A TENACIOUS display in the field saw Belvedere College beat High School by just five runs in an exciting Leinster schools league final at Anglesea Road yesterday.
A total of 110 never looked enough once David Bell and Ross Wynne began the High School reply in confident fashion but two superb catches and a stumping by wicket-keeper and captain, Shane Moore, kept the winners in contention as a slow pitch and outfield made scoring difficult.
High School's hopes rested on Graham O'Meara, who batted over 30 overs for his 38. While he remained at the crease Belvedere remained on the defensive but Kevin O'Malley eventually removed him in the 46th over with a ball that kept cruelly low.
The last pair of Daniel Clarke and Jonathan Fennell nudged their way to within six runs before O'Malley struck again to claim his fourth wicket and win the match.
Earlier, Andrew Dunne had put Belvedere into a comfortable position before a mid-innings collapse began the rot. Greg O'Meara, David Bell and John Murphy all bowled well but in the end, not well enough.
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