IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – AUGUST 23RD!

The third round of fixtures in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League throws up a cracking tie at the top of the bill, as the top two in the league will face off in Rathmines, as Pembroke travel to Leinster.

In Castle Avenue, Clontarf will know a victory over Railway Union will see them jump into second position at least, and will look to keep pressure on the current top two, whilst finally in Anglesea Road, Phoenix are the visitors to Merrion, who will spend the final few weeks aiming to destroy title challenges of the various sides above them.

Last weekend saw Pembroke, Leinster and Clontarf all claiming facile victories, with a brilliant 174 from Andy Balbirnie, counter-attacking 90 for Younas Ahmadzai and powerful 119 from Séamus Lynch proving to be the key in each instance.

That trio are certain to still be leading the way after this weekend’s fixtures, however with Leinster hosting Clontarf on the last day of the season, Pembroke will be hoping to put themselves in the box seat in advance of that showdown.

LEINSTER VS PEMBROKE

In Rathmines, we have what looks to be the tie of the round. Leinster hosted Pembroke twice last season, and on both occasions the Sydney Parade outfit romped to victory, firstly defending a below par score thanks to Paul Lawson’s 7-for, before blowing them away in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup thanks to four wickets for Barry McCarthy.

McCarthy returns to the Pembroke side this weekend, in place of Byron McDonough, and he’ll lead an attack that features three seamers, with Andrew Boulton and Mark Berry supporting him, whilst Lawson’s efforts to re-enact his heroics last season will see him lead a trio of spinners that also features Harry Tector and Gavin Hoey, who were in excellent form last weekend, claiming four and three wickets respectively in their thumping win against Phoenix. The visitors batting felt no ill-effects of the early departure of Blake Macdonald last weekend, as Andy Balbirnie’s 174 dominated a massive total in the Park. He’ll open alongside Tim Tector, who was again in fine form both last weekend and mid-week for the Lightning, whilst Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker at 3 and 4 provide plenty of class. JJ Garth and Jack Tector will appear in the middle order, whilst they have some big hitting available at the back end now, with both Hoey and McCarthy able to clear the ropes, and set to appear at numbers 7 & 8.

Leinster meanwhile are missing a couple of regulars from this week’s side, with Saqib Bahadur and Tristen de Beer both absent. Joe O’Sullivan comes into the side and fills that role at the back-end of the batting line-up, however it doesn’t change much in the overall make-up of the team. Ben Mitchell and Tom Johnson are the regular opening pair, and will hope to get the side off to a good start to allow for their classy middle order to go to work. Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai have proven crucial in several of their victories, with Ahmadzai last week taking the side to the total that ultimately proved too much for Railway. Gareth Delany is set to bat 5, and his ability to take the game away quickly is a massive boost to Leinster there, whilst Joey Carroll and Mark Tonge will be tasked with finishing the innings off well. With the ball, they are as ever set to look to Jai Moondra and Tonge to get them off to a good start, whilst there’s going to be more responsibility on the other seamers in the side, in the shape of left-armers Mitchell and Bilal Azhar, and Carroll’s right arm, as without Bahadur’s spin, they look likely to be bowling the majority of their overs.

This is a colossal game in the title race, as with Pembroke’s run in appearing to be easier than Leinster’s on paper, they could find it tough to get back past their opponents. Therefore it’s a day where the big game players will be vital, for Pembroke Gavin Hoey’s leg-breaks are often called upon when wickets are needed, and it’s highly likely that we will see him at the end of his run-up when Gareth Delany comes to the crease. Whoever comes out on top here will put their side into a great position.

