All eyes were on Sydney Parade on Saturday as the 1sts took on Balbriggan in the semi final of the Alan Murray Cup. Sadly, despite a blistering 101 by Riley off 52 balls, Balbriggan chased down the target of 171 in the 19th over. Hard luck guys, but a great achievement to get that far.

Saturday did see wins though for the 5ths, who beat Adamstown by 7 wickets, and the 3rds who beat Carlow by 7 runs. Sandeep’s 47 the pick of the performances for the 5ths and some tight bowling from Kashif and Toby limiting Carlow for the 3rds.

Sunday saw the 2nds take on Phoenix in the Tillain Cup. Having set a target of 210 Phoenix fell 69 runs short. Fakhar Zaman the star performer there hitting 77 from 39 and then taking 5-12. Meanwhile in Park Avenue, the 3rds were in action again against Longford. Batting first, Railway were 197 ao, with Sahil Chordia carrying his bat and stranded at 97 no at the end. In the reply Longford were 20-3 after 11 overs but a couple of big partnerships meant they were able to chase down the score for a 6 wicket win.

The 4ths were also in action in Malahide, where 48 from Jigar, 30 from Khizar and 29 from Mani set Malahide a target of 143. In the reply, Rakesh took 4-23, and 3 apiece from Jigar and Ganesh wrapped up a 9 run win.

The week was concluded with the Women’s cup match v Merrion on Tuesday. Former Irish Captain Izabelle Joyce proved the difference in that game however, scoring 89 of Merrion’s 146. Despite 50 from Ciara and 31 from Amy, Railway fell 23 runs short.

In the fantasy league, anyone who had Riley or Fakhar were laughing, though I reckon a few more might get Sahil in their teams now. Nippy is back on top, followed by Anudeep and a trio of O'Brien's.