SPRINT COATINGS WOMENS DIVISION ONE PREVIEW – MATCH DAY 2 (MAY 16TH)

In a flash the second round of fixtures in Sprint Coatings Division One are upon us, last week saw some brilliant cricket played in the opening fixtures, Clontarf’s victory set-up by Christina Coulter-Reilly with the first century in the competition of the season followed by 4-4 for Freya Sargent, Orla Prendergast with a sensational 13-ball half-century helped blast Pembroke to an opening day win. There were a pair of dominant performances for The Hills, as Tahlia Dunne’s 77 paired with 4/10 for Lara McBride led them to success against Malahide, whilst the featured action in Anglesea Road saw Merrion victorious in a tense chase, Annabel Squires their hero with an unbeaten half-century.

This week’s action sees all four fixtures taking place north of the Liffey. Clontarf are the visitors to the Phoenix Park, whilst Leinster travel to face Malahide. Further out the M1, Merrion travel to face The Hills in the only tie between two winning teams from last time out, whilst Pembroke are the visitors to Balbriggan.

PHOENIX VS CLONTARF

Kicking off in the Park, the home side had a near perfect start to the season last weekend, but unfortunately fell just short against a spirited fightback from Merrion. Their openers Gaby Lewis and Nevedha Saravanarajan scored the bulk of their runs with 34 and an unbeaten half-century respectively, and they along with Siúin Woods will be vital with the bat. With the ball, the lack of a quality fifth bowler really hurt Phoenix last time around, so they will need Alice Tector and Ali Keenan to take wickets if they are to keep a handle on Clontarf through their batting innings.

Clontarf meanwhile really hit the ground running last week, Christina Coulter-Reilly’s unbeaten century got her season off to the perfect start, her batting along with the power hitting of Robyn Searle will once again be the foundations upon which the ‘Tarf innings is likely to be built. This base of talent provides an excellent opportunity for the side to blood players such as Genevieve Morrissey with the bat, she appeared at the top of the order last week. With the ball, Freya Sargent impressed last week, taking 4-4, however the key bowler in the side was Sinead Thomson, who took two vital wickets at the top of the order. They will be supported by skipper Emma Butler and Gemma Sargent in the prominent positions with the ball.

Phoenix’s top order is now the key for them in general, with Gaby Lewis the obvious big star there, if she can get beyond Sinead Thomson’s opening spell which did most of the damage last time around, they’ll be right on top.

KEY BATTLE: Gaby Lewis vs Sinead Thomson

THE HILLS VS MERRION

The Hills kicked off last weekend with a remarkable opening win over Malahide, Tahlia Dunne leading the way with the bat, and she along with support from Rebecca Gough and Elise Noble will be the key players once again in this week’s fixtures. Whilst their bowling unit, featuring international sisters in Aimee and Jane Maguire is probably the trump card to the side, as now with younger players such as Lara McBride, who led the way last week, and Tara O’Brien in the side offering depth along with their more experienced players in Noble and Aisling Byrne, putting the side into a really strong position with the ball.

Merrion meanwhile come in off the back of a good performance last week, however are once again devoid of several crucial players in their side. Celeste Raack captains the side which will be reliant on the bowling of herself, Niamh MacNulty, Síbha Bhoja, Julianne Morrissey and Maddie Blazely to really restrict The Hills’ explosive top order, whilst the batting of Raack and Aoife Brennan is likely to be what gets the side into the game when the number of key players the side have are taken into account.

Raack is looking forward to this fixture and keen to see where their new players can perform, saying; “This game offers plenty of opportunity for our youth players to step up and we’re very excited to see what our new recruits Aoife Brennan and Maddie Blazely can do”

Undoubtedly The Hills key batter in this game will be Tahlia Dunne as they hope she continues her good form, Maddie Blazely was the bowler that made the breakthrough last week to dismiss Gaby Lewis, and will be the one they hope to get the key wicket again this time around.

KEY BATTLE: Tahlia Dunne vs Maddie Blazely

Balbriggan vs Pembroke

Balbriggan got off to a torrid start last week, with Clontarf delivering a hammering, and life doesn’t get any easier as they welcome Pembroke this time around. Claudia Green and Anna Gaging will need to lead the way with bat and ball as this extremely inexperienced side are sure to be under pressure from the outset, Reena Devi is another one of the players who was crucial in their promotion last season, however the remainder of the side are made up of players who predominantly ply their trade in the 2^nd XI in Division 4.

Pembroke are without Orla Prendergast and Kate McKenna from last week’s side, however there’s a debut for Sarah Forbes who will bolster the batting, in their absence. With the ball, they are still without Hannah Little, meaning they will be relying on Robyn Lewis’ spin to lead the way again, with medium pace coming from Kim Li McDonald and Mhairi Nicholl, they will be reliant on consistency being key in boring their opposition out. Shauna Kavanagh will be the one in the batting line-up who will be vital to their chances of being consistent throughout the season and mounting an attack at the league title, and games like this will be where she looks to stamp her authority on the league.

Claudia Green’s spell with the ball will be the main chance which the home side have of taking wickets, if she can knock over Shauna Kavanagh early in the piece, Balbriggan may have a sniff.

KEY BATTLE: Claudia Green vs Shauna Kavanagh

Malahide vs Leinster

Malahide will have been somewhat rocked by last weekend’s opening home defeat, in particular the manner of how it happened. Anna Kerrison, Lana Ryan and Sarah Condron are set to be key to something of a recovery with the bat, with the side never really getting going at all last weekend. With the ball, Kerrison’s left-arm spin, along with the bowling of Maria O’Halloran will likely be the two key elements to the side’s chances of keeping Leinster to a low score, with the absence of Arlene Kelly and Amy Hunter really affecting the side.

Leinster meanwhile enter this game as fully loaded as they can be, with Laura Delany and Joanna Loughran both returning having missed last week’s opening fixture. They join fellow international Sophie MacMahon in the top order and will be hoping to help provide an immediate bounce-back after last week’s loss. Clare Webber showed her abilities with the bat last time around and will be another key all-rounder in the team. With the ball, Jenny Sparrow and Rachel Byrne are two bowlers who will need to be on song against this unit, whilst the return of Delany will majorly boost the bowling stocks also.

Anna Kerrison is likely to be the bowler tasked with keeping Laura Delany under wraps early in her innings, however if Delany can get on top and get herself up and running quickly, it will give Leinster every chance of a free-scoring innings.

KEY BATTLE: Anna Kerrison vs Laura Delany

SPRINT COATINGS DIVISION ONE (all start at 17:45)

Phoenix vs Clontarf, at Phoenix Park

The Hills vs Merrion, at The Vineyard

Balbriggan vs Pembroke, at Jack Harper Park

Malahide vs Leinster, at Malahide