Mooney stars as Cl ont a rf claim T 20 title

CLONTARF are the first All-Ireland T20 champions after beating Waringstown on their home ground at The Lawn yesterday by 10 runs.

Player-coach John Mooney was named man of the match after bowling his four overs for just 28 runs as the NCU champions fell 10 runs short.

The Villagers, chasing 152, needed 18 off the last two overs but Mooney and Shariful Islam conceded just seven singles to leave Clontarf as convincing winners.

Waqar Asmat top-scored for the Castle Avenue side with 36 and his fourth-wicket stand of 66 with Mooney (28) allowed them to lose the next five wickets for 17 runs and still post a winning total.

Mooney, who has told the Ireland selectors he is available again for internationals – but not T20s – also scored 42 in the 47-run semi-final win against Cork County.

Clontarf are still in pole position in the league title race despite suffering a second defeat on Saturday, Pembroke beating them by seven wickets inside 29 overs.

Indeed, they were only 14 runs away from a 10-wicket victory, with Andrew Balbirnie the first man out for 86 after an opening partnership of 145 with Fiachra Tucker, who made 57.

However, closest challengers Leinster, who have a match in hand, also lost by one wicket to The Hills, who reached their target of 176 with three overs to spare.

The Milverton side leapfrogged Leinster into second place but are still 21 points behind Clontarf with just two games remaining.

It was an even closer finish at Phoenix Park where North County had only one wicket and one ball to spare when Eddie Richardson (71) hit the winning run against Phoenix, while Cork County’s relegation was confirmed when they lost by four wickets against YMCA.

Meanwhile, Stuart Broad lent a famous hand as England took a remarkable 19 wickets on day three of the country’s inaugural floodlit Test to inflict a crushing innings-and-209run defeat on hapless West Indies at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Only Jermaine Blackwood (79no) provided any resistance in a first-innings 168 all out, and not even he could hold up the England juggernaut on its second run as Broad moved into overdrive to surpass the great Ian Botham and take second place behind his team-mate James Anderson in the national all-time list of Test wicket-takers.

Soon afterwards, the tourists had folded for 137 to go 1-0 down in double-quick time with two more to play in this series.

Blackwood apart, the first innings was an unedifying procession after West Indies resumed on 44 for one.