A week is a long time in sport, let alone a month. Rewind to the start of the season and a cursory glance at a leading bookmaker’s market for RSA Division One illustrated the competitive and somewhat mercurial nature of the top-tier.
Such is the variable nature of Leinster cricket, there has been six different winners of Division One in as many years. Not since North County’s four year supremacy between 2003 and 2006, has any club managed to defend the trophy they lifted twelve months previous. It’s symptomatic of the fluctuating essence of cricket as a whole but gives the punters an arduous task in picking a winner.
Two games in and many of those who put their money where their mouth is may just be ripping up that docket. Railway Union beat The Hills but then lost to YMCA, Pembroke won at the Vineyard but were skittled by Merrion while North County beat Clontarf after the latter thrashed Terenure. Straightforward?
Those odds offered four weeks ago may look a little different now though. It’s still early days but it’s often said you should start as you mean to go on and those sides who have started slowly will be hoping the precedent for their season has not been set in stone just yet.
Merrion, however, have set the early pace and look to be the team to beat. They’ll face their first thorough appraisal of the campaign on Saturday when they make the trip to Balrothery to face a North County side who have started well themselves.
Dom Joyce’s side swept Pembroke aside on the opening weekend, bowling their Dublin 4 neighbours out for just 77, before comfortably beating Terenure last time out. However, they’re yet to be truly tested, especially with the bat despite Pembroke pushing them close in a low-scoring encounter. Much of the side have yet to get an opportunity with the bat and North County may just be hoping to expose an undercooked middle-order.
For the hosts, they’ve started with one win, one loss and have shown plenty of encouraging signs over the opening weekends. After a disappointing batting performance at Claremont Road, it was a much improved effort against a Clontarf side weakened by the loss of internationals Alex Cusack and Andrew Poynter. County did what was required, however, and as the old adage goes you can only beat what is put on front of you and that did that with aplomb.
North County: Ciaran Garry (capt), Niall McGovern, Eddie Richardson, John Mooney, Tim Affleck, Conor Armstrong, James Newland, Nathan Rooney, Jamie Grassi, Adam Coughlan, Kashif Ali.
Merrion: D.Joyce (Capt), B. Thompson, T. Kane, J. Anderson, B.Ackland, D. Watkins, D. Carolus, H. Kennedy, J. Short, T. Smith, T. Stanton.
Last week’s wash-out means it’s going to be a busy weekend for many sides and YMCA face an important couple of days. On Sunday, they make the trip up to Downpatrick for their Irish Senior Cup refix fully aware that that fixture has all the ingredients for a slip-up. Firstly though all attention will be on league matters when they make the slightly shorter journey across Sandymount to face near neighbours Pembroke at Sydney Parade.
Albert van der Merwe’s side have started with two wins but not without a couple of hiccups along the way. Last time out, they were strolling to a Bank Holiday victory over Railway but a middle-order wobble made the chase a little more tense than it should have been. Trent Johnston is again included in their XI and this will be his first appearance of the season in what looks a pretty settled side.
Pembroke, meanwhile, will have their eyes on a victory that would see them firmly eradicate their opening weekend blemish and back-up the impressive victory in Skerries.
Pembroke: T Lawson (capt), R Hopkins, J Cook, A Eastwood, R Kelly, P Lawson, B McCarthy, D Murphy, R Russell, F Tucker, L Tucker.
YMCA: Albert van der Merwe (capt), Aaron Bailey, Tom Fisher, Jack Tector, Simmi Singh, Trent Johnston, PJ Moor, Sean McAuley, Bobby Gamble, Yaqoob Ali, JJ Cassidy.
Railway Union and Clontarf have pretty much identical records from their opening two games having both started with a win before suffering an away-day reversal. This is Railway’s first home game and they’ll be hoping to tip the balance in their favour by utilising home advantage. They will, however, be dented by the loss of captain Kevin O’Brien, who this week signed a contract with Surrey for the Natwest Twenty20 Blast which starts this evening. The onus will once again be on his deputy Pat Collins and the sides’ hardened campaigners to mitigate the loss.
Clontarf were one of the few who managed to dodge the showers last week as they wasted no time in booking their place in the second round of the Irish Senior Cup with a comprehensive 8-wicket win over Lisburn. That game will put them in good stead against opponents whose last action was nearly a fortnight ago. Both Cusack and Poynter have played lead roles thus far and have been the bedrock of the ‘Tarf batting but the former isn’t included for the trip to Park Avenue with Asim Nazir and second XI captain Mark Collier coming in.
Railway Union: TBC
Clontarf: Eoghan Delany (capt), Adrian D'arcy, Mark Collier, Andrew Poynter, Colin Currie, Asim Nazir, Robert Forrest, Joe Morrissey, Zander vd Merwe, Connor D'arcy, Adam Craig.
Finally in Division One, it’s a battle of the bottom two as Terenure host The Hills. Both have endured difficult starts to the season and will be eager to get off the mark this time around. Terenure have showed glimpses of promise but their batting has led them down on both occasions and will need to improve significantly against the visitors, who will be buoyed by the return of Max Sorensen.
The Ireland bowler has missed the first two games and his absence was felt by last year’s winners as they slumped to successive defeats at home. They will be confident of turning their fortunes around and proving the slow start was nothing more. The perfect place to start is Terenure on Saturday.
Terenure: TBC
The Hills: TBC
On Thursday evening, Dublin University recorded their first win of the season with a nine wicket triumph over Pembroke II in a Twenty20 refix. Trinity will be hoping to carry that momentum into the weekend when they welcome Phoenix to College Park while Balbriggan host Malahide in a Fingal derby. Elsewhere in Division Two, Merrion II face Cork County at Anglesea Road and Rush play Pembroke II at Kenure.
RSA Division One Fixtures: Saturday 17th May
(1pm start)
Railway Union v Clontarf, Park Avenue
North County v Merrion, Inch
Terenure v The Hills, Terenure
Pembroke v YMCA, Sydney Parade
RSA Division Two Fixtures: Saturday 17th May
Balbriggan v Malahide, Balbriggan
Merrion II v Cork County, Anglesea Road
Dublin University v Phoenix, College Park
Rush v Phoenix II, Kenure