I must start with an apology. When I discovered that the Antalis Senior Cup semi final was not going to be played on Wednesday, I stupidly assumed that someone would tell me when it was going to be played.

Nobody did, so I missed one of the most important matches of the LCU season, and by all accounts an interesting one. Neither did anybody tell me that Senior matches were starting at noon this weekend.

So I pitched up in Rathmines with Leinster on 7/1 off 4 overs. Jason Molins had been out lbw to Luke Clinton, and when I later enquired of The Hills boys about the dismissal I was told that if it hit his front pad he was outside the line, but if it hit his back pad he was stitched.

When I asked Jason he told me it was back pad, but a bit high and leggish! The Hills also told me that Jonesey had middled one down the leg side to Barry Archer behind the stumps, but not been given. As the black clouds gathered, Keeley Todd nicked off from Max Sorenson.

The rain came with Leinster on 17/2 off 8.3 overs. Everybody had settled down to watch South Africa v Australia at Rugby Union, but with the Aussies 13-3 up the rain stopped, and play resumed with the match reduced to 33 overs per side.

First ball back Mark Jones (11) was bowled by Sorenson. Six runs later Anton Scholtz was bowled by Jeremy Bray's gentle away-swinger, and on the same score Byron Vermaak got a shocker of an lbw. He ruefully pointed out the mark on his thigh as he trudged back.

Four more runs were added before Asif was beaten by Bray's straight one. That was 27/6, and many people's thoughts turned to a trip to Anglesea Road to see how Merrion were progressing against North County .

JP O'Dwyer and Ian O'Herlihy had told themselves to play straight and positively, and were in no trouble until JP swung to be caught at straightish mid wicket for 9. With ten overs to be bowled, Leinster were 49/7.

Gavin Gilmore followed the straight and positive mantra, and he and O'Herlihy added 34 in jig time until Ian couldn't force it over mid off's head, and was caught for 26. Will Lennon smacked one straight six before being the second victim of an X-rated lbw decision.

I'm not saying that the ball wouldn't have hit the stumps; it's impossible to know because he was yards down the track. If he'd played straight there is no way even Stevie Wonder would have given it, but, fatally, he swung across the line. Chung!

George Dockrell (6*) batted sensibly with Gillie (25*) to get Leinster to 106/9 off 33 overs. Max Sorenson took 3/14 off 7, Luke Clinton 1/11 off 5, Jeremy Bray 2/11 off 7, Albert van der Merwe 1/18 off 7 and Mark Dwyer 2/19 off 3.

We were all interested to see what the D/L target score would be. Nobody guessed 106. Skipper Scholtz refused to play on until it had been checked. It was, and 106 it stayed. To defend 105 Leinster had to rip a few out and put the Wilberries under pressure.

Byron Vermaak obliged by bowling Jermy Bray for 2, but Patrick Byrne was obdurate and Barry Archer very positive. Barch was missed behind the stumps, and reeled off three cover drives before running himself out (victim of a direct hit) for 18, and 31/2. He was replaced by Mike Baumgart, who also played confidently.

Baumgart had played a couple of nice shots square through the off side, but was well caught low down at backward point by Vermaak off Lennon for 20, and at 62/3 there was still a little work to be done. George Dockrell was trying to tempt the batsmen with his slow left-armers, but one huge six from Patrick Byrne settled that battle.

The Hills got home with 11 balls to spare with three wickets down. With scores level, Max Sorenson cover drove the ball to the boundary. The batsmen never crossed - just met in the middle and shook hands, and Joe Connolly never signalled a boundary four before he uprooted the stumps.

The scorers agreed four, leaving The Hills on 109/3, Byrne on 35* and Sorensen 24*. Vermaak took 1/19 off his 7 overs, and Will Lennon 1/15 off his. The Hills now have four wins, and Leinster just one. The good news for the Rathmines men is that Rush's match was abandoned, keeping them on two wins.

Having done the job for fifteen years, I am loath to make adverse comments about umpires. But the general standard isn't good enough. Senior umpires have to be at least as good as are the Senior players. It's not possible to compare umpiring with batting or bowling: umpires don't make match-winning tons or take five-fors.

A better comparison is with fielding. Umpires should not drop catches; there should be no single to them in the infield; there should be no two to fine leg; there shouldn't be one for the throw. An awful lot of good fielding is reading the batsmen and anticipating events, just as with good umpiring.

The weaker teams always complain more about umpiring, and with justification. It's not that umpires favour the big names (some I knew delighted in getting rid of them!). It's that if a couple of their top order get gunned, or their strike bowlers don't get the decisions they should, they're in trouble.

