Previews for all today's Open Competitions matches can be found over on the Match Centre, and are here as well if you prefer.
Get involved today - if you have any information on games in your club, please post in the Match Centre for all to know! Details on how to post on the Match Centre can be found here, but in summary, go to cricketleinster.ie, log in using the same details that you have registered with and post on the Match Centre.
Rush 4 vs Clondalkin 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Balbriggan 4 vs Swords 3 - The first of two home matches today for Balbriggan 4, getting their Russell Court Trophy campaign underway. The two sides have had a close fought rivallry over the years, with Brigg currently leading the head to head 4-3. The highest score in the fixture is Sreekumar Sanulal scoring 118 for Swords last July, whilst the best bowling is Stephen Crawley's 5-27 for Balbriggan in July 2021.
Phoenix 3 vs Longford 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Dublin University 1 vs Dublin City - Mick Cotter's preview of this match can be found at https://www.cricketleinster.ie/news/u23-district-competition-set-to-kick-off
South Dublin & Midlands vs Fingal - Mick Cotter's preview of this match can be found at https://www.cricketleinster.ie/news/u23-district-competition-set-to-kick-off
Tyrrelstown 5 vs Sandyford 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Pembroke 5 vs North County 6 - Two more sides kicking off their cup season in this Minor Cup group A match. Pembroke 5 are in Division 16 to North County's Division 18, and will be favourites. The sides represent opposite ends of the "experience" spectrum - Pembroke 5 have entered every one of the 42 league seasons since 1981, whereas North County 6 play their second season, after debuting last year.
Terenure 2 vs Pembroke 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
North County 2 vs Adamstown 1 - Group A in the LHK Insurance Tillain Cup starts today. North County 2 were winners of the Tillain Cup in 2004, 2009 and 2010, but that has little influence on today's result! Adamstown 1 are trophyless since 2014, and have never lifted a T20 title. North County play in the 2nd XI Premier League, with Adamstown 1 in Division 5, so theoretically, North County look the stronger team, but with this being their first ever meeting, only time will tell.
Malahide 5 vs Clontarf 6 - Malahide 5 play the first game of a double header today, facing off against Leinster 5 later. Two meetings between the teams have been shared over the last five years, with last year's Division 14 3 wicket win the most recent. Clontarf have since slipped down to Division 15, possibly indicating a slight advantage to Malahide.
Malahide 2 vs Railway Union 2 - Malahide started their 2nd XI Premier League season with a rained off match against Leinster ,whilst Railway Union 2 have beaten Clontarf 2 and lost to Pembroke 2. Railway's last win in this fixture was back in 2018, and since then Malahide have won five league games. In fact, of the twelve games on record, Railway have won only three. The best bowling in the fixture is by Malahide's Cameron Shoebridge taking 5-26 in 2019 (he also has the second best, with 5-29 in 2012). The highest score is by Railway's Muhammad Farooq, with 112 in a May 2012 match.
Merrion 2 vs YMCA 2 - Two teams starting their league season today. Merrion's win in a home league fixture was their first win in five (a run stretching back to 2018), but YMCA then won a second league fixture in August. YMCA's league finish last year was their lowest since 2011, and they'll be looking to start the season with a big W. The highest score in the fixture is by YM's Ehtesham Ahmed who hit 117 in 2011. Best bowling is Rajesh Chawla's 5-42 in July 2018.
Castleknock 3 vs Athlone 2 - Athlone 2 started their Russell Court Trophy season yesterday, and play a second (and third) game of the weekend today. No meetings between the teams before, but Athlone 2 won their first match in Division 15 (beating Clontarf 6 by three wickets), whilst Castleknock also started their Division 16 season with a win, beating Knockharley 3 by four wickets.
Clontarf 4 vs Leinster 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
YMCA 4 vs Rush 3 - Division 11 starts today for these two teams, with a tough trip to Claremont Road for Rush 3. They haven't recorded a win in four matches against YMCA 4, and finished five places below them in the league in 2022. YMCA 4's all time (2011-) run scorer is Derek Dockrell with 1081 runs at 31.79, with the leading wicket taker being David Cooke with 76 wickets at 13.87. For Rush 3, the top run scorer is Kashif Rehman with 1661 at 24.42, with the highest wicket taker being Adam Ellison with 119 at 19.76.
Swords 2 vs Naas 1 - Swords 2 have started their Division 11 campaign with a loss to North County 4 (along with a rained off match last week), whilst Naas 1 are yet to start. Naas 1 continue their march up the leagues, finishing 2022 in their highest league position of 79th (making them the 39th best 1st team), but they have dropped down to Division 11, a league they won in 2021, and for which they must be favourites to win in 2023.
