ALAN MURRAY CUP PREVIEW – GROUPS A & B 29TH APRIL

The LHK Sponsored Alan Murray Cup takes up the mantle as the season curtain raiser in Senior Cricket this term, and the tournament kicks off with some tantalising opening ties.

GROUP A

Group A plays host to some successful sides of last season, Premier League winners Balbriggan, Alan Murray & Senior Cup runners-up Clontarf, the side they defeated in the T20 semi-final Phoenix and Division 4 champions Civil Service.

At Castle Avenue

Clontarf vs Phoenix

The Castle Avenue side see a repeat of the 2022 semi-final tie to open up proceedings, Clontarf are this time the hosts, but are shorn of their match-winner on that day as David Delany is remaining in Melbourne for the foreseeable future, whilst the other man to make runs in that game was David Vincent, with the latest competition re-jig meaning he will feature for Dublin University in this campaign.

Those losses will of course allow the likes of Aaron McGeehan who performed excellently in last season’s Senior Cup final, John McNally who announced himself on the scene with a remarkable century against Phoenix in the league in 2021 and Luke Thomson who bowled a brilliant spell in the corresponding semi-final last season to stamp their authority on this competition. Ruan Cronje’s excellent record with the white ball is a major boost for the side’s chances in this particular campaign.

‘Tarf skipper Eoghan Delany gave us some thoughts ahead of the weekend’s opening pair of fixtures;

“Looking forward to starting the season. With a few players missing to begin, there will be good exposure for some young faces.

It will be a tricky opening weekend, Phoenix have a good side despite last season and I'm sure Civil Service will be chomping at the bit after moving up the ranks.”

Phoenix will similarly be missing some faces due to international duty, with George Dockrell and Ben White both away with Ireland, they have strengthened their side with the addition of Amish Sidhu who returns after a number of seasons at Merrion, whilst Ashley Bain and Levon Shields are both fresh additions from The Hills, the latter proved to be a thorn in ‘Tarf’s side in last season’s final, taking 3 wickets before getting his side off to the perfect start in the run chase. Ruan Cronje was the man who dismissed him in the end in the final, and that could well prove to be a vital battle again as Shields will look to take down Clontarf again for his new club.

KEY BATTLE: Ruan Cronje vs Levon Shields

Clontarf vs Civil Service

The second fixture of the day for Clontarf will see them play host to Civil Service in a fixture they will be widely regarded as favorites to win, this particular game is the type of match where ‘Tarf will be looking towards their experienced heads in the likes of skipper Eoghan Delany, ‘Bobbo’ Forrest & Mick Granger to perform to the same levels they have consistently for the last number of years to ensure they don’t suffer a defeat at what would be deemed the “underdog” side in their group. Whilst the real step up in class that Civil Service will need to be ready for is in the spin bowling department, where Clontarf have two excellent operators in Cronje who has already been mentioned, and left-arm spinner Cillian McDonnell, who are both established T20 bowlers at this level.

The Civil Service ranks contain some established and experience seam bowlers, alongside some excellent ball-striking ability in their side. The likes of Ramji Padmanaban, Rajath Parashurama and Srikanth Boddu have consistently made runs for the side in the course of their last two promotion winning campaigns, and doubtless they will be looking to them again. The man however with the bit of X-Factor with the bat in this side is certainly Arjun Chandrasekar, who on his day is capable of making big runs at this level. Mubasher Siddique and Naveed Khan have both been reliable bowlers for the side over the past number of seasons as well, and they will be key to their side’s chances of keeping Clontarf under wraps.

Whilst the key to this game will probably be Civil Service’s ability to keep Clontarf’s batting quiet, they will need to make big runs themselves to win this sort of game, Arjun Chandrasekar is the man who could help them to a big score. As previously mentioned the big step up will be in the spin department, and in Cillian McDonnell, the home side have probably got a bowler who is every bit as likely to keep Chandrasekar quiet in the middle overs.

