IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – ROUND 6 (JULY 13TH)

After a false start at the end of June, the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League is set to get back underway this weekend after the mid-season block of T20 cricket has been concluded.

Pembroke are the only side who remain unbeaten, and they are atop the table, 18 points clear of Merrion against whom their last fixture was a No Result. This week sees them visit Jack Harper Park to take on Balbriggan, whilst in The Village, Clontarf are the visitors to face off against bottom of the table Malahide. Meanwhile in Anglesea Road, Merrion play host to Phoenix, with a win for either side pushing them potentially into second place in the league.

BALBRIGGAN VS PEMBROKE

Balbriggan come into this fixture sitting fifth in the league, however just 8 points behind second place and with a chance of finishing the day within 10 points of their visitors. Chris de Freitas leads the way for the home side in the absence of Greg Ford who missed last Saturday’s T20 semi-final against the same opposition due to an ankle injury. At the top of the order, Cameron Rowe and Ghanim Dara have been in good form in recent weeks, with their contributions helping to push the side through their group stage and qualify for finals day. Beyond the top three, Sebastian de Oliveira, Jordan Hollard, Ciaran Gray and Dylan Lues are the all-rounders who make up the middle order. With the ball, left-arm seamers Kashif Ali and Sam Willemse lead the way, with the pair both having bowled very well in last week’s fixture, and they will be looking to that pair to move the ball early in the innings and put Pembroke under some pressure. De Oliveira is the next seamer up in the side and his abilities to move the ball off the seam is a massive part of the bowling attack. Their spinners have both managed some excellent spells in recent weeks, with Hollard and Lues both having the abilities to deceive batters through the air and string dot balls together.

Pembroke meanwhile will be looking to bounce back from their loss in the Alan Murray Cup Final last weekend. Whilst it may feel like an eternity ago, Pembroke’s last fifty over league game saw them racking up an excellent 320/7, with Tim Tector making a century. He’s set to be the backbone of the batting unit once again this time around, with the team benefitting from his ability to find the boundary and transition into a good tempo throughout the innings. He’s generally been joined in the top three this season by JJ Garth and Diarmaid Tucker, and a good start for them at the top can set up the likes of Nick Stapleton, Jack Tector, Fiachra Tucker and Gavin Hoey to bring the side through the middle overs and have a real cut at the back end of the innings. The return of Hoey in particular having not played throughout the T20 campaign is a big boost as he helps balance the side, and his ability to clear the ropes is something which will help the side finish it’s innings’ with a flourish. Their bowling attack has been relentless in the 50 over format, with Stapleton leading the way with the new ball alongside Olly Riley, whilst Byron McDonough has delivered some brilliant spells which has seen him taking 8 wickets at an average just above 6.5 in his two appearances so far. The spin attack is three pronged and boosted by the return of Hoey’s leg-spin, whilst JJ Garth’s leg-breaks returning to form are also a strong option for the side. The trio is spearheaded by off-spinner Paul Lawson, who’s ability to take big wickets could prove important here, particularly considering that three of the ‘Brig’s top 7 are left-handed.

Pembroke’s middle order has been a really important component to the scores it’s run up in fixtures so far this season, and the versatility which Jack Tector adds at number five to play various situations is a massive part of that. Dylan Lues has been Balbriggan’s key bowler for restricting teams, and he’ll need to keep Tector’s sweep shot under wraps if they are to stop Pembroke from accelerating away into the distance.

KEY BATTLE: Dylan Lues vs Jack Tector

MALAHIDE VS CLONTARF

In The Village, the bottom two in the league face off, however the winless Malahide come into this fixture with something of an advantage, having comfortably beaten ‘Tarf twice on the final day of the Alan Murray Cup group stage. Their side is full of talent which should be more than capable of turning their season around and their run in the T20 format could be the catalyst for a turnaround in form. The batting line-up is led by Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Younas Ahmadzai, both of whom have been in the runs in recent weeks, whilst at number three Ali Frost is a classy operator in spite of recent scores and some decent form for him is surely not far away. They are without Jeremy Martins this week meaning the middle order will feature Adam Doyle, Matt Ford and Andy Sheridan, and whilst Doyle will look to bat for long periods of time, Ford and Sheridan are a powerful pair of players who are capable of clearing the ropes and giving the side momentum. Matthew Langan returns behind the stumps having not featured in recent weeks. With the ball, James Newland and Kelvin Donnelly make up a fine opening pair on home turf in particular, with their relentless lengths and ability to move the ball early in the piece making them very difficult to score off. The absence of Martins leaves Sheridan as the third seaming option, whilst in the spin department Mohit Sane provides support to the side’s classiest bowler in Mike Frost’s left-arm orthodox.

