LHK INSURANCE ALAN MURRAY CUP PREVIEW – ROUND 3 (JUNE 22ND)

The final round of the LHK Insurance Alan Murray Cup group stages take place this Saturday, and in three of the four groups, we have gotten to a position where there is a straight shootout between the top two teams on the final day to see who goes through to the Finals Day on July 6th.

Group A is the exception to that rule, and that’s where we’ll kick off our preview of this week’s action.

GROUP A

PERMUTATIONS

Group A is where things are slightly complicated, two wins for Balbriggan will guarantee their passage through to the next round, however they could be qualified after just one game, should they win and North County also beat The Hills. This is because the head-to-head tiebreaker between Balbriggan and North County is 2-0 to the group leaders. However their head-to-head with The Hills is 1-1, meaning if The Hills beat North County, Balbriggan aren’t safe, as their tiebreaker will be Net Run Rate. Dublin University, who Balbriggan face this weekend, are the only side who are out of contention going into the final group fixtures.

Balbriggan vs Dublin University

Another thing in Balbriggan’s favour here is home advantage, and perhaps the opportunity to take ‘The Students’ out of their comfort zone in just their second away day of the season. The home side appear to be at full strength this weekend, meaning a seam attack containing some real menace, featuring overseas man Sebastian de Oliveira, the pair of left-armers in Kashif Ali and Sam Willemse, whilst there’s a return for the extra pace of Andy Darroch which could cause some problems for the away side who are well used to the slightly slower College Park surface. Their spinners meanwhile are led by Dylan Lues, who’s performances last weekend once again showed him to be a leading T20 bowler in the province, whilst Jordan Hollard has proved to be a fine addition in recent weeks. With the bat, they have the in-form Cameron Rowe at the top of the order, along with Ghanim Dara and Chris de Freitas they make up a very solid, stroke-playing top three, the destruction comes after them, with skipper Greg Ford, gloveman Ciaran Gray, de Oliveira, Lues and Hollard all well capable of clearing the ropes regularly.

Dublin University meanwhile have two free swings at these games to put their best foot forward. Their main men with the bat are Mikey O’Reilly, Nicolaas Pretorius and Gavin Hoey, with all three capable of providing good impetus, whilst Theo Dempsey’s role at the top of the order is simply to get the side off to a flying start. O’Reilly was particularly impressive in week one against North County and he could well prove the thorn in Balbriggan’s side with the bat if in similar form again. With the ball, O’Reilly and Dempsey are a solid pair of seamers, whilst Hoey’s leg-breaks are what makes him one of the leading bowlers in the province, their spin attack also includes Matthew Humphrey’s left-arm offies, as well as David Vincent and Yash Bala’s right arm off-breaks which give skipper Hoey plenty of options to turn to in the middle overs.

Whilst he may not have been previously viewed as a massive threat with the bat at this level, Mikey O’Reilly’s performances on week one make him someone that Balbriggan will need to be wary of, and will be hoping that Sam Willemse’s left-arm swing can knock him over early in the piece.

KEY BATTLE: Sam Willemse vs Mikey O’Reilly

The Hills vs North County

With both sides needing two wins here, this set of fixtures will really see plenty of momentum riding on game one. The Hills welcome back Nicolaj Damgaard after he missed last weekend’s fixtures, and his clean ball striking will lead the way with the bat. Brandon Kruger and Andy Kavanagh both contributed well last weekend, whilst Yaseen Sherzad and Cian Nulty are both powerful hitters lower in the middle order. With the ball, the return of
Sean McNicholl in recent weeks has given The Hills seam bowlers an added edge, whilst left-armer Matthew Weldon is another player they’ll be delighted to have back available following the Leaving Cert, Nulty and skipper Tómas Rooney-Murphy’s right arm seam options round off the pace attack, whilst Kruger and Damgaard offer right and left arm off-spin options respectively in a very strong and well-rounded bowling unit.

North County meanwhile are without skipper Niall McGovern this weekend, seeing Eddie Richardson taking over, and he’ll be vital with the bat in this fixture. Suliman Safi has led the way for them in recent weeks, with the left-hander’s ability to clear the rope in this format there for all to see. They’re supported by John Devane and Shreehari Madyalkar, whilst the likes of Alan Joseph Mathew and Abdul Sattar are some of the biggest hitters in the competition and could prove vital to their chances of making big runs. With the ball, Richardson and Abdul Ghaffar will continue to do what they do best in the PowerPlay, with support in the seam department from Sattar and Sean Sludds. Their spinners have been excellent this season, with Mathew and Tanvir Hasan offering good variation between them.

