There has been a restructuring of league competitions by Cricket Leinster over the winter and next year Merrion will have teams in Divisions more suited to its current underlying strength.
The teams in the Open Competitions, with the exception of the 2nd XI who won the Premier II league, fared poorly in 2025, with four of the six teams ending in the relegation zone. Merrion still ended up the highest ranked club in Leinster in terms of the league positions of its top three and five teams but this was based on past successes.
A breakdown of the Divisions that Merrion teams competed over the past few years [excluding Covid] are are set out below.
For 2026 Cricket Leinster have provided for 17 leagues, with the final two being divided into three sections each. There is also a Development League. The new structure is a welcome effort to reduce travel time for matches.
Merrion’s opponents next season are
1st XI Balbriggan, Clontarf, Civil Service, Cork County, Leinster, Malahide, Pembroke, Phoenix, Railway Union and Rush.
2nd XI Pembroke II, Malahide II, The Hills II, Leinster II, Clontarf II, Balbriggan II and Civil Service II
3rd XI Adamstown II, Terenure II, Longford, Railway Union III, Greystones, North County III and Leinster III.
4th XI Knockharley II, Adamstown III, The Hills III, Malahide IV, Bagenalstown, Dublin University II, and Finglas.
5th XI Carlow II, Tyrrelstown II, Civil Service V, The Hills IV, Sandyford III, Balbriggan IV, Wicklow County II, and Laois IV.
6th XI Rush IV, Ongar III, Adamstown IX, Pembroke VI, Clontarf V, Stillorgan, and Swords VII
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