SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE PREVIEW – ROUND 5 (JUNE 20TH)

The fifth round of fixtures in Sprint Coatings Division One takes place this week, with the league table starting to take some shape after the opening punches have been thrown. Pembroke sit top and have dropped just a single bonus point so far this season, with last week’s successful run chase being a particularly dominant affair. The only other side who still remain unbeaten are Clontarf, who have won three and had one game rained off. There’s then a sizeable gap back to Merrion and Leinster who have both won two of their four fixtures, whilst Malahide are the last winless team, after Phoenix’s win against The Hills last week saw them join the Skerries outfit and Balbriggan on one win apiece.

This week sees four very interesting fixtures taking place, none more so than in Sydney Parade, where one unbeaten record will almost certainly come to an end as Clontarf travel to face Pembroke. Malahide’s search for a first win faces an incredibly tough task as they travel to face a Merrion side that will be severely wounded by the nature of their defeat against Pembroke last time around. Balbriggan travel to Skerries to face The Hills, whilst Phoenix host Leinster in a fixture which could see them potentially overtaking the Rathmines outfit with a win.

Pembroke vs Clontarf

Pembroke have been in formidable form so far this season, chasing in every game and being successful in every chase. Their batting has consistently gotten them off to good starts, whether that be through Orla Prendergast’s clean hitting, or Sarah Forbes’ stroke play, they have been getting on top from the outset. Last week saw both players hitting their straps in the same innings, and the result was a devastating 9 wicket demolition job of Merrion. The obvious downside to this is how little their middle order has managed to bat so far this season, however the quality in the side is there for all to see, and the one time it has been called upon, in the Round One fixture of the Senior Cup, they remained as reliable as ever, with Clare Shillington guiding the side home. Between those three there’s LouLou Little, Robyn Lewis and Shauna Kavanagh who have all shown their abilities to close out games as well. With the ball, Prendergast has shown on many occasions to be one of the best bowlers in the league, and her ability to swing the new ball has been causing all involved in the game problems of late. She’s usually supported in the seam department by LouLou Little, Mhairi Nicholl and Vanshikha Shukla, whilst at the other end of the scale, Sarah Forbes and Zoe Bell are the two spin options which have been used so far this season, with Forbes in particular finding a knack for taking important wickets at crucial stages in the game.

Clontarf meanwhile kept close tabs on the league leaders with an important win over Leinster last week, with that game seeing Robyn Searle seeming to be in excellent form, with her unbeaten 43 guiding the team to a comfortable DLS victory. With Searle in form, and Christina Coulter-Reilly back in the side having missed a couple of fixtures early in the season, ‘Tarf have two batters that can take the game away from the opposition, whilst the likes of Freya Sargent and Julie McNally have shown numerous times to be well capable of contributing. Beyond that, Lucy Barry put on a crucial partnership with Searle last time around to secure their victory, and Anna Marshall has previously proven to be an extremely dependable player in the middle order, meaning that if the side can get into a good position early on, they are more than capable of capitalising and running up a big score. With the ball meanwhile, Sinead Thomson’s opening spells have been consistently threatening, and she’s supported by a myriad of seamers who can all do an excellent job too, McNally and Barry are both bowling more overs this year, whilst there’s the emergence of Genevieve Morrissey and Alyssa Pasley as options at this level, as well as Emma Butler who has been reliable in the side for several years. The lone spinner in the side is Freya Sargent, however her form has been extremely good this year and she can be regularly relied upon for four overs each week.

With scores of 59, 1, 66* and 111* to her name this season, it probably goes without saying that when she plays, Orla Prendergast is Pembroke’s key batter, with a par score almost non-existent in a scenario where she gets going, that makes her an extremely important wicket to take early on, if Sinead Thomson’s good form with the new ball continues and can see her taking the big wicket, it will give Clontarf a massive chance of causing an upset here.

