North County 6 vs Wexford Wanderers 3 - No preview as waiting on scorecard of North Kildare 6 vs Clondalkin 3 (June 11)
Balbriggan 1 vs Malahide 1 - The tie of week in the Premier League as Balbriggan in second host third place Malahide. It is safe to say at this late stage that the losers today will be out of the title chase with only two games left. They would be at least 15 points behind the leaders and perhaps as many as 39. And with neither of these two playing Leinster, they now need to hope Leinster slip up (which in this ultra-competitive league is quite likely). Malahide's last senior win in Balbriggan was a Championship game in September 2018. Malahide were in trouble at 41-3 before a 4th wicket partnership of 179 between Anish Desai (77) and Matt Ford (107) got the Villagers to a handy 263/6. That was one of four 50s Desai scored in his two year 22 match career in Leinster. For Ford, it was the fifth of his five hundreds for Malahide in 2018. That puts him second in the all time list in both Leinster cricket and in Malahide. The only player ever to score six senior hundreds in a season was Justin Benson, for Malahide in 1995. In reply, Balbriggan were 8/4 and 21/5 with Jimmy Newland taking 3-25. Nathan Rooney hit 90 to bring some respectability to the scorecard as Balbriggan were bowled out for 206. Newland will play his 100th senior match in Leinster today (90 for Malahide and 10 for North County)
Merrion 1 vs YMCA 1 - Merrion look to now be safe from either automatic relegation of play off relegation from the Premier League - although one more win would confirm it. YMCA may be down in 5th place, but with four games left, cannot be completely written out of the script in terms of winning the league - if they won their game in hand against Railway, they would only be four points behind leaders Leinster. Recent form in this fixture has been very even, with the last decade throwing up three Merrion wins in Anglesea Road, and two for YMCA. As with any rivalry, it has not always been the same (the pair first met in Senior cricket in 1934) and the best/worst run started on June 6th 1943. The day before, YM had bowled Merrion out for 95 to successfully defend their total of 107. But their next taste of success in Anglesea Road was not going to be until 26th June 1954, when YM again won a low scoring match, bowling Merrion out for 93 to win by 6 wickets. In between those two dates, Merrion won seven matches, with three more drawn.
The Hills 1 vs Leinster 1 - A Premier League match with huge implications for both sides. The Hills are currently locked in 7th place - the play off spot, which increasingly looks like a shoot out against Phoenix to see who plays in the Premier League in 2024. But two or three wins for The Hills could see any of a handful of other sides drop down beneath them - or a few wins for Railway Union could see The Hills drop to the automatic relegation place. Leinster have to keep on winning if they want to win their first title since 2017. Whilst they have a decent 18 point league, one loss could see any of five sides overtake them. Another huge slice of history - Leinster have not won a league game in The Vineyard since August 2010. Michael Baumgart top scored for The Hills with 72, but Peter Byrne's 3-43 kept the lid on The Hills and they could only make 222/8 from 50 overs. Luke Clinton dismissed Craig Mallon and Asif Hussein to leave Leinster 33/3, before Carlow Brathwaite (106) and JP O'Dwyer (73) added 192 for the fourth wicket to see Leinster home with 17 overs to spare. It was one of two centuries Brathwaite scored in Leinster cricket.
Railway Union 1 vs Clontarf 1 - Clontarf will be smarting after their big Premier League loss to Leinster last weekend. But they are not quite out of it, and three more wins could leave them in the final mix. Railway's rained off match against YMCA last week is to be refixed, so they are very much as they were, needing perhaps three wins from their last four matches to guarantee survival. Clontarf have won their last five senior matches in Park Avenue (including this year's Leinster Senior Cup semi final which they won by 2 runs), with Railway's last win being in August 2011. Conor Mullen made 78 for Railway and then Graham McDonnell's supplied the oomph, as Railway made a competitive 269/7. But persistent batting all the way down kept Clontarf in the hunt - 40 from Rod Hokin, 56 from Alex Cusack and 43 from Eoghan Delany. But ultimately they ran out of time, and Robert Forrest and Niall Delany were left with too much to do, Tarf coming up 8 runs short.
