LHK INSURANCE ALAN MURRAY CUP - FINALS DAY PREVIEW (JULY 6TH)

This Saturday sees the first showcase final of the Open Competitions season taking place, as the LHK Insurance Alan Murray Cup Finals Day is set to be fought out.

The fixtures see Malahide and Leinster doing battle in Angelsea Road, whilst Pembroke and Balbriggan fight out affairs in Sydney Parade. Both of these ties will kick-off at 11:30am, with the last two sides standing to face off in the final of the competition, with first ball slated for 4:30pm in Sydney Parade.

MALAHIDE VS LEINSTER

We start our previews in Angelsea Road, with Malahide and Leinster opening up proceedings looking for a place in the final. Malahide have had a truly mixed season so far, failing to win a league game as yet this season, however as well as their progression in this competition, they have balanced their season out by reaching the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup and the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland equivalent. Their batting unit is firmly set up to thrive in this format of the game, Younas Ahmadzai has been a vital part of that at the top of the order alongside Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin, with that pair producing some particularly impressive efforts in the final round-robin games to see off Clontarf for the qualifying spot from their group. The middle order is dynamic, and on paper up there with the best of the league, Ali Frost and Matt Ford have both frequently featured at IP level over the past few years, with Ford only having recently missed out due to the need to rehab fully from a knee injury, whilst Jeremy Martins is another extravagant stroke player in the middle of the innings. Adam Doyle and Andrew Sheridan round out the batting unit, and whilst Doyle has contributed some significant knocks in the early part of the season, it’s likely that he’ll bat lower in the order in this fixture where a rapid strike rate is the order of the day. Ahmadzai is once again set to be behind the stumps which would allow a second spinner to be included in the side, and the man to benefit from this looks set to be Mohit Sane, with his left-arm orthodox set to back up Mike Frost who bowls the same discipline. The seamers are led by the skipper James Newland and tall right-armer Kelvin Donnelly, who are both options to open the bowling should they choose to keep Frost’s overs until after the Power Play.

Leinster meanwhile boast game changing all-rounders in their side, particularly at the top of the order where we can expect to find the skipper Bilal Azhar and quite possibly Irish international Gareth Delany, with the latter’s ball striking a huge addition to the side ahead of their finals day appearance. After those they are boosted by the return of the clean-striking Tristen de Beer from a knock, and he’ll feature in the middle order alongside other frontline batters in the shape of Monil Patel, and all-rounders Joey Carroll and Saqib Bahadur, the potential batting unit is rounded out by Jai Moondra, who’s clean hitting has been utilised at the top of the order in the group stages of the competition, however with the return of Delany he could well be the one to slide down the order. Leinster’s bowling has been strong in recent weeks and another huge boost comes for them in the shape of Luke Callanan’s return from injury, the paceman hasn’t played since June 1^st when suffering an ankle injury against this same opposition, however his extra yard of pace could well prove to be another angle which turns the game in his side’s favour. Callanan joins Moondra’s left-arm seamers in the opening attack, and with Moondra having been in excellent form in recent weeks, the pair are likely to be a stern test to Malahide in the Power Play. After that pair, Azhar and Carroll offer more left and right arm seam respectively and will be aiming to control the middle overs alongside the two frontline spin options in the side which come in the shape of two off-spinners in Aviral Shukla and Bahadur, with their regular first spinner Tom Johnson not in the side this weekend.

This game could well be decided based on the return of a couple of big names returning for the Rathmines men, and whilst Gareth Delany’s ball-striking at the top of the order is a massive boost to the side, Luke Callanan’s return to the side gives them another cutting edge in the PowerPlay and if he can dismiss Younas Ahmadzai early in the piece, it will give Leinster a massive edge in the game.

KEY BATTLE: Luke Callanan vs Younas Ahmadzai

PEMBROKE VS BALBRIGGAN

Pembroke worked the hardest of the four sides who have qualified for the finals day to book their place, with their group only decided in the final two balls of the sixth game. Their batting is boosted by the return of Harry Tector, and he joins an already excellent unit featuring the likes of Tim Tector, JJ Garth, Diarmaid Tucker and Jack Tector. The star of the competition Nick Stapleton also features in the batting line-up alongside Fiachra Tucker, with the all-rounders completed by wicket-keeper Greg Hollins. Their progress in this competition has been built around extremely strong efforts with the bat from Garth and Stapleton, whilst Tim and Jack Tector have also had match-winning contributions. With the ball, their attack is led by Byron McDonough and Olly Riley, with the pair of right-arm seamers both fresh off the back of a successful week in the NCU for the Sherwin O’Riordan Leinster Lightning Bolts, whilst Stapleton’s right-arm seam is another excellent option which has been performing at very high standards throughout the competition. Their spin is led by Paul Lawson’s off-breaks, with support coming from JJ Garth who’s bowling has been in good form in this competition after returning to the bowling crease in recent weeks. Having qualified off the back of chasing in every single game they have played thus far, Pembroke’s batting unit are clearly thriving under pressure and this could be a massive boost to their chances.

Balbriggan meanwhile are the holders of this competition and are sure to be returning to Sydney Parade on a high after being successful in both semi-final and final of last year’s competition in that ground. Their batting is led by Cameron Rowe and Ghanim Dara, who proved vital to several of their group stage wins at the top of the order, after them comes Chris de Freitas and skipper Greg Ford who, although they haven’t been in brilliant form in this competition, could also produce match winning performances. Following on from the top four, they boast three destructive all-rounders who have all had big impacts on the competition so far, Sebastian de Oliveira is a clean striking right-hander, whilst the left-handers of Jordan Hollard and Dylan Lues have been able to dig the side out of some tough situations. With the ball, they are led by de Oliveira’s seamers and Lues’ off-breaks, with both having been in good form in the PowerPlay. Hollard and Farooq Nasr are the other spinners in the side to support Lues, however each of them bowl off-breaks and as a result it’s unlikely that all will get to bowl their full allocation. Sam Willemse is another seamer who’s fresh off the back of a successful T20 week with the Lightning Bolts, and his left-armers could prove to be tricky in this fixture, with the bowling options rounded out by another left-armer in Kashif Ali.

With how important the opening spell in the Pembroke innings has been in their innings’ so far in the competition, they will be gunning to make another good start and put themselves on the front foot. Tim Tector has been key at the top of the order and in excellent nick to start the season, and his battle with Dylan Lues in the PowerPlay could set up the game for whoever comes out on top.

KEY BATTLE: Tim Tector vs Dylan Lues