KEY BATTLE: Orla Prendergast vs Sinead Thomson

Merrion vs Malahide

Merrion are at home once again this week, and having been on the wrong end of an Orla Prendergast whirlwind last time out, they’re sure to be extremely keen to bounce back from that, having lost in spite of playing some excellent cricket on their own part. With the bat, they have one of the deepest line-ups around, especially when both Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell are in good form, with scores of 87 and 64* respectively showing just that last week. Beyond that pair, skipper Celeste Raack at the top of the order, along with Annabel Squires, Aoife Brennan and Isobel Joyce in the middle, give the team plenty of options that could take the game away from their opposition in a heartbeat. With the ball, there’s some added pressure on their young seamers with Raack currently not bowling, but Niamh MacNulty and Síbha Bhoja have both seemed to relish the challenge so far this season and Maddie Blazely’s skills in the middle overs have seen her become another vital component in the attack. The spin comes from Leah Paul and Julianne Morrissey, and whilst last week they couldn’t quite control Pembroke, they are generally 8 very reliable overs of bowling.

Malahide meanwhile remain winless and are somewhat entering the Lions Den with Merrion in decent form in spite of not winning either of their last two games, and a lingering memory of a comprehensive loss to the side in the first round of the Senior Cup last month. They’ll need to put that fixture to the back of their minds however and focus on a big performance here if they are to topple last season’s runners-up. With the bat, the side have been suffering in the absence of Amy Hunter, and will be desperate for her to return to the side soon, if this is the game where that happens it could prove the catalyst for the team to turn themselves around. Their last fixture was now three weeks ago, after last week’s game in Balbriggan fell foul to a vicious storm that saw the ground ravaged, however in that game there were some green shoots with the bat, as Arlene Kelly made a half-century and Anna Kerrison was also able to contribute. The addition of Christelle van der Schyff to the side is an obvious boost and one which could see the others in the side grow in the knowledge that the team now has more depth to it. With the ball, Kelly and Kerrison are two bowlers who will always be relied upon for their 8 overs, whilst Lana Ryan is another strong option. Sarah Condron and Maria O’Halloran have both bowled nicely when called upon, with the options in the team rounded out by Maria Kerrison and Isobel McCormack, with both of them having bowled plenty of overs so far this season.

Merrion have had mixed bags in their last two performances, struggling with the bat one week and the ball the next, however in their home ground their batting line-up is one to be feared. Rebecca Stokell showed her form last week with an unbeaten 64, and could be the one to guide the side to a big score yet again, having made an 126* in her only previous appearance in this exact fixture in 2022. Malahide will be looking to Arlene Kelly to knock her international team-mate over and give her side a chance of restricting Merrion’s powerful batting unit.

KEY BATTLE: Rebecca Stokell vs Arlene Kelly

The Hills vs Balbriggan

The Fingal derby in the league this week sees Balbriggan making the trip to Skerries, with both sides sitting on one win apiece after four games this season. The home side were on the wrong end of an excellent Phoenix performance last week, and will need to be on their game to bounce back. With the bat, much of how their innings develops depends on Tahlia Dunne at the top of the order, if she gets going the tempo will likely be a lot higher. Around her, Lara McBride has proved a good foil at the top of the order, whilst the Maguire sisters have both contributed nicely to their efforts, Elise Noble is another clean hitter who they will hope can find the boundary in the second half of the innings. With ball in hand, Jane Maguire’s new ball skills are up there with some of the best in the league, and she regularly takes wickets in her opening spell. She’s been joined in the PowerPlay of late by the left-arm spin of her sister Aimee, and the pair are arguably the two best wicket-taking options in the side. Noble’s seamers are another useful option for the side, whilst Lara McBride’s off-breaks have been generally miserly and tended to keep the batting side relatively quiet during her four overs. Tara O’Brien, Chloe Ericson and Rebecca Gough round off the bowling options that have been used regularly in the side this season.