Terenure 5 vs The Hills 5 - The final of the 2023 Minor 2 Cup. Some previews look in depth at the team's season so far, or the rich history of matches between the finalists - this one is a bit different! Terenure are a non-league team, whose entire history consists of eight Minor 2 Cup matches this year and last. They got to the semi finals in 2022, losing to Clontarf before getting their revenge in this season's semi, winning 1-0 on a bowl out. This year's entire campaign has seen them beat Adamstown 8 twice on the pitch - a season's work that has been good enough to get to the final! The Hills 5 have a bit more history, winning 12 and losing 17 of their matches - all apart from one being since the start of 2019. If Terenure's route to the final seems a little light on cricket, The Hills were even worse. The entirety of their cricket on the route to the final was a Super Over in the semi final against Adamstown 8, which they won by 1 run. Best of luck to both teams!
Clontarf 2 vs Leinster 2 - Clontarf's 16 run defeat to YMCA in the 2nd XI Premier League on Tuesday night doesn't make things much clearer at the bottom of the division. With Clontarf still having six matches to play, and Leinster having three, there are still to many variables to work out each side's chances. But Leinster have a 53 point lead with three games more played, and a win for the Rathmines side looks like making them safe from relegation. Clontarf just need to win another three games, but time is slowly running out. Clontarf haven't won a league game at home to Leinster since August 2018. That game saw Anees Ahmad take 3-35 for Leinster as Clontarf fell to 34/4, before 78 from Asim Nazir dragged Clontarf to 210 all out, Anus Khan also taking wickets with 3-34. At 100/3, Leinster were is a decent position, before Asim Nazir completed a great game with 4-33, as Leinster collapsed to 145 all out, Peter Masterson top scoring with 45. Nazir is one of three people to have taken 4 wickets and scored a 50 for Clontarf 2 since 2011, Mark Collier and Vijay Anand Gopal being the other two.
Phoenix 1 vs Cork County 1 - Phoenix's long suffering supporters were put through the wringer again last weekend with the dramatic win over Rush in the Championship. With Pembroke losing again, there is the tantalising possibility of Phoenix coming top, but have they left it too late? There is a 27 point gap at the top, and it would need Pembroke to lose twice more for Phoenix to catch them - an unlikely prospect. Phoenix just need to make sure they win their remaining games to take the play off spot. For Cork County, last week's loss to Terenure was disappointing, but they should be able to stay in the safety of 6th place - one more win should confirm it with North County and Civil Service still to be played. In five senior matches played between the teams in Phoenix, Cork County have lost all five (1996, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2017). In the 2012 match Joe McKay and Conor Kelly both made 31 for Phoenix, Tom Anders 37 and Jan Hendrik Steenkamp 55 as Phoenix were bowled out for 209, Cork County's Ciaran Healy taking 3-14. That was as good as it got for County, as they were bowled out for 98. Sam Ward and Faran Sahid both made 17, but Conor Kelly's 4-23 ripped through the Cork County middle order to give Phoenix an easy win.
Pembroke 1 vs Terenure 1 - A late season blip has held up Pembroke's Championship title celebrations, but it still seems inevitable with them having a 27 point lead with only three games remaining. The title could be confirmed today, but it would need Pembroke to get at least 24 points, Rush to lose and Phoenix not to pick up any points at home to Cork County. Terenure are safely mid-table, and get to enjoy their last three games without stress. Pembroke have won the last nine senior games against Terenure. Terenure's last win in Sydney Parade was in June 2007, with their last win in any Senior match being in July 2010. In that match, Andrew Leonard (4-28) and Bill Whaley (3-25) were the chief destroyers for Pembroke, as Terenure made only 166 all out. The runs for Terenure were at the top of the order with Kenny McDonald (50) and Donal Vaughan (33) getting them to 90/1 before Tom Lynch (28) and Benn Hoey (12*) rescued them from 121-8. But for Pembroke, only Brían O Rourke passed twenty (30) as Shane Mott (3-35) and Nathan Carroll (3-21) dismissed Pembroke for 103.
