Kilkenny 3 vs Wexford Wanderers 3 - Wexford Wanderers find themselves bottom of Division 18 after a win and three losses whilst Kilkenny are in 5th place with a 2-5 record. Finglas 3 and Sandyford 3 seem to be running away with the league, and so it could be down to an avoidance of relegation for the rest. Abban Moran took 4-13 for Wexford, as only Debmallya Bhattacharya's 33 really contributed as Kilkenny were bowled out for 153. That was Moran's best bowling in 9 matches for Wexford since 2020. There was to be no contest though as Benjamin Sales scored 106* as Wexford won by 8 wickets in 20 overs. It was Sales' first natch for Wexford, and the first instance we have on record of a Wexford Wanderers player scoring a century on debut.
Rush W2 vs Railway Union W1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Malahide 1 vs Balbriggan 1 - Third travels to fourth in the Premier League, with both teams winning last week. Balbriggan won four senior games on the trot against Malahide across 2016 and 2017, but since then, Malahide have won four of the last five. In Malahide, Balbriggan haven't won since a six wicket win in September 2017. Connor Fletcher (82) and Trent McGrath (76) added 107 for the 5th wicket as Balbriggan got to an under par looking 221/8 from 50 overs. Farooq Nasr then took 3-26 and Ehtesham Ahmed (3-38) tore through the Malahide batting, leaving them reeling at 128/9. Only Duane Harper (107 at 25.16) has taken more Senior wickets for Balbriggan than Ahmed's 92 at 24.03. Malahide's innings was then resurrected by an amazing partnership between Peter Chase (59) and David O'Halloran (32*). That is still Chase's highest senior score. That is still the highest 10th wicket partnership we have on record for Malahide, but agonisingly they fell six runs short, being all out with five balls still to come.
YMCA 1 vs Merrion 1 - This amazing Premier League season has so far to go, with the beauty being that no one really knows what is going to happen. YMCA are in second place after last week's good win at home to The Hills. Merrion are down in 5th after not really turning up away to Clontarf last week. History isn't a great help with this one - the last six Premier League games between the sides in Claremont Road have been shared three each. There have been no centurions (since 2011) for YMCA in this fixture, with both Reinhardt Strydom (June 2011) and Jeremy Bray scoring 87* (August 2013). In fact the only century is Tim Lang's 100 for Merrion in August 2012, a match Merrion won by 23 runs thanks to Ben Ackland's 78* and 5-49. With the ball, Robert Garth took 5-43 in August 2013 for YMCA, and Merrion's best is Oliver Newton who took 7-35 in the fixture in July 2019. If playing, Max Sorensen today plays his 200th senior match.
Leinster 1 vs The Hills 1 - Leinster's first loss of the season last week against Balbriggan brings them back to the pack, and there iare now only five points separating Leinster in first from Balbriggan in third. The Hills lost their second in a row last week and have dropped to sixth. The Hills have won the last three Premier League matches between the teams in Rathmines. For a Leinster win, we have to go back to September 2012. Naseer Shoukat took 4-22 for The Hills as Leinster were bowled out for 162, with John Paul O Dwyer top scoring with 56. But a Leinster bowling attack of Law, Leacock, Scholtz, Carroll, Moreton and Byrne all took wickets as The Hills only made 145, with Amer Raza scoring 53.
Clontarf 1 vs Railway Union 1 - The bottom two in the Premier League face off, and it doesn't need to be said that the losers will not be in a great place. Clontarf's win over Merrion last week will have given them a real boost, but Railway lost again, and will be desperate to break that run. Worryingly for Railway, they have lost the last ten senior matches between the teams, with their last win being back in 2011. That year they won home and away in the league. In the match in Castle Avenue, there were 50s for Alex Cusack (60), Bill Coghlan (55) and Andrew Poynter (50) as Tarf made 244/10. Pat Collins took 4-40, one of five times he took four wickets or more for Railway in his 56 match career. That total was no way near enough though. Tom Fisher made 94*, and Kevin O'Brien 64 from 40 balls as Railway won by 7 wickets with 12.2 overs to spare.
