IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – MATCH DAY 7 (JUNE 14TH)

The 7^th round of the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League sees us beginning to reach the business end of things in the league campaign, and with the largest points gap in the league currently the 17.5 separating 6^th placed North County and 7^th placed Rush, it is becoming increasingly important for any of the sides currently residing in the bottom 6 to pick up some good results if they want to claw their way into the Premier League for the final 5 games of the season.

NORTH COUNTY VS MALAHIDE

We kick off the look at this weekend’s action with the team currently sitting in 6^th position in the table, North County, who will be aiming to push themselves almost out of reach of this weekend’s opponents with a victory in this game. Their home record is generally formidable, having only lost to Leinster in Inch so far this season, where they have also downed the title-holders Pembroke in the opener this season. Their batting unit took on a new shape last weekend, with Niall McGovern shifting back to his familiar role at the top of the order, joined by Suliman Safi who pushed up from three. Hunter Kindley and Eddie Richardson then took on the key positions at 3 and 4, and between this quartet, North County have arguably their heaviest run-scorers all coming one after another in what is an extremely tough task for any bowling unit. Even now with this re-jig, it means that the big hitting duo of Jamie Grassi and Brian Dunphy can play with a dangerous level of freedom in the middle order, this ultimately proving vital in their Irish Cup victory last weekend. Their seamers will be crucial in this game against a top-heavy Malahide batting order, with Richardson and one of Abdul Ghaffar and Usman Azhar set to reprise a strong new-ball partnership, with the control of Azhar and extra pace of Ghaffar both offering very different skills. They will then look to their duo of off-spinners in Alan Joseph Mathew and Brandon Morris to tie down the middle order of Malahide, with the bowling attack having remained relatively consistent over the past number of weeks.

Malahide, as has already been mentioned, relies heavily on it’s top order, with their Kiwi opener Robbie Foulkes having been in scintillating form so far this season, passing 50 in half of his knocks and averaging nearly 57, with his only failing so far in CL competitions this season that he hasn’t brought up three figures. He’s now joined at the top of the order by Matthew Langan, with Timcy Khanduja moving to number three to cover for the injured Adam Doyle. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin missed last weekend’s loss to Clontarf and a return for him to the number 4 slot could prove crucial to solidifying their line-up. Beyond that top-order, Jeremy Martins, Matt Ford and Aaron Doyle are the clean-hitters in the middle order, there’s also a return for their hard-hitting team manager Alan Reynolds. Whilst they haven’t necessarily scored heavily as yet this season, lower order contributions from the likes of Andy Sheridan and Mike Frost could prove crucial to how the side finishes out their innings. The bowling side of things is led by the skipper James Newland, who’s seamers are supported by Martins and Sheridan, whilst their left-arm spinners this weekend see Frost joined by Jonathan Tall, with the selection of just five frontline bowlers this weekend making it increasingly likely we’ll see more overs from Foulkes’ medium pacers.

Left-arm spinners do not tend to fare favourably against Suliman Safi, and that man will once again be aiming to bat for long enough to take advantage of that match up. Mike Frost is likely to be the first of the pair to get a look at the County opener, however if Safi wins that battle it could be a long day for the away side.

KEY BATTLE: Suliman Safi vs Mike Frost

RUSH VS CLONTARF

This is another tie where the split between the top and bottom six could be exacerbated by a Clontarf win, whilst Rush will be hoping that a win could potentially see them leapfrog their way into the top half for the business end of the season. Their bowling unit will no doubt prove to be the key this time around, with their seamers in Abid Taniwal, Allan Eastwood and skipper Jarred Barnes leading the way in the PowerPlay, and needing to take early wickets against this very powerful Clontarf top order. If that trio can make inroads, it opens up plenty of options for Barnes to turn to in the middle overs, with change seamers in the shape of Asher Abbasi and the left-armer Alex Neary, whilst their spinners getting into the game early is another key element, as Nasir Totakhil’s left-arm and Nathan McGuire’s offies will hope to tie things down through the middle period of the game. With the bat, the opening pair will see the reserved Totakhil aiming to bat for as long as possible, he is partnered by Ehtesham Ahmed, with the well known all-rounder playing his final 1^st XI game this weekend after a career spanning 23 seasons, representing North Kildare, YMCA, Terenure, Balbriggan, Clontarf and Rush, no doubt he will be hoping to pull the curtain down on his career in style with a contribution. Their main man is the in-form McGuire, who always proves a very dangerous player on home soil, and appears alongside Taniwal and Hashir Sultan in a middle order that can destroy the opposition if it gets going, the unit is top and tailed by the McGee brothers, with Jack generally appearing at number three, and gloveman Finn slotting in at number 7 and proving a very solid back-stop should anything go wrong ahead of him.

