Railway Union 2 vs Sandyford 1- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Balbriggan 1 vs Leinster 1 - Leinster, the early Premier League leaders travel to Balbriggan, a venue where they have never lost a senior match (in four matches). In two previous matches on the ground, Leinster's Joey Carroll averages 224 at 112 with the bat, and 6 wickets at 8.83 with the ball. In the August 2015 match, Carroll scored 101 as Leinster made 249/10, before taking 5-30 with the ball. That is the only instance of a player taking 5 wickets and scoring a century for Leinster in a senior match since 2011. For Balbriggan, their leading run scorer in senior cricket this year is Gregory Ford with 205 runs at 68.33 - no bowler has got more than five wickets.
Clontarf 1 vs Merrion 1 - No panic for any team at this early stage of the Premier League campaign. But Clontarf could do without losing their first four matches. Merrion are 2-1, and in a league where it is guaranteed that teams are all going to take points off each other, that is not the worst place to be. Merrion don't have the worst record in Castle Avenue, although there are only two wins for Merrion in the last seven matches - going back to 2014. Merrion's last win was in 2021 in a low scoring match. Amish Sidhu took 4-11, Max Neville 3-24 and Tom Stanton 3-24 as Tarf were dismissed for 103. Merrion chased it down for the loss of five wickets, with Fionn Hand taking 3-22.
YMCA 1 vs The Hills 1 - In the Premier League, there are only four points between The Hills in 2nd and YMCA in 5th. The all time head to head between the two teams in senior. cricket in Claremont Road is 16-16 (with two draws), and that sums up the match pretty well. The sides haven't met in Sandymount since June 2019. YM found themselves in all sorts of trouble at 85-7, before Bobby Gamble then scoring 61, and along with James Parkinson, they got the total to 184 all out. And despite regular wickets (Rory Anders took 3-43), The Hills made it over the line for the lost of 8 wickets, thanks to Daya Singh's 69. That was the narrowest win The Hills have ever had in a senior match against YMCA, although they have done it six times between 1985 and 2021!
Rush 1 vs Phoenix 1 - Third hosts second in the Championship, with Phoenix traveling to Kenure which has been a happy hunting ground in recent years. They have five of the last six matches played between the teams in Rush, with the one match won by Rush being a nail-biting rain affected affair in June 2012. Rush scored 289 from 50 overs with Saadat Gull and Shahid Iqbal each scoring 81 (two if the 78 fifties the pair have scored for Rush). Rory Flanagan took 3-35 for Phoenix. Phoenix got to 134/2 from 29 overs with Joe McKay scoring 40 and Syed Ali Rizvi 64* but the scorecard has Phoenix losing by 3 runs, presumably in a DLS adjudged result.
North County 1 vs Pembroke 1 - North County have got off to a decent enough start in the Championship, losing only to Rush, but today face a step up in class as they host league leaders Pembroke. There have only been twelve matches played between the teams on the ground at Inch, with the first taking place in 2002. Pembroke won the first two, but since then Pembroke have only won two more. The June 2013 match was a classic with North County running up 305/6 thanks to Conor Armstrong's 110 (one of 10 senior hundreds for North County, behind only Andre Botha), and 50s from Shane Getkate and Eddie Richardson. Pembroke looked out of it at 106-4 before 61 from 48 balls from Barry McCarthy got them close, eventually falling 14 runs short in the last over. Getkate's career in Leinster has (so far) totaled 1005 runs at 17.33 and 52 wickets at 30.19.
Civil Service 1 vs North Kildare 1 - The bottom two in the Championship face off, and weather permitting, one will be off the mark for their league season with a win. Of the six previous meetings between the teams (2011-present), North Kildare have won five. But they haven't played at any level since 2015, and their last league match was a Division 3 game in 2014. Civil Service's top 8 all got into double figures, but none got more than Mubasher Siddique's 27 (and no one got a better bowling return than Neil Vorster's 2-5). Rob Neavyn and Imran ul Haq added 110 in no time as North Kildare won by 9 wickets. That was one of five 9 wicket wins we have on record for North Kildare 1, with none since a win over Longford in 2019.
Cork County 1 vs Terenure - Terenure have only traveled to the Mardyke to play Cork County on four occasions - and they have lost every time (they did beat the Munster Reds in Section A in June 2005). Terenure's last win was a battle of the pros in September 2019. Cork County made 237 all out, on the back of 78 from Jeremy Benton, his highest score in 27 matches in Leinster. For Terenure Aidan Doyle took 3-44 and ODonal Vaughan 3-34. The Terenure reply was all about Jack Webster's 110, one of three centuries he scored for Terenure that summer. Benton took 3-28, as Terenure were always slightly behind, collapsing from 154-3 (when Webster was out) to 225/9.
