IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW (AUGUST 9TH)

The split in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League means that the first round of fixtures in the IBI Corporate Finance Championship are set to take place this weekend, and with three ties kicking us off, the league table sees North County at the top of the table, 17 points clear of the holders Rush. Whilst at the opposite end, Malahide are 11.5 points adrift of Cork County in last place.

NORTH COUNTY VS RUSH

Kicking off proceedings in Inch, the top two in the table face off in what looks sure to be a vital game come the end of this five-round window. With North County currently sitting top, a win for them could see a very tall task for Rush to over-take them again in the run-in.

For the home side, the key will be the new-ball bowling of Eddie Richardson and Abdul Ghaffar, who lead the way in the bowling stakes with their fast bowling stocks having already lost Abdul Sattar and Usman Azhar this season. This sees Sean Sludds and Jake Devane providing the back-up for this pair. On the spinning front, Brandon Morris and Alan Joseph Mathew will both provide right-arm off-spin, whilst their extra bowling option for much of this season has come in the shape of Hunter Kindley. With the bat meanwhile, they will look to Kindley to lead the way alongside left-hander Suliman Safi. Jamie Grassi, Niall McGovern and Richardson will appear in the middle order in a unit that has been quite solid, up until their final-day collapse against the Liam McCarthy-powered Railway Union.

Rush meanwhile will look to their batting to once again overpower North County, having piled up a huge score in Kenure against them early in the season. Jack McGee looks set to appear at the top of the order having made 70 in their final game against Balbriggan, whilst Callum Armstrong is also likely to feature in the top 3. Nathan McGuire and Abid Taniwal provide some explosive boundary-hitting through the middle, whilst Hashir Sultan also made a century in that earlier fixture against the Inch men, and is another player who could exploit the batter-friendly conditions in the ground. With the ball, Allan Eastwood and Jarred Barnes have led the way, with Taniwal nursing an injury that’s prevented him from bowling for a number of weeks. Asher Abbasi, Alex Neary and Craig May are the other seamers which have been used in recent weeks, whilst the spin comes from the excellent duo of McGuire and Nasir Totakhil, with the latter likely to prove particularly important against the right-handers in North County’s middle order.

Having gotten the side off to an excellent start the last day, Rush will be looking to Jack McGee to once again build a foundation, if he can see off the opening spell of Abdul Ghaffar, it will prove vital to the outcome of the tie.

KEY BATTLE: Abdul Ghaffar vs Jack McGee

BALBRIGGAN VS THE HILLS

Irish Cup Finalists Balbriggan will be hoping to take advantage of the top two fighting out in Inch, and will know that a good result here against The Hills could put them back into contention to claim the Championship title at the end of the season.

Balbriggan’s batting has been it’s strong suit in recent weeks, with Chris de Freitas and Cameron Rowe both having made big contributions to important results. That pair will both likely feature in a top four that also contains wicket-keeper Connor Fletcher, and the traditional opening style of Ghanim Dara. In the middle order, skipper Greg Ford, as well as Seb D’Oliveira are two right-handers capable of clearing the rope, whilst Dylan Lues and Jordan Hollard have both played destructive hands of their own, Hollard particularly important in their Irish Cup semi-final victory. With the ball, D’Oliveira and Matt Hollard make up an imposing opening duo, with support likely to come from Andrew Darroch, and potentially the left-arm seam of Kashif Ali. The spin all comes from their all-rounders, as Farooq Nasr, Jordan Hollard and Lues will all aim to bowl tightly during the middle-overs.

The Hills meanwhile will be looking to some of their key batters to contribute in a big way this weekend, as they aim to propel themselves away from the danger-zone. Ollie Horlock has been a key man with bat in hand for the away side, and will need support from his newest opening partner, Muzamil Sherzad, as well as the big-hitting Nathan Rooney in the middle order. Matthew Weldon and Hassan Shahid are the other specialist batters the side has used this season, before the all-rounders such as skipper Tómas Rooney-Murphy, gloveman Andy Kavanagh, and big-hitting Cian Nulty appear at 6, 7 & 8. With the ball, Sean McNicholl is a key man for the men from Milverton, and he’s set to share the new ball with Nulty, who was a hero with five wickets in his latest outing. Weldon and Rooney-Murphy accompany Shazil Ahmed in a five-pronged seam attack. Febin Manoj is the frontline spinner in the side, and he’s sure to be key against a Balbriggan middle-order which features no less than three left-handers.

Ollie Horlock is a huge cog in the wheel for The Hills, and they will be looking to him to get the side off to a good start in this tie. If he can get through the opening spell of Matt Hollard, it will give him a chance of piling on a big innings, and his side a chance of turning over Balbriggan.

KEY BATTLE: Ollie Horlock vs Matt Hollard

CORK COUNTY VS MALAHIDE

Finally in The Mardyke, Malahide are the visitors, and they will be looking to turn the tables on Cork County, after the Leesiders beat them in The Village a in late June, the game which ultimately sees the sides in their current positions in the table.

Malahide’s batting is the key for them, and Robbie Foulkes is the key man in that regard. At the top of the order they will look to him, alongside Matthew Langan and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin in the top order to produce a solid platform, from which the likes of Jeremy Martins, Matt Ford and Alex Brown can push their side up to a competitive score. Their batting line-up is rounded out by Aaron Doyle, and spinning all-rounder Timcy Khanduja. With the ball, James Newland and Kelvin Donnelly are a solid opening pair, however will need early penetration to give an opening for the likes of Andy Sheridan and Martins to continue to take wickets. There’s a return in the offing for Mike Frost, who could feature in the left-arm spin attack alongside Jonathan Tall, with Khanduja’s leg-breaks the final piece of the puzzle in the bowling attack.

For Cork, they must bounce back from a chastening result against Clontarf two weeks ago. They are however strengthened immediately by the return of both Mark Andrianatos and Bakhtyar Nabi when compared with that side. They will solidify the batting unit alongside wicket-keeper Benji Marris, left-hander Ross Durity and youngster Sunil Gautam, however that five will need to produce some big runs if they are to overhaul Malahide in this game. Zubair Khan and Darsh Shetty will support the seamers of Andrianatos, whilst Nabi is the frontline spinner alongside the skipper Diarmuid Carey’s left-arm tweakers. Raj Undre is the sixth bowler in the side, and he has bowled a number of notable spells earlier this season.

Mark Andrianatos has made big runs in each of Cork County’s victories so far this season, if he can manage his way around Mike Frost’s spell, it could give the home side a massive chance of victory once again.

KEY BATTLE: Mark Andrianatos vs Mike Frost

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 1, AUGUST 9^TH, 12 NOON STARTS

At Inch, North County vs Rush

At Jack Harper Ground, Balbriggan vs The Hills

At The Mardyke, Cork County vs Malahide