SKELLIG SIX18 LEINSTER SENIOR CUP – SEMI FINALS PREVIEW (JUNE 23RD)

This Sunday sees the Semi-Final stage of the Skellig Six18 Leinster Senior Cup taking place, with two intriguing contests set to be fought out to decide who will compete in the Final of the Competition, which is on August 3^rd in Sydney Parade.

Of the four sides remaining in the competition, only Pembroke (in 2022) have won the Leinster Senior Cup since the turn of the century, Leinster’s last win coming in 1998, whilst Malahide haven’t won the competition since 1971. Phoenix meanwhile haven’t won since 1982, however when they did win this competition last, it was the seventh time they had won the competition in ten seasons!

Malahide earned their visit to Phoenix after a comprehensive victory over Terenure in The Village in the quarter-finals, whilst the home side booked their slot in this round with a demolition job against Railway Union in Park Avenue.

Pembroke’s excellent bowling performance against Balbriggan saw them chasing down 93 with minimal fuss to secure their semi-final berth, with their hosts Leinster having seen off ‘The Students’ of Dublin University in a relatively close run affair compared with the remainder of the quarter-final stages.

PHOENIX VS MALAHIDE

This tie looks as though it could be a real high-quality affair, both sides are looking for their first silverware since 2019, when Phoenix won the Premier League Plate, and Malahide won the Alan Murray Cup, and having only mustered two league wins between them so far this season, this could well be the best chance either side has of lifting a trophy this term.

Phoenix are a side with some real depth, but also an incredible ability to blow hot and cold, exemplified perfectly by their two T20 fixtures against Terenure last weekend, where having bowled their hosts out for 71 in the first game and chased the runs inside the PowerPlay, they then proceeded to be bowled out for 72 in the second and see the score surpassed just one ball after the Power Play had ended!

Their batting unit is extremely strong, they have one of the best players in the league this season in Jack Lalor at number three, and his ability to play with conviction has helped them overcome a couple of collapses to post big scores. At the top of the order they have some explosive power in the shape of Levon Shields, and he’s likely to be joined by the stroke making of Johit Munjal, with regular opener and keeper Nicolaas Pretorius cup-tied for this competition having played with Dublin University. Lalor’s role in the team here is vital, as he holds things together for the power-packed middle order that features Tyrone Kane, Shane Getkate and Adam Chester, whilst Callum O’Byrne and James Maginnis are both likely to occupy berths in the top 7 as well. A good start will be the key for Phoenix with this batting line-up, as their ability to bat sides out of the game is always balanced against the challenge of ensuring their aggressive nature doesn’t see them collapse and be bundled out for a below-par score.

With the ball, they have been very impressive this season, with the exception of the first league game against Pembroke, who scored 320/9, no team has managed to pass 175 as yet, and this is the area in which they will no doubt look to excel once again. Tyrone Kane’s skills with the swinging ball are well known to long-term followers in the province, and he remains as potent a threat as ever, with their most recent revelation being to pair the seamer up with the left-arm spin of Amish Sidhu, who’s ability to beat batsmen through the air and induce false shots has become a particularly important weapon in the Phoenix armoury. The last round of this competition saw Dev Ranolia taking 5/9, and his left-arm spinning skills also make him a big threat on home turf this weekend. Lalor and Getkate both offer right-arm seam options that are able to tie down their oppositions, whilst Daniel Sugrue rounded off the pace attack in the quarter-final stages, and could well be the one to do so here again.

Malahide meanwhile are extremely close to full strength this weekend, with Kelvin Donnelly the only regular player who is missing out for this fixture. That means their bowling attack is led as usual by James Newland’s left-arm seam, and he’ll likely be joined by Jeremy Martins with the new ball, as the South African has proven himself to be extremely efficient with swinging conditions in his favour. The other option they may look to go with could be to open with Mike Frost, who has done so with his left-arm spin on a number of occasions previously. The third seamer is Andy Sheridan, who will hit the deck hard and is a generally economical bowler in this team, with their frontline bowlers rounded off by the second spinner in the side in Mohit Sane, who’s left-arm offies are another good weapon. Beyond those five, Matt Ford and Ali Frost are the two part-time bowlers in the side who could be handed the ball, however it’s likely that Newland will be aiming to stick to his frontline five as much as possible.

With the bat, the fact the side only has five frontline bowlers gives them a very imposing look, no player in the side could be considered anything less than useful, and with several of them being extremely powerful ball-strikers, it could well be that this is where they try and put themselves well out of sight of their hosts. Younas Ahmadzai and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin at the top of the order are the perfect foil for each other, and this long batting order should allow Ahmadzai in particular to play with the freedom that allowed him to excel last season. That pair are likely to be followed by Ali Frost, and whilst he’s somewhat searching for form, on his day he’s possibly the classiest player in this team. The middle order will feature Matt Ford, who was an unbeaten half-centurion in their quarter-final victory, Jeremy Martins who’s stroke play is very fluent, and Andy Sheridan who is another man who can go through the gears. Adam Doyle and Timcy Khanduja are two more out-and-out batters who will also need to fit into the order somewhere in the top 8, however the depth of the side is shown clearly in the fact that they could easily appear at 7 and 8.

