IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – JULY 16TH

After 6 rounds of the IBI Corporate Finance Cricket Leinster Premier League, the table is beginning to take shape, however, with the 5 teams occupying positions 2-6 in the table all having won either three or four games apiece, the next few games remain crucial as the chasing pack all aim not to lose ground to current pace-setters Balbriggan.

MERRION VS PEMBROKE

The bookends of the peloton meet in Anglesea Road, as 2^nd placed Merrion play host to 6^th placed Pembroke, in a game where the Sydney Parade outfit will be desperate to get back to winning ways, having been downed by Phoenix twice in the last three weeks. They enter this game without their international stars, whilst Greg Hollins is also away with the Irish Women’s team, meaning skipper Theo Lawson takes the gloves again. In spite of losing their big named players, Pembroke retain much of their core of form players who have been performing so brilliantly this season. Diarmaid Tucker and JJ Garth have both been scoring nicely at the top of the innings, whilst Lawson himself and overseas man Poonish Mehta have been formidable in the middle order, Gavin Hoey, Danny Hogan and David Cosgrave round off the batting in the side. With the ball, they continue with their three pronged attacks on both the seam and spin front. Joe Prendergast and Piyush Sharma will support Poonish Mehta, whilst Paul Lawson will lead the spinners supported by Gavin Hoey and Donncha Tucker.

The home side will also be employing a three pronged spin attack, with the skipper Tom Stanton supported by Amish Sidhu and Danny Forkin, with the latter having returned to the side last week with immediate wicket-taking success. Merrion however do have slightly greater depth in the seam department, Muhammad Sinan and Hugh Kennedy will share the new ball, with Jack Carty and Sean Stanton both options when the time comes to change it up. With the bat, Stephen Doheny’s absence is a blow however Jack Carty remains in good form of late, he’ll likely once again be joined at the top of the order by Mike Lewis. John Anderson has rekindled some form in the last few weeks, and will anchor the middle order where Swapnil Modgil and Dom Joyce will both be looking to support their top order in putting together a big total.

In the absence of Stephen Doheny, Jack Carty’s role at the top of the order for the home side becomes incredibly important, he will need to navigate his way through the opening spell of Pembroke’s overseas man Poonish Mehta if they are to get off to the good start needed to beat their visitors this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Jack Carty vs Poonish Mehta

CLONTARF VS THE HILLS

Clontarf return to action at Castle Avenue this weekend having had a bye in last weekend’s round of fixtures. They host The Hills in this weekend’s action, and will be desperate to turn around a run of form which has seen them now lose each of their opening five league fixtures. They will be looking to their three big InterProvincial players to lead the way with both bat and ball as they aim to get back to winning ways. With the ball, David Delany and Mick Granger are one of the better opening pairs in the league, and are supported more than ably by Fionn Hand and Ben McCabe, whilst spinners David Vincent and Paul Ryan will aim to provide control, alongside their genuine wicket-taking ability. With the bat, David Delany’s good form in the Senior League Cup hasn’t translated into the league campaign as yet, however he still remains a man to be feared in this side, whilst skipper Eoghan Delany and gloveman PJ Moor will be the other pair who Clontarf look to in the search for telling contributions.

The Hills have been in decidedly mixed form of late, they’ve had three wins and three losses, but have absolutely been at both ends of the spectrum results wise, as their two games against YMCA have shown, last week they bounced back to a 99 run victory, having been downed by 9 wickets just 2 weeks earlier against the same opposition. Their good form has hinged around the batting of Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Dylan Blignaut, both of whom have piled up runs in recent weeks, even in the defeats which they have suffered. Support for this pair from Mark Donegan, Levon Shields and Andrew Kavanagh would be a boost to the Skerries side which would make them a near unstoppable batting unit. With the ball, Blignaut’s new ball spells have continued to be fantastic this season, he’s supported well by Tómas Rooney-Murphy and Ashley Bain, both of whom are relentless in their lines and lengths. Athar Farooqi and Jonathan Tall offer off-spin from either hand, giving The Hills a well balanced attack when they are at full strength.

