The weather forecast was poor for the whole weekend, but I managed to witness a good contest on Saturday. I pitched up in the Phoenix Park more in hope than in expectation, but at a quarter past two we got underway with a 32 over match between Phoenix and YMCA.

We already knew that the other match in Section C of the DGM, that between Old Belvedere and North County, had been abandoned without a ball being bowled, so all YMCA had to was avoid defeat to top the Section and go through to the semi finals next Sunday.

Phoenix had to win to take top slot, so when Corie Dickieson won the toss he asked YMCA to set a score. Andrew Downton chose to open from the road end, but kept losing his footing, and was replaced after one over by Rory Flanagan. David Langford Smith came steaming up the hill, but steadily as he and Flanagan bowled, they could make no impression on Rob Nandi and Etesham Ahmed.

While Nandi hung around and nurdled, Shammy went for his shots and had played some nice drives when he miscued Conor Kelly attempting to repeat a straight six and was taken by Dickieson for 30 out of 52. Stu McCready kept up the momentum, and had scored a quick 24 out of the next 38 runs when he nicked Langford Smith, now coming from his favoured road end, through to 'keeper Graham Flanagan.

Next ball was Alan Lewis's first and last, so plumb lbw that umpire John Andrews had no option but to interrupt his game of pocket billiards and direct Lewie back to the pavilion. Paul Beacroft saved the hat-trick, but shortly afterwards succumbed to Lanky caught behind.

By now Andrew Downton was coming up the hill, and first bowled Nandi for 31 and then Gus Dunlop became Graham Flanagan's third victim. When James Parkinson (11) slogged Kelly to Dickieson, 82-1 off 21 overs had become 130-7 off 29 overs, but an animated Simon Wilson-Moore and a single-sneaking Jonny Harte (9*) added 33 in the last three overs.

I had never before seen Wilson-Moore hit the ball off the square, but two sixes from Downton's last over and a couple of pucks off Kelly gave him 30* and YMCA a testing total of 163-7. Downton took 2/34 off 7 overs, Langford Smith 3/25 off 7, and Rory Flanagan, Paddy Conliffe and Conor Kelly shared the other 18 overs for 85 runs.

Even without Reinhardt Strydom, playing for Ireland in Castle Avenue, YMCA have a decent batch of seamers, and exploited the two-paced track well. Paul Beacroft quickly bowled Rory Flanagan, and although his brother Graham came in and played as if he meant it, Rob Mitchell appeared mesmerised by Stu McCready.

The two opening bowlers each delivered their seven overs straight through, Smacker for 10 runs and Beekers for 21. Change bowlers Umar Jehangir and James Parkinson went for a few runs as the drizzle closed in and the ball got greasy, but Phoenix were ten runs behind the D/L when play was suspended at 70-1 in the 17th over.

Six overs were lost, and the revised target was 133, meaning 64 runs to win off 8.3 overs with nine wickets in hand. Phoenix were never in it, immediately losing first Mitchell, bowled by Jehangir for 18, then Flanagan, run out for 35. Andrew Downton at least reached double figures, bowled by his oppo Aussie pro Parkinson for 12.

Dickieson skied Parkinson to the keeper, Lanky was even plumber lbw first ball than was Lewie (he had the good grace to run off faster than he ran on, whereas Lewie had a pose before departing), Kelly was also bowled by Parkinson, and Conliffe very smartly stumped by Mucker McCoy off Jehangir to reduce the home side to 91-8.

Parkinson and Jehangir were each allowed to bowl a sixth over to Matt Plunkett-Cole and Jason McNelis, which they shouldn't have been, from which ten runs were scored, Jehangir returning 3/25 and Parkinson 3/29, but it is hard to imagine that the batsmen would have got another 33 runs off the likes of Harte's darts, Rob's lobs, or even a baker's dozen pies from Gus and Shammy.

YMCA's semi final opponents would be the winners of Sunday's Section A match at Anglesea Road between Merrion and Railway Union, with Railway progressing if there was no result. The weather was mucky, but the pitch covered and one half of the square sort of protected by sheeting.

It wasn't raining, and started to brighten up about one o'clock. The covers were removed, creases marked, and Gus Fleming aimed his hair-drier at the bowlers' landing areas. The umpires declared a 2:50 start to a 25 over match, and the covers were put back on as there were occasional little scutters of rain. The Wheeltappers and Shunters, naturally, had no interest in playing, and demanded that the covers be removed!

The umpires resisted such nonsense, but at 2:45 the rain got heavier and more persistent, and with even the possibility of a 15 over thrash receding, they abandoned the game about 3:15. Now it was Merrion's turn to whinge as they were eliminated courtesy of a win and two wash-outs.

On the topic of the DGM competition's last resort of a 15 over match, regulation 18.3(ii) states:- 'However if the umpires are of the opinion that a match, which has not started, can be completed if a minimum of 15 overs per side are bowled, then a match of this duration may be started.' In the previous day's Pembroke v The Hills match, this is what the umpires wanted to do before they had lost the four hours play that would have reduced the total possible overs to 30.

They 'phoned the LCU Hon. Sec. to confirm that they could go ahead. 'Oh, no,' replied La Sharp, 'You have to wait four hours before doing this.' So you have to wait four hours of what would probably be mainly dry weather before starting a match which is quite likely to be terminated and rendered a no-result by just one period of rain, instead of using the afternoon to play some sort of cricket match which would give each side a fair crack of the whip and a good chance of a result without recourse to D/L?

Where do we find these people? Who votes for them? Is it any wonder that the country is disappearing down the tubes when this is the level of organisational (in)ability and (in)comprehension of problems that we tolerate? The Muppet Show had a big shepherd's crook that was used to yank off lousy acts. Where's my Shepherd's Crook? Bargepole? Twelve-Bore? Bowie Knife? Yerk!!!!!