IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – ROUND 1 (APRIL 25TH)

The most anticipated weekend of the cricketing year takes place this weekend, as the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League returns with a block-buster opening round of games, featuring local derbies in both Fingal and Sandymount, and a return to the top table of competition for the first time since 1944 for founding member Civil Service, who earned their place in the league as the inaugural First Team League Champions in 2025.

Pembroke were the fastest finishers last season, winning the proverbial photo finish in what ultimately turned out to be a ‘league final’ against Leinster on September 8^th, the only time they topped the table all season. Meanwhile at the opposite end of the table, both Cork County and Malahide needed late rallies to avoid the drop.

As with last season, teams will face each other either home or away, with the top 6 after 11 games to fight out the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League, whilst the bottom 6 will do battle to claim the IBI Corporate Finance Championship crown.

The featured action this weekend will come from the Phoenix Park, where Civil Service’s return to the Premier League will see them welcoming one of the most consistent teams in 2025 in the shape of Clontarf.

Cricket Leinster would like to once again thank IBI Corporate Finance, powered by DC Advisory, for their continued support of the top level Open competitions in the province, it is greatly appreciated.

LEINSTER VS BALBRIGGAN

The first game we look at this weekend comes from Observatory Lane, where the Andre Botha coached Balbriggan outfit, led by Dylan Lues for the 2026 season, visit the Rathmines side. Leinster are skippered by Bilal Azhar once again, however will be left to their own devices, with no official coach in place this term.

The home side have replaced Aussie Ben Mitchell with Kiwi Thomas O’Connor for the 2026 season, and it’s like-for-like in the bowling stakes. Hailing from Otago, where he’s already forged a strong First Class career, O’Connor’s left-arm seam looks likely to provide Leinster with one of the most feared opening pairs in the province, alongside Leinster Lightning’s Jai Moondra. Skipper Azhar is the third left-arm quick in the team, whilst Mark Tonge and Joey Carroll round out an extremely strong pace attack.

Leinster’s batting is nothing short of explosive, with Irish international Gareth Delany and Younas Ahmadzai, two of the biggest hitters in the country, both likely to occupy positions in the middle order. Mitchell’s departure leaves a hole at the top of the order which looks set to be filled by Luke Horgan, who comes into the season off the back of a winter in Perth with Rockingham-Mandurah, where he had some success in the 2^nd Grade competition. He could be partnered by Tom Johnson, who filled that position on a few occasions last season, with fellow South African Tristen de Beer another option at the top. The undoubted class act in the team is Monil Patel, who looks set to slot in at his accustomed number three role once again, he too wintered in Australia and found plenty of success in his stint, passing 50 on six occasions and converting to three figures in one of those innings’. Saqib Bahadur is another accomplished performer in the middle order for Leinster, with a full-strength side likely to see the likes of Carroll, Tonge and O’Connor appearing at 7, 8 and 9, Leinster’s batting is set to be a force to be reckoned with this term.

Balbriggan will be looking for a big early-season scalp in respect of their Premier League title hopes, with the reining Irish Senior Cup Champions no doubt looking to put together a serious domestic challenge in 2026. They have lost long-time skipper Greg Ford who has returned to Malahide, whilst Kashif Ali has also made a move closer to home with Knockharley. Whilst this would normally be cause for concern, two of Balbriggan’s newcomers have already put their hand up to be key performers in this side. Aaron McGeehan’s return to the sport has seen him make the move from Clontarf, and he kicked off his ‘Brig career with a half-century in the Second XI Premier League last Sunday, however the head-turning innings of the weekend came from the bat of new-man Ruan Strauss, who came in at number 7 and thumped an unbeaten 128 from just 70 deliveries, with the sort of ball-striking that could prove very successful in the 1^st XI this weekend.

