From The Pavilion

Welcome to the Irish League Senior Plate.

• All teams in Divisions 3 and 4 of the Irish League receive an invite.

• From Season 64, teams will be invited in the reverse order or their One Day ranking at the end of the previous season (so worst to first)).

• There will be 16 teams in the plate, or 32, if sufficient numbers accept.

• So from season 64, the lowest 16 (or 32 teams) that accept are guaranteed place in the draw.

Warning note: please be patient if you have been knocked out of the cup, sometimes it takes FTP a while to recognise that you have been and so free to join. I promise it does work eventually.

Competition Details:

• It is a knock-out cup.

• The draw is random (there is no seeding).

• Games are played on a Saturday.

• Games played are T20 friendlies

• Games do not impact player fatigue for league matches.

• Local weather conditions are applied

• Pitch preparation is at the whim of the home team’s groundskeeper (random).

What's the catch?

• There is none, entry is free.

• We ask, but don't enforce, that those who can pull Irish youth players as a contribution.

• Both finalists win an award of Pavilion membership.

Then why?
As always, my hope is to:

• Develop a sense of identity, belonging and community to the Irish league setup.

• Support the Irish national side by encouraging youth pulls where possible.

• Offer teams in lower divisions the chance to test themselves against higher league opposition.

• Have fun.

• Additionally, the plate offers a chance for teams in the lower divisions to compete in something they can progress in and may just win.

It would be great if you would join in by hitting the accept button when you receive your invite.

Timeline

• 15 November : All Division 3 and 4 sides not in the Irish League Senior Cup draw are invited in rank order; they get priority over those who did.

• After 22 November : Any Division 3 and 4 sides knocked out of the Irish League Senior Cup draw are invited in rank order. If this applies to you, please note that accepting your invitation sometimes doesn't work as the system may still have you recorded as playing in the Cup; be patient and try again later - the system will synchronise and work closer to the deadline.

• 29 November: Acceptance deadline

• 6 December: Round of 32 / 16.

• 13 December : Round of 16 / Quarter-finals.

• 20 December : Quarter-finals / Semi-finals.

• 27 December : Semi-finals / Final.

• 3 January: Final / nothing.

Team Roll of Honour

Season 62: competition cancelled

• Insufficient acceptances to run.

Season 61:

• Winner: Hammers CC

• Runner-up: Belmont CC

• Semi-finalists: Blwe Scavengerz; Western Suburbs Hacks

Season 60:

• Winner: Ireland Lions

• Runner-up: Western Suburbs Hacks

• Semi-finalists: Blazing Dragons Cricket Club; FPCC Ireland

Individual leaders
Player of the Tournament, for most fantasy points:

• S62: competition cancelled

• S61: 352 - Reece Haymes (Belmont CC)

• S60: 320 - Boyd Rankin (Ireland Lions)

Golden pads, for most runs scored by a batter:

• S62: competition cancelled

• S61: 266 - Reece Haymes (Belmont CC)

• S60: 148- Ian Hooper (Chester Ducks)

Golden cap, for most wickets taken by a bowler:

• S62: competition cancelled

• S61: 10-79 Wasantha Kumarasooriya (rws, Hammers CC)

• S60: 9-94 Clayton Tyler (lfm, Ireland Lions)

Golden gloves, for most dismissals involving the keeper:

• S62: competition cancelled

• S61: 6 (5c, 1st) - Jake Gladman (Hammers CC)

• S60: 9 (9c) Maddox Bice (Blazing Dragons Cricket Club)

The Draw
Note: Rankings used are as of the start of the season.

First Round
#038 Dunbrody CC ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #054 St Johns Athletic ( One Day 4.8 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
Dunbrody CC won by 26 runs
#056 Muggles Cricket Club ( One Day 3.1 ) vs. #049 Western Suburbs Hacks ( One Day 3.2 ) [Senior Rivalry: 1-9]
Western Suburbs Hacks won by 55 runs
#059 Babylon5 ( One Day 4.1 ) vs. #041 Spingleberry ( One Day 3.3 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0] [MKMC Rivalry: 1-0]
Spingleberry won by 70 runs
#031 Celtic Wolves ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #040 North Cardiff Cosmos ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 2-1]
North Cardiff Cosmos won by 7 wickets
#018 The Hurlutown Partnership ( One Day 3.3 ) vs. #039 Marching On Together ( One Day 3.3 ) [Senior Rivalry: 4-0]
The Hurlutown Partnership won by 11 runs
#060 Insane Inglewood Posse ( One Day 4.6 ) vs. #047 FPCC Ireland ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
FPCC Ireland won by 8 wickets
#037 Ella XI ( One Day 3.2 ) vs.#021 Hunslet Parkside C.C. ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
Ella XI won by 1 run
#050 The Cross Lances ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #043 Chester Ducks ( One Day 3.3 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
Chester Ducks won by 8 wickets

