Balbriggan 1 vs Railway Union 1 - The first silverware of the season in Leinster will be decided today, on Alan Murray finals day. Balbriggan have not beaten Railway Union in any competition since 2019, and the only Alan Murray match we have on record between the teams also went the way of Railway, winning by 39 runs, mainly due to a 93* from Kenny Carroll. Balbriggan's star performer by far on the route to the final was Connor Fletcher, with 241 runs at a strike rate of 151.06. Their leading wicket taker was Matthew Pollard with 11 wickets at an economy of 4.63. For Railway, look no further than Kenny Carroll (174 runs, strike rate 151.3) and Liam McCarthy (13 wickets, economy 4.0). Railway's two wins in the Alan Murray were in 2004 and 2006.
Merrion 1 vs The Hills 1 - Merrion, the nine times winners of the Alan Murray, face The Hills, defending champions, and winners in 2007 and 2013. In the last twelve seasons, they have played each other four times in the Alan Murray, with Merrion winning all four times. John Anderson has once again been the leading run scorer for Merrion in their path to the final, with 127 runs at a strike rate of 151.19, with the leading wicket taker being Tom Stanton with 12 wickets at an economy of 4.83. For The Hills, the leading run scorer is Nathan Rooney with 152 runs at a strike rate of an impressive 192.41, with the leading bowler being Cian Nulty with 8 wickets at an economy of 6.38.
Rush 4 vs Finglas 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Terenure 2 vs Greystones 1 - Greystones can't afford to lose another match in Group B of the YM Salver after losing their first two. Terenure are unbeaten after beating Pembroke 3 on April 30th. The omens do look pretty good for Greystones though, as this is one of the more lop-sided rivalries in Leinster - six previous matches have resulted in six wins for Greystones. There has been a bit of a struggle for runs for Terenure so far this year, with no batter yet getting to 100 for the season. Aidan Doyle (at 6.17) and Niqash Ali (at 17.67) are the leading wicket takers with six wickets. For Greystones, look out for Mirwais Nawabzai (who leads with 126 runs at 25.2) and Ramayya Botcha (8 wickets at 10.13)
Phoenix 4 vs Clondalkin 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Laois 2 vs Civil Service 4 - Wins over Civil Service and Knockharley 2 have put Laois 2 in a strong position in Group D of the Inter Cup. They play a Civil Service side for the second time this season. That match was very much the Mohammed Sheraz show, with the Laois captain scoring 60 and taking 4-13 as Laois won by 7 wickets. It was the 5th time a Laois player has scored at least 60 and taken at least 4 wickets in an innings. Previous performances have been by Usama Raees (twice), Armand Smit and Louis Hofmeyr
Tyrrelstown 3 vs Lucan 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North County 5 vs Ashbourne 2 - North County 5's early Junior Cup season was blighted by the rain, so they have another go at starting the campaign today. Ashbourne won their only match - against Adamstown 5. The teams are mid table in Division 14 but have never played in their history. Personal performances have been thin on the ground for both teams. No player has yet passed 100 runs for the season. No player has taken more than 6 wickets.
Civil Service 2 vs North County 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Wexford Wanderers 1 vs Civil Service 3 - Civil Service 3 won their first game of the season in the YMCA Salver and travel to Wexford to take on a Wanderers side who play two games in the competition this weekend, after running Muckamore close in last week's National Cup. This one shouldn't be too close a match. Wexford are third in Division 4, whilst Civil Service are 4th in Division 7. Not surprisingly with such a gap in the teams, they have never played before.
North Kildare 5 vs Slieve Bloom 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Adamstown 1 vs YMCA 2 - A first match for Adamstown 1 in the Tillain this season, as their first match was rained off. YMCA beat Civil Service 1 in their first match. YMCA 3 beat Adamstown 1 every time they played them (thrice) in the years 2017-18, so a touch challenge awaits Adamstown against the YMCA second string. Adamstown's leading run scorer this year is Prabhanshu Kamal with 151 runs at 50.33, and he is also their leading wicket taker with 8 wickets at 18.13. YMCA 2's batting has been dominated by Henry Thompson (211 runs at 52.75 which is 12th highest in the province) whilst their bowling is led by their skipper, Padraic Flanagan who has 7 wickets at 7.71. The sides meet again in the same competition tomorrow.
