YMCA will have their eyes set on the summit of RSA Division One this weekend when they face winless Terenure in one of four top-tier fixtures on Saturday.
The Claremont Road outfit are just three points behind near neighbours Merrion, with both sides enjoying a 100% start to the campaign. But Dominic Joyce’s side face a considerably stiffer challenge in the form of Kevin O’Brien’s Railway Union. The Ireland all-rounder has been given the thumbs up to play by Surrey as they aren’t in Natwest T20 Blast action this weekend. His availability is a significant boost to the Park Avenue outfit, who will have their eyes on a second away win of the campaign after toppling the defending champions on the opening weekend.
Should the visitors prevail at Anglesea Road, YM will be confident of taking full advantage at Claremont Road. Terenure are rooted to the foot of the table and have just three bonus points to their name having struggled on their return to Division One.
If they are to harbour any hopes of staying afloat, Terenure will need to make a marked improvement with the willow but a visit to YM isn’t exactly an opportunity for respite. The hosts’ bowling attack is comprised of a battery of unrelenting spinners and the seam combination of Bobby Gamble and Raj Chawla. Trent Johnston won’t play with Alan Lewis returning to the side while former Terenure skipper Tom Fisher comes up against his former teammates after jumping ship in the week before the start of the new season.
YMCA: Albert van der Merwe (capt), Aaron Bailey, Tom Fisher, PJ Moor, Alan Lewis, Jack Tector, Simmi Singh, Bobby Gamble, Yaqoob Ali, Raj Chawla, JJ Cassidy.
Terenure: TBC
Merrion have yet to really hit top gear despite sitting pretty at the top on the back of three successive wins. Last week’s win at the Inch underlined their strength in depth in both disciplines but they were largely indebted to their skipper with the willow before the bowlers followed suit. If anything, their top-order have yet to hit their straps but they’ve named an unchanged side from the 20-run win over North County.
For Railway, it’s been a mixed bag thus far. The opening day win at Milverton was followed by a disappointing reversal to YM before last week’s narrow defeat to Clontarf accentuated their reliance on a couple of players. Kenny Carroll and Pat Collins apart, none of the batsmen have enjoyed much success with three changes made from the last outing.
Merrion: Dominic Joyce (capt), Brett Thompson, Tyrone Kane, John Anderson, Ben Ackland, David Watkins, Dean Carolus, Hugh Kennedy, James Short, Tyler Smith, Tom Stanton.
Railway Union: Kevin O'Brien (capt), Ciaran Divney, Kenny Carroll, Pat Collins, Rachit Gaur, Abdullah Hafeez, Alex Hornsby, Greg Lambert, Jitendra Singh, Josh Uddin, Saad Ullah.
North County and Pembroke have a near identical record after three games - one win, two defeats - but victory for either on Saturday would boost their chances of a title assault. Adam Coughlan once again leads the home side with youngsters Nathan Rooney, wicketkeeper Jamie Grassi and Kashif Ali now permanent fixtures.
Pembroke have named the same XI that narrowly lost to YM last weekend. David Murphy impressed with the ball and will once again lead the attack in the absence of Allan Eastwood but their shortcomings have come with the willow and the onus will be on the batsmen to back-up their bowlers.
North County: Ciaran Garry, Ian Bertram, Eddie Richardson, John Mooney, Tim Affleck, Conor Armstrong, Tomas Sheil, Nathan Rooney, Jamie Grassi, Adam Coughlan, Kashif Ali.
Pembroke: Theo Lawson (capt), Ryan Hopkins, Harry Balbirnie, Jono Cook, Rory Kelly, Paul Lawson, Barry McCarthy, David Murphy, Robin Russell, Fiachra Tucker, Lorcan Tucker.
The Hills got off the mark at Terenure sevens days ago and will be determined to build on their first win of the season when Clontarf visit Milverton. The All-Ireland winners narrowly ousted Railway thanks to a fine innings from skipper Eoghan Delany but they’ve been hampered by call-ups for Andrew Poynter and Alex Cusack in the opening weeks. The latter isn’t available for Saturday’s trip either but Bill Coghlan is included after his involvement with Leinster Lightning. Max Sorensen starred with both bat and ball in Bready during the week and his absence was felt by the Hills with back-to-back defeats on home soil early-on but he should return to the side.
The Hills: TBC
Clontarf: Eoghan Delany (capt), Adrian D'arcy, Bill Coghlan, Andrew Poynter, Colin Currie, Robert Forrest, David Delany, Zander vd Merwe, Connor D'arcy, Paul Ryan, Adam Craig.
In Division Two, meanwhile, Balbriggan will be hoping to close the gap on leaders Dublin University when they face struggling Leinster. The Rathmines side have Ireland coach Pete Johnston in their ranks as they look to turn around their fortunes following a slow start in the second tier.
Trinity’s games count for double points and they can extend their already healthy advantage at the summit over the weekend as they welcome both Rush and Merrion II to College Park on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Merrion are also in action twice with a visit to Malahide on Saturday preceding that trip to face the leaders. Elsewhere, Pembroke II, who have already played four games, host Cork County at Sydney Parade on Saturday.