There will be a strong Northern flavour in Dublin 4 today. In the afternoon, Brigade will be Merrion's opponents at Anglesea Road, with a place in the Royal Liver Irish Senior Cup final the prize. Around the corner in Donnybrook this evening, European rugby champions Ulster take on Leinster in what is likely to be a sell-out Interprovincial Championship match.
The Ulstermen will start as favourites in both games. The record of southern clubs in Irish cricket's only all-island competition is poor, to put it mildly, with Phoenix the sole winners away back in 1986, but hopefully that dismal statistic won't prey on the minds of skipper Gus Joyce and his Merrion men today.
Ed Joyce returns to the side, but his brother Dom, on Ireland Development XI duty in England, is missing, as is Ian O'Herlihy, their places going to Jeff Shortt and Andrew Nixon. Ed, along with batsmen like his brother Gus, Robbie Stanton and Stephen King, will be key figures, while Joey Morrissey, Damian Poder, Richard Dowse and Angus Fleming will give Gus Joyce a strong bowling attack to play with.
Brigade won the Irish Senior Cup three years ago, and were the defeated finalists three times, in 1984, 1987 and 1993. Mark Simpson captains a strong side which includes current Ireland players Gordon Cooke and the man-of-the-moment, the soon-to-be-banned Stephen Smyth.
Meanwhile the recent tour to Hampshire undertaken by Presentation Brothers' College, Cork, was an outstanding success. PBC's matches against Bishop's Waltham CC and Burridge CC were drawn and the tourists defeated Curdrise CC by 21 runs. Another visit is planned.
MERRION: G Joyce (capt), E Joyce, Damian Joyce, R Dowse, D Poder, A Fleming, J Morrissey, R Stanton, S King, J Shortt, A Nixon.
BRIGADE (from): M Simpson (capt.), D Cooke, G Cooke, S Smyth, W Wilson, B Sturgeon, I Nicholl, G Moore, S Scroggie, J Torrens, G Wilson, R Brace.
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