CRICKET: The second last weekend of the season will be a time of anxiety for the Munster Reds and The Hills, both involved in the race for promotion to Section A of the Leinster Senior League. Railway Union, by dint of their six-wicket victory over Munster Reds at The Mardyke last Thursday, have already been promoted.
Munster Reds' hopes rest on their final league match of the season, against YMCA at Claremont Road today. Victory would mean automatic promotion, but should YMCA triumph, then Munster Reds will have to await the outcome of The Hills' final two matches - against Leinster today and against Rush next Saturday - before they know their eventual fate.
To win that second promotion spot The Hills will have to win both those away games and also gain more bonus points than The Reds. If Munster Reds' match at Claremont Road were to be rained off, The Hills would need at least eight bonus points from their last two games to win promotion. So over-all the odds would seem to favour Munster Reds.
As the league nears its completion, there are only two certainties - that Railway Union have won promotion to Section A and Clontarf are relegated.
Either Malahide or CYM will join Clontarf and while CYM are ahead on the Section A table, Malahide have a match in hand.
At the moment, Merrion have completed their campaign and look to have retained the title which they won last year. But all that could change if Pembroke defeat CYM and pick up at least 23 points in the process, in which event the silverware could end up in Sydney Parade.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Bray of Phoenix has reached 1,000 runs for the season and looks likely to retain the Marchant Cup for batting. Gavin Gilmore (Leinster) heads the bowling averages with 36 wickets for an average of 13.67.
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