Cork County were the visitors to the Cricket Field this afternoon, as the Firsts kicked off their league campaign.

Captain Majid Kahn won the toss, and elected to bat, with openers Simon Casey and Dean Wilson marching out with the deluded confidence that only the insanity of early-season can give you. Sure enough, Casey was soon making the return journey, having been caught LBW for 2 by Kelleher. Midleton’s batsmen continued to struggle, with Smyth (4), Wilson (16), and Kahn (7) falling quickly afterward. Indeed, at one stage Midleton looked like they were in real danger of posting the lowest score of a Cork side for the weekend, but finally surpassed County’s 77 (scored in the Leinster League stuffing the previous day) with the aid of some woeful bowling by the visitors. Eventually, extras were to be the star scorer of the innings, a remarkable total of 49 exceeding Kieran O’Reilly’s top score of 19 by quite some distance. By the time John McEvoy was finally dismissed, Midleton had reached a total of 117 all out from a paltry 34 overs.

It was never going to be enough, but Midleton showed some fine form, with Atif Jameel taking Hassett’s wicket with a fine catch from Waqar’s bowling. However, County new boy Gary King swiftly got into his stride with a mighty knock that saw him reach his half-century with County on 63/1. Kevin O’Sullivan was happy to block at the other end, before finally falling to a fine Waqar catch with his first real shot in anger. King continued to pile on the runs, before McEvoy dropped a catch on the second last ball of the innings, costing Midleton the game. King’s unbeaten 87 was the highlight for the visitors, but it was a promising start for Captain Kahn’s era.

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