LHW FINANCIAL PLANNING SENIOR CUP ROUND ONE (SATURDAY 16.5.2026)

The Open Senior Cup competition dates back 90 years to 1935 and was initially played for by eight clubs - Leinster, Civil Service, Clontarf, Merrion, Dublin University, Pembroke, Phoenix and YMCA.

The competition has been played in various formats over the decades. The 2026 iteration will, once again, be played as a white-ball (coloured kit) knock-out competition.

Dublin University is participating in the competition again this year having last won the Senior Cup trophy in 1963 (as the third year of a treble success in the competition). The College team will also be competing in the Senior T20 (Alan Murray) Cup competition and the Under 23 District Cup competition against South Leinster and North Leinster across both 50-over and T20 formats.

Pembroke are the holders and will be looking to achieve the treble this year having won the 2024 competition defeating Phoenix and the 2025 competition overcoming Clontarf in the last two Senior Cup Finals at Sydney Parade.

A quick look at previous winners confirms that Pembroke (with 15 Senior Cup wins) have now drawn level with Phoenix & Clontarf. Clontarf last won this trophy in 2023 whilst Phoenix last lifted the Senior Cup as far back as 1982 (some 44 years ago!) during a halcyon period for the Park side.

Of the other clubs competing in this year’s competition, the number of Senior Cup titles by club is Leinster (10), Dublin University (6), The Hills (6), Merrion (4), Malahide (2), Railway Union (2), North County (1). Adamstown, Balbriggan, Civil Service, North Kildare, Rush and Terenure are all in pursuit of their first Senior Cup title this season.

Terenure will host The Hills having achieved a comfortable win over Knockharley in the preliminary round fixture on 18th April last. The D6W side were indebted to the returning Henry Dall on the day who walloped 16 boundaries on his way to 101* off 74 balls to see his side home by 5 wickets with 12 balls to spare.

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY VS RAILWAY UNION

The ‘Students’ come into their first Open Competitions Cricket of the season with a relatively full-deck to choose from. Long-term injuries have ruled out both David Delany and David Vincent, however of those who could expect to feature this season, they are missing just Ryan Smith from their starting XI.

One of the more interesting inclusions is set to be Tom Anders, who has not played any CL competitions since 2023, however brings plenty of experience to the side, whilst Theo Dempsey also returns. That duo, along with Ahijah Hill and skipper Mikey O’Reilly offer a strong seam-attack with the ability to take early wickets and also control the middle overs. Donncha Tucker and Yash Bala will provide the spin with their left and right arm options respectively. Meanwhile on the batting front, Macdara Cosgrave was their key man last term, and looks set to lead from the top once again, with support from Rory Betley as well as all-rounders Bala, O’Reilly and Tucker. JJ Cassidy features behind the stumps and adds yet more ‘Senior’ experience.

Railway Union meanwhile come into this tie off the back of a confidence-boosting All-Ireland victory against Newbuildings last weekend. That was built around an excellent batting performance from Abhay Tipnis, who showed some real class, and could well find himself as the fulcrum of his side’s batting unit throughout the course of this season, capitalising on the platform set by the likes of opener Bruce Whaley and number three Rob O’Brien at the top, and complementing the unique skillset of skipper Philippe le Roux in the middle order. The visitors bowling unit is fronted by seamer Liam McCarthy, who should extract some early movement with the new ball. He’s supported by Farman Afridi, Rob Carr and Sumit Kumar in the seam bowling stakes, whilst there’s left-arm spin from Tipnis, supported by the off-breaks of Srihan Karpe.

Dublin University will be indebted to Macdara Cosgrave if they are to manage a batting effort that can overcome Railway this weekend, no doubt Liam McCarthy will be eyeing up his wicket, and if he can knock the opener over early on, it will set Railway well on their way.

KEY BATTLE: Macdara Cosgrave vs Liam McCarthy

LEINSTER VS MERRION

The Leinster Senior Cup is the only competition where Leinster have failed to make any major progress in recent seasons, however a home draw against Merrion here certainly gives them something to work with, being a formidable force in Observatory Lane. Their left-arm seam battery including Jai Moondra, Tom O’Connor and Bilal Azhar will all look to extract movement from their home pitch, whilst Joey Carroll and Mark Tonge are equally skilful right-arm seamers. Saqib Bahadur’s off-breaks will provide the spin option to skipper Azhar in this tie. With the bat, whilst the side haven’t quite fired on all cylinders as yet, they have bowled well enough that they haven’t needed to, there’s plenty of firepower throughout the side. Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai are two of the leading batters in the league, and make their middle order a very dangerous prospect. Luke Horgan and Tom Johnson will be tasked with laying down the platform at the top for this pair to prosper from.