With the frailty of Clontarf’s batting line-up currently there for all to see, a good start is imperative to them in terms of ensuring there is confidence throughout the team. This makes PJ Moor at the top of the order arguably their most important wicket, if he can dominate Dylan Blignaut’s opening spell, it will give the home side a great start to build upon throughout the innings.

KEY BATTLE: PJ Moor vs Dylan Blignaut

YMCA VS BALBRIGGAN

League leaders Balbriggan visit Claremont Road this weekend off the back of their first league loss last weekend against the now second-placed Merrion, and YM will be aiming to be the second side in as many weeks to jump into 2^nd place in the ladder having beaten this opposition. Balbriggan are led by Greg Ford and his batting form has been key to helping the side to the totals which they have defended so well this season. Along with opener Connor Fletcher and number three Chris de Freitas, this three have been key to the success of the league leaders so far this season. With the ball, the Brig will miss the services of Dylan Lues this weekend, with Malcolm McGregor leading the way in the spin department, alongside debutant Brian Dunphy who’s leg-breaks may well be made use of. The visitors main trump cards this season have no doubt been their seamers, Ryan Hadley, Kashif Ali and Andrew Darroch who have been extremely consistent throughout the season, each producing match-winning performances in their 4 home victories in the league.

YMCA meanwhile remain without both their captain JJ Cassidy and key opening batter Jack Tector, both of whom are nursing injuries. New man Adam Rosslee will continue to deputise behind the stumps for the skipper, whilst Tim Tector will again put his huge level of representative captaincy experience to the test at this level, having suffered a baptism of fire in last weekend’s game. Mitchell Thompson and Aaron Bailey will be key men with the bat at the top of the order in the absence of Jack Tector, whilst with the ball, Reuben Wilson, Mikey O’Reilly and Finn Conaty offer a skilful and varied seam attack, in support of Rory Anders who has been on fire in some games this season producing more than one match-winning spell. Whilst there will be spin from both left-armers in Bailey and Jamie Forbes in a well-rounded and deep bowling attack.

In the absence of regular opener Jack Tector, Mitchell Thompson will be leading the way with the bat for the home side, he will no doubt face a fiery opening spell on YM’s quick wicket from Ryan Hadley, if he can see that through, it will set the home side up with a good chance of putting together a competitive batting effort.

KEY BATTLE: Mitchell Thompson vs Ryan Hadley

MALAHIDE VS PHOENIX

Finally on the international ground, Phoenix are the visitors to a Malahide side that are in danger of being cut adrift in the bottom 2 of the table if they don’t start to win the games their performances have deserved. With the bat, Ryan Hackney has been in tremendous form this season and will be hoping to pick up where he left off after Malahide had the weekend off in the last round of fixtures. He’ll be supported by a near full strength battery in the middle order as Ali Frost and Matt Ford are both available alongside wicket-keeper Fintan McAllister, but the return of Shane Getkate to the side is arguably the biggest boost to the Villagers, his all-round skills will be a major boost. With the ball, Getkate will support skipper James Newland in a seam attack which also features Cameron Shoebridge and David O’Halloran. Spinners Mike Frost and Matt Ford will be a key pair in the middle overs for the home side, against a generally destructive Phoenix batting line-up.

Phoenix however are missing possibly their most destructive player this weekend, with George Dockrell away on Ireland duty. That will leave Tyrone Kane and Adam Chester as the main aggressors in the middle order. They will hope to have a decent start to build upon from their opening pair of Stephen Black and Devender Ranolia which would allow them to build a big score. With the ball, Oliver Hald and Theo Dempsey have been consistent with the new ball in recent weeks, whilst Tyrone Kane comes into the game in excellent form off the back of an exceptional 7 wicket haul in last weekend’s win over Pembroke. Ben White offers one of the best spin options in the league and he will be supported by Ranolia’s left-arm tweakers.

With the form of Ryan Hackney set to be put to the test after two weeks without a game, his impact on the game will be vital to the home side, his battle with Oliver Hald and his new ball spell is set to be important in the direction the game takes.

KEY BATTLE: Ryan Hackney vs Oliver Hald