Rush 1 vs North Kildare 1 - Rush's dramatic Championship loss to Phoenix last week may have been the nail in the coffin for Rush's promotion hopes. They are now 16 points behind Phoenix in the play off spot, and need Phoenix to slip up in one of their last three matches. North Kildare look like they are to be consigned to last place, but they may be saved with The Hills 2 and Balbriggan 2 looking likely to be promoted from Division 4 to the 2nd XI Premier League. North Kildare have an excellent record against Rush, leading the overall head to head 5-4, and winning three of the last four. In last year's Championship match in Kenure, Rush were in early trouble, falling to 21/5. However a strong performance from the tail saw them recover to 175, with Asher Abbasi scoring 55, his only 50 in 56 senior matches for North County, Rush and YMCA. Akhilesh Sharma wrapped up the tail with 3-19. A solid day's work by North Kildare's batters (Kaustubh Pawar 44, Manjeet Singh 40* and Khwaja Murtaza Sidiqi 41*) saw them get home by 6 wickets with 15 overs to spare.
North County 1 vs Civil Service 1 - North County's excellent first win in Sydney Parade since 2014 sees County solidly in mid table. With Civil Service also winning, there looks to be little at stake in this match. This will be the third senior match between the teams, with North County winning a Senior League Cup game in 2007, and also winning this year's fixture in Civil Service on June 10. Niall McGovern top scoring for County with 60, the 14th time he has passed 50 in 129 senior matches for North County. For Service, Naveed Khan recorded his best ever senior bowling with 4-37 as County made 197/9. Despite 42 from Mubasher Siddique and 36* from Binson Thambi, Service ran up against Eddie Richardson (3-16) and Ashish Jain (4-37), but with rain around they nearly got there, finishing 7 runs short on 156 all out. That is Jain's best bowling figures so far in his 11 match career.
Cork Harlequins 1 vs Wexford Wanderers 1 - No preview as waiting on scorecard of Cork Harlequins 1 vs Phoenix 2 (August 12)
YMCA 3 vs Merrion 3 - No preview as waiting on scorecard of Cork Harlequins 1 vs Phoenix 2 (August 12)
Athlone 2 vs Carlow 2 - The top two in Division 15 meet as leaders Carlow travel to second place Athlone. Both have four games remaining, but Carlow are very much in the box seat with a 49 point lead. Carlow are already promoted, but even a 25 point win today won't make them mathematically certain of the title. Athlone must win today if they want to have a chance of the title, but even a loss wouldn't hurt their promotion chances too much. The one previous league meeting between the teams in Doon was in May 2022. Athlone were struggling at 95/5 before 50s from Mohanavelu Subramanian (64) and Saqib Ghafoor (88* - a career high score) took Athlone all the way to 269/7. Carlow never really threatened with Haibat Dawoodzai and Syed Raza both scoring 37 and Himanshu Pardeshi taking 3-31 as Carlow were all out for 185.
Naas 2 vs Phoenix 6 - The bottom two in Division 17 face off with time running out if they are to escape relegation. Phoenix still have five games left in the nine team division, but realistically need to win at least four of those matches to get to safety. Naas are in a much better position, and two more wins from their last four should be enough. The only previous match between these two teams was two weeks ago, with Naas winning by 67 runs. Mohammed Kashif Sharief scored an 80 ball 100*, his first hundred in 26 Cricket Leinster matches. Naas only made 197 though, but their bowling attack was more than a match for Phoenix. Praveen Nair took 3-18 with the rest of the wickets shared around. Trakulara Naga Venu top scored for Phoenix with 32, but they never really threatened after collapsing to 89/6, eventually being bowled out for 130.
Adamstown 1 vs Malahide 3 - Another good Division 5 win for Adamstown last week keeps them at the top of the league. But despite a 47 lead at the top, they can still not shake off Sandyford 1 in second place, who would overtake Sandyford if they won both of their games in hand. Malahide are too far back to challenge, and a win for Adamstown today would confirm Adamstown's promotion. Matches between these teams have been few are far between, with a 2016 Middle Cup game and this year's league match both being won by Adamstown. The match on July 29 was an up and down, odd affair. Malahide used nine bowlers, and although this would normally indicate a batting side scoring lots of runs, Adamstown were bowled out for 163. Chandra Mouleeswaran Venkataraman and Kunal Nagare both scored 30, with Nithin Padmaprabhu hitting 55 to rescue Adamstown from 15/2, 107/7 and 131/8. Not surprisingly with so many bowlers used, no Malahide bowler took more than two wickets. Padmaprabhu has already broken the Adamstown 1 record for most 50s in a season, hitting five so far in 2023, breaking a record previously held by Navroop Jonson (2013), Haseeb Khan (2014) and Hamza Maan (2018). For Malahide, only Jack Grant (with 37) stood out, as Padmaprabhu (3/29) and Prabhanshu Kamal (4/11) ripped through the Malahide batting, bowling them out for 72. At the time, it was Malahide 3's lowest innings total on record, but they were bowled out for 63 by North Kildare 2 on August 13.