This fixture is likely to be decided based on which side navigates their opposition’s opening spell the best, and in that sense it’s likely that Phoenix’s opening bowlers are slightly stronger than Malahide’s. Amish Sidhu’s knack of picking up wickets in the Power Play and out-thinking batsmen could well be what gives his side the upper hand here, if he can dismiss Younas Ahmadzai cheaply it will open up the door for Tyrone Kane and Jack Lalor to attack and try to put Malahide right on the back foot early.

KEY BATTLE: Amish Sidhu vs Younas Ahmadzai

LEINSTER VS PEMBROKE

This fixture is a repeat of one of the most exciting league games we’ve seen so far this season, when a Paul Lawson seven-wicket-haul downed Leinster from a position where it looked like they had the game at their mercy.

Pembroke progressed past Balbriggan in the quarter-finals thanks to a Nick Stapleton special where he was the pick with both bat and ball, taking 4/17 in bowling their opposition out for just 91, before making an unbeaten 47 in the chase. Leinster meanwhile were indebted to some lower-order runs from Jai Moondra, and three wickets for Bilal Azhar, as they beat Dublin University by 23 runs, in the closest tie of the quarter finals stage.

The home side will be hoping to have already secured a semi-final berth in the Alan Murray Cup before this fixture begins on Sunday, and will carry good confidence into the game if they do. With the bat, they’ve had some very solid outings this season, however they remain extremely reliant on a fast start from Bilal Azhar in order to allow the more pragmatic Matthew Vercoe-Curtis to settle in. Monil Patel and Joey Carroll are still the two most important players in the side, and both possess the ability to make big scores should they get in and get going, whilst Saqib Bahadur can play a vast array of shots that makes him a very dangerous player, but will need to be in top form for this fixture. Lower down the order, Tristen de Beer, Mark Tonge and Jai Moondra are all well able to clear the ropes and could be looked to for vital contributions to finish off their innings.

With the ball meanwhile, it’s Moondra’s extra pace at the start that has tended to cause their oppositions trouble in the last few weeks, with Joey Carroll and Bilal Azhar moving to be consistently the first change bowlers at either end. The loss of Luke Callanan to injury is clearly not ideal, as he and Moondra had just begun to strike a strong opening partnership,  but his place with the new ball has been filled well by Mark Tonge who has managed to take wickets early in the piece to support his fellow seamers. The spin in the side was the main weapon the last time these two sides met, with Tom Johnson taking three wickets, and it would be no surprise to see him doing plenty of bowling in the middle overs alongside Avril Shukla and Saqib Bahadur, who both offer right-arm off-spin options to skipper Bilal Azhar.

Pembroke meanwhile are boosted by the inclusion of Barry McCarthy for this fixture having returned from international duty, and he’ll likely join the hero of the last round Nick Stapleton, along with Byron McDonough and Olly Riley in the seam bowling attack, and with each of those bowlers having produced excellent spells over the last few weeks they will be hopeful that there’s plenty of firepower among the four. Their spin attack has to do without Gavin Hoey who’s another player cup-tied due to playing for Dublin University in this competition. Paul Lawson leads the way there, and no doubt will come into this game full of confidence, with his bowling performance the last time he was in Observatory Lane likely to have been the subject of several of the Leinster batters’ nightmares in the weeks since this draw was made, the other option in the side is likely to come in the form of the leggies of both JJ Garth, who has returned to the bowling crease in recent weeks, and Tim Tector, who would be considered more part-time. However there are plenty of options for the away side to make use of.

With the bat, the opening pair of Garth and Tector are both in excellent form and will be sure to get the visitors off to a good start, and if they do the depth behind them should be well capable of putting the side right on top in the game. Diarmaid Tucker has been a regular fixture at 3, whilst skipper Stapleton at 4 has been one of the form players around in the first half of the season. Fiachra Tucker and Jack Tector have plenty of experience higher up the order and have already shown that to good effect earlier in the season in finishing off their innings strongly, and whilst they will miss Hoey’s ability to clear the ropes, that’s an area where Barry McCarthy’s inclusion will certainly improve the side and a good start could see him at his most destructive towards the end of the innings.

The last time these sides met, it was the spin that saw Leinster’s demise, and whilst they will no doubt be guarded against that once again this time around, the importance of their top 4 getting through the first ten overs arguably outweighs that completely. If Nick Stapleton gets an early crack at dismissing Monil Patel, that’s going to be a crucial part of the game where either side could easily wrestle the momentum in their favour.

KEY BATTLE: Monil Patel vs Nick Stapleton