North County 1 vs Phoenix 1 - North County are in fourth place after last week's loss to table toppers Pembroke while Phoenix stay in second after losing to Rush. Of the seventeen senior matches played between the teams in Inch, North County lead 12-5, but in recent years it has been fairly even, with the last six games going back to 2011, shared three each. The 2011 game saw John Mooney top score for North County with 81 (one of 35 times he went past 50 for North County, only Conor Armstrong, Andre Botha and Eddie Richardson have done it more), as North County made 241/10 (Sadaf Raza 3-56). In reply Phoenix collapsed to 160 all out, with Richie Lawrence taking 5-35. Lawrence took 80 wickets at 22.72 for North County, as well as 34 at 26.83 for Phoenix.
Pembroke 1 vs North Kildare 1 - The toughest assignment of the year for North Kildare as the bottom team in the Championship travels to Sydney Parade to take on the leaders and Irish Senior Cup semi finalists. This will be the first time the teams have played in a senior match, so a quick look at who their top performers have been this year. Jonathan Garth has been supreme with the bat for Pembroke, scoring 238 runs at 59.5, with Nick Stapleton being the leading bowler with 22 wickets at 7.23. For North Kildare, their troubles with the bat are obvious - no player has yet got to 100 runs. With the ball, Shahrukh Shamim has taken 6 wickets at 7.67.
Cork County 1 vs Rush 1 - There is a big gap between the 71 points of Rush in 3rd place and the 46 points of Cork County in 4th, but both will be reasonably happy with where they lie. Rush are very much looking at the title and/or promotion. For Cork County, any movement away from the bottom three into mid-table obscurity will be welcomed. Rush have a decent record in The Mardyke, winning three of the last five matches there, dating back to June 2011. The 2016 match stands out, with Steph Grobler dominating. Stephen Doheny (56) and Lynal Jansen (37) added 86 for the first wicket. Doheny was still there at 136-3, but his dismissal saw a clatter of wickets, Rush being dismissed for 147. Grobler took 6-15, the best bowling at The Mardyke (since 2011) in senior cricket and also the best for Cork County, home or away. Grobler then scored 62 as Cork County won by 7 wickets at 26.1 overs. It is one of only three times a player has hit a 50 and taking 6 or more wickets in a senior match since 2011 (Pat Collins and Eddie Richardson were the others). Our database is patchy before 2011, but Alan Lewis achieved this for YMCA in 1990 and 1993, Angus Dunlop also did it for YMCA in 1993, and Brian O Rourke took 7-29 and scored 54* for Pembroke against Trinity in 1990.
Terenure 1 vs Civil Service 1 - Terenure host Civil Service in the Championship, with both having a 1-3 record. Civil Service will be buzzing after last week's win over North Kildare. Their last home win in the league against a non-Trinity team was a 22 run win over YMCA on May 1 1937! The teams have never played in a senior match in Leinster. Donal Vaughan has been Terenure's best batter so far in senior cricket this year with 192 runs at 64. With the ball Raghav Grover leads the way with 10 wickets at 15.90. For Civil Service, Mubasher Siddique is their leading run scorer with 137 runs at 34.25 and their leading wicket taker is Naveed Khan with 11 wickets at 18.09.
Cork Harlequins 1 vs YMCA 3 - A tough season so far for YMCA 3, who are bottom after losing all seven games on the field. Cork Harlequins will feel they should be doing better than they are, but sit in sixth place with two wins and two losses. The reverse fixture was a one sided affair, with Ryan Joyce taking 5-16 as YMCA were bowled out for 91. It was the second best bowling return for Quins in Leinster cricket, after Ruadhan Jones' 6-10 vs Rush 2 in 2021. Anish Viswanathan top scored with 40* as Quins won by 7 wickets with 32.4 overs remaining.
Castleknock 2 vs The Hills 3 - Third hosts second in Division 9, although Castleknock have played at least a game more than anyone else in the top seven. The Hills have been the benefit of two walkovers, and on the pitch have a 1-1 record, and Castleknock are similar 3-3. The only previous match between the teams was the reverse fixture on May 20, which saw some great performances. Ahmed Yousuf Mohammed took 6-29 for Castleknock to put them on the front foot. It was the third best bowling for Castleknock 2 and a career best for the bowler. However, three fifties for The Hills middle order set them up well. Andrew Russell (56), Nithin Thambi (50) and Ashad Farooqi (55) all contributed as The Hills got to 259/10 - their 8th highest total. That was about as good as it got for The Hills though. All the Castleknock batters got past 20, with Jagdeep Singh (77) and Justin Pieterse (57*) going further. That was Jagdeep's highest career score in a 49 match career for Merrion and Castleknock. Castleknock won with 8 balls and 6 wickets to spare.
