Mullingar Cricket Club Season Preview

This in-depth look at the upcoming season will tell you everything you need to know.

The 2022 cricket season is a weekend away as Mullingar’s 2nd XI prepare to travel to North Dublin to battle Finglas. After what has been a long winter since the last fixture was held in September, excitement is growing in the club for what could hopefully be a successful season for Mullingar.

For the first time since the 2019 season, a full schedule of fixtures is on the cards, and with it follows the anticipation of a full season where the true quality of all of Mullingar’s teams will be tested.

The previous two seasons have not been particularly helpful in terms of discovering where the three senior men's teams stand, as uncertainty over how many games would be played, the availability of players, and the overall lack of game time made things difficult. On that note a thanks is in order for all those who supported the club over the last two years, both on the field and off of it, as arguably the club has come out of the worst of the pandemic stronger than it did going into it.

With record junior membership, the establishment of a permanent women’s side, and work going on in the background for the creation of a new home for the club, there is a lot to look forward to for the club.

In relation to on-field matters, the 1st XI are preparing for the upcoming season under new leadership. Patrick Mount steps into the role following Woody O’Neills decision to step-down after he guided the 1st XI through the two difficult pandemic-hit seasons. Mount, the clubs highest wicket taker since Cricket Leinster set up their stats database in 2011, takes on the role with the 1st XI coming off a mixed season where they were unbeaten at home in St. Finians, but perhaps could have found themselves in a stronger position had injuries and a couple of underwhelming performances not got in the way.

The shortened season of 2021 meant consistency was as key as ever and the 1st XI certainly felt that, however the full schedule of 2022 means more chances for the team to find a rhythm as well providing a little room for error for days when things don’t always go Mullingar’s way. Last years leading wicket-taker and Player of the year for the 1st XI Craig Sweeney, alongside skipper Mount will be the main threats for the team in the bowling department.

In the batting stakes, Kribaan Govender and Tahir Shafiq, both starting their second seasons with the club, will hope to add to very solid debut seasons, with Robert Delaney, Declan Ashley, Rajgopal Gopalikrishnan and Woody O’Neill all hoping for more runs to flow.

For the third year in a row, Mullingar’s 1st XI ply their trade in Division 6 following relegation from Division 5 in 2019, and there is quiet confidence that the quality is there to make a run at promotion with a full range of fixtures.

The second XI also begin the year under new captaincy as Sean Glennon takes the reins from Neil Swaby who takes a back seat to deal with injury issues. Similarly to the 1st XI, the 2nd XI season showed potential last season, but hit speed bumps at certain points that meant by the final weeks they were needing to win games to avoid a relegation battle.

New vice-captain and last year’s 2nd XI player of the year Conor Mount, along with captain Neil Swaby were the stand out performers for the team last year and the uncertainty of Swaby’s return means pressure is on other members of the squad to step up. They were ably backed up by Shafiq, who’s early season performances saw him promoted to the 1st XI, Riju Varghese, and new captain Glennon, who all provided solid contributions.

The 2nd XI need to hit the ground running as a tough season is in store in a tricky Division 12, but with a competitive 1st XI and some strong younger players performing well in the 3rd XI potential is there for a successful season.

The third XI are preparing for an exciting season. The fruits of the club's growing junior section may be on the verge of showing. Last year on paper looked like a tough season, as the team was relegated from Division 16.

However, this does not tell the full story as a number of young cricketers made the big jump from junior cricket to senior cricket for the first time, and put in some excellent positive performances to boot. The exposure to senior cricket will have had a massive effect on the young members of this team, and with the team playing in division 17B this year, the lower level and experience of last year will hopefully provide an excellent platform for this young side.

The 3rd XI was held together by some more experienced members, including the excellent all-round performances of 3rd XI player of the year Reuban Ninan. Other stand out performers included captain Samrat Ravula, who retains the role for the coming season, and Ahsan Matloob. Players to look out for include David Trower, Finn Brennan, Matt O’Leary and Luke O’Leary.

There is also huge excitement in the air as the 2022 season sees Mullingar CC enter a women’s team in the Cricket Leinster league system for the first time. Entering Division 4, the young team is excited to put the consistent growth made from last year, when the team was officially established, to the test.

Led by coach Robert Delaney, they face unknown opposition as a number of newly created women’s sides are also preparing for their first seasons. Nearly all of the team were junior members over the last couple of summers and joining the league structure will be invaluable to the women, as consistent competitive cricket will provide opportunity to further improve as well as learn the ins and outs of the game only a couple of years after many of them picked up a bat for the first time.

Club training is at 6pm on Friday evenings and all members are welcome.

Team specific training will begin in the coming weeks and updates will be posted on our social media platforms and website.Junior training times will follow closer to the end of the school terms. As always new members are welcome and encourage anyone with the smallest interest to give it a try. We cater for all abilities and ages.

Chairman Mark Condell Notes:

The 2022 season is a very exciting one for Mullingar Cricket Club not least because of the entry of a women’s team in the Leinster league competition. The return of women’s cricket to the club giving us a great boost. Although we are a very young team we are very confident of being competitive in the Division Four league this year.

There is also great excitement because of the number of young players we have coming through the club at the moment. This is down to the work we've done with our junior section over the last number of years which continues to grow and grow. This is also the first year since 2019 where we will be able to have a full season which in itself is very exciting but also brings challenges.

We have a great club spirit which means we’re well positioned to meet these challenges. I’d like to wish all our teams the best to look for the upcoming season.