Clontarf’s top order ought to relish the opportunity to bat on a batter-friendly track in Kenure this weekend, with both Mitchell Thompson and Séamus Lynch extremely keen on taking advantage of the PowerPlay overs. Eoghan Delany’s fine form at number 3 continued last weekend as he was the backbone of a DLS run chase victory against Malahide, and he’s the glue that keeps the batting order together, nicely tying the aggressive openers and classy middle order into a powerful unit. Their Aussie number four Pat Xie looked in fluent form last weekend before being frustratingly dismissed for 34, and doubtless another big score is on the horizon for him, whilst the all-rounders of David Delany and John McNally mean that the away side’s batting order is full of players who can take the game away from their opposition. With the ball, Reuben Wilson leads the seamers alongside the skipper Delany, with John McNally the third quick bowler in the side. All remaining bowling options for the team are in the shape of spinners, led by Yash Bala and Cillian McDonnell, who have forged a strong partnership, with support from David Vincent, whilst last weekend’s Irish Cup success saw a return to bowling for Mitchell Thompson proving successful. These give Delany plenty of options, however they will need to be on-song considering the unique dimensions of the ground this weekend.

Clontarf’s PowerPlay will be key here, Séamus Lynch will be looking to take the game on, and his battle against Allan Eastwood could prove to be enthralling.

KEY BATTLE: Allan Eastwood vs Séamus Lynch

RAILWAY UNION VS MERRION

Railway Union come into this tie seeking another strong performance, after a good chance of victory was ruined by the weather last weekend, as they had piled up a decent total in excess of 200 on a tough batting wicket in Park Avenue. This weekend sees Philippe le Roux returning to bolster the batting in the side, however they are without Srihan Karpe, making a relatively like-for-like swap in the batting stakes. Le Roux batted in a multitude of positions last season with success, however he appears likely to slot in at either 4 or 5, alongside Ryan Smith who made a half-century last weekend. At the top, Ashil Prakash and Hedayat Khogiani have been a settled pair, with their class-act in the side being Rob O’Brien, who has been in strong form so far this season, with his 8 innings seeing him pass 50 three times, converting to 100 on one of those occasions. With the ball, they are led by Muhammad Sinan and Digamber Mishra, with their seamers supported by Gethin Kelleher. The spin comes from Hamza Maan’s leggies, accompanied by Ashil Prakash.

Merrion meanwhile are now seeking a big bounce this weekend, having been knocked out of the Irish Senior Cup last Sunday. They are struggling with unavailability this weekend, Stephen Doheny now in the Ireland squad, whilst Mikey O’Reilly and Adam Rosslee are both ruled out due to injury. JJ Cassidy deputises behind the stumps in the absence of their two primary wicket-keeping options, whilst Danny Forkin looks likely to continue at the top of the order alongside Swapnil Modgill, who’s form has tapered at just the wrong point in the season for the Anglesea Road outfit. One man in-form at the moment is their overseas player Connor Blaxall-Hill, as he made two good contributions last weekend with a half-century in the league, and ton in their loss to Donemana. John Anderson and Jamie Forbes are the next two in the line-up, before the all-rounders appear in the shape of the skipper Max Sorensen, Grant Glutz, Sean Stanton and Andy Doheny, who Merrion will hope can finish out the innings strongly. With the ball, they are without their frontline spinner this weekend in the shape of Tom Stanton, meaning the left-arm spin options come from Forbes and Forkin, with their main option appearing to be the off-breaks of Blaxall-Hill with support from Modgiill. Sorensen is likely to throw the new ball to Melvin Devaraj at one end, and with Sean Stanton having fulfilled the role in previous weeks, it could be him or Doheny who shares the duties.