Merrion are searching for their first win in the Leinster Senior Cup since it returned to it’s straight knockout format in 2023, and will hope that last weekend’s victory over St Johnston without some of their senior players will stand to them this time around. They will be missing Mikey O’Reilly who plays for Dublin University in this competition, meaning their first-year skipper Sean Stanton will have yet another new-ball partner this weekend. Corne Botha and Tom Ford are the two who could take up this role, with Andy Doheny the golden-arm in the team having taken key wickets in all games so far this season. In the absence of O’Reilly, there may well be space for two spinners this weekend, however both Peter Forkin and Oisin Bhoja have done well when called upon this term. With the bat, John Anderson returns to the team having missed last week’s win, and will slot into the middle order. Stephen Doheny and Swapnil Modgill at the top of the order are a brilliant duo both capable of making big runs, whilst Seb Dijkstra and Jamie Forbes have made battling runs when the side has needed already this season. Overseas man Botha has the ability to clear the ropes, and they will no doubt look to him to add some later impetus to their innings.

This fixture looks set to be a real showdown between Leinster’s bowling and Merrion’s batting, however Merrion’s strike bowler in Corne Botha could well be the man who can crack this game wide open, if he can knock over Younas Ahmadzai early on, it will truly turn the game into a battle between the Rathmines outfit’s bowlers and Anglesea Road side’s star-studded top order.

KEY BATTLE: Younas Ahmadzai vs Corne Botha

RUSH VS NORTH COUNTY

Kenure will see two sides who have already faced off this season doing battle, as North County are the visitors. That encounter saw them hosting today’s opposition, as they were indebted to a debut century for Aussie Lochie Hardy in guiding their team to 215, which proved to be 76 too many.

Hardy will once again prove to be a key cog in the wheel for the Inch men, having also made a century on Bank Holiday Monday against Leinster. John Devane partners him at the top of the order, before Suliman Safi, who is off the back of 93 last weekend against North Down, appears at number 3. Skipper Eddie Richardson is the link man in the side, preceding the hard-hitting gloveman Jamie Grassi, who was also in the runs last time out. Alan Joseph Mathew and Jake Devane are the all-rounders who wrap up the batting unit. The bowlers are led by Richardson, who generally shares the opening duties with either Husnain Maroof or Abdul Ghaffar, whilst Hardy is another useful option. Sean Sludds’ medium pacers along with the pair of offies, Brandon Morris and Alan Joseph Mathew, round out an attack full of variety which Richardson can turn to.

Rush have had a tough start to the season and find themselves 0/3 in the league, however last weekend’s All Ireland victory will give them major cause for optimism, and a cup run could well help spur them on. Isaac Bird was the star, making 169, and that’s the sort of the performance the Rush faithful will be hoping to see more of going into this weekend. He is part of a potentially destructive middle order which includes skipper Nathan McGuire and left-hander Abid Taniwal, in each of their cases one can guarantee that if they score heavily, they will also do so quickly. Jack and Finn McGee top and tail the top six, whilst Nasir Totakhil at number 7 was in the runs last weekend and his more sedate style has proved crucial in guiding the team out of some tricky situations in the past couple of years. With the ball, they’ll be hoping to see Allan Eastwood return from his recent niggle, and he would likely open the bowling alongside Alex Neary’s left-armers. Asher Abbasi and Craig May are other seamers at the side’s disposal, with Conor Butterly another potential option. The spin is where they have their trump cards however, Bird and McGuire are both useful off-break bowlers, however the slow left-arm of Totakhil has been taking wickets for fun in the past two seasons, and his skills have often proved vital to the team.

Rush have felt the sting of Lochie Hardy already this season, and he could well be the man for North County once again this weekend, however if Allan Eastwood can knock him over early on, it will be a massive boost for the hosts in this tie.