Quarter Finals
#038 Dunbrody CC ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #049 Western Suburbs Hacks ( One Day 3.2 ) [Senior Rivalry: 7-7]
Dunbrody CC won by 25 runs
#041 Spingleberry ( One Day 3.3 ) vs. #040 North Cardiff Cosmos ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
North Cardiff Cosmos won by 7 wickets
#018 The Hurlutown Partnership ( One Day 3.3 ) vs. #047 FPCC Ireland ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
The Hurlutown Partnership won by 159 runs
#037 Ella XI ( One Day 3.2 ) vs.#043 Chester Ducks ( One Day 3.3 ) [Senior Rivalry: 0-0]
Ella XI won by 15 runs

Semi Finals
#038 Dunbrody CC ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #040 North Cardiff Cosmos ( One Day 3.4 ) [Senior Rivalry: 1-2]

#018 The Hurlutown Partnership ( One Day 3.3 ) vs. #037 Ella XI ( One Day 3.2 ) [Senior Rivalry: 3-1]

Introduction to this year's Senior Plate
The highest ranked team in the draw is #018 The Hurlutown Partnership, then #021 Hunslet Parkside C.C. Both are in the lower half of the draw and scheduled to meet in the semi-final, barring an upset. Their opening games offer a reasonable test, but one they should pass:

• #018 The Hurlutown Partnership ( One Day 3.3 ) vs. #039 Marching On Together ( One Day 3.3 )

• #037 Ella XI ( Day 3.2 ) vs. #021 Hunslet Parkside C.C. ( One Day 3.4 )

The most successful team in the draw is #049 Western Suburbs Hacks having been a losing finalist in the first running of the plate. The previous winners Ireland Lions, did not qualify for an invite, and Hammers CC. have left the league. The competition was cancelled last year.

• #056 Muggles Cricket Club ( One Day 3.1 ) vs. #049 Western Suburbs Hacks ( One Day 3.2 )

There are nine newcomers to the Senior Plate: #018 The Hurlutown Partnership; #021 Hunslet Parkside C.C.; #031 Celtic Wolves; #037 Ella XI; #039 Marching On Together; #040 North Cardiff Cosmos; #041 Spingleberry; #050 The Cross Lances; and #056 Muggles Cricket Club.

The are just three entries from the fourth tier: #054 St Johns Athletic; #059 Babylon5; and #060 Insane Inglewood Posse. All have competed in the plate before. Their hunt for glory begins and may end here:

• #038 Dunbrody CC ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #054 St Johns Athletic ( One Day 4.8 )

• #059 Babylon5 ( One Day 4.1 ) vs. #021 Hunslet Parkside C.C. ( One Day 3.4 )

• #060 Insane Inglewood Posse ( One Day 4.6 ) vs. #047 FPCC Ireland ( One Day 3.4 )

For this reason, starting, next season I have decided to reverse the order of invitation to the plates to begin with the lowest ranked teams. This will ensure that new joiners and the other Division 4 sides are guaranteed to be accepted into the competition and so ensure that all teams in the Irish League setup have the chance to compete in either the Cup or the Plate. It also increases the chances of providing testing but "winnable" matchups early on in the competition. I wish I had thought of it sooner.

The remaining matchups in the first round are:

• #031 Celtic Wolves ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #040 North Cardiff Cosmos ( One Day 3.4 )

• #050 The Cross Lances ( One Day 3.4 ) vs. #043 Chester Ducks ( One Day 3.3 )

Round One - a brief recap

• Dunbrody's Romesh Wettimuny (4-23) saw of St John's, despite Carey Ponting's valiant 83 in a losing cause. Timmy Shevill and Ethan Scully both scored half-centuries in a winning cause.