Merrion 3 vs YMCA 3 - The battle of the province's strongest third teams in Division 4. YMCA haven't got off to a great start, with five losses on the board, and Merrion aren't too much better with a win and two losses. YMCA 3 have not won in Merrion in a league match since August 2015. Nicky Kenny hit a classy 79 from 59 balls to take Merrion to 230/8. But the day belonged to Nathan Johns (100) and Andrew Blair White (62) who added 165 for the third wicket. It was Johns' second ton that summer, and the second highest 3rd wicket partnership for YMCA 3, after 213 for Matthew Quirke and Dale McDonough against Leinster 4 in 2011. YM had a major stutter at the end, but won by 2 wickets off the last ball, with Stephen Keane and Kamal Marchant at the crease.
Lucan 3 vs Adamstown 7 - Lucan welcome Adamstown to Adamstown to St Catherine's Park in the Division 17 Liffey Valley derby. Lucan have lost two of their six matches to sit in sixth place (a position that would be their highest ever if they stay there until the end of the season) and Adamstown are unbeaten, in second place with five wins. Their only previous match was in the reverse fixture on May 20. If truth be told, Lucan were never in the game, and from when they were 13-2, always looked like losing. Varatharaj Murthy spearheaded the Adamstown attach with 3-26 (his best bowling in a 30 match career stretching back to 2015), as Lucan were bowled out for 118, Bhuvan Yarlagadda top scoring with 32 (his career highest, after making his debut this year). Adamstown took their time, but won by 6 wickets in the 29th over, Mohan Kumar Satyanarayana scoring 28.
Mullingar 3 vs Phoenix 6- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Greystones 3 vs Athlone 2- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Ongar 2 vs Sandyford 4- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North Kildare 6 vs Rush 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Phoenix 3 vs Tyrrelstown 1 - The Division 7 table is now well established, with two of the teams already having reached the half way stage, and Tyrrelstown will become the third today. They are in second place, having lost only one of their six games. Phoenix have only lost two, and with games in hand on most of those above them, are not too far from the promotion places. The reverse fixture two weeks ago was a record breaking match in Tyrrelstown Park. Roshin Raviprasad was Tyrrelstown's best bowler with 3-37 as Phoenix ran up 286/9. The only fifty was 59 for Andrew John, his first for Phoenix 3, and third in Leinster cricket. That was Phoenix's third highest innings total on record. In reply Yashwanth Kamma Venkata scored a brilliant 104* and Gerin George 51, as Tyrrelstown won by 4 wickets with 24 balls to spare. It was Tyrrelstown 1's highest successful run chase ever and Venkata's first hundred in Leinster cricket in a career of 36 matches.
Slieve Bloom 1 vs Ongar 1 - Top travels to bottom in Division 14. Slieve Bloom's form has picked up in recent weeks and this may not be as one sided as it could have looked a month ago - especially with Ongar traveling down to Ballyeighan. Rather than dwell too much on Ongar's massive 174 run win in the reverse fixture, a quick look a the side's performances this year. Bloom are 3-4 in all competitions; their top run scorer is Faizan Hakim with 169 runs at 33.8 and their top wicket taker is Sajin Soman with 11 wickets at 10.0. Ongar are 9-1, with their only loss being to North County 5 on May 7. Six different players have passed 100 runs, with Anup Kishen (247) and Naveen Kumar Baddam (230) leading the way. With the ball, look for Santosh Kumar with 14 wickets at 14.36.
Wexford Wanderers 2 vs Gorey 1 - The only league Wexford derby this year (as well as the return match on August 19). Gorey haven't got off to the best of starts, losing their first five matches to sit on the bottom of the table, whilst Wexford Wanderers are 4th with a 2-1 record. Early days. Gorey have won three of the four matches between the teams, with the last league match, in August 2018 going their way by 86 runs. Gorey made 173/9 from 35 overs with Ross Norman top scoring with 32, before Wexford crumbled in a game where no bowler took more than two wickets. At 82-5 Wexford may have had an outside chance, but the last four wickets (Attila Stahlut retired hurt) fell for only five run.
Laois 2 vs Wicklow County 1 - Wicklow County 1 are still struggling at the bottom of Division 10 with three losses from three, whilst Laois will be pretty happy with their situation (third place and 2-2, although five teams in the division have lost two or less matches). The sides met twice i 2018, although the Laois home match was played in Togher rather than their current home in Stradbally. 43 from Jalal Hussain and 41 from Atiq Rehman got Laois to 129-7 before 40 from Mohammed Sheraz got Laois to a competitive 202 all out. That was plenty though. as despite 35 from Nicky Fusco, Wicklow County only made 112, with Usama Raees cleaned up the tail with 3-5.
