WEEKEND MINI PREVIEW - APRIL 21ST!

Sunday sees the first centralised fixtures of the season take place, as the 2nd XI Premier League headlines another day with more than 20 fixtures taking place across the province. We dive straight into our previews for the fourth match day of the season starting off with those fixtures, with some truly enthralling fixtures set to be played out!

SUNDAY APRIL 21^ST

The Hills 2 vs Railway Union 2, 2^nd XI Premier League – The Vineyard

Last season’s 2^nd XI Premier League Champions, Railway Union, face an away trip for the first game of their title defence, as they take on the newly promoted The Hills side, which has capitalised on back-to-back promotions in the last couple of seasons in bouncing back from a very disappointing few years for their 2^nd team before now. They have struck a good balance in recent times between experienced players sliding down, and up-and-coming younger players that has led to this upturn in fortunes, and with the likes of Luke Clinton and Mark Dwyer guiding the side, younger players such as Ashad Farooqi and Killian Everard continue to develop, also in their starring list is new man Ramiz Sohail who adds to the batting group. Railway meanwhile have seen their side bolstered by new arrivals in Mubeen Ali, Sumit Kumar and Piyush Sharma, and again have a bundle of young talent, Rob O’Brien was vital to last year’s league success, with Johnny Woods & Peter le Roux likely to follow this time around.

Malahide 2 vs Balbriggan 2, 2^nd XI Premier League – Malahide

Balbriggan are the other side into the league off the back of double promotions, they reversed their league placings from 2022 when they were runners-up to The Hills to join the 2^nd XI Premier League as Division 4 Champions. A strong cohort of the ‘Brig’s side have been involved across both promotions, Abdul Samad, Duane & Adrian Harper and Syed Haris have all been consistent throughout, whilst they will be hoping to see their young talents come through in the shape of Brian Dunphy and Lorcan Craik. Malahide meanwhile were beaten finalists in last season’s Senior 2 Cup, and have a number of players who performed well across last season’s third placed finish, there’s three left-arm spinners in their side in the shape of Neil Boyne, Jonathan Tall and Mohit Sane, who will all be fine operators at this level, whilst the batting will be led by Rohit Pahuja and Rajath Parashurama.

Clontarf 2 vs Pembroke 2, 2^nd XI Premier League – Castle Avenue

Two of the most consistent performers in this league over the last few years meet in Castle Avenue to begin the season. Clontarf have benefitted from some incomings at the top of their playing chart, meaning their 2^nd XI has an even stronger look to it this time around. Sameer Dutt, Joe Morrissey, Andrew Poynter and Paul Ryan are all experienced 1^st team players, whilst seamers Liam Gilhooly and Ben McCabe are two younger players who have played quite a number of Premier League games. Pembroke meanwhile are captained once again by Joe Prendergast and have a large cohort of a very successful youth side coming through who are likely to be integral to the side this term. Dan Murray hit the ground running last weekend with runs in Division 7 and will feature in a top order alongside Prendergast, Ethan Clarke and Macdara Cosgrave, whilst with the ball, Donncha Tucker will be leading the way as the frontline spinner, whilst new men Mark Berry and new man Padraic Flanagan will be the primary seamers on show.

Merrion 2 vs Leinster 2, 2^nd XI Premier League – Anglesea Road

Merrion are one of the more experienced sides in the league this season, and feature experienced 1^st team players in Mike Lewis, Niranjan Shankar and Sean Stanton, they’ve added Andrew Doheny to their squad this year as he’s moved to join brother Stephen at the club and he is another good addition. The spinners in this side is the trump card, as Peter Forkin and Seb Dijkstra will no doubt be an extremely potent wicket taking partnership for the home side. Leinster meanwhile are a generally very young team, Joe O’Sullivan, Craig Mackay and Peter Masterson being three players who have excellent records at this level who would expect to continue improving, whilst with the ball, the likes of Jack Barry and Devan Keenan are seamers who could cause trouble on an early season Anglesea Road pitch.

Terenure 4 vs DLR County 2, Division 16 – Terenure

The second of an opening double weekend for Terenure 4 sees them play host to unbeaten Division 17 Champions, DLR County 2 in Terenure. These sides have faced off just once before in all competitions, a Minor Cup T20 fixture in July of 2022, when Terenure 4 piled up 215/6 in their 20 overs before bowling DLR out for just 91. Obviously this is the first 40 over fixture between the sides, and as a result it would be hard to judge anything based off that, however DLR County come into the back of such a strong campaign in 2023, this game could be a close one to call.

