WEEKEND MINI PREVIEWS - APRIL 20TH

Something of a false start in many quarters last weekend, as some sides got their seasons up and running, whilst several games were refixed for later in the season. This weekend sees over 40 matches to be played across Saturday & Sunday, and we'll kick off our mini-previews with Saturday's action!

SATURDAY APRIL 20TH

Dublin University 2 vs Balbriggan 3, Division 10 – College Park

The first game of the season in College Park sees Balbriggan thirds the visitors to face the Student’s second string. The home side are down a division this season having won just one of their 7 fixtures last term, finishing with just 35 points from a possible 350. Balbriggan meanwhile were simply luckless last season, their 14 league fixtures produced just 9 results, and their resultant winning record of 5-4 would surely give cause for optimism that they will be eyeing up much more than last year’s 6^th place finish this time around.

Lucan 1 vs DLR County 1, Division 8 – St Catherine’s Park

DLR County’s first effort at getting their season underway was scuppered last weekend, with their trip to Swords falling foul of the weather. They now face more of an unknown to kick off the season, facing off against the newly promoted Lucan side who won 7 of their 10 completed fixtures last season, pushing North Kildare right to the end in a tight finish to Division 9. DLR however having finished 4^th in Division 8 last year are sure to have their sights firmly set on promotion this term.

Carlow 3 vs Lucan 4, Division 19 – St Patrick’s College

Carlow 3 kicked off their season last weekend with a humbling 9 wicket loss against Leinster 6, giving this weekend’s fixture against the newcomers to the league Lucan 4 a bit more importance already at this stage in the season, with momentum so important in a side’s league campaign, Carlow’s ambitions for finishing at the business end of the table come season’s end could be done irreparable damage were Lucan to condemn them to back-to-back losses to kick off the season.

Castleknock 3 vs Greystones 3, Division 15 – Porterstown Park

Last year’s Division 16 Champions, Castleknock 3, kick off their campaign with a home time against Greystones 3. The Porterstown Park side won 10 games out of their 13 completed last season to guide them to a 2.5 point margin over The Hills, their success was built around a rapid start, as they won their first 7 league games on the trot, they’ll be looking for similar early season success to set them up for a strong Division 15 campaign. Greystones meanwhile were solid if unspectacular last season, winning half of the 10 games they completed, meaning this game looks like a decent match-up for both sides to begin their seasons.

Sandyford 2 vs Rush 3, Division 11 – Marlay Park

Another league champion in our next game, Sandyford 2 won 11 out of 14 games last season en route to something of a demolition job in Division 12, again a fast start was crucial to their league win, as they had wins in 9 of their first 10 games to have the league title more or less sealed at the beginning of August. Rush 3 meanwhile were 6^th in Division 11, in a league which saw just 12 games played, they managed 4 wins in a 5^th placed finish which saw them well clear of the relegation zone, however the momentum Sandyford 2 have built in the last couple of seasons possibly makes them slender favorites for this fixture.

Terenure 4 vs Swords 3, Division 16 – Terenure

Terenure and Swords finished right alongside each other in the league table last season, just 19 points separating the two sides in 4^th and 5^th position respectively. However the tightness within the league isn’t reflected in the league results between the two sides, as Terenure emerged victorious in both games, firstly in a tightly fought run chase in Terenure on the May Bank Holiday, followed up in September in Newbridge Demense when Swords didn’t have the firepower to chase their visitors total of 227, as a result, Terenure come into this game ultimately as favorites.

Malahide 3 vs Terenure 2, Division 5 – Malahide

Malahide hosts the highest ranked league game on Saturday, as Terenure are the visitors to The Village. The home side finished 3^rd in Division 5 last season, with 6 wins from 11 matches putting them at the summit of a span of 5 teams between 3^rd and 7^th that were covered by less than one victory in the league. Terenure meanwhile earned promotion off the back of an unbeaten run of 7 matches from July 2^nd onwards, with the only blot on their copybook being a tie with Railway Union in mid-August. Malahide have won the last two games between these sides, with Terenure winning the previous 3, so an interesting fixture lies ahead.

Naas 1 vs Finglas 2, Division 12 – Clongowes Wood College

Naas endured a miserable season in 2023, finishing rooted to the foot of Division 11 and being relegated as a result, their fixtures last season saw a pair of defeats against Finglas’ 1^st team, and with Finglas 2 having been promoted off the back of a 3^rd placed finish in Division 13, this is potentially Naas’ best opposition to face off with to try begin this season’s bounce back. Finglas’ season began last weekend with a defeat to Terenure 3 in a T20 fixture, so they will be hoping Naas provide them a similar opportunity to bounce back.

Swords 5 vs Halverstown 2, Division 20 – Newbridge Demense

Swords 5 are in many ways a new team into the leagues this season, having competed in the Development League last season, a team which they don’t field this season, so their form will be hard to judge, particularly on the basis of them finish bottom of that league last season. Halverstown meanwhile finished 7^th in Division 19, with four wins from 13 completed games, and are sure to improve somewhat having only re-entered the league in recent seasons.