Naas 2 vs Athlone 3 - A win over Lucan on June 18 in Division 17 has lifted Naas out of the relegation places, but they have another tough game today, hosting Athlone 3 who are in third place with a 4-2 return so far. DLR County and Adamstown are pulling away at the top of this league, and Athlone need a win to stay in touch. Naas are 2-5 for the season in all comps, Muhammad Anzar being their leading run scorer with 145 runs at 29. With the ball, Vinod Pillai has taken 12 wickets at 15.92. Athlone are 6-3 for the year, with their top run scorer being Kumuditha Athukorala with 174 runs at 24.86, and their leading wicket taker, Rohit Jha with 11 wickets at 15.36.
Merrion 7 vs Sandyford 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Gorey 1 vs North Kildare 5 - The bottom two in Division 13 meet in Courtown and it doesn't need stressing that whoever loses is in big trouble. Gorey have lost all six games, whilst North Kildare are 1-3. This will be the first meeting between the teams, so a quick look at their season so far. Gorey's win over Naas in the Whelan Cup on June 10 got their season up and running, their record sitting at 1-9 in all competitions. Hisham Ismail is their leading run scorer with 112 runs at 22.4, with their top wicket taker also being Ismail with 8 wickets at 18.25. For North Kildare, they are having a 1-7 season, with Mohammed Muzammil top scoring with 150 runs at 18.75 and Iftikar Dalvie being top wicket taker with 8 wickets at 11.25. There's not much between the teams and it should be a cracker.
Carlow 2 vs Railway Union 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Civil Service 4 vs Lucan 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Phoenix 5 vs Lucan 2 - As the season slowly advances into its second half, important matches at the top and bottom begin to identify themselves. This Division 12 match is one of those, with third place Phoenix hosting leaders Lucan 2. Lucan are top with 1 5-2 record, with Phoenix being 3-5 (not really promotion taking form). The teams haven't played since 2019, when Lucan won both matches played. In the match played in Phoenix, Bijesh Bhaskaran scored a blistering 86, but received hardly any support from his teammates, as Phoenix were bowled out for 149, with Mit Mody taking 3-23 and Akshay Beniwal 3-24. Lucan found the chase pretty easy, Gaurav Kumar hitting 50* and Beniwal 36 as Lucan won by 6 wickets with 99 balls to spare.
Tyrrelstown 5 vs Carlow 3 - Division 19 is all about how many games teams have played. Carlow still have 11 games to go, and despite being down in 8th place, winning the majority of those games will put them in a great league position. Tyrrelstown have played eight and sit in 4th place with a 3-4 record. With the leaders all having lost only one match, neither of these teams can slip up again. The reverse league fixture saw a record breaking day, but not one that Tyrrelstown will look back fondly on. Solim Mohammed top scored for Carlow with 61, his highest score in 66 innings for Carlow as Carlow made 265/8 against nine man Tyrrelstown. Younus Mohammed then took 6-12 for Carlow as Tyrrelstown were dismissed for 29 to lose by 236 runs. They were the best bowling figures for Carlow 3; the lowest all out total for any Tyrrelstown side; the highest winning margin by runs for Carlow 3 as well as the highest losing margin by runs for Tyrrelstown 5.
Railway Union 3 vs Leinster 3 - Division 6 is a really tight league, especially at the top. Only two points separate Leinster in second place, and Railway Union in 4th place. Longford currently have a 90 point lead at the top, which looks as if the rest are scrapping for one remaining promotion place. The two teams met on April 15 in the reverse fixture. Sandeep Shahdeo scored 62 (the 20th time he has passed 50 in Leinster cricket in a 127 match career for Cabinteely, DLR County and Leinster), as Leinster got to 214/7. At 73/2 it was looking ok for Railway, but Raza ur Rahman took 5-17 to whittle away at the Railway top order. Sahil Chordia top scored with 46, but Railway were bowled out for 161.
