SPRINT COATINGS SENIOR CUP ROUND ONE PREVIEW

The Sprint Coatings Women’s Senior Cup has been a competition which has thrown up plenty of enthralling and exciting cricket over the past few seasons. Merrion have been the driving force since the competition came back having missed the 2020 season. They were runners-up in 2021, before winning two on the bounce for the last two seasons.

That of course makes them the early season team to look out for in this competition, whilst the other team with a strong recent record is Pembroke, who won the title in 2021, and were runners-up last season. Clontarf are the only other side to take part in the final in the post-Covid time, as they were runners-up in 2022.

This season sees Balbriggan making their debut in the competition, and doing so with a home draw against local rivals The Hills. Phoenix and Clontarf go for take two after their league fixture last week was rained off, Merrion travel to Malahide, whilst Pembroke host Leinster in a repeat of the first round of league fixtures.

Phoenix vs Clontarf

The weather deprived us of the perfect preview for this game last week, as this exact fixture was rained off after just 11 balls.

Phoenix have been boosted this season by the arrival of former YMCA trio Gaby Lewis, Siúin Woods and Alice Tector, and with those players bolstering each aspect of the side in both batting & bowling, whilst Woods is key behind the stumps. Lewis and Nevedha Saravanarajan at the top of the order are probably the key components to ensuring their unit works well, with Woods also providing plenty of boundary hitting options. Georgina Dempsey’s early season absence has obviously been a loss to the side and if she’s back it will assist the team hugely with both bat and ball. Tector’s swing bowling is her biggest asset, with more assistance coming from captain Ali Keenan.

Clontarf have a very strong unit that has in the main come through the ranks for them in the past few years, with the bat, Christina Coulter-Reilly is their massive wicket, her ball striking has been superb for the past season or so and she leads the way for her side, there’s support from Robyn Searle and Genevieve Morrissey, whilst even slightly further down Freya Sargent is a calculated batter who has done well. With the ball, both Morrissey and Sargent are options, whilst Sinead Thomson, Julie McNally and Gemma Sargent all offer strong options which have had good impact at different stages this season.

Christina Coulter-Reilly’s batting has been the main contributor to Clontarf’s major improvement in the past season or so, and her battle with Alice Tector’s new ball spell will be a vital stage in the game to see what direction the momentum goes.

KEY BATTLE: Alice Tector vs Christina Coulter-Reilly

Malahide vs Merrion

Merrion have gotten their season off to an almost perfect start, compiling two victories in spite of the absence of key players in Leah Paul, Rebecca Stokell and Rachel Delaney. The batting has been built around Celeste Raack and Isobel Joyce, with Joyce’s runs at the top of the order last week proving vital to the side’s victory, after Annabel Squires’ half-century had seen them to a win in week one. A return for their experienced internationals would bolster their batting hugely for this week and that could be the key towards them continuing their excellent run in this cup. With the ball, Niamh MacNulty and Maddie Blazely are the key seamers in the side and once again will be leading the way in an effort to find early wickets.

Malahide’s start has been somewhat inauspicious and they haven’t been helped by the absence of Arlene Kelly and Amy Hunter in the opening two weeks. The cup however offers them an opportunity to bounce back and if their pair of internationals are added to the side they could prove something of a banana skin for Merrion. Lana Ryan, Anna Kerrison and Sarah Condron are the three strong all-rounders who can deliver with bat and ball, whilst with the ball Maria O’Halloran and Haley Moore will provide back up to their battalion of all-rounders. Another massive boost if their Irish internationals are back available would be having Amy Hunter behind the stumps, with her skills being a big help to the side.

Niamh MacNulty’s opening spells for Merrion have always been vital since her introduction to the side and this fixture could see her going toe-to-toe with Lana Ryan at the top of the order for the home side, with her wicket being an important part of the game of late.

KEY BATTLE: Lana Ryan vs Niamh MacNulty

Balbriggan vs The Hills

Balbriggan are another side who have had a torrid start to their season, and they’ll be desperate to get back on track here in the local derby against The Hills. Claudia Green and Anna Gaging have been and will be absolutely crucial to the side this season, with this fixture set to be no different. With the bat, Izzy McLean has shown an ability to occupy the crease, whilst Jessica Butler and Alexandra Atkinson will also be in the top 6 alongside the Kiwi all-rounder pair and will need to provide strong support to help the team to a competitive score. With the ball, Reena Devi provides support with the leading bowler in Division 2 last season needing to be on song to assist Green and Gaging to put pressure onto The Hills top order.

The Hills have been explosive at the top to start the season, however they struggled after the dismissal of Tahlia Dunne which saw them ultimately fall short against Merrion. Elise Noble and Lara McBride at the top, along with Rebecca Gough in the middle order are the players who will need to stand up around Dunne in order to keep The Hills in a strong position with the bat. With the ball, Jane Maguire’s new ball spell is always reliable and accurate, she is sure to cause Balbriggan issues, whilst sister Aimee’s left-arm spin is the other really high-class option in the side. McBride & Noble’s all-round skills with see them join the Maguires in the bowling unit, with support from the likes of Chloe Ericson and Aisling Byrne who also provide solid options.

Claudia Green’s opening spell with the ball against Tahlia Dunne will likely prove to be a crucial part of the game, with the Kiwi native needing to dismiss The Hills’ Aussie-born opener to give their side any chance of keeping the away side to a manageable total.

KEY BATTLE: Claudia Green vs Tahlia Dunne

Pembroke vs Leinster

The featured game this evening sees Leinster travelling to Pembroke in a repeat of the opening round of league fixtures. However this fixture is set to be an even more competitive event. Pembroke’s side features Little sisters LouLou, who skippers the team, and Hannah for the first time this season, with Orla Prendergast returning having not featured against Balbriggan in last week’s victory. The batting and bowling is therefore much stronger than it was last time around, with Shauna Kavanagh, Robyn Lewis, Clare Shillington and Sarah Forbes another four players with international caps who will all feature in the batting unit. Hannah Little and Prendergast will in all likelihood share the new ball, whilst Mhairi Nicholl and KimLi McDonald are the other two seamers in the side. Lewis’ left arm spin is a massive bonus to the side this season and makes them a formidable all-round unit.

Leinster meanwhile see Ava Canning return to captain the side and she’ll bolster the bowling with her in-swingers with the new ball, and batting with her ability to find the boundary. Whilst Rebecca Rolfe at the top of the order made an unbeaten half-century last week, before mentioning the skills of other current internationals Sophie MacMahon, Joanna Loughran and Ireland skipper Laura Delany who along with Clare Webber round off an excellent top 6. With the ball, Jenny Sparrow and Katie Dillon will offer support to Canning and MacMahon who should provide plenty of challenges to the Pembroke batters.

Orla Prendergast settled this game in jig time in Round One of the league season, however the return of Leinster’s international cricketers for this fixture will surely make it more competitive, if Prendergast can get through the opening spell of Ava Canning, Pembroke are sure to be in a really strong position yet again this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Orla Prendergast vs Ava Canning