Swapnil Modgill will need to recapture the form of his start to the season if Merrion are to pile up a big total in this tie, however if Muhammad Sinan can dismiss his former team-mate, it could put Railway Union into an excellent position early on.

KEY BATTLE: Muhammad Sinan vs Swapnil Modgill

CORK COUNTY VS THE HILLS

Cork County still search for their first win of the season this weekend, and they welcome a team from The Hills that could easily be forgiven for having half-an-eye on Sunday’s fixture against Pembroke in the Leinster Senior Cup. The home side are without their recent addition PJ Moor for this weekend’s fixture, or staple in the top order Thorne Prophet, meaning the batting unit will be led by Syed Aiman, wicketkeeper Benji Marris, and South African Mark Andrianatos from their regular top 6. Meanwhile, Brian Upman returns for the Leesiders and will likely appear alongside Sunil Gautam in the middle order. With the ball, Andrianatos leads with his seamers, alongside their other quicks in the shape of Zubair Khan and Darsh Shetty. The spin however is where they will be hoping to make inroads, as Bakhtyar Nabi and skipper Diarmuid Carey will combine in the middle overs in an effort to restrict The Hills’ middle order.

The away side’s batting is led by a patient top order in the shape of Hassan Shahid, James Cusack and Ollie Horlock, with the latter having shown the ability to ‘catch-up’ later in his innings when he bats for longer periods of time. Adnan Shinwari has been in good form of late, whilst the trump card in The Hills’ batting line-up is no doubt Edson Silva, who’s destructive hitting is likely to prove pivotal to their prospects of pushing their way up to a score that is beyond the capabilities of their hosts this time around. Matthew Weldon, Andy Kavanagh and Tómas Rooney-Murphy will round out the batting unit for the visitors, with the depth they provide looking to make the side a tough proposition to really get on top of. With the ball, their opener Sean McNicholl is going to need to continue his good form against this Cork County top order, as his opening partnership with Cian Nulty goes from strength to strength. Rooney-Murphy and Weldon are the other two seamers in a strong unit, whilst their spin option comes led by the mystery of Febin Manoj, who has bowled very well in recent weeks, with support for him coming from the two part-time options of both Cusack and Horlock.

Cork County’s batting unit will need Mark Andrianatos to be in the runs if they are to provide a good total to kick things off this weekend. If Cian Nulty can dismiss him early on, it will put The Hills on the front foot straight away.

KEY BATTLE: Mark Andrianatos vs Cian Nulty

BALBRIGGAN VS PEMBROKE

Balbriggan are another side desperate to not become detached from the top 6 as the weeks towards the split tick-down, and they will be hoping to see their batting unit click this weekend in the face of a below-par Pembroke bowling unit. The home side will be hoping to see Connor Fletcher get them off to a quick start at the top of the innings, and whilst it appears he will be accompanied by a new partner this weekend, it remains to be seen if it’s a promotion for one of their middle order, with Cam Rowe and Chris de Freitas both providing potential options here. There’s no doubt however that they will be hoping that if one of this pair does shift up the order that they can continue their decent form of late. Skipper Greg Ford is sure to remain in the middle order, whilst this approach could also see their all-round trio of Dylan Lues, Jordan Hollard and Sebastian D'Oliveira shifting up a position each to allow the team to take advantage of Lues’ much improved form this season. With the ball, they remain devoid of Sam Willemse, however Matt Hollard and D’Oliveira have found themselves providing more than useful cover for the left-armer, and whilst they are missing their opener, Kashif Ali and Andy Darroch provide good change-up options to Ford. Lues and Jordan Hollard continue as the spinning pair in the side, with the pair set to be crucial to the side’s chances of victory this weekend.

