ED SPORTS PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH DAY 5 (JUNE 11TH)

After a bye week for all sides last weekend following the ‘festival’ days on May 30^th, the ED Sports Premier League returns to centre stage this Thursday evening. Merrion were the big winners that day, as having already had their early season bye-week, they claimed a brace of comprehensive victories to jump to the top of the table, whilst just 11 points separate 2^nd placed Clontarf and 5^th placed Malahide, who are on a bye this week.

This Thursday sees a double dose of Dublin 4 cricket, with Pembroke welcoming Rush, whilst Leinster make the trip across to Anglesea Road to face Merrion. Phoenix welcome Balbriggan to the park, with the final action coming from Castle Avenue, as The Hills are the visitors to Clontarf.

CLONTARF VS THE HILLS

Clontarf find themselves lying second after two fine victories in the last round of games, and will be hoping to continue in that vein. Their batting is led by Robyn Searle at the top of the order, however they will have to do without Alice Walsh this time around. Genevieve Morrissey and Rosie Neuman-Jones were both in the runs in recent wins, and are growing into a formidable force at numbers 3 and 4 in this batting unit, whilst skipper Lucy Barry and all-rounder Sinead Thomson are both capable of finding the ropes in the middle order. That duo of Barry and Thomson are set to share the new ball once again, with further medium pace bowling coming from Annabel Walsh, there’s spin from Neuman-Jones and potentially Searle should the situation call for it, as Clontarf will look to keep things tight through the middle overs.

The Hills meanwhile are boosted this week by the retention of Abbi Harrison in their XI, who will retain the gloves and add some power-hitting at the top of the Milverton side’s batting order. She’s likely to be partnered by the skipper Eve Meachen, whilst Aimee Scollard will also appear in the top three. That trio are by a distance the most experienced in the side and as a result will need to pile up plenty of runs to keep their side in contention this time around. With the ball, they will look to Meachen’s leg-breaks to provide inroads early on, whilst there are seam options in the shape of teenage duo Tara O’Brien and Vanessa Scollard. Neha Manoj’s left-arm spin is the other frontline option which The Hills have made use of so far this season, and they are likely to favour her through the middle overs once again.

Clontarf will be hoping to see the back of Abbi Harrison early on to give them a foothold in this fixture, if Lucy Barry can dismiss her, it will put the hosts right on the front foot.

KEY BATTLE: Lucy Barry vs Abbi Harrison

PEMBROKE VS RUSH

Pembroke look to kick-start their season this week, having won just 2 of their 5 fixtures so far they will be keen to get back on an even keel. They will need to do so without regular skipper Isobel Jennings however, with Irish international Sarah Forbes stepping into the captaincy this time out. She’ll lead a batting unit that looks set heavily to rely on herself, Marama Downes, Izzy McLean and Eimear Mullen, however there’s doubtless an opportunity for their young guns in the shape of Jessica Duffy-Mullen and Susie Whaley to announce themselves at this level with good performances here. On the bowling front, there’s plenty of options with experience at this level to the fore, Hannah Little returns to the side, and leads a seam attack that includes KimLi McDonald and Marama Downes, whilst there’s more medium pace likely in the middle overs in the shape of Anna Beale and Mhairi Nicoll. Forbes will provide the spin option, whilst Vanshika Shukla is yet another bowler who the stand-in skipper could throw the ball to.

Rush meanwhile find themselves reeling somewhat after their initial collapse against Malahide was followed up by a chastening loss to Merrion on May 30^th. Having looked home and hosed against the hosts in the first tie, their batting, led by overseas player Cate Pedersen fell away massively as the finishing line came into view. Pedersen and Ellie McGee are a vital pairing at the top of the order for the Kenure side, with support from Elizabeth Cohr. Aoife Beggs returns to the side this week and will add depth with the bat that the visitors will hope to see paying dividends. Rebecca Lowe, Georgia Wilson and Lucy Neely made up the bulk of the middle order last time out, and no doubt Rush look a stronger outfit with that trio involved. On the bowling front they are heavily reliant on their all-rounders, with the spin of Cohr and McGee playing a crucial role. Aadita Subramanya Ramnathpur’s medium pace is another solid option, whilst the medium pace of Mabel O’Donoghue could also be called upon in this fixture.

