WOMEN’S DIVISION ONE PREVIEW – MATCH DAY 12 (AUGUST 15TH)

The twelfth round of fixtures in Women’s Division One take place this Thursday, and with the league title already confirmed to be returning to Sydney Parade, the real action seems as though it’s likely to occur at the opposite end of the table, as with Rush seemingly hammering on the door from the top of Division Two, the real battle will be now to stay away from eighth position.

The current incumbents are Balbriggan, however as they sit on 87 points, there are just 31 points separating them, seventh placed Leinster on 105 and Phoenix & Malahide who are both level on 118 points. This makes for a quite exciting run-in, and kicks off this evening with Balbriggan hosting The Hills, whilst Leinster will look to pull themselves above Phoenix into fifth place as the sides face off in Rathmines. Malahide play host to Merrion, whilst the champions Pembroke will visit Castle Avenue to face the Clontarf side who won the title in 2023.

BALBRIGGAN VS THE HILLS

TO BE REFIXED – BY WOMEN’S COMMITTEE DECISION

LEINSTER VS PHOENIX

In the context of both sides being hurt by international call-ups, Leinster look set to have a stronger look to their side, with their batting led by Clare Webber, Joanna Loughran and Jenny Sparrow, whilst a return for Rebecca Rolfe at the top of the order would no doubt be hugely welcomed by the Rathmines outfit. Webber and Katie Dillon, who has bowled very well in recent weeks, will likely share the new ball, whilst they will have support from the likes of Rachel Byrne and Isabella Merriman, with Sparrow rounding out a good bowling unit when it’s considered that they could be missing three frontline bowlers in Ava Canning, Laura Delany and Sophie MacMahon.

Phoenix meanwhile picked up a crucial victory last week, and they will be hoping to see their wicket-keeper, Siúin Woods continue her form from that fixture. They look set to include Darcey Dalwood in their side again and she’s another player who could feature higher in the batting order in the absence of some of their big names. Alison Black and Zara Craig will both also play important roles in the batting unit should they take the field. With the ball, much rests on whether Alice Tector is available or not, if she does take the field it will be a huge boost to the side, with she and Dalwood a potentially damaging new ball pairing. Arisha Foysal has continued to show her qualities with the ball this season with some excellent leg-breaks, including another three-for last week, whilst Alison Black, Juliet Gargan and Rhea Nair are all options which have been used at times this season.

It's tough to pin point an exact moment which is more important than the next in a fixture quite as important as this, however considering her contribution last week, Siúin Woods’ wicket is set to be key for Phoenix, and if she is dismissed early on by Clare Webber, the away side could find themselves in a spot of trouble.

KEY BATTLE: Clare Webber vs Siúin Woods

MALAHIDE VS MERRION:

Two sides decimated by the current international series go head to head here, with a win for either putting them almost absolutely safe for next season. Starting off with the hosts, they have had a torrid couple of weeks as the absence of Arlene Kelly and Amy Hunter has coincided with a couple of unlucky dismissals for overseas player Christelle van der Schyff, meaning their batting has struggled somewhat. They will be hoping to see the likes of Sarah Condron, Sorcha O’Carolan-Murphy and Sarah Brophy deliver some support to van der Schyff, whilst last week’s fixtures saw Haley Moore showing her abilities with the bat in the lower-middle order and that could prove to be a boost to the side. With the ball, van der Schyff, Condron and Moore will all play a role, and the side will need to be right on top of their game from the outset to have a chance of knocking Merrion over.

The roll-call of players absent for this tie from the Anglesea Road outfit would make up a side worthy of competing for Division One, and it’s a testament to their depth that they could still potentially enter this tie as favourites. Their seamers are spearheaded by Niamh MacNulty, with both Síbha Bhoja and Maddie Blazely absent for this fixture, whilst Julianne Morrissey will be the main spinner with Leah Paul also unavailable. They are likely to see the likes of Isabel Light, Sophie Stewart, Annabel Squires and ex-international Elena Neill feature with the ball to make up for the absence of three of their regular bowling unit. With the bat, they have been boosted by Isobel Joyce’s excellent form, with both she and Aoife Brennan in the runs against their former club Clontarf last week. Neill and Squires are another pair who could also produce contributions with the bat.

Considering how important Christelle van der Schyff is to Malahide’s batting line-up, Merrion will be very keen to knock her over early in the innings. That’s where once again Niamh MacNulty’s opening spell looks set to be crucial for the away side, and whoever comes out on top once that pair have faced off is likely to emerge on the winning side.

KEY BATTLE: Christelle van der Schyff vs Niamh MacNulty

CLONTARF VS PEMBROKE:

Clontarf will be aiming to solidify themselves in second place in the league here, as they play host to the newly crowned league Champions. They are without Úna Raymond-Hoey who picked up a knock on Sunday and also missed out on Tuesday’s T20I as a result. Her loss was Christina Coulter-Reilly’s gain, and having made her international debut on Tuesday, the wicket-keeper returns to Clontarf’s side for this evening’s fixture. She’ll join Robyn Searle at the top of the order, however they do remain without Freya Sargent and Genevieve Morrissey, meaning they’ll be looking to Julie McNally to follow on from her runs last week in the middle order, whilst Lucy Barry and Gemma Sargent will also likely feature in the top 6 once again. With the ball they are missing their potent left-arm opener Sinead Thomson, meaning Alyssa Pasley and Emma Butler are likely to lead the way with the ball, whilst McNally, Barry and Sargent could all feature as well.

Pembroke meanwhile will be aiming to see out an unbeaten league campaign, and are likely to field quite a strong side once again. Skipper Shauna Kavanagh will feature in a batting line-up set to include Lou Lou Little, Clare Shillington, Eimear Mullen and Isobel Jennings, with all of those having contributed to victories at stages already this season, whilst they will also be hopeful that a late call-up earlier in the week for Sarah Forbes won’t rule her out for this fixture. With the ball, Forbes’ off-spin has been key to the side and would be a big miss if she didn’t feature, however Zoe Bell has proved to be an able deputy and could well step up again if needed. Their seamers will likely include KimLi McDonald, Mhairi Nicoll and Anna Beale, with support in the shape of Vanshika Shukla and Little giving them a strong bowling attack, even if they were to be without the services of Forbes and Prendergast.

Pembroke were able to overpower Clontarf in Syndey Parade earlier in the season with Freya Sargent’s middle overs bowling desperately missed for the then visitors, and with her absent once again for this fixture, they’ll be looking for the likes of Julie McNally to tie down Shauna Kavanagh in Pembroke’s middle order, to give them a chance of restricting their visitors to a manageable batting effort.

KEY BATTLE: Julie McNally vs Shauna Kavanagh

DIVISION ONE - MATCH DAY 12

AUGUST 15^TH – ALL 5:45PM STARTS

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs The Hills

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Phoenix

At The Village, Malahide vs Merrion

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Pembroke