SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE PREVIEW - ROUND 6 (JUNE 27TH)

This week sees the 6th round of fixtures in Sprint Coatings Division One, with all eight teams once again in action. League leaders Pembroke play host to The Hills, whilst Leinster travel to face a rejuvenated Balbriggan side. Malahide welcome Phoenix to The Village, with the final game taking place in Clontarf, where Merrion are the visitors.

Pembroke vs The Hills

League leaders Pembroke host fourth-placed The Hills in what could be a very interesting fixture, with the first small chink in the home side's armour appearing last weekend when they dropped a couple of points in their run-chase against Clontarf. They still however boast an excellent wealth of riches with both bat and ball, and their ability to overpower and overwhelm their opposition has been the key so far this season. With the bat, Orla Prendergast and Sarah Forbes have led the way in the main this season, however last week's win was dominated by Lou Lou Little who was explosive in her knock which put the home side well ahead of the game. Skipper Shauna Kavanagh, Clare Shillington and Robyn Lewis make up a strong middle order, with the likes of Isobel Jennings also looking to stamp her mark down on this league. With the ball, Forbes' off-spin has taken plenty of wickets so far this season and she's become a key bowler in the middle overs, with support from Lewis' left-arm spin, and Zoe Bell's off-breaks. The seamers have been led by Prendergast and Little, with strong support from KimLi McDonald and Mhairi Nicholl.

The Hills meanwhile have had a mixed beginning to the season, losing three and winning two of their opening five games. With the bat, Tahlia Dunne has been important, making half-centuries in both of their victories this season, whilst last week's batting effort was boosted by good contributions from the middle order of Elise Noble and Jane & Aimee Maguire. Elsewhere in the side, Lara McBride and Rebecca Gough are another two who have contributed strongly with the bat in the past and could well prove to be crucial should international call-ups affect availability in the coming weeks. With the ball, the Maguires are an extremely important pair, and have shared the new ball regularly this season, with the left-arm spin of Aimee proving to be very economical in the Power Play overs. Lara McBride's off-spin has been excellent of late and they will be hoping to see her continue to develop, however it was Elise Noble's seamers that gave them a real boost with her return last week, her spell of 5/4 off two overs tore Balbriggan apart, and the ability to bowl devastating spells like that could be vital.

Elise Noble's return last week proved to be the catalyst for The Hills to return to winning ways, and it could well be her bowling that proves to be important this week, if she can get on a roll in the middle overs against Pembroke, the home side could face their toughest task yet. Shauna Kavanagh was ice-cool in last week's chase whilst wickets fell around her, and it could well be her that stands in the way of another big spell from Noble.

KEY BATTLE: Shauna Kavanagh vs Elise Noble

Balbriggan vs Leinster

Balbriggan play host to Leinster, who have had a below par start to their season by their own high standards. Things won't get any easier for the Rathmines side either, as they come up against a Balbriggan side which features the Maritz sisters for the first time this season. This comes as a massive boost to the side with both bat and ball, Lara Maritz was the key batter in the side last year, scoring over 700 runs as they romped to Division 2 victory. Her and sister Tess returning to the side adds major depth with the bat, alongside their pair of New Zealanders in Anna Gaging and Claudia Green, in what could prove to be an extremely exciting top four, with each of those players scoring their runs very quickly when they do get going, meaning an innings where two of them get going could be extremely high-scoring. With the ball, it's likely Green, Gaging and Lara Maritz will do a large portion of bowling, along with last season's Division 2 leading bowler Reena Devi, whilst other options include Erin Knight, Alexandra Atkinson and Emily Calvert.

Leinster on the other hand are weakened this week by the absence of a number of regular international players, Laura Delany, Joanna Loughran and Sophie MacMahon all missing from this week's team. Skipper Ava Canning will therefore be vital with both bat and ball, with her in-swing at the top of the innings likely to be a key wicket-taking option. She'll be supported by Clare Webber's right-arm seamers, whilst there are plenty of bowling options in the side this week with Katie Dillon, Rachel Byrne, Isabella Merriman and Sue O'Connor all likely to be called upon at some stage by Canning. With the bat, Canning's clean striking was something of a revelation a couple of seasons ago, and in the absence of some of their batting talent this week it will become extremely important, whilst Webber has been in good form and has the ability to take the game away quickly as well. Wicket-Keeper Isabel Saeed-Maguire and Orla Bagnall are another pair who will be looked to for performances with the bat in the absence of their aforementioned big names.

