Leinster 2 vs North County 2 - The first time the two have met in the Senior 2 Cup since July 2017, when Leinster scored 236/8, but North County chased it down off the penultimate ball, mainly thanks to 82 from Manmeet Singh. Leinster are 4-2 for all competitions this season, whilst North County are 0-4 and still looking for their first win.
Rush 2 vs Wexford Wanderers 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Knockharley 1 vs Pembroke 2 - Only one previous match between the teams, with Pembroke winning a Tillain Cup match in 2020 by 10 runs. Knockharley will be looking to repeat their run to the semi finals of the Senior 2 Cup in 2017, with Pembroke having won the competition four times, but not since 1976! For Knockharley, no player has got past 100 runs or five wickets, but for Pembroke 2, Greg Hollins is still the leading run scorer with 189 runs at 94.5, and Donncha Tucker's 9 wickets at 19.33 lead the way with the ball.
Civil Service 2 vs The Hills 2 - A first ever game for Civil Service 2 in the Senior 2 Cup, hosting the side who won a hat-trick of wins in the competition - in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Service won two games last weekend, after losing their first four this season. The Hills lost to Adamstown 2 first up, before a string of three wins. Cian Nulty has been the star of the season for The Hills so far, with 10 wickets at 3.9. Their bowling has been their strength, bowling their opponents out for 101, 112, 112 and 104. Deepak Jayachandran is the only Civil Service player to 100 runs so far this season with 105 at 26.25, and their leading wicket taker is Rohith Gunaseelan with 6 wickets at 17.50
Railway Union 2 vs Malahide 2 - Malahide sit in 7th place in the 2nd XI Premier League, but looks can be deceptive. They lost their only league game so far, but in all competitions are 4-1. Railway Union 2 have exactly the same record, and this match should be a cracker. In the side's most recent Senior 2 Cup meeting, Cameron Shoebridge's 5-26 (his best bowling in 234 matches in Leinster) bowled Railway out for 168, before Malahide themselves were bowled out for 155. However, both sides were then disqualified due to complications that season regarding players playing in the Senior League Cup and the Senior 2 Cup.
Laois 1 vs Merrion 2 - These two played each other in a Senior 2 Cup quarter final in June 2016, with Laois running out winners by 30 runs. Rashid Mehraj (72) and Phil Blackley (64) helped Laois get to 255/10, and despite 75 from Mick Lewis, Merrion fell short on 225 all out. It hasn't been the best of starts for Laois this year though, and they have lost their last four in Division 5 and the Tillain Cup (1-4 overall). Merrion 2 are 3-2, but have lost their last two.
Clontarf 2 vs Phoenix 2 - The two previous meetings in the Senior 2 Cup have both resulted in Clontarf wins - by 6 wickets in 2019, and by 2 wickets in 2014. The great Mark Collier dominated Division 3 cricket ten years ago, and the 2014 match was a great example. He took 4-35 for Clontarf to help dismiss Phoenix for 177, before scoring 62 as Clontarf squeezed home by 2 wickets. He was to go on and repeat the feat of a 50 and four wicket in a match later that season. No other player has performed the feat for Clontarf since 2011.
Balbriggan 2 vs YMCA 2 - Balbriggan 2 play their first ever match in the Senior 2 Cup, a competition won by Balbriggan 1 in 2010 and 2012. That is once more than YMCA 2, who won the competition in 1991. The only previous match between the teams was a Tillain Cup match in 2020. Devansh Singh (35) and Tom Anders put on 76 for the 3rd wicket to help YM get to 130/7 (no one else got in double figures, Syed Haris took 3-19 for Balbriggn). At 15/3, Balbriggan were in trouble, but Chuka Uba hit 40*, and 20s from Ghanim Dara, Abdul Samad and Tariq Faheem got Balbriggan over the line with two balls to spare.
Pembroke 6 vs Swords 5 - Pembroke 6 start their Division 20/Development League season, with Swords having lost the two games they have played on the pitch. The teams met in the same fixture last year. Rian O'Neill top scored for Pembroke with 41 as Pembroke made 169 all out. In reply, Swords won by 1 wicket, with a decent contributions of 18* by Elton Shaji and of 13 by Albin Jacob
Mullingar 3 vs Adamstown 7 - Adamstown are second in Division 17 with a 3-0 record, with Mullingar just behind them - in fourth, winning two and losing two. In the match on April 29, Adamstown were restricted to 192/8, with Riju Varghese taking 5-30. It was the second tie he had taken five wickets for Mullingar 3 after taking 5-12 in 2018 against North Kildare 4. Only Tomas Mount has taken 5 wickets in an innings more for Mullingar 3.