Civil Service 3 vs Phoenix 3 - Division 7 is looking like going all the way to the wire. Civil Service may be bottom - with three games to play - but two wins should be enough to be safe and perhaps one win will do it. After playing 5th place Phoenix today, they still have to play Adamstown in 6th place. Phoenix only have two to play after today, against Greystones and Castleknock. Normally five wins would be enough to survive relegation, but in this super tight league, Phoenix could do with one more to make sure. The only previous meeting between the two Phoenix Park third teams was a couple of weeks ago on August 8. Aaron Joseph's early burst (3-16) reduced Service to 26/4, before a mini fight back from Service got them to 144 all out (Jinto Mathew top scoring with 39). As with many matches in this blighted summer, rain got involved, and when play was stopped after 25 overs, Phoenix had made 86/1 with Benjamin Thomas on 26* and Shawaiz Atif 21* - enough for a 27 run DLS win.
Malahide 5 vs Ashbourne 2 - Still 15 games to played in Division 14 (more than a quarter of the season) so it is tough to make a call. Ashbourne are down in 6th place, but with five games remaining, they could very much take one of the promotion spots (although the title looks out of reach). On the other hand, Malahide are flying high in second, but only have two games in left, and need two wins to make sure they cling on to that second promotion spot. No previous matches between the two teams. Malahide's top run scorer this year has been Bhanu Gokarla with 324 runs at 24.92 with their top wicket taker being Omkar Tawade with 25 wickets at 13.68, stretching his lead as the highest all time wicket taker in a Malahide 5 season (post 2010). For Ashbourne 2, no one has scored more than Kiran Patel's 188 runs at 26.86 , with their top wicket takers being Manoj Malviya and Patel with 14 each.
Wicklow County 2 vs Terenure 4 - Still four games to go for Wicklow County in Division 16. They are in second place, 34 points behind leaders Castleknock 3. Terenure look to be pretty solidly mid-table, although they are still a good way of being mathematically safe from relegation. The teams met on August 7, with Wicklow County winning by 7 wickets. Ashwani Khatri scored 59 for Terenure (his third 50 for them this season) but three wickets each from Sri Chidipothu and Prabhjit Singh meant Wicklow only made 148 all out. That was enough though, as Wicklow's star player Thejas Sreedharan scored 64, as they won by 7 wickets in 23.1 overs. Sreedharan has now passed fify, 20 times for the team.
North Kildare 5 vs Gorey 1 - The bottom two in Division 13 meet in The Maws. Gorey have three games remaining, and need to win all three to have any hope of avoiding relegation - a loss today would see them relegated. North Kildare are doing a little better, but probably need three wins from their last four games. Only one previous match between the teams was played on July 1 this year in Courtown. Gorey made 163 all out with Mohamed Gouse top scoring with 40 and Surinder Joshi taking 4-22 for North Kildare. North Kildare were instantly in trouble, falling to 27/5, a position from which they never quite recovered. Mohammed Shifan Hameed Raheem took 3-13 for Gorey, but despite late runs from Ankur Yadav (35), North Kildare finished 42 runs short.
Lucan 3 vs Balbriggan 4 - Fourth hosts third in Division 17, but the title has already gone (it is between DLR County 2 and Adamstown 7). There does remain a small possibility of one of these teams taking the second promotion spot, although they would need to win all their matches and hope Adamstown slipped up. These two have never met on the field. Lucan's leading run scorer this year is Annu Shukla with 323 at 23.07 with Anuj Kumar Sharma their leading wicket taker with 17 wickets at 13.94. For Balbriggan 4, Amkela Nontso is their leading run scorer with 375 runs at 53.57 and Ryan Keenan their leading wicket taker with 25 wickets at 13.73 - the most wickets ever taken by a bowler in a season for Balbriggan 4, breaking Stephen Crawley's 23 last season.
