MARVELLOUS MERRION MARCH-ON - SPORTSHUB PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP (MAY 31ST)

Today's featured action in Anglesea Road saw Merrion retain their unbeaten record, with two thumping victories over Pembroke, in the morning, and Leinster, in the evening, seeing them leap to the top of the SportsHub Premier League table, having played a game less than several of their competitors.

The opening game of the day saw Pembroke batting first, and an opening blitzkrieg 70 from Orla Prendergast put them in a brilliant position, before she was dismissed by Leah Paul and the Merrion bowlers put a big squeeze on. Lou Lou Little was the other main contributor with the bat, making 28 as the Sandymount side staggered to 146/6, scoring less than a run-a-ball in the second half of their innings.

Merrion too benefitted from a flying start, Bella Armstrong thumping 46 from just 29 balls including 9 boundaries, and when they had reached 98/3 in the 11th over, the heavens opened for long enough to put the kybosh on any chances of the innings being completed. The home side however were 26 runs ahead on DLS and secured victory.

Whilst Merrion had to wait until 5:15 to continue their momentum, Pembroke had a chance to bounce straight back, and that they did... just!

Leinster batted first and thanks to Eimear Richardson, top score with 39, and 20s from Joanna Loughran and Sophie MacMahon, they piled on 152/7 in their 20 overs. Two wickets apiece for Lou Lou Little and Orla Prendergast doing the damage for Pembroke with the ball, as they pulled things back from an extremely unpromising position.

When the chase began, Prendergast once again got off to a flier, reaching 21 of the first 34 runs before the rain came in the 6th over of the innings, taking 9 overs off the batting time of Pembroke, and requiring them to make 52 from a further 34 balls to win the game. This appeared doable, however the task was made all the harder, when Sophie MacMahon removed Prendergast having added just one run to her tally after the delay.

Leinster then bowled fantastically through to the death, and with 24 runs needed off 2 overs, Eimear Richardson bowled an over for just 8 to keep the side in the box seat. Some confusion regarding the number of overs remaining for the Rathmines side's bowlers led to a further delay, before Clare Shillington duly deposited the fourth ball of the final over to the mid-on boundary, then slog-swept a six that even she couldn't believe she had hit so well over cow-corner very next ball. A single from the last ball guided Pembroke to a victory that looked very unlikely just half-an-over earlier.

Once again Leinster were straight out into the field, this time bowling to Merrion's in-form top-order. Armstrong and Stokell were once again in the runs, making 22 and 27 respectively, both supporting the leading light of the week, Annabel Squires, who once again top scored with 34. Isabella Merriman the pick of the bowlers for the away side, taking 4/21 in her four over spell, including the wickets of Stokell and Leah Paul.

The Leinster chase never got going, and in spite of 20s from Eimear Richardson and Sophie MacMahon, they succumbed to a brilliant spell of bowling from Aoife Brennan, taking 5/17 from just 3.3 overs, as the away side fell to their second defeat of the day, and seeing Merrion jump to the top of the table.

Elsewhere, in Kenure, Rush earned not only their first, but also added a second win in Senior Cricket, as having seen off The Hills by 11 runs on DLS early in the day, they then held their nerve in a nail-biter against Malahide to win by just 3 runs. In between, The Hills saw off Malahide by 15 runs, as The Village fell short in a 14-over chase.

Finally in the Phoenix Park, the home side fell foul of some late Christina Coulter-Reilly heroics in game one, as she blasted 12 off just 5 balls following a rain break to see 'Tarf scramble to a first win of the season. Balbriggan then saw off 'Tarf, chasing 87 in another game shortened due to rain. Finally the 'Brig piled on 165 in their 20 overs against Phoenix, before restricting their hosts to just 114 and securing a 51 run victory.

That all means after 5 rounds of games, Merrion sit atop the table, whilst Balbriggan's two wins see them jump up to second. Whilst at the other end, 'Tarf's first win of the season sees them leapfrog The Hills at the bottom of the table.