Phoenix 6 vs Athlone 3 - Athlone are currently third in Division 17, with Phoenix 6 down in seventh, having lost two (and had two more rained off). Phoenix won the last time the two teams met in Dublin, with Phoenix scoring 252 in Castleknock College, before Athlone replied with 189. Zahid Safi has taken 6 wickets for Phoenix so far this season (at 14.83), with no batter yet getting to 100 runs. For Athlone Amalraj Selvaraj has scored 110 runs at 55, with no bowler yet getting past five wickets.
Tyrrelstown 3 vs North Kildare 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Merrion 4 vs Civil Service 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Castleknock 4 vs Tyrrelstown 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North Kildare 4 vs Sandyford 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Athlone 1 vs Swords 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Pembroke 4 vs Ashbourne 1 - A double header day for Pembroke 4 in Group B of the Intermediate Cup, and two wins would put them in a great position. They are currently 2-1 on 8 points. Leinster 4 have 12 points having played an extra game, and Ashbourne are also in the hunt with a rained off match on their one attempt. This is a crucial match. Both of the previous matches between the teams in Sydney Parade have gone the way of Ashbourne. The first of those matches was in September 2018, when Ashbourne's Obaidullah Shahzad was the star. He took 2-18 as Pembroke were bowled out for 145, and then scored 55* as Ashbourne won with nearly 25 overs and 6 wickets to spare.
Sandyford 3 vs Clondalkin 3 - A good start to the season in Division 18 for Sandyford 3, who are unbeaten after four wins. Not quite as impressive for Clondalkin 3 who sit in third place with a 2-2 record. Mohit Sharma has dominated for Sandyford so far this year with 248 runs at 49.6, with Aaditya Shah also being impressive with 13 wickets at 8.23. Sharma is the teams leading all time run scorer with 645 runs at 46.07. Shah sits at 4th on the all time list with 41 wickets at 8.39.
North County 3 vs DLR County 1 - DLR County are currently in third place in Division 8 with a 2-3 record, with North County down in 7th after winning one and losing one. The teams played two matches in Inch in Division 9 in 2022, with the matches being as contrasting as is possible. In mid July, DLR County ran up 349 all out, with Prasad Rudrappa Shivu top scoring with 104. North County then replied with 310. That was DLR County 1's highest ever innings total. In the rematch in September, DLR County were bowled out for 61, with Keegan Laing taking 5-26 for North County. That was DLR County 1's lowest ever score!
Adamstown 2 vs Tyrrelstown 1 - Before the weekend, Adamstown were flying high in second place in Division 7 with a 3-2 record, with Tyrrelstown further down in 5th (2-1). Surprisingly, these two teams play their first ever match against each other today. Adamstown's start to the season in all competitions has been pretty impressive with a 5-2 record. The top players with bat and ball have been Suhas Yellur with 209 runs at 41.8 and Bradley Fernandes with 14 wickets at 9.64. Tyrrelstown are nearly as good with a 4-2 record. Top ruin scorer is Yashwanth Kamma Venkata with 114 at 19 and the leading wicket taker is Rajkumar Koka with 12 wickets at 10.75. Koka remains a legend in Tyrrelstown - the team's all time leading run scorer (1747 at 22.99) and wicket taker (127 at 15.15).
Merrion 6 vs Leinster 5 - Two teams in the bottom half of the Division 14 table, but very early days with Leinster only having played a couple of matches. Leinster lead the all time head to head 7-3, but Merrion have won three of the four matches played in this decade. Notably 10 years ago, this was a Division 8 fixture, but as the strength of league cricket in Dublin has improved and spread, the teams find themselves six divisions lower. So far this year, Leinster have only played two matches, winning one and losing one. Merrion are 1-3, with no one yet getting to 100 runs. The leading wicket taker is Rishabh Sharma with 6 at 13.83.
Dublin University 2 vs Adamstown 3 - Three more games for Dublin University 2 in Division 9, and they need wins to avoid relegation, currently being 1-3. Adamstown 3 find themselves bottom of the league with a 1-1 record. Early days for them though. Without wishing to dwell too much on tough days at the office. Dublin University 2's last match did break a few records. Syed Ali Rizvi scored 135 for North Kildare, putting on 100 for the first wicket with Sumit Solanki, and 118 for the 5th wicket with Burhan Ahmad (53*) as North Kildare made 332/9. Trinity were then bowled out for 82 to complete a 250 run loss. It was the biggest defeat in Division 9 history and for Dublin University 2 (since 2011).
