IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW (AUG 15/16TH)

The split has occurred and we’re left with three sixes at the top of the table in Open Competitions Cricket, and whilst there may be other things on Pembroke’s mind heading into this weekend, their first port of call this time around sees them continuing their defence of the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League.

Their fixture this time out sees them hosting Railway Union on Saturday afternoon, whilst Sunday sees the other four sides in action, as Leinster play host to Merrion in Rathmines, whilst Balbriggan make the trip to The Village to face Malahide.

PEMBROKE VS RAILWAY UNION

Pembroke remain badly handicapped by the absence of no fewer than 7 players from their full strength squad this weekend. Barry McCarthy and Greg Hollins are long-term absentees with knee injuries, whilst they are also missing five players to international duty in Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Gavin Hoey and Byron McDonough. Railway meanwhile must do without Liam McCarthy who is also on international duty, whilst both Hayden Hamilton and Lotli Sesele have returned home to Australia and South Africa respectively.

Pembroke’s batting line-up overpowered Newbuildings during the week, and they only strengthen the side heading into this fixture, as Macdara Cosgrave comes back into the side and is likely to slot in at number three, following the extremely successful opening pair of Tim Tector and JJ Garth. Addison Sherriff will appear in the middle order alongside Jack Tector, wicket-keeper Danny Hogan and Fiachra Tucker who returned to form with a half-century in the Second XI Premier League victory over Merrion last weekend. With the ball meanwhile, Sherriff will lead the way alongside Olly Riley with the new ball, whilst Dan Murray will back that duo up and has been bowling excellently in recent weeks. Paul Lawson’s off-breaks will lead the way in the spin department, whilst Tim Tector has also returned to the bowling crease in recent weeks and along with Macdara Cosgrave, will provide ample back-up to Lawson.

Railway meanwhile boast a strong batting line-up, led at the top by Bruce Whaley and Ashil Prakash, whilst Rob O’Brien and skipper Philippe le Roux are the key axis for the side through the middle order at number three and four. Abhay Tipnis was crucial in their last game pre-split, making a half-century in their victory over Malahide, and will appear at number five. Rob Carr, Ryan Smith and Peter le Roux round out the batting line-up and will look to build on whatever platform the top five can develop for them. With the ball, Sean O’Brien returned in a blaze against Malahide, claiming four wickets, he’s likely to share the new ball with Sumit Kumar, with Connor Walden and Rob Carr the other seamers in the side. The spin comes from Tipnis and Prakash, whilst there’s also off-breaks in the form of Srihan Karpe available to the side this weekend.

Tim Tector is a key wicket for the home side here, and will no doubt be hoping for a good day out to kick their weekend off in the right direction. If he can get on top against Sean O’Brien, Pembroke could really hit the ground running in this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Tim Tector vs Sean O’Brien

LEINSTER VS MERRION

In Rathmines, both Leinster and Merrion will be acutely aware that this game is somewhat ‘winner-stays-on’ in terms of the title race, as the loser in this tie will be essentially out of contention unless results go their way.

The hosts will be without Thomas O’Connor who has returned to New Zealand following his overseas stint with them, whilst Jai Moondra is also unlikely to appear having featured in the Ireland squad this week. That will leave Bilal Azhar to share the opening duties with Mark Tonge, with Joey Carroll the third seamer in the side, it’s likely they could turn to Kaustabh Apsunde or Devan Keenan to fill the gap alongside that trio. The spin will come from Gareth Delany in partnership with Saqib Bahadur, whilst Tom Johnson’s slow left-arm could be another option they turn to, particularly in the absence of frontline seamers. With the bat, Luke Horgan and Tom Johnson are a settled pair by now, and will feature ahead of the star duo of Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai. Hard-hitting Tristen de Beer will appear in the middle order alongside Carroll and Bahadur, with Leinster once again being a side that has plenty of match-winners in it, they will be desperate to get off to a good start.

Merrion meanwhile will be hoping to see their overseas man Corne Botha continue on the upward curve he has been on since the end of June, as he is set to open the bowling alongside Mikey O’Reilly again this time out. Sean Stanton and Andy Doheny are the other bowlers in a very consistent Merrion seam attack. The spinners are led by the off-breaks of Peter Forkin, whilst they could also turn to Seb Dijkstra’s leg-breaks or the offies of opening batter Swapnil Modgill should the situation call for further slow-bowlers. With the bat meanwhile, Modgill and Stephen Doheny will open the innings and remain one of the most feared partnerships in the league, with Raj Undre likely to slot in just after them at number three. Dijkstra will likely slot in at 4, with John Anderson proving an extremely hard force to shift at number 5, Jamie Forbes is the start of the all-rounder chain that are all capable of upping-the-ante as the innings nears a close, including Botha and O’Reilly, both of whom have played vital knocks at points this season.

After his spell which tore Leinster apart at the end of June, Corne Botha is sure to be licking his lips at the prospect of getting stuck into their batting line-up once again here. If he can dismiss Monil Patel, it could put Merrion in the box seat, and see them pushing themselves into title contention!

KEY BATTLE: Monil Patel vs Corne Botha

MALAHIDE VS BALBRIGGAN

Finally, in The Village, we have a fixture which unfortunately is missing several big named players due to international duty, as Balbriggan are without both Chris de Freitas and Seb de Oliveira, and Malahide without Jeremy Martins, all of whom are representing Portugal this week.

The home side are skippered by Kelvin Donnelly, who will also open the bowling in the absence of Martins, and he will be joined by James Newland’s left-arm seamers. David O’Halloran, Andrew Sheridan and Robbie Foulkes make up the remainder of a strong seam-attack, whilst the spin will come from the leg-breaks of Timcy Khanduja. With the bat, Alan Reynolds returns to the side and will slot in alongside Foulkes at the top of the order, whilst Adam Doyle will continue in his role at number three. The absence of Martins means ‘keeper Matthew Langan will most probably slot into the middle order, with player-coach Greg Ford set to be vital in the absence of their regular skipper. Aaron Doyle and Sheridan are a duo capable of adding late impetus to the innings, which could prove vital against this Balbriggan bowling attack.

The visitors will be looking for early wickets from Ruan Strauss with the ball this time around, and in the absence of de Oliveira, he could be joined by Dylan Lues in the new ball partnership. Andy Darroch is the other seamer in the side before they feature another pair of offies in the shape of Jordan Hollard and Farooq Nasr. Kai Curran is another man who offers spin-bowling options, however it looks as though the visitors will be very reliant on their slower options in this fixture. With the bat, whilst the absence of de Freitas leaves quite a hole in the line-up, Balbriggan will doubtless be comfortable that they are still a very strong unit with a top three of Connor Fletcher, Ghanim Dara and Cameron Rowe having plenty of credit in the bank to prove just that. Curran’s silky left-handed stroke play has caught the eye on a number of occasions in earlier rounds, and he could prove to be crucial once again in this side.

Kelvin Donnelly will be keen to make an impact as skipper this week, and if he can knock over Cameron Rowe early on, it could give Malahide the ‘in’ they are searching for.

KEY BATTLE: Kelvin Donnelly vs Cameron Rowe

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

Round 1

Saturday, August 15^th, 12 Noon

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Railway Union

Sunday, August 16^th, 12 Noon

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Merrion

At The Village, Malahide vs Balbriggan