Laois 3 vs Railway Union 5, Division 15 – Stradbally

Laois and Railway Union had just one team separating their finishing positions in the 2023 season, having finished in 5^th and 3^rd positions in the table respectively. Their head to head last season saw Laois travel to Park Avenue in late April and run out convincing 61 run victors, before the return fixture in Stradbally saw Railway win by 65 runs, meaning the 50 points for the two fixtures were split 25-25. That’s an indication that this fixture should be a good, competitive affair.

Sandyford 2 vs Wicklow County 1, Division 11 – Marlay Park

Neither of these sides competed in Division 11 last season, with Wicklow County coming down from Division 10, whilst Sandyford ran out convincing champions in Division 12. The home side won 11 from their 14 fixtures last season as they were one of very few teams to get results in all league games scheduled in spite of the hectic weather. Wicklow County on the other hand haven’t tasted victory since 2022, and Sandyford will be hoping to capitalise on their excellent momentum last season and get an early season victory on the board.

Carlow 4 vs The Hills 5, Division 21 – St Patrick’s College

The only Development League game on Sunday sees Carlow 4 and The Hills 5 face off having finished last season with just one team separating them. The Hills were the winners of the Minor 2 Cup last season (for Development League teams) so obviously have a good crop of players at this level coming through, and with last season’s head to head also in their favour, in a 4 wicket win, the Skerries side are likely to be entering this game as favourites.

Railway Union 3 vs Carlow 1, Division 6 – Park Avenue

Carlow finished just one league position and 25 points ahead of Railway Union in last season’s Division 6 campaign, so another well matched pair of teams face off, on paper at least. Carlow won the game in Park Avenue last season, posting 164 and running out 77 run victors, and then followed up by winning the return tie in St Patrick’s College by 62 runs. Carlow’s star man to keep an eye on is sure to be Robi Alam again this season, after his strong start to 2023 saw him selected for South Dublin & Midlands in the inaugural District Cup.

Greystones 2 vs North Kildare 4, Division 12 – Druids Glen

Greystones and North Kildare were separated by just one position in the leagues last term, however the 70 points between the sides could be deemed to be somewhat false when the head to head between the sides is taken into account. Last June this exact fixture saw North Kildare chasing down an imposing total of 241 to claim the first win, before just a month later Greystones skittled them for 69 and chased the total for the loss of 4 wickets, North Kildare will be hoping their batters can win the battle to put them in with a chance in this game.

Pembroke 5 vs Sandyford 3, Division 16 – Sydney Parade

Pembroke 5 finished 6^th in this league last season and now take on the double-promoted Sandyford 3 side, who came within the width of a wide line of completing a league & cup double to round off an excellent season. The two sides met for the first time in Open Competitions last season, when Sandyford ran out 5 wicket victors in the group stages of the Minor Cup campaign, if the nature of that victory and last season’s good form is anything to go by, then newly promoted Sandyford should enter this game as favourites.

Finglas 3 vs Rush 4, Division 18 – Poppintree Park

One league position separated these sides last season, however in this instance that definitely doesn’t tell the full story. Finglas were 2 points away from being promoted and finished 119 points ahead of Rush, including winning 7 more games than their opposition this weekend. The two fixtures last season saw two victories for Finglas, one a rout by 9 wickets, and the other a more evenly balanced game in which they won by just 5 wickets after a wobble in a chase of 117. Those two results give cause to consider Finglas strong favourites for this game.

Balbriggan 4 vs Adamstown 7, Division 17 – Jack Harper Ground

These two sides were two of just 4 teams in the league last season to finish with a winning record, and with Adamstown finishing off as runners-up, 80 points ahead of their hosts in this game, they are sure to be confident of being near the sharp end of the table again this season. Adamstown won both fixtures between these two sides last year, by 70 runs and 2 wickets respectively, and as a result will surely be intent on using this game as a springboard for their season.

Castleknock 2 vs Adamstown 3, Division 9 – Porterstown Park

This pair fought out the wrong end of the table in Division 9 last season, with the deciding factor between the two ultimately being the 2-0 scoreline in Adamstown’s favour, as an extremely confident 8 wicket run chase in their home tie at Corkagh Park, was followed up by a 35 run victory in the return game in Porterstown Park. The Castleknock side will also be looking to ride the crest of the wave which the rest of the club went on last season, where both their 1sts and 3rds won leagues.

