AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT

Early Years

As described in earlier articles in this series, although there was little organised competitive cricket at “senior” level in Leinster prior to the first word war, there were some organised competitions at lower level. The oldest trophy is the Intermediate Cup which was first competed for in 1895. It is inscribed as the Intermediate Cup of the Leinster Branch of the Irish Cricket Union. The Junior Cup trophy, while not having the same detail as to its orIgins, has its first winner in 1910. I have seen it claimed that the first trophy was originally named the Junior Cup and the second the Minor Cup. Whatever their origins, it is recorded that the bodies running these competitions agreed to assimilation into the Leinster Cricket Union on its foundation in 1919. Over the following years new competitions were introduced at various levels. A previous article detailed the history of the Senior Cup. This article deals with the Senior 2, Middle and Middle 2 Cups. Part 2 in a couple of weeks time will cover the Intermediate, Junior, Minor and Minor 2 competitions.

SENIOR 2 CUP

Origin

Earlier articles have dealt with the development of league cricket at various levels over the years following 1919 and the introduction of the Senior Cup in 1935. By the late 1930s however, there were a number of clubs who, although well established, were not considered of “senior” standard. Also some “senior” clubs had developed second elevens and there was a certain amount of debate that these teams were now of similar strength (or even stronger) that some of the first elevens of the non-senior clubs. In the late ‘30s some non-senior clubs were admitted into the Senior Cup competition and there were also years when some second elevens competed in it. The matter was resolved in 1941 when the Belvedere school presented the LCU with a new trophy to be the Senior 2 Cup to be competed for by teams at this level.

This trophy continues in use despite having gone missing for some years. It was feared that it had fallen victim to a flood that seriously damaged the Merrion pavilion. Fears turned out to be misplaced when it turned up in 2016 and is now in use again.

Winners.

The first winners were the Railway and Steam Packet Union club (to give them their full title). They had of course been founder members of the Senior League in 1919 but dropped out of Senior ranks from 1931 to 1944.

The first thirty years of the Competition were dominated by “non-Senior” clubs who won it twenty times in that period. Malahide won three times in the 1940s, pressing their claim for Senior status which they achieved in 1953. Somewhat ironically, they have been successful on only two occasions since then (1972 and 2001). Carlisle and CYM (now Terenure) were also regular winners before being elevated. Civil Service won twice in the 1960s. Other non-senior clubs who are sadly no longer with us also got their names on the trophy in its early years – e.g. Imperial Tobacco, Cremore and 3^rdOBU. As the strength of cricket in Fingal increased, North County and The Hills took the trophy in the 1980s and Rush in 1990. Since then however second elevens dominate the winners list apart from wins by Balbriggan and Laois who have each won it twice in the past decade. The full winners table is as follows.

Clontarf’s considerable lead in the list comes largely from their recent record of five wins in the past ten years. Leinster were the first 2^ndXI to win the trophy in 1944, had reasonably regular success for some years thereafter, but their most recent win came in 1985. By contrast, Merrion only had their first success in 1992 but have been regular winners since including a three in four years spell in the early 2000s. Several teams have managed to retain the trophy but The Hills 2nds have the only three in a row in the late ‘90s. Also with Malahide and Railway Union they have had both their first and second elevens win it. Pembroke were the first club to achieve the Senior/Senior 2 Cup double in 1974. Since then it has been done by Leinster (1985), YMCA (1991), Merrion (2011) and Clontarf on no less than three occasions – (2008, 2009 and 2014).

The Present

The Present

The 2018 competition gets underway on Sunday 3^rdJune with the final scheduled for The Hills on Sunday 26^thAugust. This year the contenders include many clubs who have been successful in the past but perhaps DLR County, Knockharley or North Kildare will succeed in putting a new name on the trophy in this its seventy seventh year of competition.

MIDDLE CUP

Origins

By the late 1960s the number of teams competing in each of the Senior 2, Intermediate and Junior Cups was quite a bit greater than the number in the Minor Cup (introduced in 1926 – full history in next article). The then Junior Branch Committee decided to drop the Minor Cup and introduce instead a new competition at a level between Senior 2 and Intermediate. It would be called the Middle Cup. The Minor Cup trophy which had been in existence since 1926 was renamed accordingly. It remains the trophy in use to this day.

Winners

An adjustment to competitions in 1978 led to the there being no Middle Cup competition in that season but apart from that it has happened every year since 1970. In general it has been a competition for third elevens of “senior” (Division 1/2) clubs and first or second elevens of others. It can happen that different teams from the same club have competed in it over the years and there some cases of them winning it. In this way Merrion have the won the trophy nine times (eight by Merrion thirds – mostly in this century- and Merrion fourths in 2017). The now defunct Old Belvedere club took the trophy seven times. Their third eleven were the first winners. They did it six times up to the turn of the century and their second eleven chalked up a win in 2008. Clontarf also have seven wins all by their third eleven, Pembroke thirds have been successful four times and Leinster have three wins (one by their thirds and two by their fourths). Five clubs (Knockbrack, Malahide, Phoenix, Rush and YMCA have two wins while Ballyeighan, KBRC (a club formed by a merger of Knockbrack and Ring Commons that lasted for some years), Mullingar, North County, North Wicklow, Railway Union and The Hills all have single wins.

Present

The first matches in the competition are scheduled for the June bank holiday weekend. The increase in the number of clubs in Leinster competitions is reflected in the fact that of the eighteen teams competing, seven come from clubs who have never won the trophy. A new name is a distinct possibility.

MIDDLE 2 CUP

Origin

By the late 1990s, the number of teams competing in the Intermediate and Junior Cups had increased substantially. This was due mainly to two factors. Several of the bigger long established clubs were now able to field four or five teams. Also some clubs from outside the main Dublin area, particularly the South East and the Midlands, who had their own local league and cup competitions began to develop an interest in competing as well in a Leinster Cup. They saw this as a possible step to competing in Leinster leagues, as did in fact happen subsequently in many cases. It created a few problems however. Increasing numbers made fitting in all the necessary cup rounds difficult. Also, although overall these teams were of Intermediate or Junior standard, they were usually single team clubs who sometimes had one or two players above that standard. Some of the larger clubs felt that their fourth and fifth elevens, subject as they were to the starring regulations , were all too often “outgunned” by such players. It was agreed that a new competition between Middle and Intermediate was needed. J.R. Rangan of Railway Union and Russell Court hotel provided a trophy and the Middle 2 Cup started in 1999. Unfortunately that original trophy was mislaid some ten years later and a replacement is in place since then.

Winners

In the twenty years that the competition has existed, it has been won by seventeen different clubs. Only Dundrum, Leinster and Merrion have had teams winning it more than once.

Present

The competition commences on 16^thJune involving sixteen clubs including seven who have yet to win this trophy.

The 2018 competition gets underway on Sunday 3^rdJune with the final scheduled for The Hills on Sunday 26^thAugust. This year the contenders include many clubs who have been successful in the past but perhaps DLR County, Knockharley or North Kildare will succeed in putting a new name on the trophy in this its seventy seventh year of competition.