Malahide 6 vs Adamstown 6 - Malahide 6 are rock bottom of Division 16 and 74 points behnd Pembroke 5 in 8th place. But all is not quite lost as they have six games still to play. Four or five wins would take them to safety. Adamstown are in 5th place, and look to be consigned to a mid-table position for 2023. Adamstown are currently the 3rd highest ranked 6th team, with Malahide in 4th - and unless there is a miracle, it looks like staying that way for the remainder of the season. Only one player has even passed 100 runs for Malahide this year - Sanjay Pahuja with 117 at 29.25. Their leading wicket taker is James Dickinson with 12 wickets at 9.75. For Adamstown, Waleed Ahsen Abbasi has scored 412 runs at 82.40 (the most recorded for an Adamstown 6 season), whilst Rajnish Kumar Malik has taken 18 wickets at 19.22.
Castleknock 4 vs Carlow 3 - A mid-table fixture in the nine team Division 19 and if I had to make a bet, I'd say both teams will finish mid-table at the end of the season. The gap between Carlow in 4th and Ongar 2 in 3rd is 71 points (although Carlow do have a couple of games in hand), with Castleknock another 20 places further back. There has only been one previous match between the teams, an Adamstown Cup match in June this year that was won by Carlow by 39 runs. Raihan Kazmi took 4-34 for Castleknock, but Adnan Rauf (31) and Rahim Ullah (35) ensured Carlow got to 155/9 from their 20 overs. That was more than enough though, as Rauf's 3-17 helped restrict Castleknock to 116/6.
North Kildare 2 vs Civil Service 2 - A Division 5 match that will probably decide who the 12th best 2nd team in the province is for 2023. Both sides have four games remaining, but North Kildare's superior bonus points mean that they will be safe from relegation should they win today. Clontarf 3 are already confirmed as bottom, but Rush 2 are only 3 points behind Service (having played a game more). They may need two more wins to be sure of safety - and with the remaining opponents being Laois 1, Malahide 3 and Adamstown 1, that may not be easy. The reverse fixture on June 11 was a low key affair. In Civil Service's innings, no North Kildare bowler did better than Shahzad Noman's 2-22 and no Civil Service batter more than Dhiraj Shetty's 26 as Service were bowled out for 141. Batting was equally hard for North Kildare with Syed Ali Rizvi top scoring with 33. But the Civil Service bowling came good, with Abhilash Sukumaran taking 4-34 (his best bowling in 31 matches for Civil Service), Ronak Modi 3-25 and Vivekanandan Srinivasan 3-20 as Service won by 21 runs.
Tyrrelstown 2 vs North County 4 - North County still has five games left in Division 11, and the league is in their hands. Win all five and they lift the title. Tyrrelstown are in a healthy second place with two games left. It's difficult to pin down what is needed from the top three, but the two promotion places will be between these two and leaders Finglas 1. The reverse league fixture on July 2 saw a big 144 run win for North County. There were 50s for Umar Khan (54) Rana Muhammad Hasan Ur Rahman (75) and Safdar Ali (77) as North County ran up a massive 365/9. It is the highest score recorded for any North County side since 2011. Amongst the carnage, Saikumar Reddy Rapol took 3-73 and Vigneshwar RK 3-43 for Tyrrelstown. A successful chase was unlikely, but Sharath Goud Yerakala top scored with 56 as Tyrrelstown made a respectable 221 all out, Umar Khan taking 3-13.
Carlow 1 vs Leinster 3 - Division 6 is looking like having an exciting end to the season. The title is probably out of reach of Carlow, but they are next and neck with Mullingar 1, although have played a game less. They may need to win their last three games to earn promotion. Terenure 2 in fourth are even more of a threat than Mullingar - they have a game in hand on Carlow, and would overtake them if they won. Leinster are at the other end of the table and need something like 30 points - a win and a tie may be enough, but two wins from their last four games would be better. The only previous league game between the teams was in July 2021. Joe O'Sullivan scored 67 (one of four 50s he struck that summer) as Leinster got to 243/9 with Robi Alam (3-36) and Asif Butt (3-28) leading the way for Carlow with the ball. However all six Leinster bowlers took wickets, as Carlow could make only 144 all out, Amir Mehmood top scoring with 41.
