The first time I remember playing against Gerry Lyons was in a Senior 2 Cup match in the Park in the late 1970s: he was captain of Leinster 3rds and I of Civil Service. My wife and I had spent all morning preparing a salad tea, and I arrived, hot and bothered, not too long before the scheduled start. Gerry was happy to play when we were all ready, but umpire Tim Protheroe Benyon insisted on a prompt start, and wasn't happy with my observations on the matter.

We batted first, and Tim chunged me at the first available opportunity, much to Lyonser‘s amusement: a big inswinger hit me in front of middle and, looking round, I saw Ciaran Callan behind the stumps scrambling towards backward square leg to take the ball. I entreated Tim to enjoy his tea, and watched the rest of the side put up a decent score. Leinster got home in the last over of a great game, Cally still at the wicket on 40-odd with the number 11, whom we had dropped. Gerry and I duly got elephants afterwards, as did quite a few others.

The next season I joined Leinster on a free transfer from Service, and having paid my signing-on fee, I developed strong friendships with many players there, but especially Gerry and Bertie Buttimer. We were all fierce competitors, but (almost) never forgot that it was just a game. Later on I moved into umpiring, and was delighted when Gerry did the same a few years afterwards.

Gerry was a very good umpire, and once he had learned to overcome Sunday syndrome (too many pints on Saturday night) he became as reliable as he was popular. Gerry always had that spark, sometimes stubborn, often cussed, and it was a huge shock to me when I heard the spark had been extinguished for ever on Tuesday.

Just before the start of the Antalis Senior Cup match at Castle Avenue on Saturday morning, the players of Clontarf and CYM, together with the umpires, observed a minute's silence in Gerry's memory. CYM won the toss and backed their batsmen to set a score. Ken McDonald and Steven Moore set off at a decent pace against Joe Morrisey and Conor D'Arcy, with Kenny in particular punishing the increasingly frequent loose deliveries.

The change bowlers were on, and at 60/0 off 16 overs, the Chee were in the pound seats. Then Rupa Islam bowled Moore for 20, and in the next over Kenny Mac steered Niall Delany's worst ball of the day, a rank long hop, straight to point. The middle order, with the exception of Donal Vaughan, didn't deserve any chicken curry as Abraham Coetzee and Robbie Henson played silly shots, John Hoey didn't pick a wrong ‘un, and Michael Launders picked an argument with the umpire about a straight ‘un. The umpires, in honour of the late Liam Keegan, came off early for lunch.

It would have tasted good to ‘Tarf with CYM at 115/6. Vaughan and Ahsan Ullah progressed the score to 143, when Donal, on 27, completely out of character, skipped down the wicket to Andrew Poynter and holed out to mid on. Ullah, strictly in character, skied one to mid off in the next over. Keith McCarthy played a couple of nice shots in his 16*, but Ken Brennan (with vertigo at no. 10) and Doug Nicol weren't much use to him as CYM were all out for 175 off 52.1 overs.

Sammy Sundries was top scorer with 43, Willie Wides contributing 27, and Percy Penalties 5 (that's more than Arsenal concede at Anfield, although if the Scouse Gits needed 6 to win, the refs would give them!). Niall Delany was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/23 off 9 overs; Rod Hokin helped himself to 4/32 off 11.1; Poynter 2/20 off 10; and Islam 1/25 off 7.

The Bull's Meadow men, in the slim shape of Adrian D'Arcy and the chunky form of Dom Rigby, started at 3:15 p.m., gradually accelerating through the offerings of Plates, Ken Brennan, and the Tallaght Tornado, Michael Launders. The change bowling of Abraham Coetzee, John Hoey and Keith McCarthy was no more effective, as Dom's fifty, the ton and then Adrian's fifty were passed.

In the 31st over, with the score on 133, Darcy (59) had an unmerciful smear at Donal Vaughan, and was gunned. This was also in memory of Liam Keegan, who would have given it out regardless of direction purely because it was such an awful shot! Rod Hokin played some proper shots in his 22* as he helped Rigby (88*) past the CYM total in the 36th over just before tea. Dom's final shot, an on drive for four, was a beauty.

This meant I could nip across the Drinklink Bridge to Anglesea Road where, I had been informed, a good game was developing. When I got there Malahide were 150/4, with Andrew Pyne and Conor Geraghty going well, wanting 80 off the last 20 overs. Matt Petrie had just finished his second spell, and had three overs left.

Then Geraghty (29) lost concentration, lifted his heel, and was smartly stumped by Kade Beasley off Tiktish Patel's slow left-armers. That made it 156/5 in the 42nd over. Not long afterwards, Pyner stretched a long way forward to Patel and was given out lbw for 58. As he said himself, Patel doesn't turn it very much and the ball doesn't bounce very high in Merrion.

John Byrne and Phil Markey kept the Villagers in the game, taking the score past 200. Markey departed for 19, and Petrie was brought back for a final effort. He got Byrne (18) with the help of an excellent catch by Beasley, but his overs ran out with Glen Kirwan and Steve Smith inching the total ever nearer to 230.

Merrion skipper Jeff Short had missed Kirwan at cover, and with John Anderson uncharacteristically leaking runs, he brought himself on for some left-arm trundle. With less than ten needed, Glenda (23) swung at Short, skied it, as was caught and bowled. Stevie Schmoo was doing the right thing by nurdling singles, but Sammy Cassidy couldn't resist have a swing at Damien Poder (lots of people have wanted a swing at Podes over the years!), seriously underclubbed and holed out two runs short with ten deliveries unused.

Petrie's 12 overs yielded 2/29, and Patel's 4/56. I can't tell you whether Merrion deserved to win or Malahide deserved to lose, nor whether cricket was the winner, but it was nice to watch a closely contested match, even if I did have to listen to a load of old eyewash about climate change from someone who knows Sweet Fanny Adams about it. I didn't ask about Freddie Heineken's carbon footprint.