Wexford Wanderers Second XI were at home to Wicklow County 2’s in a must win game to guarantee a semi final place in the Minor Cup…
Wicklow won the toss and decided to bat which resulted in the Wanderers being put into the field to start the days play. Wexford got off to a great start with the ball and had Wicklow tied down to 42/3 after 11 overs, a notch under 4 runs an over. Wicklow came back into the game in the second half of the innings and finished up on a competitive 102/7 off their 20 overs. Some great bowling performances ensued, while Bishnu Barthlua with his quick spin tied up the batsmen really well. Young Matty Vyuk again had a brilliant spell, while his Dad Steven also bowled well with his medium seamers.
Once again, Tony Murray and Paul Wise started the Wexford reply. However, unlike the last few weeks, Wexford lost the two openers and we were 29-2 off 8 overs.
A much slower start than many had hoped for. The big hitting Kiwi Jared Dunbar came in and showed the great focus. Dunbar hit some of the biggest sixes to be seen at our ground, according to captain Stefan.
Wexford lost Barthula and Aaron Murphy in the middle overs. This left the score at 64-4 off 14 overs. Would this be a disappointing end to the semi final bid? Attila Stahlut came out to the wicket playing some lovely shots. He formed an excellent partnership alongside Dunbar. The game looked to be swinging back in Wexford’s favour until Attila lost his wicket which brought one of Wexford’s most recent members Ultan Quirke to the crease.
The pressure was on, but Quirke thrived under it. He played some lovely shots scoring a number of much needed boundaries, including a six with a flick off his legs. Ultan then hit the winning runs which guaranteed a semi final place for the Wanderers.
“There really is some great depth to our batting so when we do go down a couple wickets we’ve got lads coming in that can win matches, the future is very bright,” winning captain Stefan added this after the win
This weekend (Sunday 11th) will see Wexford Wanderers Cricket Club play the final group game against Wicklow away. Then, on the following Sunday, a big semi final, with the opponents and venue still to be decided. If you want to follow their final group game or the semi final make sure to follow @wexfordcricket on Twitter. Updates of all games as well as team news and training times are posted there.
