IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW – MATCH DAY 6 (JULY 13TH)

As the season kicks into full throttle, the IBI Corporate Finance Championship is starting to take shape, and after North County took full advantage of being the only fixture to take place a couple of weeks ago, leapfrogging Railway Union atop the table.

The real battle however is to get into the top five in the table, with the teams in those finishing positions set to qualify for next season’s expanded Premier League. Currently North County, Rush and Railway Union sit in pole position, with something of a cushion being more than one full win clear of the current fifth placed standings.

This week’s fixtures see Railway hosting The Hills, whilst the other game on the southside sees bottom placed Terenure hosting North Kildare, where a win for the home side could see them overtake their opponents. Meanwhile the sunny South-East sees North County travelling to The Mardyke to face Cork County, hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table. Finally in the Phoenix Park, Civil Service play host to Rush.

RAILWAY UNION VS THE HILLS

Railway Union come into this game boosted by the returns of both Rob O’Brien and Liam McCarthy, who will add to the batting unit which features Hedayat Khogiani, Ashil Prakash and Philippe le Roux, however is without Kenny Carroll this time around. Le Roux was the man in form with the bat last time around, making an unbeaten 71 against North County. The return of O’Brien and McCarthy adds depth to their unit, allowing Srihan Karpe to slide back into the middle order and find the boundary in the second half of the innings. With the ball, McCarthy leads the seamers along with Sean O’Brien, whilst Zaman Safi and Johnny Woods are the other seam bowling options in the side. The spinners are led by the returning Hamza Maan, who’s leg-spin has the ability to rip through sides when he gets into rhythm, he’s supported by a pair of off-spinners in Karpe and Prakash, giving the skipper le Roux no fewer than 7 different bowling options to choose from. Peter le Roux continues behind the stumps having made the step up to the first team in recent weeks.

The Hills meanwhile have returned to something resembling full strength in recent weeks with the return of skipper Tómas Rooney Murphy strengthening the bowling side of things, whilst Sean McNicholl and Cian Nulty offer some excellent support to him. The seam attack is missing only left-armer Matthew Weldon this weekend, however the side does boast three spin options which help make up for this. Those spinners are led by Nicolaj Damgaard, who’s left-arm offies have been in excellent form in recent weeks and will continue to be a crucial wicket-taking option, whilst Brandon Kruger is another man in form who will be hoping to have a big impact on proceedings. The third spinner in the side is Febin Manoj, who has managed to nail down a position in recent weeks and shown to be an extremely talented bowler who could make a big impact. With the bat meanwhile, Damgaard and Kruger are certainly the main men for the away side, with Kruger no doubt gunning to produce the goods in a big way against his former side. They have plenty more depth this weekend however as Nathan Rooney returns to the unit alongside Andy Kavanagh, Yaseen Sherzad and the skipper Rooney-Murphy, whilst both Nulty and Muzamil Sherzad are capable of finding the boundaries meaning the Skerries men carry threats right the way down the order.

Railway’s returning batters add an obvious strength to the side, however The Hills may be able to use the generally turning conditions in Park Avenue along with Brandon Kruger’s off-spin into a weapon against Railway’s powerful left-handers. If Kruger can get the upper hand against Liam McCarthy it will put his side into a great position for this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Liam McCarthy vs Brandon Kruger

TERENURE VS NORTH KILDARE

Terenure come into this game without a win as yet this season, and needing to get their league campaign back on track. They are boosted by the return of Dónal Vaughan to the side, with his batting likely to add some stability to the line-up. The usual suspects of Henry Dall and Séamus Lynch will as per normal be vital to the batting efforts, whilst Raghav Grover, Sid Nair and skipper Dónal Lynch round off a batting unit full of players capable of finding the boundary. The bowling unit is led as usual by Dylan Cleary, who looks set to share the new ball with Benjamin Dillon, with support in the seam bowling area coming from Grover and the extra yard of pace from Kripesh Shetty, the spinners in the side include leg-break bowler Jinal Khatri and the off-spin of Henry Dall, whilst it remains to be seen whether Gareth Morgan may possibly take the gloves to allow Séamus Lynch to also also bowl some of his spin.

North Kildare meanwhile have a strong batting unit which also features several players capable of clearing the ropes from the outset. The likes of Josh Uddin and Husnain Maroof have regularly featured at the top of the order and are supported by Nurulain Boda and Badeeu Zaman, whilst the boundaries in the middle order come from Abid Taniwal and Bakhtyar Nabi, whilst their last fixture saw good lower order runs from Sayed Medhi Shah who has previously opened the batting for the side, and another reshuffle could easily see him appearing at the top of the order once again. With the ball, Maroof and Taniwal make up a very strong new ball pairing, as both of the left-armers posses the ability to move the ball early on. Mohammad Zaman and Anees Ahmad are two right-arm pacemen who could also feature at the bowling crease, however the spinners are the real trump card in the side, with the skipper Imran ul-Haq being a very reliable off-spinner, whilst Nabi has also shown the ability to take wickets, having blown away several sides with some excellent spells since first coming into the side last season.