Mullingar 3 vs DLR County 2 - For DLR County, they can't quite seal the Division 17 title today, but another win will leave them close. Mullingar 3 have concerns at the other end of the table, and may need to win two of their last four games to seal their safety. Two more teams who have never met on the pitch, with both of their attempts this year being rained off. Riju Varghese is Mullingar 3's leading run scorer with 271 runs at 33.88 whilst their top wicket taker is also Varghese with 17 wickets at 15.47. For DLR County, Chhandak Barman is their top run scorer with 321 runs at 24.69, with Swapn Joshi their top wicket taker with 18 wickets at 15.0
Dundalk 2 vs Tyrrelstown 5 - At the bottom of the Division 19 table, Tyrrelstown 5 look to have a battle with Leinster 6 to see who is the second team relegated from Division 19 (although the number of leagues that Cricket Leinster runs in 2024 is relevant here). Leinster are only three points behind Tyrrelstown but have two games in hand, and Tyrrelstown may need to win both of their remaining games. Dundalk also have a tussle but at the other end of the league. They are 37 points behind leaders Sandyford 4 but have two games in hand. With five games to go, it is too early to make a call. Dundalk's leading run scorer this year is Jithin John with 262 runs at 65.5 with their leading wicket taker also being John, with 18 wickets at 11.28. For Tyrrelstown 5, Nithish Kumar Duda leads the way with the bat with 270 runs at 38.57 and their leading wicket taker is Praveen Bankikodlu Shivanand with 27 wickets at 14.11, establishing a most wickets in the season mark for Tyrrelstown 5 that will last for many years.
Ashbourne 1 vs The Hills 3 - North Kildare 3 look to be favourites for the Division 9 title, but the second promotion place is up for grabs, with both these teams (along with Lucan 1) in the thick of it. The Hills are 8 points behind Lucan (having played the same amount of games), but Ashbourne have one game in hand on both, with a win probably putting the in second place. All three previous matches between the teams have gone the way of The Hills, with the most recent only taking place two weeks ago. Consistent batting from The Hills' lower order saw them recover from 130/6 to 262/9. Ben Parker top scored with 53 from number 8, his first 50 for The Hills 3. He is only the second player to score a 50 for The Hills 3 from number 8 - Mohammad Hassan also performing the feat in 2021 and 2022. Ashbourne understandably struggled in the face of a big chase, but did get one bonus point, which was purely down to the batting of Nishad Sudhakaran who scored 82 to get Ashbourne from 61/6 to 178 all out. Umesh Burraa holds the record for an Ashbourne 1 number 7, with 84 against Knockharley 2 in 2019. Kanaka Hewasinghege took 3-24 for The Hills.
Terenure 3 vs Mullingar 2 - Terenure are safe from relegation from Division 12, but in order t grab the second promotion place, would need to win today, and hope Lucan 2 lose their last two matches. Mullingar are also safe from relegation and whilst they are not mathematically out of promotion, it looks very unlikely. Four of the last five matches between the teams have gone the way of Terenure, although the exception was the last league match played between the teams, on May 20 this year. Terenure slumped to 55/7 before a 8th wicket partnership of 86 between Dylan Cleary (40) and Muhammad Hadeeq (43) (the highest 8th wicket partnership for Terenure 3 on record) got Terenure to 145 all out, Obaidullah Tarakai taking 3-20. The Mullingar innings was like a reflection of Terenure's. They were 98/1 with Sean Glennon scoring 48 and Dinesh Kumar 53, before a mighty collapse saw Mullingar lose 6/30 before they collapsed over the line to win by 3 wickets with 16 balls to spare.
DLR County 1 vs Knockharley 2 - No preview as waiting on scorecards of Bagenalstown 1 vs Athlone 1 (August 19)
Halverstown 1 vs Tyrrelstown 3 - Tyrrelstown have two games in hand over those above them in Division 13, but even then, promotion seems to be just out of reach. Winning those two matches with maximum points would still leave them in 3rd place, 12 points being Wexford Wanderers 2. Halverstown have bigger problems at the other end of the table, and may need two wins fro their last four games to ensure safety. Christopher Hamilton-Fowle is Halverstown 1's top run scorer for the season with 202 runs at 28.86, whilst their leading wicket taker is Neville Case with 17 at 10.12. For Tyrrelstown 3, Mohneesh Jindal is their top wicket taker with 18 wickets at 18.67 and their leading run scorer is Amit Kharb with 188 runs at 31.33
Laois 3 vs Greystones 3 - Greystones pursuit of promotion in Division 15 is hanging by a thread. They have only two games left to close down a 30 point gap to Athlone 2 in second. Laois have a fight on their hand to stave off relegation, and are bottom with three games remaining. They definitely need to win one more match, but could need two or perhaps all three. Unfortunately they have to play the top two - Carlow and Athlone so have to win today. Ian Oliver's 4-11 was the stand out from Greystones' 6 wicket win in Stradbally in July 2022, his best bowling in 48 matches for Greystones. William Blackley scored 47 for Laois as they were bowled out for 130. Simon Davey then scored his third 50 for Greystones as they won by 6 wickets.