Lucan 2 vs Dundalk 1, Division 11 – St Catherine’s Park

Two newly promoted sides facing off in Division 11, as Division 13 Champions, Dundalk, who won 11 out of their 12 completed games last season, face a Lucan side who won 9 fixtures to claim second place in Division 12, behind the rampant Sandyford 2nds outfit. The two sides have never faced off in Open Competitions before this fixture, so there are no trends to reference here, however with both sides coming into the season off the back of successful promotion campaigns last term, so this fixture is set to be between two sides who are both extremely confident in their abilities.

Gorey 1 vs Halverstown 1, Division 13 – Courtown

Gorey escaped a bottom of the table finish in Division 13 last season to live to fight another day in 2024, and face off against Halverstown who finished 4^th in the same division. Just three victories separated the sides in last season’s campaign, with the head-to-head between the teams 2-0 in favour of the men from Kildare, as they completed run chases by 5 wickets at home, and two wickets away from home, undoubtedly giving them the upper hand ahead of this weekend.

Rush 2 vs Longford 1, Division 5 – Kenure

Rush, relegated from Division 4 last season, face off against Longford, who are newly promoted from Division 6, for the first time since 2020 in a fixture that was near to a staple in the calendar for several years before its absence over the last 3 seasons. Overall, Longford are well clear in the head-to-head since the first time the sides faced off, the scoreline being 8-3 to Longford, however Rush will take some solace in the fact that this game is in their home ground, which is where they have amassed all three of their victories.

Clondalkin 2 vs Tyrrelstown 3, Division 13 – Tymon Park

This pair of teams face off for the first time since 2020, when the only two ties they’ve ever played took place, as they clashed in the Adamstown Cup. In that instance, Clondalkin won the group stage fixture, before Tyrrelstown turned the tables in the competition semi-finals, on their way to their first trophy victory. Clondalkin finished third in Division 14 last season to earn promotion, and with Tyrrelstown finishing in the bottom half of Division 13, will fancy their chances of something of an upset to kick off the season.

Malahide 4 vs Dublin University 2, Division 10 – Malahide

The first fixture between these two sides since the summer of 2017 takes place, the Students won the fixture by 75 runs with their team featuring notable future 1^st XI players including Jack Kerrison and Simranjeet Singh, whilst Malahide’s team featured Cricket Leinster Hall of Fame Inductee Brian Gilmore, and current Ireland U20 rugby international Wihlem de Klerk. Following the Students’ relegation last season, the sides face off again in a game unlikely to feature many of the same faces, however Malahide won 7 of their 10 completed fixtures last season and therefore probably enter the game as slight favourites.

Kilkenny 2 vs Malahide 6, Division 17 – Castleblunden

Malahide 6 suffered relegation last season having won just 3 of their 15 games in Division 16, and are likely to prove quite a decent force in Division 17 this season. Kilkenny meanwhile finished third in this league last time around, with their promotion push just petering out in the second half of the season under the sustained pressure of the two sides above them winning consistently. These two sides have never met before, so come Sunday evening we will have a brand new head-to-head record, but based on last season’s exploits, it’s likely the sides are quite well matched.

Phoenix 6 vs Clontarf 7, Division 21 – Phoenix

Our second Development League game here, sees Phoenix, who are regraded from Division 17, face off against Clontarf 7 who have performed well in Development competitions since they were incorporated into the Open Competitions structures in 2022. These two are another new tie in the Open Competitons, however given Clontarf’s relative experience of producing teams at this level, compared to Phoenix who are new to the concept this time around, it’s the Castle Avenue side who are likely to enter this fixture as favourites.

North County 5 vs Leinster 5, Division 14 – Inch

These two sides faced off in Open Competitions for the first time last season, and are quite well matched, with just Slieve Bloom separating them in the league standings last season. Leinster came out on top in the completed game, which was the repeat of this fixture in Inch, a thrilling run chase seeing Leinster perform the cricketing equivalent of a “come-from-behind” victory, as having conceded 229 in the first innings and fallen to 98/5 in the chase, they emerged victorious by 4 wickets. The second game of the season was abandoned with the Rathmines outfit in a commanding position, which would lean towards them having the advantage going into this fixture too.