SPORTSHUB SENIOR LEAGUE CUP PENULTIMATE ROUND PREVIEW – 2.7

With just two rounds of group games left in the SportsHub Senior League Cup, most groups hang in the balance as qualification goes, with a couple of sides able to secure semi-final berths with wins this weekend, and a couple of others able to put themselves into near unassailable positions in their pools.

In Group A, the magic number for YMCA is 102, essentially meaning they need 29 points from their final two games to secure their passage to the semis, however, a tight game between Rush and Leinster this weekend would see that total fall, possibly low enough that if they were to beat Terenure well they could qualify a week early.

We’ll begin therefore with the game in Rathmines, where a loss for either side would prove all but fatal to their qualification chances. Leinster therefore will need their bowlers to rediscover their form of rounds 2 and 3, where they kept YMCA and Terenure to 73 and 101 respectively on their home patch, if they are to turn over the Kenure side. Saqib Bahadur has been consistently impressive for the last few weeks with his off-breaks, whilst Ross Shivmangal’s spell at the death last week saw them take Terenure deeper into the run chase than it appeared they would at one stage.

On the other hand, Rush are welcoming back their two InterPro players this weekend, as Nathan McGuire and Neil Rock are set to re-enter the fray after two weekends with the Warriors and Knights respectively. It possibly goes without saying at this stage that this pair are crucial to Rush with the bat, but their mere presence will likely breed confidence throughout the team as much as anything else, as the changes see the side revert back to essentially the same team that scored and defended very good totals against Leinster and Terenure in the first two rounds of fixtures. Jarred Barnes has again bowled well in the two games against YMCA, so his opening burst will be important against Leinster’s opening pair who have had 50+ stands in each of the last couple of games.

KEY BATTLE: Jarred Barnes vs Saqib Bahadur

The other game in the group sees YMCA travel to Terenure, and the visitors this week are boosted by the return of no fewer than 5 Interprovincial stars, four of whom were on duty last week, whilst Curtis Campher is back in the side having recovered enough from his ankle surgery to take part as a batsman. Northern Knights skipper Harry Tector also plays his first club game of the season tomorrow, whilst when you take into account the Future Series getting under way this week, only YM’s wicket-keeper and vice-captain JJ Cassidy, and all-rounder Tom Anders haven’t been involved in a representative squad in the past 7 days. The form of Mikey O’Reilly and Cillian McDonnell at club level withstood the test of stepping up for the Lightning Bolts during the week, and if they are in top form again they’ll both be tough opposition for Terenure.

The home side on the other hand only welcome back one player from InterPro duty this weekend, that is of course their wicket-keeper Séamus Lynch who has been wearing the gloves for the Munster Reds in their last three fixtures after PJ Moor picked up an injury. He will return to the top of the order with the ‘Nure hoping he can counter YM’s excellent opening bowlers with some of his own powerful stroke-making. The home side also welcome back Kenny McDonald, who’s bowling so far at home has been a major asset to his side, however they are without Aidan Doyle, who has bowled particularly well in home conditions too this season, but will hope Zubair Khan’s form continues to come back as he showed signs of promise last weekend against Leinster. With the bat, whilst they got over the line last week, again several of their players got in and got out, Terenure are crying out for one of their top 6 to make a start count, and if they can, they’ll give themselves a chance this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Zubair Khan vs Harry Tector

In Group B, we have a similar enough quandary to Group A as far as qualifications go, Railway can end Malahide’s hopes this weekend if they beat them on their visit to the international ground. Whilst a win for Malahide would put their fate firmly back in their own hands, provided Clontarf don’t also manage a win with three more bonus points than Malahide, in which case they would be the side with control of their destiny.

This week’s featured game will come from Railway Union’s visit to Malahide, given the away side have only lost to their hosts so far this season, it is probably their toughest task in the group stage, one which if they get through unscathed with a win, could well see them qualified come tea-time tomorrow, they will hope that Kenny Carroll’s run of form can continue into this weekend, after he set up winning totals against Clontarf on each of the last two weekends. He continues to captain the side with Glenn Querl still absent, which is a blow to Railway with both bat and ball, they do however still have a strong bowling attack, with Prabhanshu Kamal and Oliver Perry the likeliest spearheads.

