The new-look Leinster Premiership is up and running with a shock as North County stunned defending champions Pembroke, while there were also wins for The Hills, Leinster, Malahide, Phoenix and the biggest scorers of the day, Clontarf.

Brandon Kruger's half century and a six wicket haul for Sean McNicholl were the catalysts for The Hills' 27-run win in the Fingal derby.

Kruger hit 6 fours and 2 sixes in his 52, laying a solid foundation with Hassan Shahid (21) and skipper Tomas Rooney-Murphy (30) that took them to 100 for 1. Nathan McGuire took four wickets but a strong tail ensured a competitive 227. McNicholl's burst saw the chase faltering at 24 for 4, but Abidbullah Taniwal's 66 (7 fours, 2 sixes) and 30 from Finn McGee kept them in the hunt before falling 27 short.

Closest game of the day was at The Village with Diarmuid Burke the home side hero. With three needed from two balls, Burke's boundary secured the points in a 1-wicket win. In a game reduced to 37 overs, Phillipe Le Roux's 66 was the backbone of Railway's 182 for 8. Timcy Khanduja made 60, with Mohit Sane hitting a rapid 27 that kept the game in the balance before Malahide prevailed. Digamber Mishra took four wickets but the Park Avenue side will be left ruing the concession of 38 extras that included 27 wides - criminal.

The shock of the day saw defending champions Pembroke humbled by North County, even more so as the home side were without their talismanic captain Eddie Richardson, nursing a niggle. Macdara Cosgrave (58*) and new pro Blake MacDonald (44) were the main contributors to Pembroke's 209 - three wickets apiece for Alan Mathew and Usman Azhar. Brian Dunphy (34) anchored the first part of the chase, but at 105 for 5 it looked as if Pembroke would start their defence with a win. Mathew (47*) and Niall McGovern (40*) had other ideas as their unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 107 clinched the win.

Irish Cup winners Phoenix started their 2025 campaign with a win thanks to a fine bowling display against Merrion. Batting first, Merrion reached 60 for 0 with runs for Swapnil Modgill (34) and Daniel Forkin (17). The wheels though came off as Ben White and Theo Dempsey took four wickets apiece to bowl them out for 128 - the Merrion bowlers got no fewer than seven lbw verdicts - a record?

Eksor Singh (37*) and Shane Getkate (28) steered their side to a comfortable six wickets win despite two wickets apiece for Deveraj and Stanton.

Cork County were given a harsh introduction to top flight cricket as they were skittled for just 77 by Leinster. Skipper Bilal Azhar (5-22) and Jai Moondra (4-16) were the destroyers-in-chief in a fine bowling display. 

The chase was a routine one thanks to a second wicket stand of 66 between Tristen De Beer (34*) and Monil Patel (26*) as the nine wickets win was sealed inside 12 overs.

A second wicket stand of 156 was the driver for Clontarf's thumping 113 win over Balbriggan. Debutant Seamus Lynch top-scored with 94 (8 fours, 6 sixes), as he and former skipper Eoghan Delany 60 put the game beyond Balbriggan. New pro Patrick Xie (56), David Delany (39*) and John McNally (20) were also in the runs in an imposing total of 320 fpr 7.

New captain David Delany took three wickets in the chase, while there two apiece for Xie and Yash Bala, as Balbriggan were bowled out for 207. Dylan Lues made 52, while Cameron Rowe scored 27.