News

The first ever RSA Cricket Ireland Awards are just over six weeks away now. Charlie Irwin casts his eye over some of the candidates from the Leinster competitions and has a look at who may feature on the nomination shortlist for the Club Player of the Year.
Club Player of the Year Sponsored by O’Neills

Despite captaining his side to Leinster Cup glory, scoring 108 in the semi-final and 62 in the final and scoring 651 runs in the season at 47 in all competitions (Leinster League, Cup and Irish Senior Cup), there will be an element of regret for Clontarf Captain Bill Coghlan. His team was relegated to Division Two on the last day of the season but he is the winner of the Marchant Cup for batting (averaging 51 in the two Leinster competitions) which may at least provide some small consolation.

For the second season in a row, Merrion captain John Anderson was the highest run scorer in Leinster in all competitions. He put himself on Ireland selectors’ radar with another stellar season in which he scored 673 at 52. He also took a useful 20 wickets at 17 which helped put him top of the all-rounders table in the region. Merrion survived relegation at the expense of Clontarf – ending in third position in the end – but made it all the way to the final of the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup. Anderson had a lot to do with that scoring 247 at 82 in the competition including a match-winning 110* against CSN in the quarter-final.

The Hills won the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup for the first time and captain, Naseer Shoukat, had everything to do with their successful season. He was one of the top wicket-takers in Leinster taking 28 wickets at 13.21 for the season and scored a useful 262 at an average of 21. But it was in the BKISC where Naz was inspirational – he led his team to victory, winning the Man of the Match award in the final with outstanding figures of 10 over 3 for 16, and he was top wicket taker in the competition with 12 wickets at an incredible average of 8.

The Hills bowling attack is one of the finest in the country and it is no surprise that another of their players had a fantastic season. Tomas Murphy was one of the most improved players in Ireland this year and took 28 wickets at 12.86 in all competitions. He was instrumental in his team’s BKISC win, taking 9 wickets at an average of 9 in the competition, but maybe his most valuable contribution was his 41* against YMCA in the quarter-final where the match was tied.

Mohammed Tariq is not to be discounted, though. The Railway player won the bowling award taking 26 wickets at 12.62 in Leinster cricket and had two five-wicket hauls with a best of 5-14. When you take into account the 213 runs he scored batting in the middle order at an average of 21, you have to think he is in with a chance. YMCA will also be happy with their season of a second place finish in the league and the silverware in the Twenty20 format when they won the Alan Murray Cup and Reinhardt Strydom had a strong all around year with 432 runs and 17 wickets.

However it was Leinster CC won the Leinster League for the first time since 1998, and won it at a canter losing only one match. You might think that a few of their players would feature as contenders for this award, but that is not the case – the professional, Joel Leacock had a great season, but no one else stands out from the rest which is a sign of their all round team play. Stephen Moreton was their best batsman, scoring 379 runs at an average of 32 in all competitions (he also took 20 wickets at 17.70). Tim Law was their highest wicket taker taking 26 at 17.15, whilst Anton Scholtz had the best bowling average taking 25 wickets at 15.32.

The Division 2 Champions were equally as comprehensive, with Pembroke also only losing 1 league match all season. Captain Theo Lawson topped the averages scoring 607 runs at an average of 67.44, despite only playing 12 matches. His brother Paul Lawson had equally as strong a year with his off-spin accounting for 38 victims at an average of just 12.63. The stand out player of Division 2 however was surely Andrew Balbirnie, the Middlesex and Ireland contracted player was only available intermittently for the Sydney Parade side but when he was around he showed his class with 467 runs and 13 wickets in only 10 appearances.

The other promotion spot was filled by Phoenix whose professional Jan Steenkamp had a strong year to help Phoenix return to Division 1 again. The future is bright for the Phoenix Park based club with several young players becoming regulars throughout the year, none more impressively than the two Anders brother, Tom & Rory who made plenty of important contributions throughout the year. Finally, a special mention for the evergreen Shahid Iqbal of Rush, whose batting was as consistent as ever to end with a tally of 544 runs at an average of over 40.

These are just the people who stand out to me after a long season but I’m sure I’ve missed some in each region – perhaps I’ve missed the eventual winner! What do you think?

For more details on the RSA Cricket Ireland Awards click here. You can make YOUR nomination for who you think deserves to win Club Player of the Year now. To reserve your seat at the Awards NOW click here

Charlie Irwin
John Anderson’s fine season saw him win his first Ireland cap © Cricket Ireland/Barry Chambers
Yes