SPRINT COATINGS WOMEN'S SENIOR CUP SEMIS (TUES 16.7)

The Sprint Coatings Women's Senior Cup competition has reached the semi-final stage with two very interesting ties in prospect - both games are scheduled to take place on Tuesday next, 16th July at 6.00pm:

- Phoenix vs Merrion (Phoenix Park)

- The Hills vs Pembroke (The Vineyard)

Neither Phoenix or The Hills have ever won this competition so both will be hoping that home advantage and strengthened squads this year will see them through to the Final which is scheduled to take place at Sydney Parade on Bank Holiday Monday, 5th August as part of a double-header with the Sprint Coatings Women's Minor Cup Final.

Of the teams remaining in the competition, Merrion have the best historical track record having won the Senior trophy on no less than 8 occasions since its inception back in 1977 and in fact are the title holders having defeated Pembroke in last year's show-down at Sydney Parade.

Pembroke will be looking to leave Skerries on Tuesday evening having secured their place in what would be another 'home' Final - Pembroke has won this title on three previous occasions in 2011, 2014 and most recently in 2022. Having been beaten by Merrion in the 2023 Final, they will be hoping to go one better this year.

PHOENIX VS MERRION

These two games are set to be brilliant contests, and we’ll kick off our look at the fixtures in the Phoenix Park. Since Phoenix’s promotion to Sprint Coatings Division One in 2021, they are as yet to beat Merrion, in fact, the visitors have gained 123 from a possible 125 points in the league in that period of time. This is a much changed Phoenix side from last season, albeit Merrion did win the first league fixture of the season between the sides by 8 wickets, and have been in excellent form all-round this season, with several different players contributing to their victories. They boast a typically strong side for this fixture, and having won their last two league matches, carry some momentum into the game. Their batting has several strong aspects to it including Leah Paul at the top of the order, Rebecca Stokell who has tended to bat at number 3, whilst Annabel Squires and Izzy Joyce have both been in excellent form in the middle order. With the ball meanwhile, they are without Niamh MacNulty who is on underage international duty, however Síbha Bhoja and Maddie Blazely are still two strong seam options, whilst Isabel Light and Aoife Brennan will likely account for MacNulty’s overs. Their pair of spinners in Julianne Morrissey and Paul are key players, and they will be under pressure to bowl good spells in the middle overs against a strong Phoenix top order.

The home side meanwhile are also near to full strength, however are without Alice Tector who is also with Ireland U17. Gaby Lewis and Georgina Dempsey lead the way with the bat, and the absence of Tector from the middle order makes one of that pair taking the game deep even more important. Their middle order does feature Siúin Woods, Nevedha Saravanarajan, Zara Craig and Alison Black, and they will no doubt need contributions from this unit to help them put together a score capable of seeing off Merrion. Their bowling is significantly affected by the loss of Tector, however Dempsey is more than capable of bowling a devastating spell, and will be supported by Craig, skipper Ali Keenan, and leg-spinner Arisha Foysal in an attack which on it’s day has several players who could knock their opposition over with a brilliant spell of bowling.

The key batter for Merrion in recent weeks has been Leah Paul, with the left-hander having been unlucky twice now to not bring up centuries in league fixtures. Her battle against the new ball spell of Georgina Dempsey is set to be key, as if Phoenix can’t knock Paul over early they could well be in for a long day.

KEY BATTLE: Georgina Dempsey vs Leah Paul

THE HILLS VS PEMBROKE

We don’t have to look too far into the history book for a formline between these two sides, The Hills are the only side to have come close to beating Pembroke as yet this season, with the Sydney Parade outfit needing their youngsters to come to the rescue, as KimLi McDonald and Zoe Bell bowled brilliant spells to deny the Skerries side a massive scalp in the league. That game will certainly have given the home side a massive boost and the belief that they can knock over the league leaders in this fixture.

The Hills come into this fixture off the back of a strong performance against Leinster last week, built around a nice batting effort in the first innings. Elise Noble was the key in that instance, as she made an unbeaten 57, however with the next highest score being just 20, there’s room for more contributions from the likes of Tahlia Dunne, Lara McBride and Jane Maguire. Aimee Maguire is missing for their side due to Ireland U17 duty, meaning Rebecca Gough and Cliodhna O’Reardon will likely move up the batting order. With the ball, they will be reliant on the opening burst of Jane Maguire to break through, and it’s likely that McBride may accompany her with the new ball in the absence of Aimee who has opened the bowling regularly this season. Chloe Eircson and Tara O’Brien have both bowled good spells in recent weeks and may get an opportunity to bowl more overs in the absence of their left-arm spinner, whilst Noble rounds off the attack.

Pembroke meanwhile have a typically strong side out, but are the only one of the four sides to be missing two players on international duty, as both Isobel Jennings, who opened in the league fixture between these sides, and Zoe Bell, who bowled a crucial spell in that game, are both away with Ireland U17 as well. Importantly for them, Orla Prendergast and Lou Lou Little both return to the side having missed last week’s victory, and will strengthen the batting line-up significantly. They add to Sarah Forbes, Shauna Kavanagh and Clare Shillington as the main batters in the side, whilst Eimear Mullen made a vital contribution at number 6 last week and is likely to be continuing in that role. Their bowling attack is led by Prendergast, however they do also have the hero of their last fixture between the teams KimLi McDonald who will also bowl seam, along with the options of Anna Beale, Mhairi Nicoll and Susie Whaley who could all be called upon to bowl their medium pace. In the absence of Bell, Sarah Forbes is the frontline spinner in the side, whilst the other option who has bowled spin this season is Shauna Kavanagh, however the absence of Jennings means she will in all likelihood be returning to her role behind the stumps.

Last time around this game hinged on The Hills not quite keeping enough wickets in hand and Pembroke being able to squeeze as a result. Elise Noble’s good form last week is a positive in that regard, and it could mean they are in a better stead in that regard, however they will need to navigate the spell of Orla Prendergast early in the innings once again, and if ‘OP’ can take early wickets, of Noble in particular, it could cause some trouble for the home side.

KEY BATTLE: Elise Noble vs Orla Prendergast

The Sprint Coatings Senior Cup Final is scheduled for Monday 5th August at 4.00pm in Sydney Parade which will also be live-streamed (with commentary) on the CL YouTube channel throughout the day. Our thanks to Alan & Michelle Maginnis from Sprint Coatings for their unstinting support of female cricket in Leinster, it is very much appreciated.