CRICKET:MERRION FELL at the first hurdle in their defence of the Lewis Hohn Williams Leinster Senior Cup on Saturday, losing by five wickets to YMCA at Claremont Road.

Ireland all-rounder Trent Johnston proved the star turn for his new club, taking three wickets in six balls to rip a hole in Merrion’s middle order before a 122-run stand for the seventh wicket between John Anderson (88) and Kade Beasley (54) helped the visiting side post 240, with Robbie Garth and Umar Jehangir also taking three wickets for YM.

Opener Reinhardt Strydom bashed 45 runs off just 19 balls, including three sixes, to give the home side the perfect start, with Johnston (68), Simmi Singh (33) and Lee Cole (30) all making valuable contributions as YM got home with 17 overs to spare.

Another Ireland all-rounder in form on Saturday was Railway Union’s Kevin O’Brien, who took three wickets to help restrict Leinster to 190, before hitting an unbeaten 80 off 59 balls to complete an eight-wicket victory at Park Avenue.

Across the road in Sydney Parade, Pembroke enjoyed a run-fest as they made 333 for five from their 60 overs against Rush. Skipper Theo Lawson top-scored with 78, Robin Russell made an unbeaten 70 and Ireland under-19 international Barry McCarthy 59.

Paul Lawson wasn’t going to let his older brother take all the plaudits; the off-spinner running through the Rush battling line-up to finish with brilliant figures of seven for 13 as the visitors were rolled for just 110 and a 223-run defeat.

There was another one-sided game at Milverton, where an in-form Hills side bowled out Terenure for just 67 before chasing down the runs in less than 10 overs. In the final tie, Old Belvedere chased down Cork County’s total of 205 for eight to win by three wickets in Cabra.