KEY BATTLE: Gareth Delany vs Gavin Hoey

CLONTARF VS RAILWAY UNION

Clontarf come into this weekend aiming to shake off the disappointment of two cup seconds in the past three weeks and keep their title challenge well and truly alive. Last weekend’s walloping of Merrion laid down a marker that they certainly aren’t finished with yet, remarkably Nicky Kenny’s side finish the season against the Anglesea Road outfit having scored 530 runs against them in just 60 overs. They will no doubt be looking to continue that destructive streak against Railway this weekend, and they appear to have no better duo than Séamus Lynch and Pat Xie to do so at the top of their order. ‘Moose’ brought up his second ton of the season for the Bulls last weekend in their chase, whilst Xie’s unbeaten 89 reminded any of his doubters why he could be an important player in Clontarf’s run-in. In-fact, the tempo at which both of that pair bat could complement number three Eoghan Delany quite well, whilst skipper David Delany comes into this game having blasted the Lightning to a bonus point with an unbeaten 43 coming in next to no-time on Wednesday. The absence of Mitchell Thompson is what sees Xie at the top of the order, meaning John McNally will likely get to move up to number 5. Andrew Delany and Ethan Marshall will round out the batting line-up in a side which still possesses plenty of firepower. With the ball, Reuben Wilson leads the line, and is likely to be partnered by Delany, whilst McNally and Marshall make up the remainder of the seaming quartet. Cillian McDonnell’s left arm spin is supported by Xie’s offies in an attack with plenty of options.

Railway meanwhile welcome Bruce Whaley to their side for his belated debut having missed last weekend’s game, and he replaces Ryan Smith behind the stumps. The side are also without Philippe le Roux who suffered a nasty finger injury in last weekend’s loss which saw him unable to bat. Hedayat Khogiani will therefore return at the top of the order alongside Ashil Prakash, with Rob O’Brien skippering the side from number three. Liam McCarthy returns from his quad injury, and will bat in the middle order alongside Srihan Karpe and Ted Hasler. With the ball, they will look to Farman Afridi to bowl with good pace alongside McCarthy at the top, whilst there’s more seam in the shape of Mark Canniffe. The left-arm spin of Kathan Shah was excellent last weekend against Leinster, and he’s supported by Karpe and Prakash in the side this weekend.

The hosts will be hoping to see Séamus Lynch get them off to a flier in this tie, if he gets going early against Liam McCarthy, Railway will find Clontarf very hard to peg back.

KEY BATTLE: Séamus Lynch vs Liam McCarthy

MERRION VS PHOENIX

A repeat of last season’s Irish Cup final sees fourth and fifth facing off in the final round of the weekend, with Merrion playing host to Phoenix. The hosts have a change in captaincy this weekend, with Stephen Doheny taking over the reins in a side which seems to remain relatively settled aside from that change. Doheny will be partnered by Swapnil Modgill at the top of the order, with the now familiar make-up of the middle order seeing Connor Blaxall-Hill and Jamie Forbes at 3 and 4, ahead of John Anderson who remains extremely efficient in that role. Danny Forkin will be at six, before the all-round pair of Seb Dijkstra and Max Sorensen. With the ball, Melvin Devaraj and Sean Stanton will lead the way, with the seamers supported by Sorensen. They have a number of spin options this time around, with Tom Stanton returning, as well as Dijkstra’s leg-breaks, Blaxall-Hill’s offies, and the potential left-arm orthodox of either Forkin or Forbes that could be called upon as well.

For Phoenix meanwhile, they have a strong and settled batting unit to turn to, with their top four looking to be unchanged in the form of skipper Shane Getkate, overseas man and leading run-scorer in the province, Eknoor Singh, former Merrion man Tyrone Kane at number three ahead of the destructive George Dockrell at four. The batting line-up is rounded out by Johit Munjal and wicket-keeper Nic Pretorius in the middle order, ahead of all-rounders Raghav Grover and Amish Sidhu. Their bowling is shorn of two of their major points of difference from the season in the shape of Tom Malone’s left arm seam and Ben White’s leg-breaks. The opening pair is likely to be Kane and Theo Dempsey, with Grover and James Maginnis providing the back-up. Left-arm spin comes from Sidhu and Dockrell, and they will hope that those four can provide enough potency to claim 10 wickets.

This, as usual will come down to how well Stephen Doheny can get on top of the Phoenix bowlers in the opening throws of their batting innings. If Tyrone Kane can knock Doheny over early on, it could give Phoenix the foothold they need.

KEY BATTLE: Tyrone Kane vs Stephen Doheny

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23^RD, ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Pembroke

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Railway Union

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Phoenix