such an enjoyable event. It has been such a pleasure to see growing bonds between English and Irish based MCC members and I look forward to seeing this develop further as the years go by.”
Results:
Game 1 (50 overs): MCC win by 123 runs
Game 2 (20 overs): MCC lose by 9 wickets
Game 3 (10 overs): MCC win by 9 wickets
See the match scorecards here
