2013 was a year of consolidation for Rush. Pre-Season expectations were limited to ensuring survival in Division Two while aiming for a big run in the Cups.

Priority was also given to blooding young players in Senior Cricket to prepare them for taking on senior roles in the years ahead.

These ambitions were achieved and but for a few different bits of luck the season may have ended with promotion and the National Cup trophy.

The League campaign was a mixed affair. Winnable positions at home against Merrion Seconds and Balbriggan were squandered while there were comprehensive victories against Terenure and Malahide.

No Rush season would be complete without an epic run-chase in Kenure and this years quota was achieved when 320 was chased successfully against Dublin University, Alan Butterly leading the charge with a maiden senior hundred at the age of 37!

Overall the League campaign was a success, with the Club left to rue what might have been had the Merrion and Balbriggan games been won. A strong third place finish suggests the team will be well equipped to kick on for promotion in the coming years.

In cup competitions the Alan Murray provided some great entertainment, with great wins over The Hills and Phoenix in Kenure adding some momentum to the season. But for an astonishing attack by John Mooney for North County in the final group game (79 off 22 balls!) a finals day spot would have been Rush's.

The Irish and Leinster Senior Cup campaigns were both ended in the first rounds but the National Cup once again proved a profitable competition for the Club, with wins over Templepatrick, Civil Service and Dundrum clearing a path to the Semi-Finals.

Unfortunately Malahide proved too strong on the day, with Rush man in-exile Fintan Mcallister doing most of the damage. Alan Butterly's starring role in the Dublin University win was not his only contribution of a hundred runs or more, passing the milestone a few weeks later in a win over Leinster. 430 runs at an average 43.00 and his contributions in the field were more than enough to earn Butsy the Player of the Year Award.

Shahid Iqbal was consistent all year, adding depth and experience to the middle order finishing the year with 783 runs at 48.94. Tipu Gull averaged 40.46 for the year and was the anchor in a number of close National Cup run chases.

The star with the bat was, yet again, the skipper Lynal Jansen. Top of the Division Two averages, Runs in all competitions and on all surfaces, Lynal was the rock around which the Batting order worked. From 19 innings, between League and Cup,he scored a quite astonishing 1,145 runs, with four centuries and six half-centuries for an average of 63.61. Chip in his figures with the ball and in the field (most catches in Division 2) and it's clear who the stand-out player of the Season was.

Bowling has been the weak point for the club the last few years, with the batsmen regularly asked to chase mammoth totals. But this year there were encouraging signs, particularly with regard to young bowling talent coming through.

Chaiyo Burke, having risen rapidly through the Senior teams, became the key strike bowler when a wicket was required. Many an experienced Senior batsmen was outfoxed by his pace and swing and a haul of 17 wickets at 24.70 is an early marker of things to come.

The slow bowlers also starred with Niall Mullen (6 wickets at 28.33), Lynal Jansen (19 wickets at 29.10) and Shahid (22 wickets at 29.19) all proving able performers in the middle overs.

Other young players who were blooded in the First team and look like being key players in the future were Stephen Doheny (selected for the Ireland U-15's as a middle order batsman) and James King (Wicketkeeper-Batsmen).

They are the latest in a long-line of home-grown Rush talent, with plenty more hungry young cricketers waiting to make their first team bows in the years ahead.

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