Some tough obstacles lie ahead in wait, of course, but on their form to date Munster Reds might well be challenging for promotion to Section A of the Leinster Senior 55 Overs League by the end of the present campaign. At the time of writing, the southern side lies second to Pembroke on the Section B table, but with two matches in hand.

So far, the Reds have won all three of their Section B matches against Leinster, Rush and Old Belvedere. All three were away and this coming Saturday, they will enjoy home advantage at The Mardyke in the return meeting with Old Belvedere.

The captain, Ted Williamson, is having an excellent season and he hit a very fine 41 against Old Belvedere at Cabra last Sunday week. Williamson made his sole appearance for Ireland against the MCC at Pollock Park in Lurgan three years ago when he scored 38, and many Munster observers object to the way that he has been by-passed by the national selectors ever since.

"In view of Ireland's disastrous performance in Toronto I have no doubt that - at the very least - Williamson should have been included in the preliminary squad," says Dermot Giltinan, the Munster Cricket Union's youth development officer, who is also coach at Presentation Brothers College. "He fully deserves a second bite at the cherry".

Another major Munster performer is Sangram Sarwant, the MCU professional who some years back was captain of India's Under-19 side. He has scored two centuries in the WMK League and is also a slow left-arm bowler of considerable ability.

Wilf Bracegirdle and Bruce Kock, two South Africans who are now based in Cork, have also added to the strength of the Munster side. Both are talented all-rounders and like that of Sarwant, their presence will help cricket in Munster overall.

But Giltinan stresses the ability of the local Cork-born players. "It must be noted that apart from Sarwant, the entire Munster Reds team is made up of Cork County CC players, four of them past pupils of PBC - Robert Duggan, Stephen Hickey, Michael Wycherley and Mark Barriscale. And our 12th man in our last two matches in Dublin was Ruari Geoghegan, who is still a pupil at Pres," he says.

Other players of note in the Reds line-up are John Power, Keith Banks and wicket-keeper Peter Coleman. Overall, says Giltinan, the team is an extremely well-balanced blend of youth and experience.

It's also encouraging to see that there are up-and-coming youngsters waiting in the wings. Among them is 15 year-old seam bowler Barry O'Sullivan, who is still at school at PBC and who is a member of the Munster under-15 squad. In his first Senior League match, playing for Cork County against UCC, he took a hat-trick.