A very young Instonians side ensured that the Banoge Cup remained at Shaw's Bridge with a comfortable win against CIYMS at Belmont on Thursday 9th August.

Carson McCullough, the CI captain won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. Openers Callum Soper and Carson McCullough started cautiously against the opening attack of Rory Ellerby and George Palmer. Rory vs Carson was a good battle with Carson resolute in defence and Rory determined to capture the prize wicket of his representative teammate.  It was George however who made the breakthrough in the 4th over, bowling Callum. This brought the rangy Ethan Trill to the wicket. Scoring opportunities were few with Ellerby's first 3 overs costing only 4 runs and after 5 overs, CI stood on 11 for 1.

Rory took a break and Tom Crothers was introduced into the attack and immediately found good areas. Conor Anderson was introduced into the attack and struggled for consistency, which allowed CI to score freely. Tom ensured his end was kept tight with a good spell, conceding only 7 runs in his 4 overs and unfortunate to be wicketless.

After 10 overs, the score had moved on to 51 for 1 with Carson looking dangerous, taking a liking to Conor's leggies but still batting well within his capabilities. Ethan was mostly looking to take the aerial route and met his downfall courtesy of Ben McCausland, ending a 66 run partnership. Inst tails were up knowing that Carson was shouldering a massive responsibility and he became Ben's second victim as he pulled a short ball to George Palmer at mid-wicket for a well-taken catch.

At 77 for 3 after 15, the aim was to keep the score under 100. Jed Dornan and Matthew Tindall finished with a flurry as the innings closed on 99-4.
It was an excellent fielding performance by Instonians with the 6 Under 11 boys playing unphased by the pressure of "playing up".

In the Instonians reply, Rory Ellerby started well, dominating the bowling before Ethan bowled Luke Beattie with the score on 18 in the 3rd over. George Palmer and Rory Ellerby partnered well as Rory dealt with the threat of spinner Carson McCullough. A bowling change resulted in George popping one to mid-off to leave the scoreboard reading 49 for 2 in the 7th over.

With overs not an issue, CI needed to take wickets to keep themselves in the match but Tom Crothers had other plans. He and Rory batted maturely, hitting gaps and putting away anything loose. With the finish line in sight, Milo Carter bowled Rory for a fantastic 48, unfortunate not to reach a well-deserved 50 but a match winning innings nonetheless.  His 48 contained 9 x 4's.

Tom Crothers and Ben McCausland finished the job confidently to seal a 7-wicket victory for the visitors.  A good performance against determined opponents with the Inst team now progressing to the All-Ireland Club Finals.

Summary
CIYMS 99-4 (C McCullough 42, G Palmer 2-14, B McCausland 2-19)
Instonians 101-3 (R Ellerby 48, T Crothers 23no)
Instonians beat CIYMS by 7 wickets

Photo © John Boomer (Cricket Europe)