Sandyford 3 vs Kilkenny 3 - No preview as waiting on scorecard of North Kildare 6 vs Clondalkin 3 (June 11)
Adamstown 4 vs Phoenix 5 - A crucial game at the bottom end of Division 12, where two from Adamstown 4, Phoenix 5 and North Kildare 4 will go down. Adamstown have a game in hand on Phoenix, and in fact a maximum point win for Adamstown would send Phoenix down. Phoenix need to win today, and then hope that North Kildare lose one of their last two games, and Adamstown lose their last game to Greystones. The teams have played three times so far this year, with Phoenix winning the two Whelan Cup matches and Division 12 the league game. Anurag Bhandari's 110* dominated the Phoenix innings in the league match, as Phoenix made 236/6. But consistent batting from Adamstown got them home with over five overs to spare. Sidharth Biju hit 53 (his first 50 for Adamstown 4) and Usman Shahid 58* as Adamstown made 240/5, Vignesh Kannan's 3-39 the one highlight for Phoenix's bowling.
Leinster 5 vs North County 5 - North County still have an incredible six games to play in Division 14. They may be bottom, but if they won the four games in hand over Malahide 5 (with maximum points) they would move into second place. A more likely scenario is to win two or three of their remaining games to remain in the upper reaches of the league. Leinster have three games to go, but with a 58 point to make up on Malahide in second, they probably have too much to do. Relegation is not out of the question and they could do with a couple of wins. The one previous match between the teams was on June 10 this year. North County made 229 all out, with good contributions down the order, held together by Edwin Saji's 105 ball 64 at the top of the order. Keith Cardozo took 3-48, his best bowling on record for Leinster in a career going back to 2011. Leinster were in trouble at 98/5, before a stand of 131 for the 7th wicket between Nitesh Khodke (69*) and Deepak Jayakumar (40) nearly saw Leinster home. It was Leinster 5's highest 6th wicket partnership on record, beating Rory McMahon and Michael Scully's 87 against CI Women in 2011.
Greystones 1 vs Kilkenny 1 - Fourth hosts third in Division 7, and in a tight league both teams have chances of the title and promotion. Both teams are approximately 30 points behind leaders Castleknock with one game in hand and so need Castleknock to slip up. Tyrrelstown 1 are in second place with five matches left, and so Greystones and Kilkenny both need them to implode. These two are yet to face one another on field. Michael Kirk leads the Greystones 1 run scoring charts this year with 275 at 34.38 with their top wicket taker being Ramayya Botcha with 20 wickets at 15.35. For Kilkenny, Zeeshan Mumtaz has scored an incredible 743 runs at 67.55, wih Deepak Pandey having 22 wickets at 21.64.
Sandyford 4 vs Ongar 2 - The 2023 Adamstown Cup final between Sandyford 4, leaders of Division 19 and Ongar 2, also in Division 19 but down in third place. Ongar are in their first ever season, with a trophy cabinet waiting to be filled. Sandyford 4 are only in their third season in Leinster cricket, having previously competed in 2008 and 2009 and they are also trophyless. The last T20 cup won by the Sandyford club was the 2008 Whelan Cup won by Sandyford 2. The teams have already played once this year in the Adamstown Cup, with Ongar winning by a solitary run. Rajkiran Pucchakayala top scored with 86* (his first and only 50 in a 15 match career, all in 2023), as Ongar made 179/2 in 20 overs. Sudhakar Padam made 65 for Sandyford and when he was out, Sandyford needed another 33 from four overs. It was just beyond them, as they lost by 1 run.