Finglas 2 vs Wexford Wanderers 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Kilkenny 3 vs Finglas 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Sandyford 3 vs Wexford Wanderers 3 - Last season saw Wexford Wanderers 3's first season in the league, finishing a creditable 5th in Division 19. They take the step up to Division 18 for 2023. The match these two played in 2022 went the way of Wexford by 3 wickets. This is Sandyford 3's 26th league season, with their leading run scorer being Rahman Jabbarkhel with 530 runs at 19.63 (2011-2015) and the leading wicket taker being David Gray with 55 wickets at 15.13 (2011-2019)
Halverstown 2 vs Castleknock 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Railway Union 5 vs Laois 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Mullingar 1 vs DLR County 1 - The first match in Group B of the LHK Insurance Middle Cup, sees Mullingar (the 25th ranked team in 2022) take on DLR County (ranked 35th). The teams last met in 2019, when DLR County won both matches well. But there has been a lot of water running under the bridge since then, and Mullingar now find themselves looking down on DLR from a great height. Mullingar 1 won this tournament back in 2000 when it was a "full length" match rather than a T20.
Wicklow County 2 vs DLR County 2 - The first match in the 2023 Minor Cup for theses two teams, this one in Group B. DLR County 2 sit atop the nacsent Division 17 table after wins over Naas 2 and Kilkenny 2. The Open Competition's leading run scorer contributed to the win over Kilkenny 2 - Prasad Rudrappa Shivu with 46*. Whether he plays today remains to be seen. Wicklow COunty 2 ply their trade in Division 16 though, and last year finished as the 34th best 2nd team in the province, against DLR County 2 who were 37th.
Adamstown 5 vs Ashbourne 2 - Group B of the GS Cricket Junior Cup started yesterday, but today sees the first games for these two teams. Ashbourne of Division 14 have a wretched record against Division 13 Adamstown, losing all five times they have played. Adamstown 5's leading run scorer is Shankar Gopalakrishnan with 822 runs at 20.05 (2011-present), with their top wicket taker being Rajnish Kumar Malik with 44 at 15.48 (2019-present). For Ashbourne, the leaders are the same person - Anoop Bolledla with 789 runs at 23.21 and 52 wickets at 16.77 (2015-2019).
North County 5 vs Clondalkin 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Laois 1 vs Phoenix 2 - Laois 1 were Intermediate Cup winners in 2021 (when it was played as a T20), but this represents a tougher challenge, and the Division 5 team take on Division 4's Phoenix 2. Phoenix lost last week to another Division 5 side in Sandyford 1, so need to win to get their Tillain Cup campaign back on track. Laois lead the head to head 5-4 in matches since 2011, and the two Tillan Cup matches in 2022 were shared. It could be a tight one.
Adamstown 6 vs Knockharley 3 - Two more teams starting their Ed Sports Russell Court Trophy season, although Knockharley started their Division 16 league season with a loss to Castleknock 3 two weeks ago. The two Division 16 league matches between the teams last year were shared. Adamstown 6's leading run scorer is club stalwart Ashok Cutinha with 654 runs at 36.33 (2013-present), whilkst their leading wicket taker is Ganapathy Subramanian with 32 wickets at 21.84 (2015-present). For Knockharley 3, the best are Rajesh Adi (86 wickets at 14.15 (2011-present) and Roy Shivmangal (1173 at 26.07 from 2011-2020)
Leinster 6 vs Athlone 3 - The first game in Group B of the Adamstown Cup, and another match up where last year's matches just prove that it is too tight to call. Both teams won their home match - Athlone in this competition, and Leinster in Division 18. However, since those two matches last year, a gulf has developed between the teams, with Athlone moving up to Division 17, and Leinster down to Division 19. Leinster will find that gap tough to bridge.
Civil Service 3 vs North Kildare 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Knockharley 1 vs Balbriggan 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Rush 2 vs Leinster 2 - Two teams with a rich T20 history. Rush 2 were winners of the YMCA Salver in 1994 and 2016, with Leinster 2 winning the Tillain Cup in 1990, 2001, 2008 and 2017. The teams haven't played together at all in the last twelve years. Leinster's 2nd XI Premier League status would suggest they are a level above Rush 2 down in Division 5, and Rush's season didn't get off to the best of starts last week with a loss at home to Adamstown 1.
Pembroke 5 vs Lucan 3 - Pembroke 5's second match in their Super Sunday. Division 16's Pembroke 5 take on Division 17's Lucan 3 in a match up that has never before taken place. It is now 13 seasons's since Pembroke 5's last trophy, the 2010 Junior Cup.
North County 4 vs Sandyford 2 - These two teams meet for the second time this weekend, with this preview being written before yesteray's match. For a look at the preview, click on yesterday's Match Centre
Phoenix 5 vs Adamstown 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Tyrrelstown 3 vs Gorey 1 - The first match in Group D of the Ed Sports Whelan Cup. In previous years, three matches between Gorey 1 and Tyrrelstown 2 have just gone the way of the West Dubliners, but Gorey won the lkast match in 2018. That would suggest Gorey should be favourites against the third string from Tyrrelstown. Since that Division 14 tie in 2018, Gorey have moved up a division, and are joined by Tyrrelstown 3.
Malahide 5 vs Leinster 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Terenure 3 vs North Kildare 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving these teams still to be processed.
Balbriggan 4 vs Athlone 2 - Both teams play their second match today after matches against Swords 3 and Castleknock 3 respectively. This will be the first meeting at any level between the two clubs.