It doesn't matter so much if you chung the North County top order: eight, nine, ten, jack will likely get the runs anyway. If you choke on a couple of decisions off Botha's or De Cruz's bowling, John Boy and Dwayne-o will probably be only too pleased to nip in for a few.

The best umpires have to get the encouragement and promotion, and all the big matches (no more Buggin's Turn); the others have to be helped to improve their games and be told in no uncertain terms how and where they are bad. The poorer umpires have to be dropped: a spell on the seconds never did anyone any harm.

I have more detailed and specific remarks to make to the Leinster Cricket Umpires'and Scorers' Association. I'm sure they will listen to me with all the concern and respect that they think I deserve.

On Sunday I had to forgo my planned trip to Cork because the match was off. Instead I went to Claremont Road , to see YMCA entertain table-toppers Railway Union. A win for the Wheeltappers and Shunters would put them back in Section A. A win for YMCA would be like Samantha Mumba: nice but meaningless.

YMCA won the toss, inserted Railway, and immediately removed Kenny Carroll, caught behind, and Thinus Fourie, lbw. On a low, slow track that seamed around, this was to be the first of eight lbws. I reckon one of them was iffy (perhaps two), and contrary to the suggestion of Mr Fourie's body language and oh-so-slow retreat to the pavilion, this was not one of them.

Trent Copeland (15) kept Tom Fisher company for 44 runs, but with the score on 52 drove Warren Armstrong straight to Rob Nandi at mid on. Conor Mullen took a single and walked across his stumps to Stu McCready.

Mohammed Tariq batted as well as anyone for 20 before being trapped lbw by Wazza, and twenty runs later Gareth Carroll suffered the same fate. James Rogan played a couple of nice shots before being well taken low down at cover by Smacker of Ben Dunk's off-breaks.

140/7 became 140/9 as first Tom Fisher (51) got a rat from Jonny Harte, then Andy O'Neill was beaten by a direct hit from Ehtesham Ahmed at square leg. Saad Ullah (8*) and Carlo Rendell put on a very useful 23 for the last wicket before Rendell was well taken low down to his left by Smacker off his own bowling.

The track was made for YM's seamers (and Harte's straightbreaks) and Fisher's patient batting full of well-placed cover drives and shots off his legs. Paul Beacroft took 1/16 off 9 overs, Ehtesham Ahmed 1/16 off 6, Stu McCready 2/28 off 6.1, Warren Armstrong 3/43 off 10, Jonny Harte 1/24 off 10 and Ben Dunk 1/14 off 4. YM would come to regret the 38 extras (23 wides).

YMCA did not start well. Mucker McCoy missed Fourie's thinly disguised straight one, as did Ben Dunk (an lbw decision Thinus didn't disagree with!). Stu McCready had lifted Copeland for a straight six, and perished trying the same shot to Mo Tariq‘s bowling.

Living legends Alan Lewis and Gus Dunlop batted well, if slowly, until Lewie (11) was on the Picadilly line but Saad Ullah's delivery was on the Bakerloo. Gussie also reached legs eleven and slapped Ullah low to Mo Tariq at extra cover. That was 50/5 and game over.

It was 65/7 and goodnight and thank you when Rob Nandi fell lbw to Ullah and Paul Beacroft suffered a similar fate to Fourie (again, no complaint from the bowler). We then had the futile gesture, as Carl Hosford and Ehtesham Ahmed put on 47 runs and gave YM a sniff.

After a slow start Shammy was very positive, whacking a couple of fours through the covers, and dumping one pie from Carlo Rendell onto the Cerebral Palsey roof. Kenny Carroll had to bring himself on with his chinamen and googlies.

Shammy thumped a half volley through Thinus Fourie's legs to the extra cover boundary to reach 34 (no doubt our international all-star was worrying far too much about the possibly debatable lbw he'd been given to concentrate on his fielding). But the next ball, a long hop, was top edged to James Rogan running round from behind the stumps.

Carl Hosford finally hit the ball off the square before being bowled by Fourie for 13, and Jonny Harte and Wazza fiddled a few runs before the latter was caught by Tom Fisher off Tariq. YMCA's 133 included 29 extras, almost as bad a ratio as they had conceded themselves.

For Railway, Thinus Fourie took 4/21 off 10 overs, Mohammed Tariq 2/26 off 8.3, Saad Ullah 3/21 off 7 and Kenny Carroll 1/11 off 5. Up go Railway, but will they outdo Sunderland with yet another drop next year?

By the way, the umpiring of John Bristow and Mick Dwyer was very good, well up to the standard of the bowling, and much better than that of the batting or the ground fielding.