Eddie Richardson’s new ball spell will be all-important here, as the side looks to knock over one of The Hills’ main men at the start, if he can get Brandon Kruger out early, it will unbalance their hosts with their player with the most ability to go through the gears back in the clubhouse.

KEY BATTLE: Brandon Kruger vs Eddie Richardson

GROUP B

PERMUTATIONS

A very straightforward scenario here in Group B, as with both North Kildare and Civil Service already out, whoever fares out best between Malahide and Clontarf over the course of their two games will go through, should those two win a game each, Malahide are presently in the better position to go through, with their Net Run Rate just over 1.2 clear of Clontarf’s.

Civil Service vs North Kildare

Starting off with the double-header in the Phoenix Park, Civil Service and North Kildare face off in a pair of games that could prove psychologically beneficial to either team for when they face off again in the league this term. Service’s batting is led by Nilesh Joshi, Junaid Altaf and Asadullah Ahmadzai, whilst Arjun Chandrasekar and Simranjeet Singh are two very clean hitters in the side when called upon. With the ball, Ahmadzai’s off-spin has been the main addition and he took 7 wickets when these sides met in the league last month, he follows on from the seamers in Naveed Khan, Mubasher Siddique and Digamber Mishra, whilst Aamir Bafanda who also bowls right-arm offies rounds out the frontline bowlers in the side.

North Kildare meanwhile have a batting line-up perfectly suited to T20 cricket, and they will be hoping to see the likes of Josh Uddin, Waqar Azmat, Abid Taniwal and Husnain Maroof clearing the ropes right throughout the innings. Bakhtyar Nabi is another clean hitter and could prove important in the second half of their batting effort. With the ball, Maroof and Taniwal’s left arm seamers are always important at the top of the innings, whilst Mohammad Zaman is another quick bowler who they regularly call upon. Nabi’s spin has been a constant thorn in the side for anyone they’ve come up against this season, with the only potential criticism being he’s been used too late in the innings.

This game could see the battle between the two all-rounders becoming crucial, with whoever comes out on top between Asadullah Ahmadzai and Bakhtyar Nabi likely to be the team that wins out.

KEY BATTLE: Asadullah Ahmadzai vs Bakhtyar Nabi

Malahide vs Clontarf

The two sides at the top of the group face off, and whilst Malahide may have half an eye on their Leinster Senior Cup semi-final on Sunday, they will be well aware this is a gilt-edged chance for them to secure another semi-final berth in two weeks’ time. Their batting is explosive, and with strikers such as Younas Ahmadzai, Jeremy Martins and Timcy Khanduja in the team, they could well post totals which are beyond Clontarf’s reach. Ali Frost could play a key role in knitting the team together here, with the number three needing to go at a good tempo to set the game up for those around him. Their bowling is led by James Newland and Jeremy Martins, with the seam support coming in the shape of Andy Sheridan, it could however be their spinners that prove to be the deciding factor in this game, with Mike Frost and Mohit Sane both offering good left-arm options which have regularly taken wickets this year. Interestingly this weekend sees Younas Ahmadzai deputising behind the stumps, and they will be hoping to see him comfortable to the likes of Frost in particular in that position.

Clontarf meanwhile will know that they probably need to win both games here in order to qualify for the last four, and their batting unit will naturally be crucial in that regard, they welcome back John McNally, who is the cleanest hitter in their current side and the man who could swing the game in a heartbeat, whilst ‘Bobbo’ Forrest also returns to the side, at the venue which he made 99 last year in the Leinster Senior Cup quarter-final. Rahul Dalal and Mitchell Thompson both showed good form in the last couple of weeks, whilst Eoghan Delany will be the man who acts as the ‘glue’ in this team. With the ball, they’re led by all-rounder David Delany, whilst there’s returns for Luke Thomson and Naufal Ahmed in the seaming department. Paul Ryan and Cillian McDonnell are the spinners in the side, with Mitchell Thompson having returned to the bowling crease last weekend too and potentially offering another option in that regard.

Malahide will be keen to see Younas Ahmadzai to his fullest of effects in this fixture, and if he can get them off to a flier against Clontarf’s main man David Delany, it will put them in the box seat to capitalise and run up some big scores.

KEY BATTLE: Younas Ahmadzai vs David Delany

GROUP C

PERMUTATIONS

This group is the one with the simplest set of criteria, Adamstown and Terenure are both out, whilst Leinster and Phoenix face off in Rathmines. Phoenix must win both games to qualify, whilst Leinster could qualify with a win in either game.