Malahide will have been delighted to emerge from the past two weekends with one victory, especially given how many players they lost to the IP20s in Bready last weekend. They welcome back James Newland, David O’Halloran, Mike and Ali Frost, and Matt Ford to their side, with all of those bar Newland being on representative duty last weekend. The return of Ford is a major boost to their batting given his form for Munster of late, and alongside Alan Reynolds they have two of the cleanest strikers of the ball around in their top three, both of those wickets will be vital to Railway’s chances of keeping Malahide to a manageable total.

KEY BATTLE: Matt Ford vs Oliver Perry

At Castle Avenue meanwhile, Clontarf welcome Cork County, with the visitors unfortunately unable to progress already, they will be hoping to upset ‘Tarf on any ambitions they have of an easy victory. There is a debut in the Munster side for South African Byron McDonough, who is highly rated by those in Cork County, whilst the form of Joubert Pienaar and Rudolph Pollard are likely to be as crucial to the visitors today as it was two weeks ago when they starred in their win over Malahide. Their bowling has so far relied heavily on Abubakar Saddique, Harvey Wootton and Pollard, but if the three can take wickets between them, they will have a great chance of keeping the home side’s powerful line-up quiet.

Clontarf meanwhile are devoid of their skipper Andrew Poynter, who has picked up an injury which will see him out for an indefinite period of time. That means that Robert Forrest will continue with the armband, whilst the injury previously mentioned to PJ Moor will see the ‘Tarf skipper also retain the gloves this weekend. Moor, David Delany and fan favourite Fionn Hand all return to the side from IP20 duty, and between the three their all-round abilities make the home side an altogether different animal to the one which has lost to Railway Union the last two weekends, if Moor and Forrest get going at the top, they alongside their glue in Eoghan Delany at three, will set the perfect platform for the boundary happy David Delany and Hand to explode in the back end of their innings. Early wickets are therefore the key again to this game.

KEY BATTLE: Rudolph Pollard vs PJ Moor

Group C is certain to go to the final day to absolutely confirm who qualifies, with Pembroke and Merrion level on points going into this weekend, whilst Balbriggan are just 24 points off both sides, a chasm in some ways with just two games to go, however when it’s considered they face Merrion this weekend, it seems less so. From a neutral’s viewpoint, the most desirable outcome would be a winner-take-all game between the top two in next weekend’s final round of games, but that would require both sides to win by the same margins this weekend, which is far from a guarantee.

Pembroke face North Kildare, who coming off the back of two tough weeks playing Merrion, could be forgiven for cursing Balbriggan’s victory over their hosts last weekend. Pembroke will be absolutely gunning for a victory which lets them keep control of their own fate heading into the final round of the season. If they are able to call on any of their international stars to play this weekend it will be a major bonus to the side who has played the majority of their last 12 games stretching back through last season without their services. They are still littered with experience and representative players nonetheless, with both Lawson’s leading by example in their respective primary disciplines in the past few weeks, they have also seen good performances with the bat from Diarmaid Tucker and with the ball from Scott Ruttle as both of those two are enjoying a season of added responsibility compared to years gone by. They will be keen to score big runs this weekend, so a quick start with the bat will be very important to them.

North Kildare meanwhile have struggled to get a foothold in games this season, Muzamil Sherzad has been the shining light with the ball, bowling economically and taking wickets for the most part, much will rest on the youngster’s shoulders if North Kildare are to make inroads in Pembroke’s batting line-up significant enough for them to cause an upset this weekend. With the bat they rely on Monil Patel to give their innings a base, and will need him to be at his very best for the side to score quickly and heavily enough to defeat their hosts.

KEY BATTLE: Diarmaid Tucker vs Muzamil Sherzad

The other tie in Group C is as important as they come this weekend in qualification terms, Merrion can lose and still qualify, but it would give them a hugely uphill task, and although Balbriggan have an arguably tougher task and will rely on other results, they too are carrying momentum into this weekend having beaten Pembroke last time out. They visit Anglesea Road boosted by the return of Greg Ford from IP duty, whilst Ghanim Dara is also back from injury to take his place in the side. Much will rely on them stopping Merrion’s powerful boundary-laden batting line-up from getting going early on, which will put pressure on Duane Harper up front with the ball, whilst as he has been in the last few weeks, Chris De Freitas’ all-round abilities will be equally important with bat and ball.

