The final day of the Premier League season has arrived, and a thrilling day of permutations awaits. The top four and those who will look for a place in September’s Grand Final are already decided, though the positions will change.
Similarly, at the bottom, the four sides from fifth to eighth who will contest the Plate competition are decided, though their final positions will be finalised tomorrow.
The top two meet at Anglesea Road as Merrion host The Hills. The winner of that match will top the table and play the second-placed team for a spot in the Grand Final.
Malahide and Pembroke are the other sides in the Premier League play-offs, and they’ll be looking to win their matches with other results going their way to sneak into the top two.
Should Malahide beat Phoenix and The Hills lose to Merrion, Malahide will finish second. Pembroke not only have to beat Leinster at home but hope that both The Hills and Malahide lose for them to get into that second spot.
The importance of being in the top two is that it provides a second chance in the playoffs. The loser of the playoff between first and second in the table, plays the winner of the playoff between third and fourth in the Premier League semi-final.
At the bottom of the table things are a little clearer. Fifth will host eighth and sixth will welcome seventh in two Plate semi-finals. The winners play in the Plate Final while the losers play-off for seventh and eighth position at the end of the season.
Rush will finish in eighth and be away in the Plate semi-finals to the team who finish fifth. At this point that is YMCA. Coincidentally, they face each other on the final day of the season and a YMCA win at Kenure will lead to a semi-final between the same two sides at Claremont Road.
Phoenix, just two points behind YM, could overtake them with a home win over Malahide but as things stand, they will be hosting Leinster in the second Plate semi-final.
So, an interesting day’s cricket ahead with plenty of swings throughout the day no doubt.
Stay tuned to the match centre on www.cricketleinster.ie, watch out for tweets on both @cricketleinster and from reporter Peter Boyd (@fibrofella), with a full match report, round-up and images to follow at the close of play.
On Saturday the match of the day, sees Merrion hosting The Hills to decide the top two places in the Premier League.
LHW Financial Planning Premier League
Saturday August 3rd, 2019
All matches begin at 12pm
| Rush v YMCA |
| Phoenix v Malahide |
| Pembroke v Leinster |
| Merrion v The Hills |