Balbriggan come into this game having not played for three weeks, as mentioned already their ground fell foul to the weather last week meaning no chance of play. Their last fixture however was something of a shock win against Phoenix, with their bowling unit finding a good balance and allowing the batters a chance to hunt down a below par score. Claudia Green and Erin Knight shared the new ball on that occasion, allowing Anna Gaging and Reena Devi to bowl in the middle overs and really stay on top throughout that period, if they can manage to manufacture a similar situation in this week’s game, it could help them to restrict The Hills’ middle order and force pressure to hit out more than usual late in the innings. Robyn Claxton and Marisa Curtis rounded out the attack that day and both did their jobs excellently as part of an all-round effort from the bowling unit. With the bat, the side got to see Green to full effect, as she hammered 11 boundaries in an unbeaten 73, and her form with the willow will be key to the side’s chances of victory again this week. Elsewhere that day, Erin Bond at the top of the order and Anna Gaging at number four are both clean strikers of the ball that would be aiming to support Green, however the lack of depth in the side is something of a concern, and they will hope for someone from number 5 down to put their hand up and contribute if called upon in this fixture.

Ultimately with the bat, Balbriggan are still somewhat flaky beyond the clear quality of Claudia Green, and her contribution will be the key. If Jane Maguire can get to attack the Balbriggan star early on, it will give The Hills a great chance of restricting the side to a below par total.

KEY BATTLE: Jane Maguire vs Claudia Green

Phoenix vs Leinster

Finally we come to the Phoenix Park, where Leinster are the visitors and are once again on a mission to ensure they don’t lose too much ground to league leaders Pembroke. The home side are buoyed by their first win of the season in the league last week, as they saw off The Hills in a relatively facile run chase. Their batting unit is extremely strong and destructive, featuring Gaby Lewis and Georgina Dempsey at the top of the order, who between them hold 4 of the top 5 individual scores in the history of Senior T20 cricket, and Lewis has already shown to be in good form this season, having run up a fine century against Clontarf in the Senior Cup. Beyond that pair, Nevedha Saravanarajan put together a well-made half-century in week one against Merrion, whilst Siúin Woods and Alice Tector are both very capable players in the middle order, Darcey Dalwood is another player who showed the ability to contribute as she helped the side to a defendable total against Balbriggan a few weeks ago. With the ball, Dempsey, Tector and Dalwood are three of the players who can be relied upon with the ball, meaning that there’s a big emphasis on the all-rounders being in form for the side to perform well. Captain Ali Keenan is the other regular seam bowling option in the side, whilst Arisha Foysal’s leg-spin have proven to be very tough to get away when she’s on song.

Leinster meanwhile are desperate to put together a win in this fixture to keep their season on track, with the bat, they have a number of high-class operators, none more-so than Ireland skipper Laura Delany, who hasn’t fired fully since the week two win over Malahide and will be looking to stamp her authority on the game again. Sophie MacMahon was in the runs last week against Clontarf, whilst Clare Webber and Ava Canning are both clean strikers of the ball in the middle order. Wicket-Keeper Joanna Loughran is another very solid player and that top five offers plenty of options who can take the game away from their opposition. With the ball, MacMahon and Katie Dillon were to the fore last week, both taking two wickets, whilst Delany, Canning and Jenny Sparrow are all excellent options who we can expect to see at the bowling crease in this fixture. Since Phoenix’s promotion into the Senior ranks in 2021, these two sides have faced off 8 times, with Leinster victorious on ever single occasion, that will be a record they need to continue if they can find themselves progressing up the league table across the remainder of the season.

With Leinster’s batting line-up appearing so deep yet faltering somewhat in their last two games, in spite of eventually being victorious against Merrion, they will be looking to players that are in form to continue in that vein to give their line-up a chance to outgun their opposition here. Sophie MacMahon made 63 last week, and with an average in excess of 50 in the Phoenix Park, will be a key batter for the away side, if she can get through the opening spell of Georgina Dempsey, it will give Leinster a very good chance of running up a decent total in this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Georgina Dempsey vs Sophie MacMahon

SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE

ROUND 5 – ALL 17:45 STARTS

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Clontarf

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Malahide

At The Vineyard, The Hills vs Balbriggan

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Leinster