• Muggles bowlers were muddled by Hacks' batters Swinbourne Nagel (113*) and Lohan Laxman (82*). Cabous Wordsworth (3-23) has a great name that is a homonym for a railway wagon with accommodation for the train crew, usually at the end of the train.

• Spingleberry scored 70 more runs than Babylon5 on a flat wicket. So many runs but the following all achieved their half-centuries Jack Donfeld (65*), Keven Horne (64*), and Richard Adair (64).

• Manish Sankaran scored 70 not out for the Celtic Wolves but the North Cardiff Cosmos easily overhailed the total thanks to Khimraj Gilkes (67*) and Bryan Bradford (48*).

• Marching On's James Lavery hit 81 in response to Hurlutown's 147-3 in which Mark Conway made 69 not out. It was the Partnership's fast bowling that won the day: Thorpe Lind (4-24) and Rian Flanagan (3-37).

• Wade Neyland hit an Insane knock of 82 whilst David Price took 3-16 but Anderson Wilkerson (65*)and Thorpe Murphy (57*) comfortably clinched the tie for FPCC Ireland.

• Hakeem Maina (4-22) helped the Ducks avoid being Cross Lanced; Viyusa Sekhoto's fifty finished the job.

Game of the round: Ella XI v Hunslet Parkside C.C.
Contributions from Ella's top IV [Sanee Buultjens (28), Leonard Flores (42), Luis Barton (53) and Nirmala Nawalage (37*)] helped them to 171-3. And Hunslet's top four Elton Kasteni (17), Murray Boyle (47), Ross Buckley (55) and Keith Payne (33) seemingly had them on track for a win. However, three run outs in the last two overs left them a tantalising single run short (two on countback) at 170-6.

Quarter Finals - a brief recap

• High scoring on a flat wicket. Ethan Scully (99), Edward Pearse (58) and Tjards Karstens (48) took Dunbrody to 237-3. It feels like Reece Kielty (85), Swinbourne Nagel (64) and Lohan Laxman (50) should have scored enough for WS Hacks; but they were 25 runs short and out of the Plate.

• Khimraj Gilkes (59*) and Bryan Bradford (48*) put together another winning partnership for the North Cardiff Cosmos.

• Crash, bang, wallop! Antonie Wylie (131) and Liphaphang Maraire (90 not out), then Thorpe Lind with four wickets for eight runs, absolutely pulverised FPCC for The Hurlutown Partnership.

• Slow wicket, so few runs. Sanee Buultjens (45) then Thilanga Kassier (43*) and James Scott (34*) took Ella XI to 157-4. Anirudhh Baskaran (43*) got not support and Ella took another trio of run outs in the win. Maybe it's not just catches that win matches.

Leaders
Player of the Tournament, for most fantasy points:

• 258 Antonie Wylie (The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 248 Thorpe Lind (The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 207 Swinbourne Nagel (Western Suburbs Hacks)

• 184 Khimraj Gilkes (North Cardiff Cosmos)

• 172 Ethan Scully (Dunbrody CC)

Golden pads, for most runs scored by a batter:

• 177 Swinbourne Nagel (Western Suburbs Hacks)

• 161 Antonie Wylie (The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 155 Ethan Scully (Dunbrody CC)

• 132 Lohan Laxman (Western Suburbs Hacks)

• 126 Khimraj Gilkes (North Cardiff Cosmos)

Golden cap, for most wickets taken by a bowler:

• 8-32 Thorpe Lind (rf, The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 4-44 Rian Flanagan (lfm, The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 4-54 Hakeem Maina (lm, Chester Ducks)

• 4-76 Romesh Wettimuny (rws, Dunbrody CC)

• 3-16 David Price (rm, FPCC Ireland)

plus eight other bowlers with three wickets

Golden gloves, for most dismissals involving the keeper:

• 5 (5c, 0st) - Dandy Fenton (Chester Ducks)

• 4 (4c, 0st) - Kabir Iqbal (The Hurlutown Partnership)

• 2 (2c, 0st) - Kamlesh Sutariya (FPCC Ireland)

• 2 (2c, 0st) - Ismael Jafar (Western Suburbs Hacks)

• 2 (1c, 1st) - Bryan Bradford (North Cardiff Cosmos)

• 2 (1c, 1st) - Tjarda Karstens (Dunbrody CC)