Notice: The Senior Cup Final date has changed to the 3rd of August in Merrion to allow for online streaming of the game, thanks to our sponsors Kidd Insurance. The Junior Cup will move to the 17th.

The first month of the season has come to a close and there have been some noticeable performances across the three divisions that we wish to highlight. The addition of the overseas players has definitely added some extra challenges for all teams in Division 1, creating strong squads throughout and adding value and experience to the 50 over games as well as the 20 over games, Niamh Walsh standing out with the 3rd highest batting average for the 50 over league and Paris Crowe in the 20 over league. 

Division 2 has been slow to start with a lot of fixtures coming up from June onwards, the stats currently dominated by Christine Dorris with the bat and Faith Hopkins with the ball. Rush showing great figures throughout the batting and bowling for division 2, a strong start from a resurgent team, and a great example to all clubs to continue building or rebuilding their women's sections.

In Division 3 Sorcha O'Carolan representing Trinity showed consistent and confident skills with the bat through all of their games to take the top spot for batting averages so far with Megan McGeer of Clontarf taking top spot for the bowling averages also. 

[ALL STATS AND TABLES ARE AS OF MAY 25TH 2018]

League Recaps:

The league table for Divison 1 is currently being led by Merrion as the only team currently undefeated, a challenging opposition for all in Division 1. An undefeated Merrion have been confident in all games thus far and will undoubtedly continue to demand a lot from the other Division 1 teams to raise their game and see can anyone challenge them for the top spot. They are currently being closely followed by Leinster and Malahide, two strong sides also.

Division 2 is currently an open book, with only a few games played as of yet but with two confident wins from Rush, this will have the other teams paying close attention to a possible top seed as the games start flowing from June onwards.

In Division 3, there have been a number of no results due to rain, affecting some of the teams. This means some teams have only played 1 or 2 fixtures but there are consistent performances from YM, Leinster and Pembroke, showing a very competitive league this year. It is only set to become more competitive as the season kicks into high gear from June onwards.

While the season has only begun, the high standard across all divisions is very noticeable and it certainly adds intrigue for the upcoming fixtures in June! One month in, players are now back to form, their eye firmly on ball and very eager to play some competitive games and I am sure most have their eye on a league or cup win (or even the possibility of a double!)

We spoke to some members from Clontarf, and Leinster to give a brief overview of how they each feel the first month of their clubs season went so far:

Clontarf –

Clontarf have two teams competing this year, with the 2nds playing in division 3 and a team back competing in division 1 for the first time since 2014. The seconds had a convincing win over Trinity in their only match of the season thus far, with the younger girls demonstrating a competent all round batting and bowing performance. The firsts have had a challenging start to their season but are enjoying the step up and testing their skills against top opposition. We have a young team but even with only a handful of matches played at this level the improvement already witnessed is very promising for the future. Declan Gallagher has returned to continue building on his work with the girls last year and Kerry Tomlinson also joins the team in a coach/player role. The duo have been a fantastic asset to the squad in all facets of the game - technically, tactically and mentally. The commitment and hard work shown by all so far culminated in Clontarf's first win at home against the Hills, posting just over 200 and backing it up in the field. The girls are constantly learning this year and growing as players and we're excited for what the rest of the season has in store.

Leinster –

With three teams and a continued influx of new players and a winter of training and dedication from all players have left us starting the season confident in our ability to progress through both the league and cups for all divisions. The addition of Bella Fitzgibbon as a player and coach has been greatly felt throughout the women's section in the club adding further confidence and depth to our 1sts and helping push us to a position from which we hope to challenge for the league and cup titles. Our 1sts started well with wins over Pembroke in the 50 over league with wins over Malahide, Pembroke and the Hills in the T20 league. Followed by some tougher and closer games against Merrion and Malahide both the T20 and 50 over leagues in late May showed just how competitive the leagues are this year. It is a challenge which we look forward to taking on throughout June and the rest of the summer. Our 2nds and 3rds have had a good start to both of their seasons also, with wins across the board, and some stand out performances from the returning Hannah Ridgeway, and also Joanna Loughran with the bat and Elenor Doherty with the ball. All of whom are sure to feature heavily in our upcoming games in June also. There is plenty of cricket to come and we feel confident and excited to see where the hard work and dedication of the players can lead us.

This newsletter was compiled by one of our members of the committee, Stephanie Woods. If you have a story for next months issue please email womens@cricketleinster.ie FAO Steph.