IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – AUGUST 30TH!

The IBI Corporate Finance Premier League is exactly halfway to it’s conclusion now, as since the split there have been seven games played, one no result, and still seven games to be fought out.

Currently, with just two of their fixtures remaining, Clontarf sit top of the table, however Leinster vs Pembroke being rained off last weekend is the reason they have managed to claim that position at the moment. Railway Union prop up the 6 in this league, with Phoenix and Merrion likely to remain in fourth and fifth positions respectively based on current standings.

This weekend sees Phoenix making the trip to Castle Avenue to face Clontarf, with Merrion playing host to Leinster in Anglesea Road. Finally, the shortest journey in the league sees Pembroke hopping across the road to face Railway Union.

This weekend sees the top three facing the bottom three, however with the added complication of an Emerald Challenge next week, several International and Interpro Players are unavailable across the league.

CLONTARF VS PHOENIX

Starting off with the fixture in Castle Avenue, Clontarf are without a number of regulars this weekend, including Curtis Campher, Ethan Marshall and Reuben Wilson, whilst David Delany suffered a knock for Leinster Lightning mid-week, meaning Cillian McDonnell takes over the captaincy duties this time around. They still retain a strong look, with Séamus Lynch and Pat Xie at the top of the order, Eoghan Delany at number three, and potentially a shift up to number four for John McNally. Karthik Subbiah moves up from the 2^nd XI, with Andrew Delany and Yash Bala another two likely to move up the order. With the ball, McNally is likely to lead the line, with Luke Thomson likely to play a more prominent role than he has done so far this season. McDonnell and Bala will be the two spinners in the bowling attack, with support likely to come from Xie and potentially Shane O’Brien.

Phoenix meanwhile will be without their star-turns George Dockrell and Ben White, however will still be able to name a team choc-full of game winners. Eknoor Singh has been a thorn in ‘Tarf’s side this season, and he will no doubt hope to add to his two big scores in Castle Avenue already this season, whilst the skipper Shane Getkate will accompany him at the top of the order and look to take advantage of the Power Play. Tyrone Kane will likely appear at number three, and without the backboard that Dockrell usually provides at four, there will be pressure on that trio to produce the goods this time around. Johit Munjal and Levon Shields will also feature in the top six before regular wicket-keeper Nicolaas Pretorius. On the bowling front, Raghav Grover will open alongside Kane, whilst James Maginnis’s right arm seamers are a good third option. Amish Sidhu is the frontline spinner in the line-up with his left-armers, whilst there could be a return for Dev Ranolia, who has missed the last couple of weekends.

Pat Xie has been in excellent form in the last few weeks for Clontarf, and in the absence of some of their big names in the middle order, will play a key role in this tie, if he can get through the opening spell of Raghav Grover, it could open the door for Clontarf to run up another big score.

KEY BATTLE: Pat Xie vs Raghav Grover

MERRION VS LEINSTER

Merrion come into this fixture with Sean Stanton taking over the captaincy duties this weekend. Their side is fairly close to full strength, with Peter Forkin and Andy Doheny both added from last weekend. They will hope that pairing helps bolster the bowling unit, which will be led by Stanton and Melvin Devaraj, with Doheny and Max Sorensen the next two in line in the seam bowling stakes. Forkin will partner Connor Blaxall-Hill as the frontline spinning options, however Stanton could also throw the ball to Swapnil Modgill, Jamie Forbes or Danny Forkin, all of whom have been used with varying degrees of success so far this season. With the bat, Stephen Doheny and Modgill will reprise their excellent opening partnership, whilst the top five has been very settled, including Blaxall-Hill at three, followed by Forbes and John Anderson. Danny Forkin, Andy Doheny and Max Sorensen round out a unit which is relatively speaking, quite deep.

Leinster meanwhile know that a slip up here could potentially put them right on the back-foot in terms of the league, and will hope their batting can remain in strong form as it has for much of the season so far. Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai are the main men for the Rathmines outfit, and both will find the free-scoring nature of Anglesea Road a very welcoming environment for them this weekend. They’ll seek to build on the foundations of Ben Mitchell at the top of the order, whilst the likes of Joey Carroll, Saqib Bahadur and Mark Tonge are the men who can finish the innings off strongly. With the ball, left-armer Jai Moondra has been in fine form this season, including being the leading wicket-taker in the IP50 tournament for the Leinster Lightning. He’ll open alongside Tonge, whilst skipper Bilal Azhar and Carroll will follow that pair. The spin comes from Bahadur, whilst Ben Mitchell’s left-arm seam has seen him to fine effect in the later overs of innings this season.

Merrion’s chances of causing an upset likely lie with their top three, and whilst he has been very much boom or bust this season, they will be hoping to see Connor Blaxall-Hill come off this time around. If he can dominate against Jai Moondra, it will give Merrion a big chance.

KEY BATTLE: Connor Blaxall-Hill vs Jai Moondra

RAILWAY UNION VS PEMBROKE

Finally, in the Park Avenue derby, it’s nearly a decade since Railway Union beat their nearest rivals in a league game, in a T20 refix which was somewhat bizarrely played in Observatory Lane, and whilst they have a reasonable record in that format, the last time Railway turned Pembroke over in a full league game is August 9^th 2014.

Pembroke are without Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker this weekend, with Greg Hollins returning to action behind the stumps for Paul Lawson’s side. The batting line-up still looks formidable, with Tim Tector and in-form Andy Babirnie at the top of the order, JJ Garth getting the opportunity to slot back up the order, whilst Macdara Cosgrave and Sanil Gupta will bat in the middle order, with the latter coming off the back of a big ton in the 2^nd XI Premier League last weekend, Jack Tector is the other man in the top six for the visitors. The bowling is led by Barry McCarthy, who looks set to open up with Andrew Boulton, with Mark Berry the third seamer in the side. The spin this weekend is without Gavin Hoey, meaning it’s likely to be a trio of off-spinners who are used, with Lawson accompanied by Balbirnie and Cosgrave in this discipline.

Railway meanwhile have retained a settled line-up for much of the season however are unlikely to feature Liam McCarthy this weekend, meaning they could be looking to Farman Afridi and Muhammad Sinan to open the bowling, and their reliance could continue on Gethin Kelleher as their third seamer. The spin comes from Srihan Karpe and their left-arm orthodox spinner Kathan Shah, whilst Ashil Prakash is the third option they may turn to should conditions allow. With the bat, Philippe le Roux is set to return from his finger injury and, alongside Rob O’Brien they are the key men in the middle order for the side. They will follow Prakash and Hedayat Khogiani at the top of the order, whilst it will be interesting to see if Ryan Smith returns behind the stumps, with Bruce Whaley on Irish U19 duty, he’s likely to round out the top six alongside Ted Hasler should he do so.

Railway Union will need to dismiss Andy Balbirnie if they are to have a chance of restricting Pembroke this weekend, and they will look to Farman Afridi to dismiss the opener, if he can do so, Railway should have a fighting chance.

KEY BATTLE: Farman Afridi vs Andy Balbirnie

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30^TH, ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Phoenix

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Leinster

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Pembroke