IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW – AUGUST 26TH!

With just three rounds of fixtures remaining in the IBI Corporate Finance Championship, the top end of the league table is beginning to concertina nicely with plenty to play for in the battle for the two potential promotion slots.

Pembroke currently sit first, and there’s the slight possibility they could secure the league title this weekend should results all fall in their favour, presently the Sydney Parade outfit are 27 points clear of second spot Phoenix, meaning if they get 24 points more than the Park men this weekend, they will be crowned champions. Phoenix however need to win to keep themselves ahead of Rush, who now sit just 16 points behind the promotion play-off position in 3^rd place. With the maximum number of points Terenure or North County could possibly finish on now 204 and 197 respectively, it would take a massively unprecedented set of results for either team to put themselves into contention for that spot. At the foot of the table, a Civil Service win coupled with a North Kildare loss would see the Kilcock side condemned to last place, with the potential lifeline for the struggling side from The Maws being that the top two slots in Division 4 are currently occupied by 2^nd teams.

This weekend sees Cork County visit second placed Phoenix, North County play host to Civil Service, whilst Rush are at home against North Kildare. Terenure visit Pembroke in the second most anticipated clash between the two clubs this weekend, as their respective U13 girls sides face off in Sydney Parade in the cup final this evening!

PHOENIX VS CORK COUNTY

Phoenix have been handed something of a lifeline into the title race in recent weeks, and crucially saw off nearest rivals Rush last weekend to keep the pressure on Pembroke. Whilst their batting has faltered somewhat they still have plenty of players more than capable of putting together a big total, all eyes are likely to be on the middle order with Tyrone Kane and Adam Chester being important wickets, whilst the real bonus to the side could be a return for George Dockrell and Ben White, with the side being much better this season when both are present. Cork County meanwhile were left reeling by a chastening loss to Terenure last weekend, Abubakar Saddique excluded, their main attacking spin bowlers were carted around the ground, which they simply cannot afford to happen again. Byron McDonough, Stefano di Bartolomeo and Sam Fenn will be crucial with ball in hand.

KEY BATTLE: Tyrone Kane vs Stefano di Bartolomeo

PEMBROKE VS TERENURE

The home side enter this game seeking a first victory this month as two defeats on the bounce has seen their lead whittled down from what had looked an unassailable position initially. Theo Lawson’s men will be looking for a good start from Diarmaid Tucker and Nick Stapleton to allow their big hitters in Danny Hogan and Gavin Hoey to capitalise through the middle overs. Terenure meanwhile recovered from a dramatic collapse last weekend when 97/2 became 111/7 to post 276, thanks to Raghav Grover and Bhavic Tukrel, whilst Séamus Lynch also found some form with a half-century, Lynch and Grover will be vital to the Clee’s batting efforts again this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Paul Lawson vs Séamus Lynch

RUSH VS NORTH KILDARE

Rush will be looking to keep pressure on Phoenix with a win, their batting remains as explosive as ever with Nathan McGuire and Llew Johnson the main men in that regard, with the ball, Jarred Barnes and Allan Eastwood put on an excellent display with the new ball, whilst Asher Abbasi also contributed three wickets, all three will be threats to North Kildare this weekend. The Kilcock side meanwhile saw their batting falter again last weekend, with 31 from Nurulain Boda saving them from a record low score, their bowlers however led by Husnain Maroof’s six wickets made an excellent effort to defend the low score and himself along with Bakhtyar Nabi are the two bowlers they’ll be hoping to put up a really good show this weekend.

KEY BATTLE: Allan Eastwood vs Husnain Maroof

NORTH COUNTY VS CIVIL SERVICE

North County will be looking to keep pressure on Terenure in the battle for fourth spot and a victory over Civil Service would do just that. The all-round pair Simi Singh and Eddie Richardson will need to be on form with the bat once again, whilst Abdul Ghaffar and Alan Joseph Mathew will be two more key men with ball in hand. Civil Service have won three games this season and will be looking to Simranjeet Singh & Srikanth Boddu with the bat and Mubasher Siddique and Aamir Bafanda will be important with the ball, particularly in the absence of their usual strike bowler, Naveed Khan.

KEY BATTLE: Eddie Richardson vs Simranjeet Singh