Lara Maritz has shown on several occasions her ability to take advantage when any team doesn't hit their straps with the ball, therefore Ava Canning's opening spell to her could prove to be a key moment in the game, if Canning can knock Maritz over early, it will put Leinster immediately onto the front foot.

KEY BATTLE: Lara Maritz vs Ava Canning

Malahide vs Phoenix

Two sides coming into this fixture off the back of what could have been deemed unlikely victories last week do battle in The Village. Starting off with Malahide, who managed to turn Merrion over to earn their first win of the season last time out. That came off the back of an excellent all-round effort from Arlene Kelly, who's runs in the last few weeks have helped Malahide become far more competitive than they had been in the opening weeks of the season. With the bat, Lana Ryan, Sarah Condron and overseas player Christelle van der Schyff are likely to be the main contributors at the top of the order, whilst if Kelly is also unavailable this time around, they will be looking to skipper Anna Kerrison to lead the side through to the end of the innings. With the ball, Condron and Ryan's seamers will be key at the top, whilst Kelly's seamers have led the way in recent weeks. Kerrison's off-spin has been vital for a number of seasons for the side and her bowling to the Phoenix middle order could prove to be a hugely important part of the game.

Phoenix's victories this season have been built around the batting successes of Gaby Lewis and Georgina Dempsey, with the pair taking advantage of a pair of early dropped catches last week to bring their side to the bring of victory against Leinster. Beyond that pair the likes of Siúin Woods, Alice Tector and Nevedha Saravanarajan have been the staple members of the top five who will be looking to add more contributions of their own in this fixture, whilst further down, Darcey Dalwood, Alison Black and Sophie McDonough are all capable of finding the boundary and could boost the total at the back end of the innings. With the ball, Tector and Dempsey have produced some good new ball spells, and are likely to be important again, whilst skipper Ali Keenan's medium pace is another strong option within the team. Arisha Foysal meanwhile has been the stand-out bowler to emerge in the early part of this season, with her leggies being particularly economical.

The addition of Christelle van der Schyff to the side will no doubt have boosted confidence throughout the side in Malahide, and this week she could prove to be incredibly important. Alice Tector's ability to move the ball may well prove to be important in attempting to dismiss The Village's overseas player, and the battle between that pair may well be a key moment in this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Christelle van der Schyff vs Alice Tector

Clontarf vs Merrion

Last season's top two face off in Castle Avenue, and with Clontarf looking to bounce back from last week's defeat against Pembroke, they will be hoping to see some strong contributions from their key batters this time around. Christina Coulter-Reilly is the player with the ability to make big runs and bat 'Tarf out of sight in games, whilst Robyn Searle, Freya Sargent and Julie McNally are all capable of finding the boundary. They also have a pair of in-form batters in Genevieve Morrissey and Gemma Sargent, who both made unbeaten half-centuries in Clontarf 2's victory on Tuesday evening. With the ball, skipper Emma Butler and Sinead Thomson are a strong opening pair who can both move the ball in the Power Play, whilst McNally and Morrissey are also favoured options in the side. Lucy Barry was the pick of the bowlers in last week's fixture against Pembroke and if she continues the knack of taking wickets, then could prove to be vital in these types of fixtures, finally Coulter-Reilly's move to keeping wicket has freed up Robyn Searle to also be another bowling option for the side.

Merrion meanwhile suffered a tough defeat last week, suffering from the absence of regular strong performers Leah Paul, Rebecca Stokell and skipper Celeste Raack, and a return for any of those players this week would be a welcome addition to the team. Annabel Squires has emerged as the next cab off the rank for the side, making her second unbeaten half-century of the season last week, and along with the likes of Aoife Brennan and Maddie Blazely, will be important to the side with the bat in the middle order when they are affected by international call-ups. With the ball, Blazely and Síbha Bhoja are two very important seamers in the side, whilst Niamh MacNulty was another bowler who missed last week's game and is a big loss when not available. Julianne Morrissey's ability to take important wickets will be tested once again this time around, whilst last week the bowling options were rounded out by Brennan and Isabel Light's medium pace.

Merrion may well come into this game in a stronger position than they did last week, however they could still struggle if their usual key players miss out again, in that context it's likely they will be looking to Síbha Bhoja to find the big wicket of 'Tarf's opening batter Christina Coulter-Reilly, if she can do that, it will open the door for the away side to attempt to suffocate the home side's batting efforts.

KEY BATTLE: Christina Coulter-Reilly vs Síbha Bhoja

SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE

Thursday, June 27th - All 5:45 Start

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs The Hills

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Leinster

At The Village, Malahide vs Phoenix

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Merrion