Merrion will be happy to have successfully passed their first challenge of the year. A visit to Kenure to take on Rush in April was a potential banana skin and indeed at 136/2 Rush looked well on course to post a large first innings score. But once Saadat Gull [59] was out the innings fell away. In what this year looks like a much strengthened spin attack there were eight wickets between overseas player Jamie Brown [4/28], John Andersen [2/37] and Tom Stanton [2/40].
A total of 192 all out is not a big score in Rush and Merrion never really loosened their grip on the game. An 86* from Andersen provided the foundation and Merrion got home in the 30th over for the loss of four wickets.
Across the city the big upset of the day was the defeat of Railway Union by North Kildare. A somewhat uneven batting scorecard saw Railway make 199 all out [in 50th Over] with Kenny Carroll once again leading the way with 98. Schoolboy Clinton Auret had his best bowling figures at this level with 3/9. Despite losing an early wicket NK quickly took control of the match and Sean Dalton and Manjeep Singh put on 140 for the 2nd wicket. Singh [108*] went on to carry his bat and make his maiden senior century. The loss is a bad start for Railway in their bid to return to D1 and they will be particularly unhappy about their bowling and the number of extras [43] conceeded.
A new looking Balbriggan took on Dublin University in Balbriggan. Put into bat they never really got going against a strong DU bowling attack led by George Dockrell [4/12]. The final score of 138 all out in the 41st over was well short of what was required. Despite the efforts of Duane Harper [4/23], the students carefully accumulated the required runs by the 39th over, winning by five wickets.
In the final game Malahide took on Terenure. Winning the toss they inserted Terenure and soon had the two openers out. A half century stand between Subramanya Ramnathpur [41] and Dan van Zyl [37] provided some stability to the batting but once they were out only Diarmuid Lynch [37] made a significant contribution. A total of 175 all out always looked light. James Newland [3/13] and David O’Shea [3/30] were the pick of the bowlers for Malahide.
In the second innings captain Alan Reynolds [81] ensured that Malahide secured the win - backed up by a careful knock from Finton McAllister [42]. Win for Malahide by four wickets.
Not much to tell from the first round. It looks like the students will be competitive again this year which means that their double pointer matches will take on even greater significance for the promotion race. It is a great start for North Kildare who have demonstrated once again that they are comfortable at this level. Merrion and Malahide will be happy to have got their seasons off to a good start. But the main talking point from the round, will Railway be able to mount a serious challenge for the Division title and a chance to get back to D1. They have another tricky assignment next Saturday against Malahide and they will want a win to get their season going.
| Round 1 | |||||
| 22nd April | |||||
| Played | Won | Lost | Bonus | Points | |
| Dublin University 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 46 |
| Merrion 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| North Kildare 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Malahide 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| Balbriggan 1* | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Terenure 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Railway Union 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Rush 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
* Indicates that double header against DU has been played