SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE PREVIEW - MATCH DAY 11 (AUGUST 8TH)

With four games remaining in Sprint Coatings Division One, this evening could be the night where the final destination of the league title is confirmed. Pembroke need just three points to reach 244, a number which no other side can get to in the remaining fixtures, and secure the league title’s return to Sydney Parade.

This evening however they face a tough task to do so, facing off against second placed The Hills in Skerries, whilst in the Phoenix Park, the newest Senior Cup Champions play host to Malahide. The other two fixtures come from the Southside, as Merrion play host to Clontarf in Anglesea Road, whilst in Observatory Lane, Balbriggan are the visitors to Leinster.

Most sides can be expected to be missing a few players this week, with the Ireland vs Sri Lanka series beginning this weekend, however that doesn’t stop what in all likelihood will be four very competitive games of cricket taking place.

MERRION VS CLONTARF

We kick off our previews in Dublin 4, where Merrion will be looking to bounce back from what is now three consecutive defeats in the league. They have missed the impact of both Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell with the bat in those games, and will be hoping to see someone step up to the plate in this fixture and help them to deliver a score. Celeste Raack’s side will likely see the skipper featuring at the top of the order, with Annabel Squires the player to have made the best breakthrough so far this season with the bat. Isobel Joyce has been in some very good form when needed earlier in the season and a return for the coach to the side would be more than welcome, whilst the likes of Aoife Brennan, Ally Boucher and former international Elena Neill could all feature in the top six. With the ball meanwhile, it’s far more straightforward as Merrion’s attack has been a consistent force this season. Niamh MacNulty and Síbha Bhoja both have the ability to extract movement early on and take wickets, and they’re supported by Maddie Blazely, Sophie Stewart and Isabel Light, with both Brennan and Squires able to bowl when needed as well.

Clontarf meanwhile are without the services of their opening batter Christina Coulter-Reilly this week, but still have a very strong look to their top order with Robyn Searle and Una Raymond-Hoey both having made contributions last time around. Freya Sargent and Genevieve Morrissey are both also missing from the middle order, meaning Julie McNally and Alice Walsh could both be in line for promotions, with the batting unit looking to be rounded out by Susan Lawless, Gemma Sargent and Lucy Barry. With the ball, Freya Sargent’s off-spin is obviously a big loss to the side, however they still have several strong options including McNally, Walsh and Barry who will all bowl medium pace, alongside their star opening bowler Sinead Thomson and skipper Emma Butler, which rounds out a consistent five-strong seam attack to rotate as and when needed.

Merrion’s opening bowlers will have their work cut out to get into the heart of this Clontarf batting unit, and Una Raymond-Hoey showed just what she could do last week when coming into the crease with a platform already set, if Niamh MacNulty can dismiss her early on, it will give the home side a great chance of restricting the Castle Avenue outfit.

KEY BATTLE: Niamh MacNulty vs Una Raymond-Hoey

PHOENIX VS MALAHIDE

With the newly crowned Senior Cup Champions set to be without the hero of the hour from Monday’s showpiece game, there could well be some pressure on Phoenix to produce a good batting effort here. Nevedha Saravanarajan, Zara Craig, Siúin Woods and Arisha Foysal will all be likely to feature in the top six, with the absence of Gaby Lewis and Alice Tector giving the side something of an uphill task. With the ball, Craig was key to their efforts earlier in the week, and she’ll lead an attack that features the skipper Ali Keenan and Sophie McDonough with medium pace, as well as Foysal’s leg-spin. It’s likely that they will also see contributions from younger prospects in Juliet Gargan and Rhea Nair as well, who both bowl useful seam options.

Malahide meanwhile come into this game off the back of being bowled out for just 16 last week, and will be hoping that they got any bad luck out of the way in that fixture! With the bat, they are once again likely to be missing Amy Hunter and Arlene Kelly, meaning there will be pressure on Christelle van der Schyff to perform. They do however have a number of players capable of producing runs, including Sarah Condron, Anna Kerrison and Sorcha O’Carolan-Murphy who all featured in the top five last week and look set to do so again this time around in the absence of their international stars. With the ball, van der Schyff and Condron are likely to lead the way, however they will be provided with good support from a number of options, including the skipper Kerrison’s offies and right-arm seam of Haley Moore, both of whom have bowled well this season.