KEY BATTLE: Cillian McDonnell vs Arjun Chandrasekar

At Jack Harper Park

Balbriggan vs Civil Service

Balbriggan plays host to the other two fixtures in the group on day one, with Civil Service the visitors first up. If there’s one hint of criticism that could be pointed at Balbriggan over the past two seasons, it’s arguably that they have taken a bit of time to get going in the early season competitions, granted this has led to them hitting the league fixtures running and sustaining good form throughout, but no doubt the next battle for Andre Botha’s men will be that they are challenging on all fronts this season, as well as putting up a good defence of their Premier League title.

They have added strength to their squad, Matthew Pollard is an exciting overseas player and student Cameron Rowe has already shown enough to be picked in the Fingal U23s side for the District Cup. Fellow South Africans Dylan Lues and Chris de Freitas are both entering their third seasons in Ireland and have made ripples at Future Series level. Skipper Greg Ford and gloveman Connor Fletcher hold slightly more experience than those mentioned already on the island and are the two who the side will look to for big runs in the opening game of the season.

Civil Service’s qualities are outlined for all to see above, however the man yet to be mentioned is Aamir Bafanda, who took 34 wickets at an average of just 14 last season, he could well prove to be a key player in preventing the packed Balbriggan batting line-up from getting up to a score which will be enough to beat the Phoenix park men. They will however still require good contributions from their top order men Parashurama and Padmanaban to give themselves a fighting chance.

Connor Fletcher will be aiming to get Balbriggan off to a flying start, and Aamir Bafanda could well be the man charged with attempting to tie down the Lightning Bolts keeper to keep Civil Service in the game.

KEY BATTLE: Connor Fletcher vs Aamir Bafanda

Balbriggan vs Phoenix

The final game for us to preview in Group A sees Phoenix travel from Castle Avenue out to Jack Harper Park. The visiting side will almost certainly be targeting at least one win from this extremely tricky pair of Day 1 fixtures, and so a poor result against Clontarf to start the day would see them determined to get the win here. Balbriggan will also be acutely aware of how important it is to take advantage of their home games with the competition format for this season seeing them then play four more away games to round off the group stage.

Phoenix boast arguably one of the best club cricketers in the province, particularly in T20 cricket, in Tyrone Kane. His contributions to the side cannot be underestimated, particularly in the opening salvo of the season where White and Dockrell are away on international duty. Another international, Danish man Oliver Hald, has also returned to the club this season and he will be key to the sides chances also. The major benefit for Phoenix is that both of these key players are likely to play big hands with both bat and ball. Adam Chester is the other big-hitter in the line-up who could look to take advantage of the smaller square boundaries in Balbriggan with his array of sweeps.

Balbriggan’s bowling attack is likely to be the key to this game, Phoenix’s all-rounders will be under a bit of pressure if they cannot produce enough runs, and this is where we are likely to witness the much-talked about Balbriggan overseas man Matthew Pollard come to the fore, the South African’s opening spell will be important against a batting line-up which enjoys being on the front foot from the outset. If Pollard can get the side off to a good start, the middle overs bowling of Chris de Freitas and off-spinner Dylan Lues will be where the home side aim to get a real foothold in the game. Whilst at the back-end of the innings the last of the South African quartet who we mention in Andrew Darroch will be the man who can nail his yorkers and prove difficult to get away if hitting his straps.

With the battle set to be fought out between Phoenix’s powerful ball-striking in the middle order and the Brig’s middle overs bowling, there’s a fair chance we will see a good fight between Phoenix’s skipper Tyrone Kane, and one of the men set to bowl those important overs for Balbriggan, Kane loves to take on the spinners and so the pressure is probably set to fall more on Dylan Lues in an effort to take the Irish international’s wicket.

