Holywood 1881 won the toss in their first final appearance in the Evara AIT20 Cup and decided to bat first at Waringstown CC. Holywood captain Madison Landsman (13) survived a catching chance in the first over, but was dismissed by her opposite number, Niamh MacNulty, in the fifth over when MacNulty got the ball to nip back and bowl Landsman. Erin Bond (8) went just after the powerplay when she popped up a caught and bowled chance to Julianne Morrissey off the slow bowler’s first delivery.
Lara Maritz and Christina Soulsby (19) then steadied the ship, adding 67 for the third wicket. While not taking wickets, Merrion were tight with their bowling and restricted Holywood well. Lara Maritz looked to add late runs and while she struggled to find the boundary, she ran six doubles in succession in the penultimate over, one of which resulted in a run out, which saw her almost out on her feet going into the last over.
MacNulty bowled the final over and when she bowled a slower ball that turned out to be a full toss on third last ball of the innings, Maritz lacked the power required to find the rope and found Leah Paul in the deep instead. Paul took a smart catch to see Maritz go for 67 in just 45 balls. The Holywood number three helped her team to 124 in their 20 overs. MacNulty finished the pick of the Merrion bowlers with 2-20, while Morrissey finished with 1-17.
The holders began the chase brightly, with overseas professional Bella Armstrong scoring freely and combining with Annabel Squires for 67 for the first wicket. Armstrong added 48 from just 27 deliveries to add to her bowling return of 0-20 from four overs, a performance that earned her the player of the match award.
When Armstrong was bowled by left-arm swing bowler Alexis MacDonald (1-20), Squires was joined by Rebecca Stokell (29) and the pair knocked off the remaining runs with 35 balls remaining. The win for Merrion made it four wins in the six years of the competition’s history.
MATCH SUMMARY
Holywood 1881 Women v Merrion CC Women, Evara All-Ireland T20 Cup, 23 August 2026
HOLYWOOD 124-5 (20 overs; L Maritz 67; N MacNulty 2-20, J Morrissey 1-17)
MERRION 128-1 (14.1 overs; B Armstrong 48; A Squires 36, A MacDonald 1-20)
Merrion Women won by 9 wickets
Scorecard here