Clondalkin 3 vs North County 6, Division 18 – Tymon Park

Clondalkin and North County are again a pair of teams who finished right alongside each other in the league last season, with the former just 11 points ahead of the Inch side in 6^th and 7^th positions. An unprecedented number of rained off games last term took it’s toll on this tie, with both fixtures managing to end in No Results, the games between the sides accounting for two of six for North County, and half of Clondalkin’s, as a result it makes the teams hard to match up with each other, however Clondalkin did have more victories last season which may give them a slight edge.

Phoenix 3 vs Ashbourne 1, Division 8 – Phoenix

A league reshuffle of their teams has seen Phoenix 3 take the place of their 4^th XI of last season, and sees them arguably enter this season as massive favorites for the league as a result, they face off against Ashbourne who last season finished in 4^th position in Division 9, winning just half of their games however also benefitting from the league reshuffle. The span of positions between the two sides last season however does give cause to the idea that Phoenix are big favorites.

Clontarf 3 vs Railway Union 3, Division 6 – Castle Avenue

Clontarf had a torrid time between Division 5 & 6 last season, losing all 24 completed fixtures between the two leagues, and now with their 3^rd team sliding down to Division 6, will be hoping to put together some significantly better results. They face a Railway Union side who were victorious in half of their completed games last season, finishing well clear of relegation after picking up some crucial results against some of the higher finishing teams early in the season, however if Clontarf are to get off to a fast start to the season, this is as good an opportunity as they could ask for.

Pembroke 3 vs Merrion 4, Division 7 – Sydney Parade

Pembroke kicked off Division 7 with a win and a loss last weekend, and will now look to kick their season in the right direction with a victory against the Merrion 4 side which finished just one place above the relegation zone in Division 7 last season. Pembroke’s star man at the weekend was undoubtedly Dan Murray, and in spite of his innings being outgunned by a brilliant century for Greystones’ Harry Kirk on Sunday, he’ll be a key man for Pembroke in the early part of the season.

Kilkenny 1 vs Castleknock 1, Division 6 – Castleblunden

Two of the three newly promoted teams face off in this Division 6 fixture, however Division 7 Champions Castleknock aren’t sure to be favorites for this tie which sees Kilkenny get their season up and running. Kilkenny demolished the eventual champions last April in the corresponding fixture which also kicked off their seasons, before Castleknock got it’s own back on them just 29 days later winning the fixture in Porterstown Park by 18 runs, however a haul of 29 points for Kilkenny and just 21 for Castleknock gives the Castleblunden side something of an advantage heading into this tie.

Ongar 2 vs Leinster 6, Division 19 – Ringcommons

Leinster 6 kicked off their season last weekend with an emphatic victory away against Carlow 3, as they chased down 98 for the loss of just one wicket to give them full points and a perfect start to the season. Ongar meanwhile start their season having missed out on promotion by an agonisingly small margin of just 1.5 points at the end of last year. They did however secure T20 success in one of the most remarkable ends to a cup final which Cricket Leinster competitions have seen in recent years, ultimately these are two sides who both ought to be at the sharp end of the table come season’s end.

North County 3 vs Athlone 1, Division 7 – Inch

Two more freshly promoted teams face off in Division 7, just 17 points separated Athlone atop Division 8 from their nearest rival North County. The two games between the sides last season saw Athlone firstly chase down 260 for the loss of 7 wickets in Inch in early May, giving the Doon side an advantage straight away. However in the crunch time in September, North County knocked Athlone over for just 86 before completing a 4 wicket victory to close right up in the title race. If last season’s form carries on to this season, this is a game which should be ultra-competitive.

Tyrrelstown 2 vs Clontarf 4, Division 10 – Tyrrelstown Park

Clontarf 4 completed a miserable season last season and a reshuffle of their teams has seen them drop by 4 divisions to a level where they should prove to be more than competitive in the upcoming season. Tyrrelstown 2 were promoted from Division 11 last season having finished 2^nd to a very strong Finglas side. They did however win more fixtures than the eventual champions and if they are improving will be more than capable of putting it up to this Clontarf side which should be quite strong.

Railway Union 4 vs Laois 2, Division 9 – Park Avenue

Railway Union and Laois are the third pair of promoted teams who take each other on in their opening fixture of the 2024 season. Railway were the team that came out on top in the league last time around, finishing 14 points clear of the Stradbally outfit, having won out in the pair’s vital last day of the season showdown in Laois. That came off the back of Laois delivering a thumping 25 point victory over the Park Avenue side earlier in the season. Ultimately the scoreboard stood at 1-1 for the season, with Laois gleaning more points between the two sides, meaning this opening Division 9 fixture should be one to keep a close eye on!

Wicklow County 2 vs Adamstown 5, GS Cricket Junior Cup – Presentation College Bray

Wicklow County and Adamstown face off in the only scheduled T20 game this weekend, the two sides haven’t faced off since 2019, when they took each other on in both league and T20 competitions, the league fixtures were split on apiece, with each team winning their home tie, whilst the T20 tie was a convincing victory for Adamstown, at Corkagh Park, it will remain to be seen whether 5 years and a reverse fixture at Pres Bray will make a difference, however this Saturday we will find out!