Pembroke meanwhile are without Andy Balbirnie for this tie, however they do have Macdara Cosgrave in the side for this game (as he misses Sunday’s Senior Cup game due to representing Trinity) with the in-form right hander filling the opener’s role in a very strong batting line-up, including JJ Garth alongside him at the top of the order. Blake MacDonald continues at number three and appears to be absolutely crucial to the side this weekend, particularly in the absence of Balbirnie for this tie as well as the long-list of other batters the side is without due to Ireland duties. Jack Tector looks set to continue at number four, whilst there’s again some depth that many clubs would be envious, as the batting unit also features Sanil Gupta, wicket-keeper Sam Murphy, and the all-round skills of the likes of Joe Prendergast and Andrew Boulton to round out a strong middle-order. The other change from their side for Sunday’s fixture sees Donncha Tucker coming in for Mark Berry, meaning they have an extra spin option, as Tucker’s left-arm will accompany the off-breaks of the skipper Paul Lawson. The seamers see Boulton likely to open the bowling, whilst Dan Murray and Prendergast are the other pacemen in the side, which could mean a return to the bowling crease for the part-time spin of Cosgrave or Garth to make up a 6^th bowler if needed.

Matt Hollard has been providing the ‘wow’ factor to Balbriggan’s bowling attack, and if he can dismiss JJ Garth early on, it could prove crucial to the outcome of this tie.

KEY BATTLE: Matt Hollard vs JJ Garth

LEINSTER VS PHOENIX

Finally, the top of the table clash between Leinster and Phoenix sees 1^st play 4^th, in a game where 22 points for Phoenix would see them leapfrog their opponents and potentially finish the days play at the summit if results went their way. Leinster come into this game without Tristen de Beer (broken finger) meaning Rian Cassidy takes up his place behind the stumps, whilst the absence of Jai Moondra sees Kaustabh Apsunde continuing his role in the seam attack. Bilal Azhar and Mark Tonge are the other pair who could be in contention to share the opening duties, whilst Joey Carroll has showed himself to be a very useful operator during the middle overs this season. The spin comes from Saqib Bahadur and Ben Mitchell in what is a very well rounded attack. The top order sees Tom Johnson accompanied by Mitchell, with their premier batsman Monil Patel appearing at number three in the order in excellent form. Younas Ahmadzai’s clean hitting sees him at number four, with Bahadur, Carroll and Tonge set to follow him, with all three capable of taking the game to the opposition with fluent scoring options.

Phoenix meanwhile will be looking to their top order to out-gun Leinster in this tie, as their battalion of clean-hitters look to bat around the solidity provided by Eknoor Singh in this game. Singh’s role looks crucial, as the likes of Shane Getkate, Tyrone Kane and Joe Cotgreave are all aggressive stroke-players in the top order, and whilst this can regularly see the opportunity for big runs to be put on the board, the issue remains that one false shot can start the ball rolling in the wrong direction equally quickly. Their skipper Adam Chester features at number 6, in advance of the all-rounders in the likes of Raghav Grover and Amish Sidhu, who haven’t necessarily had the best chances to shine with the bat as yet this season. On the bowling front, Grover and Kane are the two they’ll look to in the hope of some early inroads, whilst the inclusion of Dempsey for Saturday’s tie gives them more depth in this department. Sidhu is the primary spinner in the side and is accompanied by fellow left-armer Dev Ranolia. The bowling unit is rounded out by James Maginnis, who has had something of a resurgence in this area in recent weeks.

Shane Getkate is a player who can hurt the opposition quickly at the top of the order for Phoenix, and Leinster will be keen to see the back of him, this is where Bilal Azhar’s opening spell is likely to prove vital to the cause.

KEY BATTLE: Bilal Azhar vs Shane Getkate

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 7 – JUNE 14^TH, ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At Inch, North County vs Malahide

At Kenure, Rush vs Clontarf

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Merrion

At The Mardyke, Cork County vs The Hills

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Pembroke (FEATURED GAME)

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Phoenix