As the end of the season draws near, Division 1 remains as tight as ever - one loss could spell the end of title pretensions for any team.
North County host Pembroke and are aiming for a second consecutive League title. They will be understrength, however, as Adam Coghlan (Ireland U19s), Conor Armstrong, Conor Shiel and Eddie Richardson (all suspended) are unavailable.
Pembroke lost to last week's bottom team, Phoenix, by 128 runs and were bowled out for just 95. Once again the buck stops with Stephen Moreton and Jonno Hickey to score runs, and Theo Lawson needs to turn his 30s and 40s into a big score. Barry McCarthy (Ireland U19s) is a big loss for the Park Avenue side, so the other much-talked-about Pembroke youngsters will need to turn up tomorrow.
Phoenix travel to Railway Union, and they will have a tough task turning over the title contenders who beat them by eight wickets when the sides met last Monday.
Tom Fisher and Kenny Carroll have renewed their opening partnership and will look to put the Phoenix bowlers to the sword early on here. Phoenix are in danger of relegation and will be missing Jeremy Bray (Ireland U19 coach).
Meanwhile, The Hills welcome Merrion to the Northside. They lie in third and fourth place respectively and this is a must win tie for both teams if they are to have any real chance of taking the title.
Although The Hills lost a number of players at the start of the year, they still have seasoned campaigners Daryl Calder, Mike Baumgart, Yogesh and Nazeer Shaukat. With a good record against Merrion at home and Mark Dwyer hitting form with his eight wickets for 49 runs last week against Clontarf last weekend, they should consider themselves favourites.
However, following their famous Leinster Cup win two weeks ago and their hammering of YMCA by 155 runs last weekend, the double is a very real possibility for Merrion. Players to watch are in-form Dom Joyce, John Anderson and Matt Petrie. Youngsters Tyrone Kane, Patrick Tice and David Watkins are also impressing of late.
Current bottom dwellers YMCA will hope to change their fortunes with a home win over Clontarf. The Sandymount side desperately need their 2011 additions, Albert Van der Merwe and Sameer Dutt, to perform along with the dangerous Reinhardt Strydom as they lack depth in their team.
Clontarf will not want to give YM a sniff, as they are in danger of slipping into the relegation zone themselves if they lose. They are short on bowling and rely on Joe Morrissey and Rod Hokin to do the business for them. Morrissey has hit form with the bat and if he and either Andrew Poynter or Hokin can score big, they should come out of the tie victorious.