KEY BATTLE: Allan Eastwood vs Lochie Hardy

CLONTARF VS MALAHIDE

Last season’s nearly-men in Clontarf get their campaign underway hosting Malahide, and will be looking to go just one result better in this season’s edition of the Leinster Senior Cup. After a pair of convincing victories to kick off the season, the Castle Avenue side stuttered against Phoenix, before having a bye last weekend. They will be looking to the hard-hitting Séamus Lynch to get them off to a flyer at the top of the order and he’ll have a new partner this weekend, with Mitchell Thompson unavailable. Eoghan Delany and Sam Morgan were clinical in week one against Civil Service, however both will have been disappointed with making starts and not kicking on in the last weekend of league action. The returning John McNally will add some considerable middle-order strength, whilst Kartik Joshi, Fionn Hand and Andrew Delany, who’s unbeaten half-century ultimately proved crucial against Railway, are the men who will round out a very solid batting unit. On the bowling front, they are devoid of their Dublin University men who have propped up the attack in the opening weeks, with Ahijah Hill and Yash Bala both unavailable to the side. McNally’s return is a welcome seam boost, however Reuben Wilson drops out to be replaced by Nawaz Khan once again, one of that duo will likely share the new-ball duties with Fionn Hand, as Liam Gilhooly is the fourth seamer. Cillian McDonnell’s left-arm spin is the frontline option, with support coming from Joshi’s offies.

Malahide meanwhile are riding high, with their All Ireland victory last weekend coming off the back of a brace of league wins over the Bank Holiday weekend. The sublime form of their skipper Jeremy Martins has helped them to victory in each of those instances, with the Portuguese international having made scores of 51, 48* and 67 and taken two, three and three wickets in their league campaign thus far, and whilst he didn’t get to bat in last weekend’s game, he had earned the right to put his feet up already, having taken 5/22. With the bat, Alan Reynolds’ return to 1^st team action at the top of the order adds an extra dimension to the team, with his boom or bust nature able to change the complexion of a game quickly, whilst also taking the quick-scoring pressure off fellow opener Robbie Foulkes. Adam Doyle at three tends to try to bat through the innings, allowing the likes of Martins, Greg Ford and Andrew Sheridan to play freely in the middle order. The bowlers see Ravi Kumar keeping things very tight at the top alongside Kelvin Donnelly, whilst a return for former skipper James Newland would be very welcome for The Village this weekend. Sheridan and Foulkes provide medium pace, whilst Mohit Sane is the left-arm spinner in the side, taking up the mantle from the now departed Mike Frost.

There’s no prizes for guessing who Malahide’s key man is here, however he’ll need a big performance this weekend if they are to overturn last season’s runners-up, Martins’ bowling could be the thing which swings this tie, if he can get them through the returning force that is John McNally in the ‘Tarf middle order, it could crack this game wide open.

KEY BATTLE: John McNally vs Jeremy Martins

PHOENIX VS PEMBROKE

On paper the tie of the round takes place in the Phoenix Park, as holders Pembroke are the visitors. They are another side riding the crest of a wave, especially having seen off the pride of the NCU in Waringstown with just 9 batters available to them in their chase last weekend. Much of this game however hangs on the availability of those star men of the season so far. Andy Balbirnie, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Gavin Hoey all miss out for sure due to next week’s Emerald Challenge squad game, whilst JJ Garth is another man who will definitely be missing after dislocating his finger last weekend. Macdara Cosgrave is on Dublin University duty meaning he won’t be deputising at the top of the order as he did to great effect in last week’s game. The ‘Broke are hopeful of being able to include Tim Tector in the side, and after he’s started the season with scores of 74, 6, 96 and 152* that would be a huge boost. This could see a chance for Dan Murray to impress, having made an unbeaten century in last week’s Senior 2 Cup first round, whilst overseas man Addison Sherriff and skipper Jack Tector will no doubt feature more prominently in the batting line-up. Sherriff and Byron McDonough will lead the way with the ball, whilst Paul Lawson’s offies will see him return to being the lead spinner in the side, whilst Luke Murray is another young-gun who could be seen to good effect this weekend with his seamers.

Phoenix meanwhile are boosted by the non-inclusion of their star men in next week’s warm-up match, as both George Dockrell and Ben White will get to continue their prep for the upcoming white-ball IPs in club cricket. They make up two thirds of an excellent spin trio, alongside Amish Sidhu’s left-arm orthodox. It remains to be seen whether they may go with a fourth spinner this weekend, after Tanvir Hasan’s strong debut in last week’s All Ireland game will have seen him throw his hat into the ring. Sean McNicholl and Raghav Grover are the two frontline seamers, however the ‘Nix have shown a willingness to open with spin this season, allowing Grover to operate in the middle overs. The batters meanwhile see skipper Shane Getkate lead from the front alongside Johit Munjal. Sidhu, Dockrell and Grover feature in the middle order alongside Tyrone Kane, who’s century proved vital in the side’s only victory so far this season, and whilst that 6 provides plenty of strength, it also protects a long tail, and will need to score the vast majority of the runs if they are to knock over the double-holders.

