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Ireland Women will look to cap a very successful season next week by winning a play-off which will promote them to Division 2 of the ECB Women’s County Championship.
Ireland Women, who finished at the top of the County Championship Division Three table at the end of the round robin stages, took on second-placed Gloucestershire in a play-off yesterday. Ireland’s 58-run victory earned them the reward of a play-off against the losers of Division Two (which is yet to be decided), and should the girls in green win that, they will play in Division Two next season.

It was disappointment early on, however, as two storms the previous day meant a soggy square and very soggy popping crease down one end. With the sun beating down, though, and the breeze picking up, both teams were optimistic of playing a reduced overs game.

Tossing at 13.45, Ireland lost and were put in to bat in a 28 over match. Clare Shillington and Cecelia Joyce got off to a flyer on a difficult track before Shillington (22) was out caught. She will have felt a little hard done by as the ball seemed to just stick in the pitch and she was through her shot early. Isobel joined her sister and the pair quickly went about building a partnership of 105 which lasted 16 overs.

The pair were going strong until Isobel (70) was dismissed, unable to make it back into her crease after coming down to legspinner Chloe Davis. Kim Garth was only able to add five before Davis also claimed her wicket. Eimear Richardson made a useful cameo, scoring 20 from 15 deliveries. Cecelia played an innings around which her partners were able to score freely and carried her bat, scoring 48 of the 170 total.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Gloucestershire batting attack who needed just over six-an-over from the beginning of their innings. Kim Garth and Louise McCarthy put then under pressure immediately, McCarthy bowling her six overs through with figures of 6-1-17-1. Kim Garth came back well in her second spell, taking the wicket of danger batswoman Fee Morris (31) who was, rather bizarrely, caught at mid-wicket one-handed by Isobel Joyce.

Garth kept things tight with figures of 5-1-15-1 but it was Laura Delany who finished the match as a contest, her figures of 2-0-3-3 by far the best of the day and Gloucestershire finishing 58 runs short as they ended on 112.


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