Once again we have North v South in D1. In the reverse fixtures earlier in the year the matches all took place south of the river and the outcome was 2/2. Since then the results have shifted in favour of the northern clubs with only Pembroke currently in the top half of the table.
The League Table [see below] breaks down into three sections. Clontarf and Pembroke have created a two win margin over all other clubs and with only six rounds to go it will take a massive effort for one of these clubs to get in the mix for the title. One of the three clubs with four wins [The Hills, North County and Phoenix] will likely have to string together five or six wins to have a chance of the title. The final section sees Railway, YMCA and Merrion [the first two still have to play each other in a refix] battle it out to avoid the two relegation spots. For the teams near the bottom of the table every match and every point counts as this year there is an automatic relegation and a play-off spot.
Today YMCA take on the leaders Clontarf. who beat them comfortably in the reverse fixture. Playing at home Clontarf have every chance of extending their lead at the top of the table and YMCA will be hoping that Yakoob Ali [currently topping the D1 Bowling Averages] can make inroads into the strong Clontarf batting lineup. Pembroke, second in the table, have a tricky away fixture against North County. Earlier in the season the North County batting completely collapsed in Sydney Parade but this is not likely to happen again on home turf. Focus will be on Pembroke’s Daniel Solway who has already scored over 700 runs in Leinster league / cup matches. If he gets another big score Pembroke have a good chance of precious away points.
Although Merrion previously had a nine wicket win over Phoenix in Anglesea Road, since then the fortunes of the two teams have diverged. Phoenix’s will look to their strong but mercurial batting line up which has both Reinhardt Strydum and Sam Anderson featuring in the averages. For Merrion, the absence through injury of John Anderson [at the Ireland v Sri Lanka match] will do nothing to help their cause and they will need runs from Dom Joyce and Tyrone Kane. Merrion will be desperate for a victory while Phoenix will know that just one more win may be enough to make them safe for the season.
The final game see Railway travel to The Hills. Railway had a very poor start to the season but have recovered somewhat and managed two wins in July. Kenny Carroll with nearly 600 runs so far this season is again the key for Railway. Another win today would be a big boost but this won’t be easy against The Hills who are currently third in the league.
In Division 2 the match of the day is the clash between title contenders Leinster and Balbriggan. Leinster won easily last time around but Balbriggan have grown into the season and won five out six in the first cycle of matches. This could well prove to be the most important league match of the year for the two clubs.
Cork County, the only other club that is looking like it could challenge for promotion, sits out this round. The other two fixtures are Rush v Terenure and Malahide v North Kildare.
The [unverified] table taking into account scorecards yet to be included looks something like this.
| Club | P | W | L | NR | Pt |
| Dublin Univ. | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 206 |
| Leinster | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 158 |
| Balbriggan | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 135 |
| Cork County | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 123 |
| Malahide | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 92 |
| Terenure | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 84 |
| Rush | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 79 |
| N Kildare | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 72 |