Clontarf meanwhile haven’t won a league fixture since May 4^th, and will be itching to set that record straight. Their last league fixture was a chastening defeat at the hands of league leaders Pembroke, in which there were some signs of encouragement to take. With the bat, Mitchell Thompson has settled nicely into a role at the top of the order, however he doesn’t play this week offering the opportunity for David Vincent to attempt to recover some of the form he has showed in that position in years gone by. He’s joined at the top by Eoghan Delany, with that pair aiming to lay a foundation for overseas man Rahul Dalal, who’s stroke making and ability against spin could be vital here, and a belligerent middle order featuring David Delany, Fionn Hand and Henry Thompson to power the away side to a big score. This week they have a side full of bowling options, with Hand and Delany along with Reuben Wilson being the frontline seamers, who also feature Ethan Marshall who bowled extremely well in their last league outing, and Ben McCabe who’s left-armers have been in decent form for Dublin University. Their options don’t finish there however, with Cillian McDonnell’s left-arm spin spearheading a three-pronged spin attack, which includes two off-spinners in the shape of opener Vincent, and Yash Balasubramaniam.

Clontarf failed to ever get on top of Malahide’s bowling in the T20 fixtures a couple of weeks ago and that will be an area they look to improve on here, Rahul Dalal’s ability against spin is likely to prove vitally important in that regard and as such, his battle with Mike Frost, who will be looking to rip the ball away from Dalal off the deck will be a huge part of the game to look forward to.

KEY BATTLE: Mike Frost vs Rahul Dalal

MERRION VS PHOENIX

Finally the third game of the day sees Phoenix taking on Merrion, with just seven points separating them in the table, whoever comes out on top in this fixture is more than likely to finish the day in second place. Both sides however could be forgiven for having half an eye on their respective Irish Cup semi-finals on Sunday afternoon, with the prospect that this fixture could be a replay of the final in that competition in a few weeks’ time. Merrion’s regular batting unit is without John Anderson for this fixture, with his place filled by Jamie Forbes in the middle order and Adam Rosslee moving up to number three. This change will make a good start even more important for the home side, and with Stephen Doheny and Swapnil Modgill at the top of the order having regularly put the side on the front foot early on, they could well provide just that again. Rosslee is followed by skipper Sam Harbinson and Pete Francis, and whilst the pair may be slightly higher than they would ordinarily like, their ability to change roles is made slightly easier by the addition of Jamie Forbes, who can clear the ropes later in the innings. With the ball they are led by the seamers of Mikey O’Reilly and Max Sorensen, with support from Melvin Devaraj, Hugh Kennedy and Harbinson, in what is in the main a five man seam attack, the potential spin options come in the shape of Forbes’ left-arm and Modgill’s right-arm offies, both of whom have bowled with varying success this season.

Phoenix meanwhile have had something of a mixed season however they showed their true abilities as a side when seeing off Malahide in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup a few weeks ago. Their side has thrived in the 50 over format, with number three Jack Lalor in particular being in extremely good form in the regular format. Their batting unit features plenty of players capable of finding the rope regularly, including Levon Shields and Johit Munjal at the top of the order, and regular wicket-keeper Nicolaas Pretorius. Those four set the game up for the likes of Tyrone Kane and Shane Getkate, with the pair of all-rounders in the middle order proceeding the skipper Adam Chester, who has shown time and again the ability to find the rope when needed. Their bowling attack centres around their spinners, with Amish Sidhu leading the way there regardless of whether the international pair of George Dockrell and Ben White are in the side or not. Dev Ranolia is the benefactor when that pair don’t play, with his left-arm offies being a good second option, along with the possible inclusion of Levon Shields’ leggies. The seam department is where they are slightly weaker, however any side which sees Kane opening the bowling is likely to have a good chance of picking up early wickets, and he’s supported by fellow all-rounders Getkate and Lalor in a side which is laden with bowling talent.

A good start for Merrion will be the key here, and Stephen Doheny is generally the man to produce just that, if he can get on top of Tyrone Kane in the early exchanges, it is sure to give the home side the upper hand and a big chance of piecing together a strong batting effort.

KEY BATTLE: Stephen Doheny vs Tyrone Kane

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 6, JULY 13^TH

ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Pembroke

At The Village, Malahide vs Clontarf

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Phoenix