With several big names likely to be missing from this fixture, it could well come down to who’s all-rounder produces the goods the best. If Zara Craig gets the better of Christelle van der Schyff, Phoenix will fancy their chances of pulling a victory out of the bag.

KEY BATTLE: Zara Craig vs Christelle van der Schyff

THE HILLS VS PEMBROKE

The big game of the evening is in The Vineyard, and starting off with the home side, who are still missing Elise Noble and now also without their talismanic skipper Jane Maguire. Tahlia Dunne takes over the captaincy duties and she will lead a batting line-up which includes Lara McBride at the top of the order, as well as Aimee Maguire in the middle. The absence of Noble and Maguire will likely see Rebecca Gough and Clíodhna O’Reardon shifting their way up the order once again. With the ball, Maguire is once again a big miss here, however the spin twins of McBride and Aimee Maguire do give the side plenty of strength. Their young seam attack will feature Chloe Ericson, Tara O’Brien and Molly Butterly, in a side which is packed full of potential, that gets the chance to showcase their skills at the top level.

Pembroke meanwhile are also missing some big names, Orla Prendergast and Clare Shillington in particular, however they do still have some serious match-winners in their side. With the bat, skipper Shauna Kavanagh leads the way along with the ever consistent Sarah Forbes, and clean hitting Lou Lou Little, whilst Isobel Jennings has also featured regularly at the top of the order in recent times. Eimear Mullen rounds out the frontline batters that are likely to occupy the top 5, however there’s the potential that some of their younger talents for the future, including Susie Whaley, could also get the chance to make an impact with the bat. With ball in hand, Forbes and Little are both dangerous operators, and will feature alongside some of their breakthrough bowlers of the season in KimLi McDonald and Zoe Bell, with the five-pronged attack rounded out by the medium pace of Mhairi Nicoll, who has been another consistent performer this season.

The absence of some big names doesn’t take the shine off this game at all, and a battle that should be really interesting to look forward to will pit Aimee Maguire’s left-arm offies against Sarah Forbes at the top of Pembroke’s batting line-up. If Maguire can knock Forbes over early, there’s the chance she could get on a roll early on against Pembroke’s weaker-than-usual middle order.

KEY BATTLE: Aimee Maguire vs Sarah Forbes

LEINSTER VS BALBRIGGAN

Leinster’s first league victory for two months came in style last week, and they will be hoping that’s the catalyst for them to push themselves back up the table in the final few weeks of the season. They have been boosted by the return of Sophie MacMahon to their side as she comes back from injury which has kept her out of action for most of that winless period, with the all-rounder adding strength to the batting unit which also features Clare Webber, Joanna Loughran and this week’s skipper Jenny Sparrow, who takes over the captaincy duties in the absence of Ava Canning, who has been in brilliant form in recent weeks and does leave something of a hole in the side. Their victory last week was built around a brilliant bowling effort, and Katie Dillon will be hoping for a repeat of her spell, she alongside Sparrow, MacMahon, Webber, Orla Bagnall and Rachel Byrne make up a strong bowling unit, especially in the absence of Canning and Laura Delany, and they will be hoping to restrict this strong Balbriggan batting line-up.

That line-up has been something of a mystery to predict in recent weeks, with both Maritz sisters experiencing some success at number six in the order in their last two games, and both set to play key roles once again, alongside Claudia Green with that trio looking to produce the bulk of their runs. They do, however, also have plenty of others capable of contributing, including Erin Bond, Erin Knight and Alexandra Atkinson, and will be hoping they can give their bowling unit a chance to put them into the game. The bowlers are led by Lara Maritz and Claudia Green, with the recent departure of Anna Gaging a big loss to their side. Reena Devi, Marisa Curtis and Bond rounded out the bowlers used last week, and those five along with potentially Atkinson are likely to be the bulk of the bowling attack once again this time around.

Balbriggan’s bowlers won them the game in Anglesea Road a couple of weeks ago, and they will be looking to Claudia Green to get them on top early on in this fixture. If she can dismiss Sophie MacMahon, it could give the side a big chance of getting stuck into Leinster’s batting line-up early in the home side’s batting innings.

KEY BATTLE: Sophie MacMahon vs Claudia Green

SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE

MATCH DAY 11 – AUGUST 8^TH

ALL 5:45 STARTS

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Clontarf

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Malahide

At The Vineyard, The Hills vs Pembroke

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Balbriggan