KEY BATTLE: Dylan Lues vs Tyrone Kane

GROUP B

Group B is fought out by 4 southside clubs, as YMCA and Railway Union are the Premier League representatives, whilst Pembroke and Terenure are the pair drawn from the Championship. There’s an element of recent history in this group, with YMCA and Railway Union having fought out the Senior Cup final in 2020 under it’s then T20 format, where YMCA came out victorious.

At Claremont Road;

YMCA vs Terenure

We open up the preview with Terenure’s visit to Claremont Road to face YMCA, last season’s fixture between the sides saw Terenure come out on top in a closely-fought affair by just 6 runs, there were half-centuries in that game for the opening pair of skipper Dónal Lynch and star man Séamus Lynch, as they posted 181 in 20 overs. Terenure’s batting did falter that day after the dismissal of their captain, and that will be an issue they would hope to address over the course of the first few games here. Whilst it is not always assured, more often than not ‘Moose’ gives the side what is essentially a head start in the PowerPlay, and they could prove to be a very dangerous proposition to YMCA if they can find a way to capitalise on his powerful early ball-striking.

YMCA have themselves got no shortage of fire-power with the bat, all we need to do to confirm this is to look at the very same fixture from last year, when Rory Anders opened the innings with a blitz of 6s himself. Jack and Tim Tector both provide some slightly more conventional approaches with the bat, however both are extremely efficient stroke-makers, which sees them also well capable of striking at a more than sufficient rate to be real dangers to their opposition in this format. Ehtesham Ahmed is a familiar face to some in Terenure and he returns to YMCA with a reputation for ball-striking which could prove useful if he can reproduce form of old. The absence of Harry Tector and Curtis Campher due to international duty obviously isn’t helpful for the home side, however they still possess plenty of firepower and will prove a very tough opening fixture for their visitors.

Terenure’s good starts have always been key to how they perform in T20 cricket, as a result this game will likely hinge on the PowerPlay again, the visitors main man in Séamus Lynch will face up to YMCA’s best bowler in Reuben Wilson, whoever comes out on top will give their side the upper hand massively at the top of Terenure’s batting innings.

KEY BATTLE: Reuben Wilson vs Séamus Lynch

YMCA vs Pembroke

The second fixture of the day in Claremont Road sees Pembroke the visitors to YMCA for the 16:30 start. They begin this campaign without the services of Andy Balbirnie, Barry McCarthy, Lorcan Tucker, Josh Little with international duty, whilst Gavin Hoey, David Cosgrave, Sanil Gupta and Will Todd are all playing for Dublin University in this competition, finally whilst they will welcome Fiachra Tucker back this season, he will still miss the opening couple of weeks. This gives Pembroke an opportunity to blood some younger talent in the side. The likes of Patrick Morris, Donncha Tucker and Macdara Cosgrave have all debuted in the past couple of seasons and could see this early season time as an opportunity to put their name forward for further honours. Whilst there’s also encouraging form in the 2^nd team, with Greg Hollins opening his season with a century last week, no doubt he’ll look to bring that form into the 1^st XI.

With YMCA in a similar position to Pembroke in terms of missing key internationals, their bowling line-up will look to shine in this game, Reuben Wilson has already been mentioned as being a key man in their armoury, and he is yet another player who’s seen his good form rewarded with a spot in the Leinster Lightning squad. Both Jamie Forbes and Tom Johnson will be bringing their left-arm spin qualities to the table in the District Series on Sunday afternoon and are sure to be key men in this attack as well. Rory and Tom Anders’ medium pace has been important to the side, especially during the campaigns where they went deep in the competition in 2020 and 2021, and in the absence of Campher, they will be relied upon to pick up those overs as successfully again.

The middle overs of YMCA’s batting innings is sure to be where Pembroke’s bowling attack is tested the most, Donncha Tucker’s left arm spin was vital in the early stages last year as the side won the Senior Cup, and if a situation arises where he is bowling to Rory Anders, it could be a battle which swings momentum of the game in either way.