Leinster vs Phoenix

Both sides will have the Leinster Senior Cup semi-finals on Sunday lingering in the back of their minds, and as a result the first game will be crucial here. Leinster’s batting unit features plenty of players who hit the ball the distance, including Tristen de Beer, Jai Moondra and Mark Tonge, who have all contributed to wins so far. Monil Patel and Joey Carroll are likely to prove important in these fixtures, whilst Bilal Azhar’s clean striking at the top of the order should be equally beneficial in this format as it is in the 50 over games. With the ball, the absence of Luke Callanan means the side have four seaming options, all of whom act as something of all-rounders in this format with Carroll, Azhar, Moondra and Tonge each already mentioned. Their spinners meanwhile have been crucial in Rathmines so far this season, with Tom Johnson and Avril Shukla likely to once again bowl 8 overs and provide the control the side needs throughout the middle overs.

Phoenix on the other hand will need to be on song for both games here to put themselves through to the semi-finals. Their batting is led by a destructive top three in Tyrone Kane, Shane Getkate and Jack Lalor, whilst they also welcome George Dockrell back into the team this weekend and his clean hitting style could prove to be another huge boost to the side. Beyond that four, Johit Munjal and Adam Chester are two more players who tend to look to find the boundary regularly, meaning they boast a top 6 all of whom will be more than capable of taking the game away from their hosts. With the ball, the return of Ben White is another big boost to the team, with the spin between him and Dockrell adding yet more options to the attack which already features Amish Sidhu, who’s been one of their stars of the season so far, and Dev Ranolia who’s number of overs may suffer as a result. Kane, Getkate and Lalor all offer right-arm seam options that the side are likely to make best use of and if they can keep Leinster under control the batting certainly has the firepower to blast their way into the semi-finals.

Tyrone Kane at the top of the order for Phoenix is in his element when playing in T20 games, and his ability to give the side a quick start could be what proves crucial here. If he can get his side on the front foot against Jai Moondra early on, it will give them every chance of turning Leinster over and securing qualification.

KEY BATTLE: Jai Moondra vs Tyrone Kane

Terenure vs Adamstown

A note that these games will be taking place at the later times of 13:30 and 17:00 in the afternoon in order to allow members of Terenure to attend the funeral of June Morgan, long time supporter of the club, mother to Ian and Colm, who both played for Terenure’s 1^st team across several year. June’s grandson Gareth has also debuted for Terenure’s 1sts in recent years and would have been set to play in these fixtures.

Adamstown have had a number of fine efforts in their losses so far this season, most notably in the first game of the day on both outings against Leinster and Phoenix, and they will be hoping to repeat the dose again here and potentially nick a result. With the bat, Aditya Gupta, Rohit Gulati, Sidarth Biju and Lucky Sharma are likely to be the ones leading the way for the away side here, with all-rounder Prabhanshu Kamal also a vital cog in the wheel to keep the side together, having batted at three in most games so far. With the ball, Pomin Ponselvan and Vipul Kashyap have been opening the bowling to decent effect, and they’re supported by Harshit Harshit and Jibran Shabbir. Kamal’s leg-breaks will be crucial to the side as the frontline spinner and man who will be tasked with keeping Terenure’s middle order quiet.

The home side are without Henry Dall this weekend as he nurses a back niggle, whilst Séamus Lynch and Kripesh Shetty are both rested. The bowling will be led by Dylan Cleary and last week’s star against Phoenix Benjamin Dillon, whilst debutant Nawaz Khan and all-rounders Gethin Kelleher and Raghav Grover offer further seam options. Jinal Khatri also took four wickets against Phoenix in game two last weekend and he’s likely to be the frontline spinner. Ryan Smith deputises behind the stumps and will feature in the batting unit alongside skipper Dónal Lynch, Sid Nair and the pair of all-rounders Grover and Kelleher, with the side already out of the competition they are sure to see this as the ideal opportunity for those out of form to play with some freedom and potentially put themselves into a good position to succeed when league cricket returns next weekend.

For Adamstown a good start with the bat will be the key in both of these games, they’ll be hoping that Aditya Gupta can get the better of Terenure’s senior seamer in Dylan Cleary in order to give them a foothold in the game.

KEY BATTLE: Dylan Cleary vs Aditya Gupta

GROUP D

PERMUTATIONS

With both Railway Union and Rush out of the competition, this is another group where the qualifier will be decided by who wins the fixtures in Sydney Parade, where Merrion and Pembroke face off. In the event the ties are shared 1-1, Pembroke currently have the upper hand in terms of run rate, however it’s certainly not unassailable.

