It was the Joey Carroll show at Rathmines as the all-rounder scored a brilliant century to help Leinster to an emphatic win over Cork Harlequins. His side were in early trouble at 37 for 4, but Carroll hit 11 fours and 6 sixes on his way to an unbeaten 122. He shared stands of 101 for the fifth wicket with Jason Nagle (35), and 63 for the 7th with Mark Tonge (24) as they posted 245. Seanan Jones picked up 5 for 50, while there were two wickets apiece for Cian Egerton (2-21) and Brandon Kruger (2-48).

In the chase, only Kruger with an unbeaten 47 (5 fours), really got going, as they were dismissed for 100, with three wickets each for skipper Bilal Azhar (3-8), and Jack Barry (3-19) in the 145-run win.

North Kildare’s good run continued as they beat Terenure by four wickets in a low scoring match in Dublin. Kildare’s overseas professional Kaustabh Pawar was the hero for his side, but with the ball rather than the bat, as he claimed five wickets for just 14 runs as Terenure were bowled out for 91. Sidharth Nair top-scored with 26, while Raghav Grover chipped in with 21. Abdul Sattar (2-28) was also among the wickets in a fine bowling effort.

When it was Kildare’s turn to bat on the mat, they too found the going tough as they slipped to 36 for 5, and 56 for 6, with wickets for Grover (2-45), Zubair Khan (2-10), and Dylan Cleary (2-20). Sattar though clared the ropes three times in an unbeaten 33, sharing a seventh wicket stand of 39 with Khawaja Murtaza Sidiqi (26) to seal the four-wicket win.

Runs were hard earned too at Park Avenue where leaders Railway Union fought back tenaciously to beat Rush by 68 runs. They looked in real trouble as three wickets for former Irish international Allan Eastwood and Daniel Coffey, coupled with two each for Jared Barnes and Alex Neary had them reeling at 103 for 8. However, the last two wickets added a further 57, with Mark Canniffe making 35 and Hamza Maan 26 in total of 160.

Railway’s attack then set about defending the target, with Hamza Maan (2-30) getting the prize scalps of Llew Johnson (20) and Neil Rock. Aaron McGuire made 31 before being run out, and wickets then for Alan Matthew (2-12), Fakhar Zaman (2-22) and skipper Liam McCarthy (3-24) saw Rush 92 all out, and keeps Railway’s promotion hopes very much on track.

Eddie Richardson’s excellent all-round display ensured North County remain very much in the promotion mix as they beat Cork County by four wickets at The Mardyke. The home side batted to 183 for 9, with Abdul Ghaffar top scoring with 55 (5 fours, 2 sixes), with runs too for Cormac Hassett (40) and Ross Durity (26). Skipper Richardson claimed 4 for 41, while Usman Azhar took 2 for 35, while Malcolm Nofal took 1 for 13 in his ten overs.

The reply saw North County struggling initially at 45 for 3, with two wickets for Nabeel Anjum (2-32). However, a fourth wicket stand of 98 between Nofal and Richardson broke the back of the chase. Nofal made 76 (7 fours, 2 sixes), while the captain hit 63 (6 fours, 1 six). There were late wickets with the finishing line in sight, but the Fingal side were always in control after that partnership and sealed an ultimately comfortable four-wicket victory.