Adamstown 3 vs North Kildare 3 - A strong start to the Inter Cup season for North Kildare, with two wins over Balbriggan 3 and Adamstown 3. That was Adamstown's only win, and they need revenge over North Kildare today. The first game saw North Kildare run up 194/5, which is the highest T20 score in a match on the North Kildare second ground. Adamstown's last win against North Kildare 3 was back in June 2013.
Railway Union 3 vs Carlow 1 - Carlow play their first match in this year's Middle Cup, whilst Railway have started with a win over Clontarf 4 last Monday night. Carlow have won four of the six matches between the sides, and they already met on April 16th, with Carlow running out easy winners by 77 runs. Saqib Nagra took 4-16 as Railway were bowled out for 87.
Cork Harlequins 1 vs The Hills 2 - Cork Harlequins lost their first match of the season away to Balbriggan, but should be a different proposition at home. However, The Hills are top of Division 4 after wins over Phoenix 2 and Knockharley 1 (and a walkover against YMCA 3). The sides last met in 2021, when 4-8 from Seanan Jones, and 4-15 from Adam Hickey bowled The Hills out for 85, which was knocked off for the loss of five wickets.
Mullingar 3 vs Naas 2 - Two teams who could do with a win to kick start their Division 17 season. Naas are 0-2 and Mullingar are 1-2. The side's only previous meeting was in 2021, when Naas restricted Mullingar to 81/9 from 20 overs. Kuruvilla Ninan Puliyayil then took three wickets for Mullingar, but the bowlers had too much to do, and Naas ran out winners by 5 wickets.
Sandyford 1 vs Clontarf 3 - Clontarf 3 are yet to win a Division 5 match (in two attempts) whilst Sandyford are unbeaten after two wins. Three previous matches between the teams have resulted in three wins for Clontarf. Curiously though, individual performances of note in the fixture have been few and far between. There has only been one 50 - 50 exactly by Abhishek Pandey by Sandyford in July 2021, and no one has taken more than three wickets, the best being Robert Patterson's 3-3 for Clontarf in 2015.
Carlow 3 vs Tyrrelstown 5 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Knockharley 3 vs Castleknock 3 - A great start to the Division 16 season for Castleknock 3, who have won each of their first three games, sitting in third place, but with multiple games in hand over Terenure 4 and Swords 3. There have been ten matches between these two teams since 2011, but we have to go back to June 2014 to find Knockharley's last win. Castleknock were bowled out for 48 in that match (Anup Dambal 4-18) which remains the team's lowest innings score of all time.
Balbriggan W1 vs Merrion W1 - Balbriggan's walkover win over YMCA in the first round of Pilkington Plate fixtures has put the Division 2 side in a decent position, before a first ever match against Merrion 1. Following on from her stellaer season in 2022, Lara Maritz is the leading batter for Balbriggan this year, scoring 144 runs in her two innings, whilst the leading bowlers are Erin Knight and Tess Maritz with four wickets.
Castleknock 1 vs Adamstown 2 - A game that on paper looks like a crucial game in the Division 7 shake up. Adamtown have started well and are top (3-1), with Castleknock down in 4th (2-3). The teams met twice last year, with each winning their own match. Star performers with the bat this year are Qasim Raza Sethi (Castleknock 1) with 215 runs at 30.71 and Suhas Yellur (Adamstown 2 - 176 runs at 58.67). With the ball, the top wicket takers are Gurjeet Singh (Castleknock) with 15 wickets at 13.13 and Bradley Fernandes (Adamstown) with 12 wickets at 5.92.
YMCA W1 vs Leinster W1 - The three previous matches between YMCA and Leinster in the Pilkington Plate (in 2017, 2018 and 2019) have all gone the way of Leinster. The only previous match in Claremont Road saw YMCA bowled out for 114, as Vanessa Kelada took 5-16, before 45* from Rebecca Stokell took Leinster over the line in only 13.2 overs.
