SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE – ROUND 5 PREVIEW

The fifth round of Sprint Coatings Women’s Division One is played out in full this evening – with four ties hopefully seeing every team in the league in action on the same evening for the first time this season.

To start with we have an exact repeat of the game from the first night of the season in the Senior Cup – as Clontarf travel to The Hills. The visitors put in a very good batting performance last week, Aoife Brennan and Isobel Joyce contributing large chunks of their 138, before falling foul of firstly an excellent spell of death bowling by Kate McEvoy to stunt their late-order hitting followed by Gaby Lewis’ imperious 94*. They would be unlucky to come up against two excellent performances like those again in the same game in the season, never mind two games in a row! Their generally consistent bowling attack suffered at the hands of Lewis last week, but if they can get back to their form of week’s previous when they were tight throughout the innings, ‘Tarf will have a good chance of repeating their opening night win.

The Hills meanwhile have yet to win a game this season, but their last two outings against Leinster and Merrion have given them plenty of cause for optimism. So far their batting unit has seen one player stand out in each game, it feels as if the game where the whole unit clicks is just around the corner, and they will hope that when it does happen they are able to rely on their bowling to do the steady job which it has excelled at early in innings’ so far this season. Jane Maguire had an excellent performance last week against Leinster, and she’ll be vital to her side’s chances this evening.

KEY BATTLE: Jane Maguire vs Aoife Brennan

Up next is a reverse of an opening night game – Malahide travel to Anglesea Road to face a Merrion side who will be looking to bounce back from last week’s loss in Sydney Parade. The home side didn’t get close to firing on all cylinders that day as each of their top 5 passed ten, but nobody could play the match winning innings the chase needed. Rebecca Stokell showed intent on her way to a top score of 38, and it’s probably her form that will be most important to Merrion this evening if they are to outgun their opposition.

Malahide meanwhile are also smarting after letting what seemed like at one stage was going to be a remarkable chase fall flat on it’s face as they collapsed from 107/0 to 124 all out last week against Phoenix. The one thing they will take massive confidence from however is the form of their opening pair of Caoimhe McCann and Amy Hunter. The pair batted superbly well for their 100 run partnership and if both continue to be on song tonight, they will certainly cause Merrion a problem or two. They will surely aim to apply scoreboard pressure to their hosts after seeing what happened in both side’s games last week.

KEY BATTLE: Niamh McNulty vs Amy Hunter

Next up is what is set to be an excellent match-up between Leinster and Pembroke in Rathmines. The visitors are in flying form having won their opening two games of the season, while last week against Merrion not alone was the result impressive, but their performance equally so. LouLou Little struck the ball powerfully to all parts of the ground as she finished unbeaten on 99, her ability to power through the line of the ball will be very important against a Leinster side that tend to bowl with excellent control, Shauna Kavanagh is also in excellent touch at the moment, scoring her runs quietly but efficiently and doing the perfect job for her team at number 3. With the ball Mhairi Nicholl and Anna Beale were on song last week, but against this Leinster line-up it’s likely that Orla Prendergast’s new ball spell will be where Pembroke can get a foothold in the game.

Leinster meanwhile welcome back Laura Delany and Ava Canning who both missed their last game on international duty. Delany was dismissed for the first time in the league since 2019 on her last appearance, and it again feels like her wicket will be all important whether Leinster bat first or second. Sophie MacMahon has been the star with the bat for the home side this season so again she’s another top order wicket that Pembroke will be gunning for to get themselves into the game. Ava Canning’s return will be a big boost for the hosts with the ball, and her battle with Pembroke’s top order could also go a long way to deciding the outcome of this game.

KEY BATTLE: Orla Prendergast vs Laura Delany

YMCA travel to Phoenix in our featured game of the day this evening in a tie that sees some of the competitions most powerful and consistent ball strikers face off against opposing strong seam bowling attacks.

The hosts boast one of the most consistent players in the league so far this season in Lara Maritz at number 3, she’s been dismissed twice for her 279 runs, passing 50 on three occasions and converting one of those into three figures, her runs have been the backbone of an unbeaten start to the league season for the ‘Nix and it’s likely they will again look to her to lead the way with the bat again this evening. Georgina Dempsey’s 196 runs at an average of 49 have come at a good strike rate, and if herself and Maritz can get moving YMCA will have a job on their hands to stop them in their tracks. With the ball for Phoenix, Dempsey and Maritz again were superb in clawing back the victory against Malahide last week, alongside Ashlee King they are almost certainly the quickest pace trio in the league, if they can find a way to get through YM’s top three, they will have a great chance of winning this game.

YMCA on the other hand have a top three with the bat that are all aggressive stroke-makers. Gaby Lewis’ skills were on show for all to see in Clontarf last week, whilst Sarah Forbes has excelled in the Super Series this season and Robyn Lewis at number three is an accomplished run scorer at this level over the past few seasons, that top three against Phoenix’s three pronged seam attack is a battle not to be missed. On the seam bowling front, Lucy O’Reilly and Kate McEvoy were both excellent last week in Clontarf and the pair will need to be again to combat the power at the top of Phoenix’s order. If one side’s seamers can win the battle early on, it’s more than likely they’ll have won their side the game. However if neither side can get on top in the powerplay, we could well be all set for a high-scoring thriller!

KEY BATTLE: Lara Maritz vs Lucy O’Reilly

SPRINT COATINGS WOMEN’S DIVISION ONE

8^th July

Merrion vs Malahide, Anglesea Road – 18:00

Leinster vs Pembroke, Observatory Lane – 18:00

Phoenix vs YMCA, Phoenix Park – 18:00 – featured game of the day

The Hills vs Clontarf, Milverton – 18:00