A good start with the ball will be key for Terenure here whether they are bowling first or defending a score, and that’s where Dylan Cleary’s opening spell to Husnain Maroof could prove to be vital. If he can stop the NK opener from getting off to a flier, it will see Terenure well on top.

KEY BATTLE: Dylan Cleary vs Husnain Maroof

CORK COUNTY VS NORTH COUNTY

The home side come into this fixture off the back of their first win of the season last time around, as their batting line-up fired at the top to put them into a really strong position. With Ross Durity, Syed Aiman and Mark Andrianatos in good nick, they boast a top three that can make a real difference to the batting effort. After that trio, there are some excellent stroke players including Thorne Prophet, Ehsan O’Sullivan and Brian Upman, all of whom are capable of clearing the ropes. With the ball, Andrianatos and Prophet have had some success with the new ball, whilst Hamdullah Safi’s left-arm seam has also been used as an option to open the bowling. The spin bowling department however is where Cork County have been strong for many years, and now is no different, O’Sullivan’s off-breaks are a miserly option, whilst Nabeel Anjum’s leggies took 4/30 last time around and will continue to be a dangerous wicket-taking operator for the side.

The new league leaders meanwhile are a very strong all-round unit, however their victory over Railway Union two weeks ago showed they do have players capable of delivering results for the team with big performances. Eddie Richardson was the man last time around, as he took 3/17 and made an unbeaten 94 in a sensational victory. He’s supported with the bat by John Devane and the skipper Niall McGovern at the top of the order, whilst Suliman Safi at number three has been in fine form for a number of weeks, including some excellent contributions in the T20 format. Wicket-keeper Luke Whelan and Ciaran Sheridan are both likely to occupy positions in the middle order, alongside all-rounder Alan Joseph Mathew who has been in excellent form with both bat and ball this season. The bowling attack is spearheaded by Richardson and Abdul Ghaffar as usual, with the pair both having bowled some excellent spells this season and taken wickets regularly. They get support this weekend from Owen Graham and Ashish Jain who both offer medium pace options, whilst in the spin department they will be looking to Mathew to lead the way, with support likely to come from Safi who also bowls decent off-spin.

Ehsan O'Sullivan's off-breaks have been miserly for the home side so far this season, and he is likely to prove extremely important against this strong North County middle order. If Eddie Richardson can continue his form and get on top of O'Sullivan early in his spell, it could put the away side ahead in the game early in their batting innings.

KEY BATTLE: Ehsan O'Sullivan vs Eddie Richardson

CIVIL SERVICE VS RUSH

Civil Service play host to a Rush side in fine form, with the side having racked up an excellent total of 340/7 in their last league game. Much of their batting centres around their opening pair, with Josh Doyle and Nathan McGuire having found themselves looking to set things up for their middle order to come in and give impetus from the get go. Doyle has been in fine form in particular, with his last league game seeing him making 156 from just 131 balls. Their middle order is chock full of all-rounders, including Hashir Sultan, wicket-keeper Finn McGee and Nasir Totakhil, whilst Jack McGee could well be returning from his injury just in time for this fixture. With the ball, they are led by Allan Eastwood and Jarred Barnes, however it awaits to be seen whether the skipper has recovered from the injury which forced him out of the bowling attack in National Cup action a couple of weeks ago. Alex Neary is another seamer who has been in good form of late, whilst Hassan Shahid is another bowling option which has been added to the quick bowling attack who could make up for the potential absence of Barnes. The spin of the away side is likely to be the most important string to their bow, Doyle and McGuire’s off breaks are both good restrictive options, however it’s the left-arm orthodox of Nasir Totakhil which has been in fine form so far this season, and especially on the turning wickets of Civil Service, is likely to prove extremely difficult for the home side to cope with.

Service meanwhile boast a batting unit where any of the top six could easily be the dominant force, Nilesh Joshi at the top of the order has been in particularly good form of late, whilst his partner Deepak Jayachandran was in the runs last time around. Arjun Chandrasekar’s stroke play in the middle order makes him an extremely dangerous prospect to bowl to, whilst Dhiraj Shetty is another man capable of stringing together big scores. Asadullah Ahmadzai has proved to be one of the finds of the season so far, and his abilities in the middle order have seen him rotate the strike nicely, balanced with finding the boundary when needed, arguably making him the player in the side who bats with the nicest tempo. Naveed Khan and Mubasher Siddique will both look to clear the ropes later in the innings, to give themselves the best chance possible of being in a good position when it comes to their turn to bowl. They are the two main seamers in the side and are supported by Digamber Mishra, who’s shown plenty of good form this season. However it’s Ahmadzai and Vivekanandan Srinivasan who have been the bowlers to deliver some of the more cutting spells we have seen this season, with both players having taken seven wicket hauls against North Kildare!

Josh Doyle is the key man with the bat for Rush, and he’ll be looking to get his side off to a flying start, if he can get on top of Mubasher Siddique’s opening spell, it could spell danger for the home side.

KEY BATTLE: Mubasher Siddique vs Josh Doyle

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

MATCH DAY 6 – JULY 13TH

ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs The Hills

At Terenure, Terenure vs North Kildare

At The Mardyke, Cork County vs North County

At Civil Service, Civil Service vs Rush