Malahide W1 vs Clontarf W1 - Clontarf started their Pilkington Plate season with an excellent win over Pembroke on May 13. Emma Butler took 4-12 as only Mary Waldron got to double figures - 40* from 79 all out. Christina Coulter Reilly and Aoife Brennan put on 71 for the second wicket to see Clontarf home. Clontarf have no wwon their last five Pilington Plate matches, their last loss being to Leinster in August 2021.
The Hills W1 vs Pembroke W1 - A rare Pilkington Plate match between these teams - they last met in 2018, when the Hills won by 22 runs (DLS) in a rain affected match. The one positive in last week's match for Pembroke was Mary Waldron with the bat. Waldron is the leading run scorer in the province in the Plate since our records began, with 762 runs at an incredible 108.86. Merrion's Leah Paul is next with 706 runs at 70.6
Dublin University 2 vs Ashbourne 1 - A win over Lucan 1 and a loss to Civil Service 4 for the students, with a double weekend coming up. Ashbourne are in third place, with a 2-1 record. These two last played in 2019, when Jobin Thomas took 5-9 for Ashbourne, as Dublin University were bowled out for 74. As 22-3, Ashbourne weer struggling a bit, but 30* from Anoop Bolledla saw them home by 6 wickets. Thomas' 5-9 is his career best, and the 6th best bowling return for Ashbourne 1 (Shahid Hameed's 6-12 against Swords 2 in 2016 is the best)
DLR County 2 vs Swords 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Clontarf 4 vs Swords 1 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Greystones 2 vs YMCA 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Kilkenny 2 vs The Hills 4 - The top two in Group A of the Minor Cup meet, although they have both only played one match. The Hills 4 have won both of their matches against Kilkenny 2. James Courell's 94 stands out, as The Hills ran up 227/3 in April 2022. Ashad Farooqi then took 4-36 as Kilkenny got within 27 runs. Five batters got to 20, with none getting more than 32.
Athlone 3 vs Kilkenny 3 - Athlone 3 have a rained off match and a loss to their name in Group B of the Adamstown Cup, with Kilkenny 3 yet to play a game. Athlone have won two of their four games this year, which includes a win over Kilkenny 2, although they have never played kilkenny 3. Kilkeny have won two of their five games this season. Athlone are third in Divsiion 17, with Kilkenny 3 fourth in Division 18.
Dundalk 2 vs Leinster 6 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Leinster 2 vs Pembroke 2 - Leinster have started the Tillain Cup strongly, with two wins and a rained off match in their first three games, whilst Pembroke are at the other end of the table, with three losses. We have seven Tillain Cup matches between the two going back to 2012, and of the three played in Observatory Lane, Pembroke have won all three. Tristen de Beer is the leading run scorer for Leinster 2 this year with 100 runs at 50, whilst their leading wicket takers are Prabhakar Tiwari and Christopher Janik with four apiece. For Pembroke, the leaders are Greg Hollins with 185 runs at 185 and Donncha Tucker with 9 wickets at 15.
Leinster 4 vs Wicklow County 1 - Wicklow County lost to Leinster 4 in this competition on April 23, and cannot afford another loss if they are to progress. Wicklow are yet to win a game in all formats this year, whereas Leinster are unbeaten in three matches. Wicklow County's Prabhjit Singh is the only player from either side to have scored 100 runs this season, with 112 at 28. Leinster's Abdul Khan has taken 7 wickets at 6.57 for Leinster.
Merrion 4 vs Athlone 1 - Merrion start their Middle Cup campaign, welcoming an Athlone side who beat Tyrrelstown 1 in their only match. Merrion won the one previous meeting between the teams, a 2021 Division 8 match in Bird Avenue. Athlone scored 163/10 before a blistering 88 ball, 97* from Harikrishna Ramasetty saw Merrion home. That was the 14th time Ramasetty has passed 50 for Merrion 4, the most on record.
