IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – AUGUST 17TH

This Sunday’s action in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League sees three excellent ties in store, with four teams sitting on 8 wins apiece this season, a blanket could be thrown over the sides who are very much in the title race.

This weekend sees Railway Union hosting Leinster at Park Avenue, whilst Pembroke visit the Park to take on Phoenix. Finally, Merrion are the visitors to Castle Avenue to take on Clontarf in a fascinating tie filled with sub-plots.

RAILWAY UNION VS LEINSTER

The reverse of this tie a few weeks ago saw Railway Union shot-out for just 67 and Leinster claiming 25 points with minimal fuss, and the table-toppers will be hoping for more of the same this weekend.

Their side is near to full strength this time around, and it’s bowling looks as formidable as ever. Jai Moondra and Mark Tonge will share the opening duties, with Moondra’s late swing in his opening spell certain to cause trouble and threaten the stumps in Park Avenue. Bilal Azhar will be the next man up, with further support coming from fellow left-armer Ben Mitchell and his fellow all-rounder Joey Carroll. Saqib Bahadur is likely to be the frontline spinner, and he’ll be supported by Gareth Delany, who is undoubtedly a very welcome addition to the side this time around. With the bat, Mitchell will have a new opening partner this weekend with Tom Johnson out of the side, after that pair however there are a plethora of batting skills. Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai have been the two heaviest run-scorers for the side this season, before Carroll, Delany and Bahadur round out a batting unit laden with players who have the ability to go big if given time at the crease.

Railway Union meanwhile are already mathematically out of title contention, and will spend the rest of the season making an effort to be the party-poopers for those who are in contention. This Sunday is likely to see a debut for gloveman Bruce Whaley, who has made the hop across the road in the search of 1^st XI cricket. He’ll likely fall into line at the end of a batting unit which is led by Ashil Prakash and Hedayat Khogiani at the top of the order. After that pair, Rob O’Brien and Philippe le Roux are the two leading lights for their side with the bat this season, and will play a vital role if they are to out-gun this Leinster side. Liam McCarthy and Ryan Smith are the other two who will likely appear in the middle order for the Patch in this weekend’s game. With the ball, Farman Afridi and Muhammad Sinan could reprise their opening partnership, with the side doubtless hoping to see McCarthy back bowling for them this time around. Srihan Karpe is the usual frontline spinner in the side and is supported by Prakash, whilst it remains to be seen who their final seam option could be in this tie, with Mark Canniffe and Gethin Kelleher both having filled the role this term.

Dismissing Rob O’Brien has been the key for Railway’s oppositions for almost all of this season, if Jai Moondra can swing one through his defences in this tie, it will put Leinster right on top.

KEY BATTLE: Rob O’Brien vs Jai Moondra

PHOENIX VS PEMBROKE

A brilliant tie is in store here in the Phoenix Park, with the hosts having put themselves back into the melting pot after last weekend’s victory. Their bowling did the business in that tie, and whilst they will be missing Tom Malone for the remainder of the season, they will be looking to Tyrone Kane and Raghav Grover to get the side off to a good start with their opening spells. From there on, it remains to be seen whether James Maginnis will return as another seam option, however they will be able to call upon the left-arm orthodox of both Amish Sidhu and George Dockrell, alongside leggie Ben White, with the other potential options including Dev Ranolia’s spin, and Theo Dempsey’s seam, both of whom have been used sporadically this term. With the bat, Eknoor Singh remains the leading run-scorer in all of Leinster for 2025, and his form continued with more unbeaten runs last weekend. Skipper Shane Getkate is another man who has shown some good form and will aim to get the side off to a strong start, whilst Kane and Dockrell are two of the most destructive players around. Joe Cotgreave is another man who’s season has come to a premature end, and therefore there’s slightly more pressure on that top four, along with Nic Pretorius to pile on a match-winning total.

Pembroke meanwhile welcome Andy Balbirnie back into their batting unit this weekend after he missed their loss to Clontarf last time around. He bolsters the batting line-up and will feature at the top alongside Tim Tector, whilst JJ Garth is likely to shift to number three to replace Blake Macdonald who has returned home to Australia owing to his contractual obligations. Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker both made contributions last weekend however will no doubt be looking to go bigger this time around, whilst Jack Tector and Gavin Hoey round out a very strong batting line-up even in the absence of their overseas pro. The bowling unit sees a return to the line-up for both Andrew Boulton and Byron McDonough, who could both feature with the new ball, whilst Mark Berry is the third seamer in the side. The spinners are led by skipper Paul Lawson, who is another potential opening option, whilst Gavin Hoey’s leggies and Harry Tector’s off-breaks round out what is likely to be a six-man bowling attack.

The return of Byron McDonough is a massive boost for Pembroke, and they will be hoping to see him making an instant impact. If he can knock Eknoor Singh over early in the piece, it will put Phoenix on the back foot and make for a very interesting game.

KEY BATTLE: Eknoor Singh vs Byron McDonough

CLONTARF VS MERRION

Finally, the late game sees Clontarf continuing their charge towards the top of the table against Merrion, who remain in touching distance, however would need a very unlikely set of results to challenge in their own right.

Clontarf’s batting line-up will look to Séamus Lynch to put them on the front foot, and he’s going to have a new opening partner for this tie with Mitchell Thompson out of the side. This is likely to see David Vincent alongside ‘Moose’ whilst Eoghan Delany will continue in his familiar number three role, before David Delany who will doubtless slot in at the number four role which continues to be left absent by Curtis Campher. Pat Xie and John McNally provide the power in the middle order, before the finishers in the shape of Andrew Delany and Ethan Marshall will feature. With the ball, Reuben Wilson will team up with his skipper to open the bowling, with that pair supported by McNally and Marshall in the seam bowling department. Luke Thomson is the other man who could deliver some medium pace, before turning to the spinning duo of Cillian McDonnell, who’s left-armers will be vital in the middle overs, and David Vincent who’s off-breaks played a crucial role in last weekend’s victory over Pembroke, picking up the huge wickets of Tector and Tucker in the middle of the run-chase.

Merrion meanwhile will have their regular batting line-up to call upon this weekend once again, with number three Connor Blaxall-Hill coming into the game after his unbeaten 131 last time out. John Anderson was the other man in the runs in that fixture, also not out with 59 to his name. Their opening duo of Stephen Doheny and Swapnil Modgill were back opening the batting at IP level again this mid-week, and will hope they can find some form again for their side here, whilst Jamie Forbes’ recent run at number four has seen him in decent form, and is likely to be a key man once again. The batting unit is rounded out by the big-hitting of Max Sorensen, alongside left-hander Danny Forkin who will appear at 6 and 7. On the bowling front, they are able to call upon Sean Stanton to open the bowling this weekend alongside Melvin Devaraj, with support coming from Hugh Kennedy who’s swing bowling always carries significant wicket-taking threat. Grant Glutz is another seam option who provides some reliable middle overs bowling, before the spin which this week will come almost exclusively in the shape of Blaxall-Hill, with regular frontline left-armer Tom Stanton out of the side this weekend.

Merrion’s top order are in explosive form, and Connor Blaxall-Hill will hope to continue some good form into the weekend, if he can get on top against Cillian McDonnell, it could cause the home side some headaches with the ball in this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Cillian McDonnell vs Connor Blaxall-Hill

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

SUNDAY AUGUST 17^TH

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Leinster, 12:00

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Pembroke, 12:00

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Merrion, 13:00