Malahide 1 vs Railway Union 1 - Railway's early season form has drifted away somewhat in recent weeks, but they are to good a team to keep on losing. Malahide also find themselves on a bit of a losing run, and one team will be mighty relieved tonight when they walk away as winners. Railway's last win in Malahide in a senior match was an absolutely cracker in the Premier League in May 2015. Kenny Carroll, Hafiz Abdullah and Adrian Murphy all struck 50s as Railway Union made 239/8, with Callum Riches taking 4-40. At 204-4 it was looking fairly hopeful for Malahide (although the scorecard doesn't reveal how many overs were left at this stage) with Will Kindley (brother of current player Hunter) still there on his way to 95. Kenny Carroll then weaved his magic (3-22) and Malahide collapsed to 232 all out to lose by seven runs.
Carlow 3 vs Castleknock 4 - Group B of the Adamstown Cup is still in its early stages, with Carlow having played twice, and Castleknock once. No previous matches between the teams, so a look at their seasons so far. Carlow are 3-4 for the year, with their leading run scorer being Ramesh Adabala with 124 runs at 24.8, and their top wicket taker being Younus Mohammed with 12 wickets at 8.25. For Castleknock 4, they are 4-3 for the season, with their top batter being Mohammed Siddiqui with 113 runs at 22.6, and their leading wicket taker being Azgar Baig with 11 wickets at 9.64.
DLR County 2 vs Kilkenny 2- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Pembroke 3 vs Leinster 3 - Not a great start to the Division 6 season for Pembroke, who along with two rained off matches, have lost their three games played to sit in 7th spot. Leinster are 4th, winning two and losing two. Pembroke have won the last three matches between the teams in Sydney Parade (and in fact won six of the seven matches played since 2011), with Leinster's last win being back in May 2016. In that match, Pembroke were going well at 62-1, before a combined effort from the Leinster bowling attack saw a series of mini collapses, subsiding to 149 all out. Only Dale McDonough (26) and Colin Kavanagh (41) stood out for Pembroke; Chirag Dolia took 3-20 for Leinster. Leinster's innings staggered home, James Law holding it together with 38, as they won with 26 balls and three wickets to spare.
Leinster 6 vs Dundalk 2 - Dundalk 2 are flying in Division 19, winning four of their first five matches to sit in second place. Leinster 6 are at the other end of the table, losing two of their first four matches to lie in 8th. The pair first played in 2013 when Leinster had a thumping 10 wicket win, thanks to 5-18 from Marty Block and 51* from Declan O'Brien (his highest career score in a 28 match long cricketing career), but the Adamstown Cup game between the sides in May was much closer. Bakhtyar Nabi scored 122 (retired) on his Leinster debut (he has since moved to North Kildare), as Leinster made 199/6 in 20 overs. Dundalk got within 9 runs, thanks to Jithin John's 35 ball 78. It was the highest ever T20 score for both sides and the third and fourth highest achieved in Hiney Park.
Railway Union 3 vs Mullingar 1- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Terenure 3 vs North Kildare 4 - Terenure in sixth host bottom side North Kildare, in a fairly classic relegation battle. All the cliches can be used. If North Kildare lose they will be in the process of losing contact with the teams above, but a win for them will drag Terenure back into the mire. Until this season, the teams had never played each other, but there have already been two matches in 2023 with a win each. The match in Terenure went the way of North Kildare. Behzad Majeed scored 57 (the 18th time he has passed 50 for North Kildare, he has added one more since) to get then to 149/3. Muddasir Zeb then took 4-32 as Terenure slumped to 19/4, a position from which they never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 102.
Swords 1 vs Athlone 1- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Adamstown 2 vs Kilkenny 1 - Fourth hosts third in Division 7 with both teams very much eyeing up promotion. Kilkenny have only lost once in five matches (one of those being rained off) and although Adamstown's record is less impressive (3-4) with only half the season left, a good run of wins will see them challenge at the top. Never before have these teams met, so a quick look at their seasons so far. Adamstown are 7-4 (having won all of their YM Salver matches) and so should be full of confidence (although confidence only gets you so far). Three players have got to 200 runs for them - Suhas Yellur (341), Bradley Fernandes (224) and Kunal Nagare (271). With the ball, three have also got past 10 wickets, Yellur (19), Fernandes (18) and Hardeep Singh (10). For Kilkenny, they have a 6-2 season, with Zeeshan Mumtaz (521 and currently second in the province) and Shoaib Tariq (326) dominating with the bat. With the ball, four have got past ten wickets - Mumtaz (18), Ketan Malik (15), Azaz Ahmad (14) and Deepak Pandey (13)
Knockharley 2 vs Bagenalstown 1- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Merrion 7 vs Halverstown 2- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Leinster 5 vs Clondalkin 2- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
The Hills 3 vs Dublin University 2 - Dublin University play their last game of the season in Division 9, and they desperately need a win to avoid relegation, having only won one match so far this season. The Hills' season has hardly got going, with two rained off and a win and a loss. No previous games between the two teams, so another look at how their seasons have been going. The Hills' Middle Cup campaign has been something of a disaster with four losses, giving them a 1-5 record overall. With a not particularly successful season (so far) it is no surprise that the individual performances are on the low side of expectations - the leading run scorer being Andrew Russell with 126 runs at 21, and the top wicket taker Muhammad Hassan with 9 at 12.89. Trinity only play in the league - their top run scorer is Ultan Doherty (also of The Hills) with 225 runs at 45 and their top wicket taker is Manmohan Singh with 10 wickets at 15.80.