Malahide 5 vs Ongar 1 - Two sides that will still be confident of advancing to the stage of the Junior Cup. Ongar beat Clontarf 6 in their only match, whilst Malahide beat Clontarf and lost to Leinster 5. The teams have already played this season, Ongar winning by 28 runs on April 23. That was despite Omkar Tawade's 5-22 for Malahide, the second best bowling return for Malahide 5 in Division 14, after Sujay Viswa's 6-23 against Adamstown 5 in June 2022.
Clontarf 2 vs Balbriggan 2 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Swords 3 vs Carlow 2 - Swords try and take the field for the first time in this year's Russell Court Trophy after a previous rain off. Carlow 2 beat Athlone 2 on May 1st, putting themselves in a good position in the very early league table. The one previous match between the teams went the way of Carlow 2, down pretty much to the performance of one player. Haibat Dawoodzai opened the batting for Carlow, scoring 100 out of 127 when he was dismissed. The game was a formality after that, Carlow chasing Swords' 134 to win by 8 wickets.
Adamstown 5 vs Finglas 2 - Adamstown started off their Junior Cup campaign with a loss to Ashbourne 2, whilst Finglas only have one rained off match to their name. In their previous Division 13 match on May 13, Adamstown were bowled out for 166, with Finglas winning by 3 wickets. It was Finglas second highest successful run chase, and their highest at home. The highest was 202/7 against North County 5 last July.
Rush 2 vs Malahide 2 - A loss to Leinster 2 for Rush and two wins over Pembroke 2 for Malahide. The one previous match between the teams was also in the Tillain Cup, and also in Rush, with Rush collapsing to 80 all out, with the wickets shared around by the Malahide bowlers.
Phoenix 6 vs Sandyford 3 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
North County 3 vs The Hills 3 - The Hills start their Middle Cup season today against local rivals North County - who beat Clondalkin 1 in their first match. Everything points to a home win in this match. North County lead the head to head 7-1, with The Hills' only win coming in July 2018. North County are currently 6th in Division 8, with The Hills a division lower - 5th in Division 9. Against that, The Hills have finished higher in the league, every season since 2018.
Laois 3 vs Tyrrelstown 4 - Laois 3 have won their only Russell Court Trophy match so far, beating Railway Union 5. Tyrrelstown are in a less positive place though - after two rained off matches and a loss, they only have an outside chance of qualification. They need to win all three remaining matches. Tyrrelstown beat Laois by 2 wickets when they played on April 23. At 91-1, Tyrrelstown were cruising to victory in pursuit of Laois' 123 all out. But they lost 5 wickets for 12 runs to limp over the line. That collapse was Tyrrelstown 4's worst ever loss of five wickets.
North Kildare 6 vs Merrion 7 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Adamstown 8 vs Carlow 4 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.
Tyrrelstown 1 vs Bagenalstown 1 - Tyrrelstown lost their first match in the Middle Cup to Athlone 1, but then bounced back with a win against Bagenalstown on May 1st. Another win like that will strengthen their position, whilst Bagenalstown really need a win to kick start their season. In that match, Tyrrelstown made 149/9 in 20 overs, with Bagenalstown only getting to 73/7 in reply. That was the second highest T20 score Bagenalstown 1 have conceded at home - after Clondalkin 1's 156/7 in June 2021
Terenure 3 vs Merrion 5 - Two teams who lost their first match in the Whelan Cup. Lose another one today, and it is a long road back. Terenure 2 had a decent record against Merrion 5, winning their last three matches, going back to August 2018. But this will be a step up for a Terenure 3 side who are a division below their Merrion counterparts in the league.
Wexford Wanderers 1 vs North Kildare 2 - The second of Wexford Wanderers 1's two YMCA Salver matches today. They haven't played in this year's Salver until today. North Kildare have already lost once to Civil Service 3. The teams haven't played each other since 2017, with the eight matches played between 2011 and 2017 going 5-3 in North Kildare's favour. Sean Graham is Wexford's leading run scorer this year with 105 runs for once dismissed, with their leading wicket taker being Adeel Mohammad with 9 wickets at 14.8. Their leading run scorer is Manpreet Monty Singh 118 runs at 38.67
Railway Union 5 vs Adamstown 6 - No preview, as previous matches this season involving at least one of these teams still to be processed.