Addison Sherriff has been an excellent addition to Pembroke this season, and he will need to stand up with the bat this weekend if they are to continue their fine run of form, if he can dominate against Ben White, it will put Pembroke in the box seat.

KEY BATTLE: Ben White vs Addison Sherriff

NORTH KILDARE VS BALBRIGGAN

In The Maws, a side searching for consistent form in the shape of Balbriggan are the visitors to North Kildare, who themselves have had something of a mixed beginning to the season. The hosts are heavily reliant on their skipper, wicket-keeping opening batsman Yash Kalasannavar to produce performances at the top of their batting order, alongside the likes of Moize Haider, Josh Uddin and Asadullah Ahmadzai, who are all aggressive stroke-players and will feature in the top six. Their bowling is led by Nazmus Monon and Nicholas Hunter with the new ball, whilst Adnan Ahmadzai and Ali Elahi are useful seamers who generally operate at first change. The spin comes from Asadullah Ahmadzai, who attacks the stumps, whilst Josh Uddin’s flighted variety of off-breaks make him something of a golden-arm, often seducing big shots out of unsuspecting batters.

Balbriggan meanwhile could find themselves without Chris de Freitas this weekend, as he is due to participate in next week’s practice match, and if he is absent, there will be a lot of pressure heaped on the likes of Cameron Rowe in the number three slot to score heavily. Connor Fletcher and Ghanim Dara are a settled opening pair, and generally get the side off to a decent start, whilst their 314 last time was largely built around some middle to lower order runs from Farooq Nasr, Seb De Oliveira and Jordan Hollard, showing a level of depth that is needed to get results at the top level. That depth is also reflected in the bowling stakes, however another man training for Ireland’s test match at the end of the month is Matt Hollard, with his inclusion also potentially in doubt. Should he miss out, it’s likely that Andy Darroch will deputise in his place, with De Oliveira and Ruan Strauss the two frontline seamers in the side so far this season. The trio of off-spinners including skipper Dylan Lues, Jordan Hollard and the aforementioned Nasr will no doubt prove key, with The Maws’ wickets tending to be quite friendly towards the spinning ball.

Balbriggan will be hoping to get on top early with the ball here, and if Seb De Oliveira can knock over the North Kildare star man Yash Kalasannavar, it will put the ‘Brig in the driving seat.

KEY BATTLE: Yash Kalasannavar vs Seb De Oliveira

TERENURE VS THE HILLS

The first of four scheduled meetings between these two sides this season sees them currently sitting second and third in the First Team League, level on points after two games. Terenure will be hoping that they can make home advantage count here, with skipper Henry Dall leading the way with the bat, having sealed the side’s place in this tie with an unbeaten century in the Preliminary Round game. At the top of the order, wicket-keeper Sophie Reid debuted in last week’s All Ireland victory and will feature once again, allowing Gareth Morgan to shift into the middle order. There were also runs for Zeeshan Mumtaz, who misses this week’s tie, and Sid Nair made his second unbeaten half-century in the space of three games. Dónal Lynch rounds out the batting line-up in a team which is searching for just it’s second win in the first round of this competition since 2006. The bowlers feature some excellent options, in the shape of opener Naveed Khan, who is supported by seam-up options from Kripesh Shetty, Bhavic Tukrel and Benjamin Dillon. The spin in the side comes from the skipper Dall, who took 3/13 last weekend, alongside the leg-breaks of Aamir Bafanda, who has settled into the Terenure side with economical spells in home fixtures.