This could well be a battle of the two captains this time around, with Ellie McGee looking to knock over Sarah Forbes to put her side on the attack early in the piece.

KEY BATTLE: Sarah Forbes vs Ellie McGee

MERRION VS LEINSTER

Merrion come flying into this fixture against Leinster having won 5 from 5 in all competitions and having welcomed overseas player Bella Armstrong back into the team with a bang last time out, where she opened up her season with scores of 67 and an unbeaten 130. She leads a power-packed batting line-up, which will also feature Annabel Squires and Aisling Lawlor, who have been in the runs in recent weeks, whilst wicket-keeper Ally Boucher and all-rounder Aoife Brennan are likely to play prominent roles in the top 6. The skipper Niamh MacNulty leads the way with the ball, likely to share the opening duties with Síbha Bhoja, whilst Brennan, the league’s leading bowler in 2025, provides another strong medium pace option. From there it’s trial by spin, as Lawlor and Armstrong provide leg-breaks and off-spin respectively to back up the golden-arm of Julianne Morrissey, who regularly finds herself taking the biggest wickets in the opposition line-up.

Leinster come into this tie without several frontline names available still, with Ava Canning on World Cup duty, whilst Laura Delany is still on the comeback trail from injury. Added to that this week, they are also without Jenny Sparrow and Sue O’Connor from their regular side. Rebecca Rolfe skippers the team and is likely to open the batting alongside either wicket-keeper Joanna Loughran, or overseas player Alex Sheedy. Tash Richardson and Ella MacMahon will feature in the middle order with both capable of finding the boundary regularly should they get set at the crease. The bowling looks set to be led by Sheedy and Katie Dillon, with support once again coming from Isabella Merriman and Orla Bagnall. Lauren Torpey was another option used last week by the visitors, and could well feature at the bowling crease once again.

Merrion’s batting could prove to be destructive this week, however it is with the ball where they could make quick inroads. Niamh MacNulty will likely get the opportunity to bowl to Alex Sheedy early on, and if she can knock the Aussie over, it will put the hosts into pole position straight away.

KEY BATTLE: Niamh MacNulty vs Alex Sheedy

PHOENIX VS BALBRIGGAN

Finally we head to the Phoenix Park, where Balbriggan are the visitors and in flying form after two thumping victories last time out. The sides come into this tie just two points apart in the table, however the visitors have played a game less and will be looking to keep applying pressure upwards in the table. They will look to do so via some dominance with the bat, Lara Maritz has started the season in flying form, however she is being hunted by her teammates in the run-scoring charts. Julia Hoal opens the batting alongside her and has shown an excellent ability to pierce the field early on, whilst number three Madison Landsman boasts a fine array of stroke-making that sees her scoring all around the wicket. It’s a credit to that trio that Courtney Gounden has barely had a chance to get going at number 4 as yet this season, however in the chance she did get at the top of the order against Pembroke she stroked an unbeaten half-century! The bowlers are led by Gounden and Landsman, whilst Maritz is still one of the paciest around on her day. The pair of Erins – Bond & Knight provide their medium pace alongside Anna Vezhakattu in a side that carries plenty of threat throughout.

The hosts meanwhile are led once again by Zara Craig, and are one of the sides affected the most by the T20 World Cup this month as Gaby Lewis, Georgina Dempsey and Alice Tector all feature in the Irish squad. They are also without their frontline wicket-keeper this week, with Siúin Woods missing out, meaning Nevedha Saravanarajan deputises behind the sticks. She is also likely to deputise for Woods at the top of the order, alongside Craig, whilst Aditiba Chudasama and Darcey Dalwood will slide up a spot each in the middle order. The bowling is where this Phoenix’s side’s strength lies, as alongside the pace of Chudasama, Dalwood and Craig, there’s plenty of experience in the shape of Ali Keenan’s right-arm seamers. Juliet Gargan and Lily McDonagh are another pair of medium-pacers with plenty of potential, who could thrive in the absence of some key team members.

Lara Maritz remains the big wicket for the visitors here, if Zara Craig can dismiss her opposite number early on, it will put Phoenix in with a real chance of restricting Balbriggan this time around.

KEY BATTLE: Zara Craig vs Lara Maritz

ED SPORTS PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 5 – JUNE 11^TH – ALL 18:00 Start

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs The Hills

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Rush

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Leinster

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Balbriggan