North West CU recently hosted the annual tournament.
Match Report Day One courtesy of Coach Paul McCutcheon.
“Munster U13s began their tournament in cold and wet conditions that were not conducive to good cricket.
A T30 against Northern Cricket Union, held in Brigade CC, saw Munster win the toss and elect to bat. Weather got the better of things with MCU at 44-3 after 8 overs. Play was abandoned and we moved to nearby Foyle College with a hope to a rescheduled match.
Eventually, a T10 became possible. North kindly allowed Munster to bat first but weather conditions did not improve much. Munster struggled with the bat but last wicket pair Riyan Shah (11 not out) and Robert McCutcheon (5 not out) managed a stand that brought the score to 41-5. North, set a target of 42 at 4.2 per over, set about their task with relish. We were treated to a splendid batting performance by F McMillan who scored 29 runs in 11 balls. North eventually won by 9 wickets.
It was a difficult day for the Munster boys, not helped by the weather conditions. They will have learned from the experience: as the saying goes you win or you learn.
Tomorrow the boys play two T20s against North-west 2nds and North 2nds.”
Match Report Day Two courtesy of Coach Paul McCutcheon
“Munster u13s played two T20 matches today in the North-west cricket festival. Conditions were difficult, with cold wind punctuated by heavy showers. Nevertheless, the boys persevered and completed both games.
In the first game, versus North-west 2nds, MCU were put into bat. We witnessed good knocks from Elham Momand (23), Yousaf Ramay (19) and Kaustaub Gude (15) but a slow start to the innings ensured that a modest total of 101-4 would be set.
NWCU responded with some impressive batting including contributions from E Darragh (46), D Dunn (23) and W McGonnigle (11). Yousaf Ramay, Elham Momand and Arham Ullah took a wicket apiece while Kaustaub Gude effect a run out. NWCU reached the target of 102 in the 19th over.
Overall there is a sense that this is the game that got away from the boys. Had they scored 15 to 20 runs more the result would likely have gone Munster’s way.
The second match versus Northern Cricket Union 2nds told a different story. North batted first and MCU took early wickets reducing the opposition to 23-3. However, 4th and 5th wicket stands of 55 and 48 respectively took the initiative away from Munster. Wickets fell late in the innings but North secured a total of 155 all out. Pick of the Munster bowling was Ghufran Chaudhry’s return of 4-19.
Munster set about chasing the challenging target of 156 with purpose but as North regularly took wickets MCU’s prospects became grimmer. None of the Munster batters reached double figures until Kaustaub Gude chipped in with a quick fire 22 late in the innings. Munster at least passed the 100 run mark , finishing on 106 for 7.
Tomorrow we play two more T20 against the same teams. The lessons of today will inspire our boys to even greater efforts. “