Adamstown 3 vs Lucan 1- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Pembroke 5 vs Knockharley 3 - Pembroke have reached the half way stage of their Division 16 campaign and urgently need points, sitting in 8th place with only two wins from their first eight matches. They host Knockharley who are solidly mid-table with a 3-4 record - good enough to be in 4th place. The teams played the reverse fixture on June 3rd, with Knockharley running out winners by 37 runs. Muhammad Tahir Rasheed scored 68 for Knockharley as they made 161 all out with Eli Clarke the star of the show with 4-24. That was Clarke's best bowling of his 13th match Cricket Leinster career. After losing two early wickets, Pembroke were always up against it, and then slipped from 118-5 to 124 all out with Rasheed and Muhammad Afaq both taking three wickets.
North Kildare 5 vs Adamstown 5- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Dundalk 1 vs Merrion 6 - Group A of the Junior Cup is warming up nicely, and Dundalk are not yet out of it, with three of their matches remaining. Three wins would take them to 20 points and a real chance of semi final qualification. Merrion have lost both their first two matches, but even then, four wins and 16 points could be enough. There has only been one previous match between the teams, in Hiney Park in 2019. Jeffrey David scored 57* as Merrion made 205/9. It was David's highest career score in 127 matches for Merrion, and his fifth fifty. But a brilliant 113 from M Mudassar Zahid set up Dundalk, and they cruised home in only 21 overs to win by 7 wickets. It is his only century in 80 matches in Leinster cricket, with spells at Dundalk, Balbriggan. North County and Knockharley. It is the only century scored by a Dundalk player in Hiney Park and Dundalk 1's fourth highest run chase.
Naas 2 vs Civil Service 5 - These two are right at the bottom of Group A of the Russell Court Trophy, but crucially with games in hand they still have a chance. It is likely that both will need to win their remaining matches, but that is definitely possible. Naas won their first game of the season last week to be 1-5 for 2023, ending their worst ever run. Raees Ur Rahman is the leading run scorer with 123 runs at 24.6; their leading wicket taker is Vinod Pillai with 10 wickets at 16. Civil Service are 1-4, with no player yet scoring over 100 runs or taking more than five wickets.
Tyrrelstown 2 vs Balbriggan 3- No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Malahide 3 vs Rush 2 - Malahide, the leaders of Division 5 host Rush, who are in fifth place but have only won one of their five games. Malahide's impressive run has seen them win five matches and have a game rained off to see them a healthy 29 points ahead of Adamstown 1 in second place (although all teams below them have at least a game in hand). The teams have only completed three matches over the years, with Malahide winning two and Rush one. This year's match, on May 14, was another day for the batters with Malahide's Adam Doyle scoring 121, his first century in his 107 Cricket Leinster career. Anthony Glutz also scored 51 (his first 50 in five matches for Malahide) as the Villagers made 264/4. Lakshmi Prasad Venkatarame Gowda (2-19) and Leslee Augustine Muttathottil (2-29) reduced Rush to 22-4 and they never recovered, being bowled out for 153.
Carlow 1 vs Clontarf 4 - Unfortunately, the scorecard for the crucial Railway Union/Sandyford match in Group D of the Middle Cup has still not been submitted, so we are in the dark as to the importance of today's match. Carlow lead the head to head between these two teams 4-1, but that is out the window, with the sides playing their third match against each other in the last eight days. Carlow won the first (league) game by 8 wickets thanks to 4-29 from Mohammad Ali Tuhin (his best figures since starting his Cricket Leinster career at the beginning of this season) and Amir Mehmood hitting 53 in the very short (14 over) chase. But Clontarf bounced back well the following day, to win the home Middle Cup match by 61 runs. Tariq Hussain hit an impressive 62 for Tarf (the sixth tie he has passed 50 for Clontarf) as the home side made 143/8. A combined effort from the Clontarf bowling then reduced Carlow to 34-6, before Conall Woods polished off the tail with 3-15, his career best bowling figures in his 22nd match for Clontarf.