Merrion on the other hand will be hoping to see Stephen Doheny take the field for them for the first time this season tomorrow, and his addition to the side could prove to be the difference for them against this strong and improving Balbriggan side. John Anderson’s form has been good, with his 93 against North Kildare a highlight, and they will also welcome back Jack Carty from Munster Reds duty to give them a top 3 that would be the envy of most sides in the league. With the ball, skipper Tom Stanton has been in great form of late and took 6 wickets for the cost of just ten runs in his last two games, his influence will again be vital.

KEY BATTLE: Tom Stanton vs Connor Fletcher

Finally Group D was flipped on it’s head on the back of one ball last weekend, with The Hills scrambling a bye off the last to defeat Dublin University and snatch pole position in the group from them. North County meanwhile have seen off Phoenix twice and are carrying some momentum having won three on the bounce.

Starting with North County, they host The Hills this week, knowing that if they fail to win their qualification hopes are gone. Eddie Richardson always relishes these local derbies, and his impact with the ball in particular will be vitally important to County’s chances of controlling a classy Hills top order. With the bat, nobody has particularly set the world alight for the home side, Richardson’s 34* against Phoenix in round 3 is the highest score of anyone so far, but they will look to their experienced players, Mooney, Andrews and McGovern, to provide the backbone in such an important game.

The Hills meanwhile welcome back Murray Commins in scintillating form, having pulled up in the warm-up for the Reds last Sunday, some of The Hills faithful may have been slightly concerned, however after seeing him then return on Wednesday to peel off a maiden IP50 century they will be hopeful that their main man and class-act at number three can see them to victory this weekend. With the ball, Dylan Blignaut has been thoroughly impressive this season, and with Tómas Rooney-Murphy’s return to the bowling crease last week being very successful, the visitors will feel themselves well placed to all but secure qualification with a win this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Eddie Richardson vs Murray Commins

The other tie between Dublin University and Phoenix sees the Students travel to the park knowing that anything but a win will make their final day game against North County a dead rubber to them. This game does however carry some extra significance outside of just league points, as it is the occasion of this year’s Pasley Trophy, in memory of Graham Pasley who was a player with both clubs in his career.

Helen Caird spoke to us about the game this weekend to give a brief description of what the game means to both sides;

“The Pasley trophy was presented by his family in his memory and to mark his great love of cricket. Graham played for Dublin University from 1982 -1984 and was captain in 1984. He then played for Phoenix where he was a much loved and very active member of the club until his untimely passing in 2012. The Pasley trophy is presented annually to the winning team when Dublin University play Phoenix. Phoenix are the current holders and the 2021 match is to be played this Saturday in the Phoenix Park.”

On the field, Dublin University can welcome back the in-form Gavin Hoey to their side this weekend, he’s fresh off a man of the match performance for the Leinster Lightning in just his second appearance for the side last Sunday, and the prospect of him bowling alongside his father Conor this weekend should be something which Phoenix are extremely wary of. With the bat, Nicolaas Pretorious’ form has been brilliant in the last two games, if he can pick up where he left off against The Hills there’s every chance he can provide another big score for his side this weekend.

Phoenix meanwhile will welcome back several players from IP20 duty including Jamie Grassi and Theo Dempsey. This pair will be vital in combating the threats of Dublin University as outlined above, Dempsey’s new ball skills will come into direct competition with Pretorious in a battle where an early wicket could put Phoenix right on top, whilst with the bat, Grassi has shown to have become an accomplished player of spin in his exploits so far this season, and his battle with the Hoeys leg-spin is one to look forward to again.

KEY BATTLE: Theo Dempsey vs Nicolaas Pretorious

SPORTSHUB SENIOR LEAGUE CUP

3.7

Group A
Leinster vs Rush - Observatory Lane, 13:00
Terenure vs YMCA – Terenure, 13:00

Group B
Malahide vs Railway Union – Malahide, 12:00 (featured game of the day)
Clontarf vs Cork County – Castle Avenue, 13:00

Group C
Pembroke vs North Kildare – Sydney Parade, 13:00
Merrion vs Balbriggan – Anglesea Road, 14:00

Group D
North County vs The Hills – Inch, 13:00
Phoenix vs Dublin University – Phoenix, 14:00