Lions Lod cruise to league and Cup double

Lions Lod - league and Cup double © Israel Cricket

Lions Lod beat Neve Yonatan on Saturday to win the ICA Cup, adding the trophy to the league title they clinched as well. Anybody who has followed local cricket over most of the last decade will hardly be surpised. Apart for the odd hiccup, the team has totally dominated the domestic game. They won the league by the massive margin of 12 points, and took the Cup without breaking a sweat.

Such was Lod's dominance, Division 1 became a contest for second place months ago. Isaac Massil enjoyed a magical year for Lions, scoring close on 500 runs at an average of almost 100. His season also included a hattrick in the Cup semifinal win over Ashdod A. Ramle enjoyed an excellent season, with their fast bowlers particularly impressive, but their batting lacked consistency and they finished third behind Ra'anana on run rate.

Division 2 went down to the final week of matches. Neve Yonatan, after a poor start, got better and better as the season continued. They thrashed Dimona C, and then upset Be'er Sheva A, although they finished behind both teams in third place. Dimona C and Be'er Sheva A were level on points at the top, but Dimona C had a superior net run rate and won promotion. Lions Be'er Sheva went without a win all season.

Eilat were very impressive in their first season, winning Division 3 without losing a game. Kiryat Gat were their closest challengers, defeating all other teams besides for Eilat.