KEY BATTLE: Rory Anders vs Donncha Tucker

At Park Avenue

Railway Union vs Pembroke

‘The Patch’ as the hosts affectionately know it is the venue for the other two games in Group B, with the 11:30 start seeing Pembroke make the arduous trip across Park Avenue. As noted already, Pembroke are without a number of players to kick off the season, and this game will be one where they look to their senior-most men to stand up and lead by example. They have no end of experience in their overseas man, Nick Stapleton, who has been a standout cricketer for St George in Sydney Grade Cricket for the past number of seasons. He will lead a largely inexperienced batting group in a game where they could easily fall foul of a team that knows better than any how to play on its own ground. In the very same way, Paul Lawson will be the leader of an equally inexperienced bowling attack, as a bowler with an impressive record of striking in the first over of his spell in this format, Lawson will be aiming to maintain that record and hope that the beginning of his spell sets the tone for the rest of his attack to follow.

Railway Union’s batting line-up has been bolstered this season by the addition of Brandon Kruger from Cork Harlequins, whilst former UAE U19 international Punya Mehra has also joined the Kevin O’Brien-coached side having initially looked bound for Merrion. They join Kenny Carroll, Hashir Sultan and Ashil Prakash in what is a strong-looking top order for the home side this weekend. That’s without even mentioning skipper Liam McCarthy, or the absent Ireland U19 international Philippe Le Roux. There’s also a debut for Robert O’Brien after some impressive early season performances on the 2nds and 3rds in their opening fixtures.

Railway’s experience on their own ground is sure to count in their favour here, no player in the side is more experienced than Kenny Carroll and he will be the man looking to get them off to a good start. His battle with Paul Lawson will no doubt be crucial, as Carroll’s aggressive style against spin comes up against Pembroke’s attack leader who will relish the battle more than anyone else.

KEY BATTLE: Kenny Carroll vs Paul Lawson

Railway Union vs Terenure

The final game for this preview is Terenure’s visit to Park Avenue, they haven’t won a fixture there since 2014, but that statistic can be balanced out by the fact it’s their first time playing an Alan Murray Cup game in the ground since that day! The two sides shared a tie in the last T20 at the ground, a league refix in 2019, whilst Railway won the most recent T20 game between the pair, on their way to the Senior Cup Final in 2020. Terenure’s bowling will need to adjust quickly from conditions in Claremont Road for this game, especially in an instance where Railway’s batsmen have already had a chance to bat on the deck. In Raghav Grover and Darsh Shetty, the visitors possess two right armers with metronomic accuracy, whilst the tall-left arm of Mark Thomas is a difficult proposition on any wicket, if those three can get their lengths right from the get-go, they will put up a stiff task for the home side. With the bat, Grover produced a breakthrough innings in the league game in Park Avenue last season, and his style could prove vital to the side in their innings.

Railway’s bowlers will be their key in this game in an effort to keep Terenure’s explosive top order quiet early in the piece. They managed this last season in both league fixtures, with early wickets for Alan Joseph Mathew and Sean O’Brien proving pivotal in Park Avenue and Terenure respectively, both men reoppose on Saturday afternoon, and will both be charged with reproducing similar performances. They will be supported by the skipper Liam McCarthy’s seamers, whilst Brandon Kruger’s off-breaks are a very strong addition to the bowling attack. The medium pace of Mark Canniffe and off-spin of Fakhar Zaman round off a variable attack which could no doubt cause trouble to Terenure.

Last season’s Championship game holds the key to this fixture, Raghav Grover managed to take advantage of being in and having gotten through Alan Joseph Mathew’s first spell before taking on Railway’s change bowlers, that could again prove to be the key in this fixture, if Mathew can dismiss Grover early in his innings, it will put Railway Union firmly on the front foot.

KEY BATTLE: Alex Joseph Mathew vs Raghav Grover