Rush 3 vs Merrion 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Lucan 3 vs DLR County 2 - DLR County 2 are flying this season in Division 17, winning all seven matches they have played giving them a 25 point lead over Adamstown 7 (although Adamstown have a game in hand). Lucan are safe enough in 6th place, but are definitely looking over their shoulders at the three relegation threatened clubs behind them. The only previous match between the teams was on May 6th this year. Only three players got in double figures for DLR County, with Harish Arunachalam top scoring with 41. Anuj Kumar Sharma took 3-10, and DLR County got what should have been a below par 125 all out. When it came to Lucan's turn to bat, Manoj Jacob (4-25) and Swampn Joshi (4-3) had other ideas as Lucan collapsed to 39/9 and then 61 all out. It was the first time two players have taken four wickets in an innings for DLR County 2, and Lucan's lowest away scored (they made 52 all out at home to Bagenalstown 2 in August 2020) Mullingar 1 vs Clontarf 4 - Mullingar find themselves in a fairly decent position in Division 6. They have only lost once in four games completed on the field, and are in fourth place with games in hand on all the teams ahead of them. Whilst Longford are well clear at the top, second place is well within their reach. For Clontarf, the season has not gone so well and they sit at the bottom with seven losses and a rained off match. The first match between these two teams was played in Castle Avenue on May 14 this year, with Mullingar winning by 1 wicket. 34-2 may not have been the best start in the world for Clontarf, but it definitely wasn't too bad. However Craig Sweeney (3-20) and Aadarsh Pranav Ashok Kumar (3-7) swept through the Tarf batting, turning 34-2 into 93 all out. Kevin O'Connor top scored for Clontarf with 27. The fun was only beginning though, with Mullingar finding themselves at 23/6 and 49/8. Stephen Pullbrook held it all together, eventually finishing with 51* from number 4 as he and Irfan Qasim (10) added 38 for the ninth wicket. It was the 5th time Pullbrook has passed 50 for Mullingar in 49 matches.
Dundalk 1 vs Halverstown 1 - Dundalk's unbeaten season continued last week with a win over Tyrrelstown 3, a record that not surprisingly puts them on top of Division 13. They welcome Halverstown 1 who are in 6th place with a 2-3 record so far. Only one previous match between the teams, and that was the reverse league fixture on May 20. Dundalk were in all sorts of trouble at 85-7 as the incredible Neville Case took 5-12. It was his seventh five wicket haul for Halverstown (since 2011), stretched his league as Halverstown's top wicket taker (267 at 13.33) and puts him 15th on the list of top wicket takers in the province since 2011. However, Umer Khan then scored 73 batting at number 9 to get Dundalk to 169 all out. It is the 13th highest score recorded by a number 9 in Cricket Leinster's Open Competitions - the highest being Gurjeet Singh's 124 for Castleknock 1 against Merrion 4 in Division 7 is April 2022. Halverstown didn't recover and the salt was rubbed in the wound by Sanju Baby's 7-24. It is the only time he has taken more than 2 wickets in an innings (in a 19 match career) and is the best bowling recorded for the Dundalk club. Halverstown were all out for 111 to lose by 59 runs.
Athlone 1 vs DLR County 1 - A great match in prospect in Doon in Division 8, as leaders Athlone 1 welcome third place DLR County 1. There is a big gap between the teams though, with Athlone only losing one of their seven games - DLR County have lost four of their seven. Their only previous match saw a thumping 98 run win for Athlone in the reverse Division 8 fixtures on April 15th. Naveenrohith Vijayan scored 45 and George Jebaraj scored 48 as Athlone got to 235/7 from their 45 overs. The DLR County innings was all about one player. They collapsed to 35/6, and their final total of 137 all out was nothing to write home about. Chiraag Arora scored 86 batting at number 7, one of two 50s he has hit in his first season in Leinster cricket. It is the highest score by a number 7 for DLR County 1. For Athlone, Nikhil Matta took 4-25.
Leinster 6 vs Ongar 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Greystones 3 vs Clontarf 6 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Knockharley 2 vs North County 3 - Knockharley find themselves in a good position in Division 8 - 43 points behind leaders Athlone 1, but with two games in hand. North County have only played three matches, but having only lost one match, they are also in a decent position. If they won their four games in hand over Athlone, they would be top as well! North County lead the head to head between the sides 3-1, with Knockharley's last win coming back in August 2018. The Knockharley bowling attack of Wajih Iqbal, Muhammad Saqi, Rajesh Adi and Kamran Mirza all took wickets as County were bowled out for 85. Ovais Ali (35*) and Kamran Mahmood made short work of the chase, as Knockharley won by 9 wickets with 28 overs to spare.