Rush vs Railway Union

Rush have been extremely unlucky to this point in not picking up any results in the group stages, having played plenty of good cricket but come up against two of the best teams in the competition. Their batting is led by Josh Doyle and Nathan McGuire, with support in the shape of Nasir Totakhil and Hashir Sultan in the middle order. Beyond those four, Asher Abbasi and Jarred Barnes are the pair who are capable of clearing the ropes, whilst wicket-keeper Finn McGee is likely to round out the batting unit. With the ball, Barnes, Abbasi and Sultan all bowled with varying success last weekend, and will be supported in the seam department by Sean McCormack who also had a couple of decent efforts on his 1^st team debut. They have spin from Doyle and McGuire’s off-breaks, and Totakhil’s left-arm orthodox, whilst there’s also a place in the side this weekend for Callum Armstrong who bowls left-arm chinamen and could also see some overs bowled.

Railway Union meanwhile are without Kenny Carroll, Hedayat Khogiani, Liam McCarthy and Rob O’Brien for this fixture, however Philippe le Roux does return as captain and boosts the batting stocks. Alongside him they’ll be hoping for contributions from Ashil Prakash, Srihan Karpe and possibly the returning Mark Canniffe to give them the upper hand here. With the ball, Sean O’Brien will lead the seamers in McCarthy’s absence, and there’ll be support from Zaman Safi and Canniffe, whilst the side is firmly spin heavy this time around, Srihan Karpe’s offies and Fakhar Zaman’s straight-breaks the main two weapons, whilst both Prakash and Arshad Safi’s skills are likely to be used at some stage across the two fixtures.

Rush will be looking to earn some retribution after their pair of good performances last weekend, and will be hoping to see Nasir Totakhil on form with the ball here this weekend, if he can knock over Philippe le Roux, it will give Rush a strong upper hand.

KEY BATTLE: Nasir Totakhil vs Philippe le Roux

Pembroke vs Merrion

Pembroke go into game one knowing that a big enough win would all but put them through to the semi-finals stage, and will be relying on their strong batting unit to put it right up to Merrion in that regard. Tim Tector’s T20 record in Sydney Parade is excellent and he’ll be aiming to give them a flying start, whilst JJ Garth and Diarmaid Tucker have tended to swap positions in this competition, seen to good effect when Garth plundered an excellent unbeaten half-century last weekend. Nick Stapleton’s form was there for all to see in Rush two weeks ago and he is likely to have another big part to play, whilst Fiachra Tucker, Jack Tector, Danny Hogan and Joe Prendergast will be tasked with ensuring the side finishes the innings off with a flourish. With the ball, the seamers are led by Olly Riley and Byron McDonough alongside Stapleton, whilst Prendergast’s medium pace rounds out a good four-man unit that should be able to keep things tight. Gavin Hoey plays for Dublin University in this competition meaning that Paul Lawson is the frontline spinner, and against this strong Merrion side his four overs are likely to be crucial, he’s supported by JJ Garth’s leggies which have returned to decent effect in recent weeks.

Merrion meanwhile will be hoping that they don’t suffer in the absence of Stephen Doheny this weekend, with the opener having plundered an excellent ton in the first game last weekend. Their batting however remains strong, with Swapnil Modgill leading the way, Pete Francis at number three, whilst Adam Rosslee’s stroke play has shown in longer formats to be capable of taking the game away from their opposition, and behind him Sam Harbinson’s ability to clear the ropes makes him an extremely important part of the line-up. John Anderson could be the man who returns at the top of the order in place of Doheny, and if he does their top 5 will still have quite an imposing look to it. With the ball, Melvin Devaraj, Max Sorensen and Hugh Kennedy support Harbinson in the seam bowling department, with all of the seamers having shown the ability to take wickets regularly this season. Spin however is the area where Merrion have excelled in the opening two rounds of fixtures, with Tom Stanton generally taking the new ball, and Danny Forkin showing his wicket taking abilities in the second half of games, this is where they could look to get a handle on the strong Pembroke batting line-up.

Tim Tector’s form with the bat is sure to be what could cause concern for Merrion early in the piece here, and he’s set to come up against what has been their joker in the pack that is Tom Stanton’s first over, if Stanton can dismiss Tector, it will give the away side a great chance of turning the screw on Pembroke and keeping their batting order under wraps.

KEY BATTLE: Tim Tector vs Tom Stanton

LHK INSURANCE ALAN MURRAY CUP

All 12:00 and 16:00 unless stated

GROUP A

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Dublin University

At The Vineyard, The Hills vs North County

GROUP B

At Phoenix Park, Civil Service vs North Kildare

At The Village, Malahide vs Clontarf

GROUP C

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Phoenix

At Terenure, Terenure vs Adamstown (13:30 & 17:00)

GROUP D

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Merrion

At Kenure, Rush vs Railway Union