DMU’s Cricket team clinched a fantastic victory this season, becoming the BUCS indoor Cricket Trophy Champions 2018/19.
The team competed in the Trophy Cup last year, but narrowly missed out on the win, so were excited and determined to prove themselves in this year’s competition.
The final took place here in Leicester at the Leicester Community Sports Centre – a good omen for #TeamDMU.
Their achievement was no easy feat, with the season getting off to a difficult start as the team were plagued by injuries, and entered the final with three of their top players absent from the usual line-up, notably their captain which meant, club chair George O’Neill acted in as stand-in captain on the day.
Despite these setbacks the team were undeterred; having come so close the previous year they felt they really deserved the win and were ready to give it their best shot.
The group stages of the final went really well, winning against Hertfordshire and Royal Holloway and drawing against East Anglia – a result which put them at the top of their group and straight through to the semi-finals.
Group Results:
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De Montfort 1st
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46
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44
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Hertfordshire 1st
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De Montfort 1st
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54
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54
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East Anglia 1st
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De Montfort 1st
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57
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50
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Royal Holloway 1st
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The team were wary of their next two competitors – Worcester and Bournemouth - having already pegged them the strongest opposition. They had previously lost to Worcester in the qualifiers, but thanks to a strong collective performance in the semis the team managed to turn it around and take the win 64-68.
Daring to feel confident at this stage, DMU went on to dominate against Bournemouth with a nail-biting tight final score of 76 -79, to bring home the gold.
Notable performances includedfantastic bowling from Monik Patel and Alfie Loakes, but a special mention must be made to those players who stepped in for the first team at short notice and did a fantastic job in bringing home the win.
With only a few weeks left until Varsity the club don’t have much time to rest on their laurels, and are excited to maintain their title. For the last two years DMU cricket have beaten UoL in the Varsity series and they have no intention of stopping now.
Club chair George O’Neill said of the annual rivalry: ‘For the last two years, indoor and outdoor, first team and second team, we haven’t lost once – so we’re determined to keep it that way!’
Catch the Indoor Cricket at Varsity at the UoL City Cricket Academy on Wednesday 6 March.
12:00 - Men 2nd
13:00 – Women 1st
14:00 – Men 1st
Posted on Tuesday 19 February 2019