Balbriggan 3 vs Laois 2 - No news yet from Leinster's Division 10 match against Railway Union during the week, so positions in the league are only provisional. Balbriggan are definitely top with their 4-1 record and 123 points. Laois may have slipped down to third (if Leinster won) but are definitely in the top three, and although they only have a 2-3 record on the pitch, they aren't too badly placed for the second half of the season. Three times the teams have played each other - all in 2022, with Balbriggan winning two and Laois one. Last August, Laois got to 216/9 in one of those innings with no highlights. Arsalan Khalid top scored with 36, Roger Kear took 3-45 and no one would have been getting celebratory photos taken. In the second half, Steven Harper scored 69 (only his second career 50 away from Balbriggan) and with support from Dakshin Eashwar (47) and Amkela Nontso (43) Balbriggan romped home with 24 balls to spare. Ben Hur took 4-43, his best bowling since April 2018.
Ongar 1 vs Malahide 5 - Ongar 1 are in a healthy position, with a 48 point lead at the top of Division 14, having won six of their seven games (their only defeat coming to North County 5). Malahide have only played four games, losing three, that being a record that is only good enough for 7th place. The teams have already played twice this year, with Ongar winning the Division 14 game, as well as the Junior Cup match. In the last match played, Malahide had a chance when Ongar were 94/7, but Santosh Kumar (35) and Ravi Kiran Kumar Tirunahari (36) added 71 for the 8th wicket to get Ongar to 165/7 (although that is only the second highest 8th wicket partnership for the 8th wicket for Ongar 1 this year!). Richard Bworn took 3-18 for Malahide, but the total looked a good one. Brown top scored with 43, but 4-24 from Kartheek Reddy Podduturi decided the match (his best bowling since joining Ongar in the winter) as Malahide made only 125/8.
Adamstown 5 vs Finglas 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North Kildare 3 vs Adamstown 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Phoenix 3 vs Kilkenny 1 - Kilkenny have never been so high in the league, and will have promotion at the forefront of their minds from her on in. A win today would send them top of Division 7, Phoenix are classically mid table, winning as many as they have lost to sit in fifth place. Their first ever meeting on May 21 was like many other games this season - a lower order batter grabs the game by the scruff of the neck to take their team to victory. Zeeshan Mumtaz came in at 90-4, which soon worsened for Kilkenny at 129/6. But Mumtaz gave another masterclass, scoring 82 to get the home side to 202 all out. Nitin Naik took 5-32 for Phoenix, his third five wicket haul for Phoenix in 199 matches (today will be his 200th). Mumtaz is currently the fourth highest scorer in the Open Comps in 2023 with 530 runs at 58.89. Six players got to double figures for Phoenix, but none did better than Shiv Sethi's 30 (batting at number 10) as Phoenix made only 170 all out.
Wicklow County 2 vs Mullingar 3 - These two teams have games in hand on the others in Group B of the Minor Cup. It is looking as if any team with one loss with definitely go through to the semis, and a slight possibility that a team may go through having lost two matches. Both of these two have already lost once, so it doesn't take a genius to see that the loser today will be up against it. The teams met six times between 2013 and 2015 (Wicklow County winning five), but haven't played since then. The last match between the teams in Bray, saw John Joyce top score with 60 as Wicklow County got to 217/7. That was good as the day got for Mullingar (and as exciting as the day got for anyone!). Mullingar crawled to 71/6 from 40 overs, with ten Wicklow County players bowling, and the Trevor Bailey award going to either Kyle Gavin's 83 ball 15 or Aryan Nautiyal's 27 ball duck. That is the third most number of balls faced for a duck in Leinster cricket - although the data is far from complete. The "worst" is Tom Lynch's 30 ball duck for Terenure 1 against The Hills 1 in April 2012.
Malahide 3 vs Longford 1 - Lots still to be decided in Group D of the YMCA Salver. YMCA are definitely out, but these two teams (along with Phoenix 3) are very much in contention. The two T20 matches between the sides in Malahide have both gone the way of the Villagers. In the 2013 Middle Cup game (played as a T20 refix), Danish Javed top scored for Longford with 23 as they made only 93/8 - Willie Richardson taking 3-12. THe depths of Malahide's troubles in this match are tough to work out from an incomplete scorecard, but something like 50/6 was turned around, thanks to 25* from Kevin McPhilemy and 12* from Richardson.