The Hills meanwhile got off to a rocky start in last weekend’s National Cup game, however recovered to post a completely unassailable score. That was in stark contrast to the previous week, where a brilliant start saw opener Muzamil Sherzad laying the platform for overseas player Liam Blackford to make 137 not out on his debut. With that duo in their top three once again this weekend they will be hoping for more of the same. Sherzad is partnered at the top of the order by brother, Yaseen, whilst the middle order features experience in the shape of Stefano di Bartolomeo, as well as some younger blood such as Joe Russell, whilst Andy Kavanagh and Joe Fletcher are two more batters who are capable of producing decent contributions, with Kavanagh in particular key in last weekend’s recovery. With the ball, skipper Matthew Weldon will lead the way alongside Killian McGrane, who has deputised for Cian Nulty with the new ball in recent weeks, whilst di Bartolomeo and Tómas Rooney-Murphy provide the change-up seamers. Febin Manoj is the frontline spinner in the side, with the Ireland U19 international having proved to be a shining light across much of the last two seasons in the club.

Liam Blackford announced himself to the league in his debut knock two weeks ago, and Terenure will need to dismiss him early to ensure that he doesn’t announce himself to the Leinster Senior Cup as emphatically. They’re likely to look to new-ball bowler Naveed Khan in an effort to dismiss the Melbourne native.

KEY BATTLE: Naveed Khan vs Liam Blackford

CIVIL SERVICE VS ADAMSTOWN

Two sides who suffered defeat in All Ireland action last weekend face off in the Phoenix Park, however Adamstown come into this in far stronger form than Civil Service, who are as yet to win this season. The visitors have won their two league games so far this season by tight margins, gaining just one bonus point in the process, however their first effort at chasing runs last week came a cropper. Dinesh Anthony Kidagan David has been their star man since their elevation to the First Team League, and along with opener Sid Biju they lead the batting unit. Overseas man Prashanth Prabhu Damodoran will feature in the middle order, where Shreyas Rajesh and Aryan Adelkar have also shown some ability to add runs. On the bowling front they have shown some particular strength, teenager Shravon Biju has stepped up to Senior Cricket seamlessly, and opens the bowling alongside Kidagan David to good effect. Aditya Singh and Nithin Namburu are strong seam options, before the spin of Jaivir Singh Oberoi and Arvind Olaganathan is allowed to go to work.

Civil Service meanwhile have found things tough on their top flight return, and last week’s All Ireland defeat won’t have helped. Deepak Jayachandran leads from the front with the bat, alongside wicket-keeper Simranjeet Singh, whilst the middle order is choc-full of new signings this term. Abhishek Kare bats at three, before some excellent stroke players in Hedayat Khogiani and Swaraj Batham. Dev Ranolia and Edson Silva add some power to the batting in this side. On the bowling front Mubasher Siddique and Noor Ullah will share the opening duties, whilst Zaman Safi was arguably the most impressive of their bowlers visually at least when he was thrown the ball as first change. They boast an abundance of spinners led by Ramgokul Srinivasan and Roshin Raviprasad, who bowl left and right arm off-spin respectively. Batham and Kare were both trialled last weekend, however both only bowled a couple of overs as skipper Jayachandran rotated through his arsenal in an effort to break partnerships. Dev Ranolia is the trump card, with his left-arm spin adding an extra element to the side.

When these two faced off with the league on the line in September it was firmly ‘spin-to-win’ and Roshin Raviprasad could therefore prove key for Civil Service, if he can knock over Dinesh Anthony Kidagan David, it will put the hosts on the right track

KEY BATTLE: Roshin Raviprasad vs Dinesh Anthony Kidagan David

LHW FINANCIAL PLANNING SENIOR CUP - FIRST ROUND MATCHES

SATURDAY 16TH MAY 2026, 12PM STARTS

Dublin University vs Railway Union (College Park)
Leinster vs Merrion (Observatory Lane)
Rush vs North County (Kenure)
Clontarf vs Malahide (Castle Avenue)
Phoenix vs Pembroke (Phoenix Park)
North Kildare vs Balbriggan (The Maws)
Terenure vs The Hills (Terenure)
Civil Service vs Adamstown (Civil Service)

The Quarter-Finals are then scheduled to be played on Sunday 1st June with the Semi-Finals slatted for Sunday 5th July.

The 2026 LHW Financial Planning Senior Cup Final is scheduled to take place at Sydney Parade on Saturday 1st August and will be live-streamed throughout the day via the CL YouTube channel.

As part of the day, there will also be the annual CL Patron’s Lunch.

The historic trophy will be presented to the captain of the winning team by Alan Lewis, Managing Director, LHW Financial Planning.

Our thanks to Alan Lewis and Jack Tector at LHW Financial Planning for their sponsorship support which is very much appreciated.