Weather permitting this may be one of those league critical days for Russell Court D2. Dublin University, who a couple of weeks ago came unstuck against Merrion, have another chance to make a difference at the top of the table when they take on the second undefeated team in the league, Malahide. With double points at stake the match is vital for both sides and were Malahide to lose it would severely dent their chances of promotion.
All games scheduled for 13.00 start
Malahide v Dublin University
Balbriggan v Railway Union
North Kildare v Rush
Merrion v Terenure
In the top match DU return to pretty much full strength with George Dockrell back from international duty. Working in tandem with Conor Hoey, and supported by Will von Behr and Josh Dascombe, Dockrell leads one of the stronger spin bowling attacks in the country and will exploit any weaknesses in batting technique. They will pose a severe test for the Malahide top-order.
Malahide have won all their completed games this year [there is a re-fix v North Kildare] but this is probably the first major test to see if they can challenge for honours. They do welcome a player back from Irish duty as Peter Chase comes into the team.
DU: Will von Behr [C], Michael Hogan, Lorcan Tucker [W], George Dockrell, Josh Dascombe, Isobel Joyce, Mohit Sane, Matthew Strong, Conor Hoey, Jack Kerrison, Ian MacKenzie.
Malahide: Alan Reynolds, James Newland, Fintan McAllister, Callum Riches, Keith Reynolds, Samuel De Klerk, Sean Davey, Danny O'Shea, Michael Hingston, Neil Boyne, Peter Chase.
With no wins recorded in the league this season, the match today between Balbriggan and Railway Union is just about the last chance for either side to mount any sort of challenge for honours. Kenny Carroll missed Railway’s game last weekend and will be needed today to strengthen a batting line up that has failed to deliver. There have been some notable individual performances, none more so than Alex Stiles’ 151* v Malahide, but not enough in the same match. The big news though is the appearance on the team sheet of Kevin O’Brien who, apart from his ability with bat and ball, will add greatly to the overall confidence of the side.
Balbriggan are another team that have failed to ignite their season. A lot of changes from last year was always going to take time to bed down. A win in the ISC against Drummond gives hints as to potential but it is the league that really matters and there they have disappointed. A home venue will give them their best opportunity to get the first league win of the season. Schoolboy Justin Kavanagh and Koushnick Ahmad come in for their first games of the year.
Balbriggan: Duane Harper [C], Adrian Harper, Connor Fletcher, Cian Nulty, Justin Kavanagh, Kashif Ali, Mudassar Aziz, Koushnick Ahmad, Trent McGrath, Adam Keefe, Ehtesham Ahmed.
Railway: Kenny Carroll [C], Abdullah Hafeez, Rachit Gaur, Alex Stiles. Ranil Dhammika, Kevin O Brien, Mo Tariq, Furqan ul Haq (W], Saad Ullah, Hamza Maan, Ross Nicol
North Kildare are at home to Rush and this is another game that the visitors really must win. Rush on paper at least have a good all round side with a nice blend of experience and youth. But over the past couple of seasons they have lost matches they they needed to win. With three wins out of four in all competitions this year, they have shown greater consistency which they hope will continue today. Shahrukh Shamin comes in for his first game since his move from Railway, with Shadid Iqbal missing due to exam commitments.
Although they go into nearly every match as under-dogs, it is a badge that North Kildare wear well and, especially at home, they have served up a number of excellent wins since they were promoted to D2. Earlier in the season they came out on top against Railway and they will be looking for a second win today. They will be boosted by the return to the side of Paul Ryan and Tom Satchwell.
North Kildare: Neil Vorster [C], Josh Uddin, Sean Dalton, Manjeet Singh, Tom Satchwell, Imran Ul-Haq, Robert Neavyn, Mathew Auret, Paul Ryan, Clint Auret, Wasif Ali
Rush: Lynal Jansen(C), Neil Rock (W), Tipu Gull, Sean Monks, Shahrukh Shamim, Allan Eastwood, Daniel Coffey, Aaron McGuire, Alex Neary, Jack McGee, Daniel Thorne.
The final match between Merrion and Terenure might be thought by some as something of a racing certainty. But with a number of Merrion players missing this is Terenure’s best chance to take their first win of the season. Merrion will be without captain Dom Joyce, who misses his first league game since the 2013 campaign, and he is joined as unavailable [for a variety of reasons] by brother Ed, John Blakeney, Rory Allwright, Sean Stanton, Patrick Tice and Tyrone Kane. Merrion have considerable strength in depth but will need all their resources today. Tom Stanton captains the side for the first time in a league game.
James Smith returns from injury for Terenure. Dan van Zyl, who missed their last match, is also back and captains the side in the absence of Conor Mullen.
Merrion: T Stanton [C], M Lewis [W], J Anderson, J Brown, M Neville, P Blakeney, V Dhiman, C O’Donoghue, D David, N Sharma, B Lakhotia.
Terenure: Dan Van Zyl (C), Diarmuid Lynch , James Smith, Kenny McDonald , Michael Cotter, Mitul Galav, Mohammad Arshad, M Waqar Hussain, Séamus Lynch, Sukhpal Singh, Yasir Cheema.