Division One
Limerick Raiders make the long trip across the province to take on WIT in Carriganore on Sunday knowing that nothing short of a victory will do given their poor start to the 2010 campaign. The Raiders were left to rue a poor batting display last week after their bowlers had restricted Cork Harlequins to 168 at Farmers Cross, with a quickfire 46 from Uzman Kahn proving to be the only shining light of the their reply. With the ball, the experienced Shani Alam was the main threat for the Raiders and his consistent away swing combined with his nagging line is likely to cause problems for the WIT top order.
WIT got their campaign off to a winning start last week against a sub-strength Midleton side at Carriganore on Saturday. But with a full strength Raiders side looking to get their campaign back on track standing before them, the Waterford side would be wise to expect a backlash from the visitors. Shovon Zibran and Nasir Mehmood got the students off to a flyer last weekend and they will be looking for the same this week, while in Sunil Sherawat they have a batsman capable the game away from the Raiders, should he fire on all cylinders.
Down at the Mardyke, Midleton travel to take on a Cork County side in a rich vein of form after their Leinster Division Two exploits last weekend. After suffering a heavy defeat to Phoenix by 108 runs last Saturday, they bounced back to record a convincing 118 run victory over Trinity the next day with Bruce Koch putting in a five star all round performance; the South African all rounder continued his fine run of form by hitting a 103 and taking 2-13 with the ball. However, should Chris Gomesz line out for the East Cork side against his former team, he has the capability to take the game to Cork County.
Midleton's hopes of stealing victory will rest on the availability of their senior players. Last week they were shorn of experienced performers Clinton Laverty and Dean Wilson, and should the duo feature it could be a close encounter before what is likely to be a sizeable crowd at the city venue.
Division Two
Defending champions, Co. Clare, will travel to the Mardyke on Saturday seeking revenge on Cork County 2 after the city side knocked them out of the Munster Junior Cup at the same venue last weekend. Four wickets from Cork County leggie Nicky Murphy had the Shannonsiders in a spin as their innings never got off the ground and County ran out comfortable six wicket winners in the end. Hassan Shoman top scored for the home side with 33 and Co. Clare will have to make sure he doesn't get out of the blocks if they are to stand a chance of claiming their first win of the season; and with Rob Loxton putting in an impressive display with the ball for the visitors, this game could be closer than last weeks scoreline would suggest.
Kerry 1 have endured a nightmare start to the season after being on the end of two heavy defeats so far, but with home advantage against Clonmel this Saturday they will be looking to turn their season around. Clonmel have had an indifferent campaign to date with one win and one loss to their name and they sit bang smack in the middle of the Division Two table. Skipper David Kelly has been in impressive form with the bat and should he, along with the talismatic Paul Croke, find his range, it could be a long day in the field for the Tralee side. That said, Sean Rutland has been in fine form with the ball for Kerry and his variation could see the off-spinner do some damage for the home side.
Cork Harlequins face an unenviable journey up the west coast to take on a rejuvenated Galway side. The Connaught outfit have recruited well over the off season and now boast one of the biggest squads in the league. Their strength in depth showed in their first outing when they steam-rolled Co. Clare to take that tie by 5 wickets. W. Raja was the hero that day taking career best figures of 8-15, and the Quins side will no doubt be very wary of the threat the left arm swing bowlers poses. Youngster Ruadhan Jones has been playing well for Quins, scoring 65 against Kerry last week, while Liam Hale has also been producing good scores for the Farmers Cross outfit. This could be a close encounter, but a lot will depend on what sort of team travel for Quins.