Slieve Bloom 1 vs Ashbourne 2 - Two teams in the bottom three of Division 14. Congratulations to Slieve Bloom who last week beat North Kildare 5 and ended their worst ever losing streak, having 20 matches in a row without a win, stretching back to April 2022. Ashbourne 2 have started pretty well, being 3-1 across all comps. Manoj Malviya has taken 6 wickets at 14.17 for Ashbourne; no player has yet scored 100 runs for the season. For Slieve Bloom, a lack of runs has been a similar issue, with Jinu John being leading wicket taker with 7 at 10.43. His 5-30 last week was crucial in beating North Kildare, and was the best bowling for Slieve Bloom since Peter Auret took 5-15 against Longford 2 in Meadowlands in August 2018.
Terenure 3 vs Adamstown 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North Kildare 6 vs North County 6 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
The Hills 4 vs Adamstown 6 - Two mid-table teams clash in Division 16. In all matches this year, The Hills are 4-2 and Adamstown 6 are 3-3, but with no previous meetings between the teams to go on, comparisons are difficult. Raj Kumar Mahanti is the leading run scorer for Adamstown 6 with 130 runs at 26, with their leading wicket taker being Rajnish Kumar Malik with 12 wickets at 9.92. For The Hills 4, the leader with both bat and ball is Usama Shah with 147 runs at 36.75 and 11 wickets at 12.18.
Clontarf 5 vs Castleknock 2 - Clontarf 5 play their second game of the weekend, and as long as they don't lose both, they are still in with a chance of making the semi finals. For Castleknock 2, this is only their second match (after losing to Railway on May 21), so they have a long way to go. This will be the sixth match between the teams, with the last occurring in 2018, when Clontarf won by 42 runs in a Whelan Cup match. Akkshai Chand took 4-16 (his best bowling for Clontarf) as Castleknock were dismissed for 98 in reply to Clontarf's 140/5.
Malahide 5 vs Dundalk 1 - Not too many matches played in Group A of the Junior Cup, where Dundalk have beaten Clontarf 6, and Malahide have beaten Clontarf as well and lost to Leinster 5 and Ongar 1. Dundalk have won their first five matches in 2023 and including last season have now gone seven matches without a loss. They have some way to go to beat their record though, which was 14 games without a loss between June 2011 and May 2012.
Carlow 3 vs Kilkenny 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Swords 4 vs Rush 4 - This is the 5th game this weekend in Group B of the Minor Cup, and so up to date information on the league table will have to wait for later in the week. The result of Swords 4's match yesterday wasn't submitted on the CL website, so it is difficult to see what this means for them. Rush have lost the one game completed on field (to Finglas 3) and need to start winning in this first match between the teams. Before the weekend, Swords were 2-2 for the season, and Rush had yet to win any of their four matches. In fact, their last win was on August 1 last year when they beat Adamstown 7 by 8 wickets. They are now 8 matches without a win, their worst ever run, the previous record being five matches without a win from 20 July 2014 to 23 August 2014.
YMCA 3 vs Longford 1 - Early days in Group D of the YMCA Salver with only two games completed on the pitch. The last time the sides met in Claremont Road in a YMCA Salver match was back in 2018. Nithin Thambi and Devansh Singh both scored 34 for YMCA, as they got to 124/8 (Mehar Imran 3-32). But a bowling attack featuring Mikey O'Reilly, Cillian McDonnell and Jamie Forbes was no match for Fadi Khan, who hit 61* as Longford won by 6 wickets.
Pembroke 4 vs Wicklow County 1 - Unfortunately the semi finals are already out of reach for Wicklow County after three losses and a no result. Pembroke 4 are very much still in the hunt though. They play two matches today and although they can't guarantee to spot with two wins, they will be in a strong position. Wicklow County's last win in Sydney Parade was in April 2018 when Wicklow County scored 259/6, with Damian Joyce being dismissed for 99. Only three batters have been dismissed in the 90s for Wicklow County 1 (since 2011). Joyce, Rohan Raikar (93 vs Adamstown 3 in May 2022) and Gagandeep Singh (91 vs Adamstown 3 in August 2020)
Mullingar W1 vs Adamstown W1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.