Report by Paul Reynolds

Off we go again. The rollercoaster of fun they call the cricket season. Over the next five months, there will be some sudden falls, some exhilarating turns, and whatever the rollercoaster equivalent of a thumping victory is. But whilst a mid-summer cup final would have all the adrenaline filled excitement of Space Mountain, the first weekend after Easter has all the attraction of a broken swing in a glass strewn 1970's playground

There was the odd saving grace I suppose. It was almost as if the corporation had been in to sweep the glass away and fix the swing. The sun shone brightly all weekend, the crowds turned up in their tens to watch, and whilst the entertainment on offer wasn't of the highest order, it did at least whet the appetite. The 2nds started it all off on Saturday with their first game back in Senior 2 after last year's promotion. As is normal at this time of year, both sides were missing a good few players, the winners would be the team who grafted the best on a wicket that whilst very good for mid-April, was showing the signs of the deluge that fell on the preceding two days. The Hills predicted well and chose to have a whack. It was all pretty steady as Rob Kenealy and Hugh McDonnell bowled pretty well without being brilliant, and Farooqui and partner did similar. On a slightly sticky wicket though, batsmen are never truly "in" and throughout the afternoon batsmen came and went, without doing that much (and similarly the bowlers). Nadim Akhtar did his normal by welcoming Jason Nagle to Dublin cricket with a few lusty blows towards the canal, but apart from that it was all about grinding out a total. The Leinster fielding was about what you'd expect - catches for Reynolds, Warren and Paterson, drops for Reynolds, Paterson, Nagle, Rule and Dockrell. 170 was the final score, maybe 10 below par.

In reply it looked as if only extras and Calum Paterson would be needed. A glut of wides and no balls and a Paterson onslaught led to the home side racing to 60 from 8 or 9 overs for only the loss of George Dockrell. However once Paterson went for a dashing 32, Lucas and Nagle dug in - then built a trench, and set in for what could be a long campaign. The introduction of Matt Dwyer into the attack helped this, but the bowling from the other end was treated with a fair amount of respect as well. Runs almost stopped, and by 35 overs, Leinster had got no more than 102-3. With Dwyer holding back a few overs (and finishing with 3-4 from 10 overs) the final push never received the oxytocin it needed, and on a wicket where 4 an over was tricky, five and six an over became impossible.

One personal gripe - I know it's a time honoured tradition that those in at the end of an innings never receive the same benefits as their more illustrious brothers higher up (and Famously Liam Keegan used to delight in sending back tailenders who were doing little in advancing the state of the match), but why is it that a head high beamer out of the sun is always called - unless it happens that the resulting top edge finishes the match, and finishes the day off nicely?

On to Sunday, where the sun continued spewing forth radiation, and a similar low scoring match went the same way as Saturday's affair, with the side batting first winning by a few dozen. Luckily Leinster batted first, and after an attractive spell of willowship from Mssrs Jones and Scholtz, the rest of the order dug in to amass a total of 165. The quick dismissals of O'Dwyer and O'Herlihy in the middle of the afternoon were enough to send a murmur of disappointment around the ground, and the fun, after hardly starting was soon over. There's only so many early season mis-timed drives one can watch of a weekend. In reply Pembroke got off to a decent start, with Graham McDonnell taking an early liking to Rob Kenealy, but once the slow men came on, the result never looked in doubt. Dockrell got McDonnell and O'Rourke, and once the Broke subsided to 70-5 I left to get my tea. The real 1st team action kicks off next Saturday at home to Trinity in the DGM