Leinster welcome new boys

Cricket Weekend previewThe linseed oil has been applied, the whites have been removed from their mothballs and the wet, windy weather has arrived. Everything, it seems, is in readiness for the start of the season. But there is aaddition to the Leinster senior cricket fraternity this year that makes 2005 a special season for one club in particular and for midlands cricket in general.

Laois Cricket Club have, for many years, been dominating the junior leagues, moving up through the ranks with plenty of dedication and ambition. They have spent the last two seasons establishing themselves in the second tier, and now have been given the opportunity to play, at least for the first part of the season, with the big boys.

The Leinster Senior 45 Overs League (formerly the Lewis Hohn Williams League) gets underway today with a new format, new regulations and a couple of new faces among the participants. The league is now in four sections of four teams, with the winners of each section progressing to the semi-finals.

As the title suggests, the competition has been reduced to 45 overs per side (from 50), with a maximum of nine overs per bowler, and there are a few little additions, such as the introduction of a "free hit" following a foot-fault no-ball as in the Twenty20 form of the game.

Apart from Laois, the Munster Reds have also been invited to take part in the competition, hitherto reserved for clubs within the province.

"It's very much a learning curve for us," said Laois captain Willie Gibbs, a former interprovincial player for Leinster when with Merrion CC. "We have three matches in this competition and it will be a great experience for us. We will certainly give the other teams a run for their money."

The Laois team, who take on Rush in Kenure tomorrow, have an international feel, with five South Africans and two Pakistanis hoping to take the field, including former Northerns all-rounder Dan van Zyl, who also plays rugby with Clontarf.

Meanwhile, today, Malahide host Dublin University in Section B, while YMCA travel to Milverton to take on The Hills in Section D. Play starts everywhere at 12.30.

The Irish team are also in action, with a friendly match against Loughborough University today and a fully capped game against Warwickshire in Edgbaston tomorrow. These games are warm-ups for Ireland's C&G Trophy first-round match against Yorkshire in Stormont on May 3rd.

SATURDAY - Tour match (10.45): Loughborough University v Ireland XI, Loughborough. 45 Overs League (12.30) - Section B: Malahide v Dublin University; Section D: The Hills v YMCA.

SUNDAY - Tour match (10.45): Warwickshire v Ireland, Edgbaston. 45 Overs League (12.30) - Section A: Rush v Laois.