Malahide finish fourth after another competitive Premiership campaign

Malahide ended the 2026 Leinster Premiership season in fourth place after another competitive campaign in which they showed enough quality to trouble the leading sides without quite managing to sustain a title challenge.

There was plenty to like about the quality at the top of the order, with Jeremy Martins enjoying an outstanding year. He led the batting aggregates with 741 runs at an excellent average of 52.93, striking eight half-centuries and providing remarkable consistency throughout the summer.

Robbie Foulkes was another major contributor with 664 runs, while Gregory Ford added 555 and Adam Doyle 487. Between them, that quartet gave Malahide a strong batting backbone, although the returns fell away considerably further down the order.

Martins also underlined his all-round value with the ball, finishing as Malahide’s leading wicket-taker with 32 at an average of 21.41.

James Newland was particularly impressive, claiming 30 wickets at just 18.17, while Foulkes completed an excellent all-round season with 29 wickets at 24.48. David O’Halloran added 20 wickets, including the side’s only five-wicket haul, while Timcy Khanduja claimed 16.

Those figures illustrate that Malahide possessed plenty of match-winners, although the challenge was producing their best cricket often enough to keep pace with the title contenders.

There were some excellent individual performances and enough depth in the bowling to compete strongly, but fourth place probably reflected a season where they were solid rather than dominant.

The positives are obvious. Martins was outstanding, Foulkes continued to develop into a highly influential all-rounder, while Newland and O’Halloran provided genuine wicket-taking threat. For Malahide, the task ahead is to turn those strong individual contributions into greater consistency across the XI.

Fourth place represents a respectable return, but with the talent available at the Village, expectations will be higher than simply competing around the fringes of the title race. A little more batting depth and consistency could make them serious challengers in 2027.

Top 10 Malahide batters

1. Jeremy Martins – 741 runs, average 52.93, highest score 84, 8 fifties, 62 fours, 27 sixes.
2. Robbie Foulkes – 664 runs, average 33.20, highest score 91, 5 fifties, 83 fours, 9 sixes.
3. Gregory Ford – 555 runs, average 34.69, highest score 84, 3 fifties, 52 fours, 24 sixes.
4. Adam Doyle – 487 runs, average 27.06, highest score 95*, 2 fifties, 62 fours, 10 sixes.
5. Timcy Khanduja – 180 runs, average 13.85, highest score 23, 14 fours, 4 sixes.
6. Matthew Ford – 158 runs, average 39.50, highest score 59*, 1 fifty, 16 fours, 6 sixes.
7. Alan Reynolds – 135 runs, average 16.88, highest score 44, 14 fours, 10 sixes.
8. Aaron Doyle – 132 runs, average 16.50, highest score 27, 16 fours, 3 sixes.
9. Andrew Sheridan – 108 runs, average 12.00, highest score 27, 11 fours.
10. Matthew Langan – 106 runs, average 13.25, highest score 44*, 12 fours, 3 sixes.

Top 10 Malahide bowlers

1. Jeremy Martins – 32 wickets, average 21.41, economy 4.93, strike rate 26.0, best 3-18, 13 maidens.
2. James Newland – 30 wickets, average 18.17, economy 5.50, strike rate 19.8, best 4-46, 6 maidens.
3. Robbie Foulkes – 29 wickets, average 24.48, economy 4.49, strike rate 32.7, best 4-27, 8 maidens.
4. David O’Halloran – 20 wickets, average 20.10, economy 6.89, strike rate 17.5, best 5-71, 1 five-wicket haul, 4 maidens.
5. Timcy Khanduja – 16 wickets, average 40.81, economy 5.80, strike rate 42.3, best 3-24, 6 maidens.
6. Kelvin Donnelly – 13 wickets, average 31.15, economy 5.49, strike rate 34.1, best 3-10, 3 maidens.
7. Michael Frost – 6 wickets, average 17.83, economy 3.57, strike rate 30.0, best 3-31, 1 maiden.
8. Mohit Sane – 6 wickets, average 33.17, economy 5.24, strike rate 38.0, best 3-49, 3 maidens.
9. Ravi Kumar – 5 wickets, average 20.00, economy 4.35, strike rate 27.6, best 2-21, 2 maidens.
10. Andrew Sheridan – 4 wickets, average 15.75, economy 4.30, strike rate 22.0, best 2-16.