CRICKET ROUND-UPAS THE Pembroke team bus exited the Port Tunnel on Sunday night, a large rainbow was splashed across the South Dublin skyline. A metaphor perhaps, for although the young Sandymount side had been beaten by North County earlier in the DGM League final, they had given the Fingal superpower a considerable fright before they wrapped up a four-wicket victory.
In the end, Pembroke had no answer to the class of Andre Botha; the Ireland international holding his nerve to hit an unbeaten 77 after North County had been reduced to 100 for five in the 20th over, chasing 207.
The fact Pembroke reached the final in the first place surprised many after they suffered an annus horribilis last year.
One measly Twenty20 victory was all they had to show for their efforts, despite having some of the best young talent at their disposal in under-19 internationals Andrew Balbirnie, Graham McDonnell and Theo Lawson.
Add in a good pro in Rick Francis, his Australian compatriot Jono Cooke and the returning veteran Brían O'Rourke and it's easy to see the reason things have taken a turn for the better at Sydney Parade.
Barring the big clubs, cricket in this country will always be of a cyclical nature. When Pembroke were last winning competitions, they could call on the Davy twins, Peter and John, as well as younger versions of the Byrne brothers.
Peter, who captains the side, and Joe are still playing but will be able to step away from the club in the coming years knowing the Broke's future is in safe hands.
North County's moment is right now and the Fingal heavyweights look like challenging for titles on all fronts this summer.
On Saturday they demolished the Northwest side Brigade to make the quarter-finals of the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup, a competition they have dominated since the turn of the millennium.
They are joined at present in Friday's quarter-final draw by three other Leinster sides; with Rush, The Hills and Merrion also winning their games last Saturday.
That number could yet be swelled to five as Leinster were forced to abandon their match away to Instonians on Saturday because of an "unsuitable pitch".
For "unsuitable" read "dangerous", as the game was called off after just 6.3 overs when the umpires deemed the Shaw's Bridge track unplayable.
One of Leinster's opening batsmen admitted the pitch looked fine at first glance, but his opinion changed once Eugene Moleon's first delivery left a crater-sized divot before flying over his head.
It wasn't a one-off; the next ball, pitching on a full length, fizzed up and clattered him on the arm.
Cricket is a dangerous game at the best of times. If you don't believe me, type "Daniel Flynn" and "tooth" into YouTube and watch, preferably from behind your settee, as England's James Anderson rearranges the New Zealander's dental chart.
And bear in mind that was on an Old Trafford Test pitch while Flynn was wearing a helmet and full face guard.
Former internationals who attended last Sunday's DGM League final at the wonderfully appointed Milverton ground in Skerries failed to recollect a similar incident, and many of them would have played in the days of uncovered pitches.
It's simply unacceptable to provide a wicket of that nature for any level of cricket, let alone the foremost club competition in the domestic game.
Instonians will pay the penalty of losing home advantage, travelling to Rathmines for the refixture on Friday week.
The lesson that must be learnt is that the outcome could have been a whole lot worse.