Alongside their new additions, there is likely to be a quite settled look about the Jack Harper Park outfit. The top-order looks set to feature Connor Fletcher, Ghanim Dara and Cameron Rowe, with the latter having settled very nicely in the number three role for much of last term. Their premier batsman is left-hander Chris de Freitas, who generally shifts the opening batting skills which he showcases for Leinster Lightning into the number 4 slot at club level. Skipper Dylan Lues could be in line for a minor promotion to number 5, whilst Jordan Hollard is one of the cleanest ball strikers in the side and likely to bat at 6. Sebastian de Oliveira and Farooq Nasr will accompany the aforementioned Strauss in the all-rounder roles in the batting unit, with the away side once again looking to boast an extremely deep batting line-up once again this term.

On the bowling front, the ‘Brig are led by a pair of excellent seamers in the newly contracted Matt Hollard, who’s extra yard of pace has caused plenty of issues for batters in his debut season last time around, whilst Sam Willemse will be looking to put a couple of injury-plagued years behind him and showcase his left-arm swing to it’s best abilities once again. De Oliveira and Strauss will support that pair with their seamers, whilst the frontline spinner in the outfit is once again set to be the skipper, off-spinner Dylan Lues, with support for him coming in the shape of Nasr and Jordan Hollard, both of whom provide useful off-breaks.

A really intriguing match-up in this game will see Matt Hollard attempting to crack Leinster’s batting line-up open when he gets a chance to bowl to Monil Patel. If he can dismiss the Rathmines outfit’s number three, it’ll give Balbriggan the upper hand early on.                                         

KEY BATTLE: Monil Patel vs Matt Hollard

PHOENIX VS CORK COUNTY

Last year’s Alan Murray Cup champions will be skippered by Shane Getkate this season, who takes over from Adam Chester looking to add to back-to-back seasons of silverware. Getkate spent much of last season leading the line with the bat for the ‘Nix, and the decision from the club to go without an overseas player this time around will see yet more pressure heaped on the former Ireland international. The 1000+ run chasm left in their batting unit by not replacing Eknoor Singh directly this term will see the likes of Johit Munjal, Callum O’Byrne and Andrew John getting a chance to showcase their skills in the batting unit, as the side will no doubt look to find the right balance in their team to tee up the powerful middle-order containing Tyrone Kane and George Dockrell to force their team to unassailable targets.

With the ball, the home side have been boosted hugely by the acquisition of Sean McNicholl this off-season, who has racked up 89 wickets in his three seasons in CL competitions to date. His addition brings further strength and depth to their quick attack, with one of Kane or Raghav Grover likely to partner him with the new ball. James Maginnis is the other seamer who could be thrown the ball in the early weeks. The spin attack is typically strong heading into the new season, as in spite of losing Dev Ranolia this off-season, Getkate can still call on left-arm spin from former IP player Amish Sidhu and Irish international George Dockrell, whilst the leg-breaks of Ben White bring yet more international quality to the team.

Cork County bring some continuity in their side this season, after their typically strong home form last season saw them retaining their place in the Premier League this term. They are once again skippered by Diarmuid Carey, however they do have a change of Overseas Player for this term, as Tasmanian wicket-keeper batsman Josh Hartill replaces all-rounder Mark Andrianatos, who played some vital knocks last season. Hartill is a player of extremely strong pedigree, and comes into the season off the back of an excellent 1^st Grade campaign with New Town CC, where he made two centuries and passed 50 on three further occasions. Another new addition to the squad is left-arm seamer William Shields, and the Leesiders will be hoping he can build on some of the much-touted promise to fill the opening bowling slot vacated by Andrianatos.

Elsewhere with the ball, Zubair Khan will be one player looking to prove a point by making his mark at Premier League level, after the demise of the Munster Reds this offseason, whilst Darshit Shetty and Raj Undre provide change bowling back-up. Their frontline spinner is the relentlessly impressive Bakhtyar Nabi, who was a major boost to the attack last term, whilst Carey himself will make use of his left-arm orthodox. Ehsan O’Sullivan is the link-man in the team, with his batting abilities allied to some excellent off-breaks which proved to be game-winning on at least one occasion last term, he looks set to take up a role in the middle order which could also prove key. Undre and Nabi will both also likely feature in the top 7, whilst there will be familiar faces with the likes of Thorne Prophet and Brian Upman, as well as Sunil Gautam, who will look to kick on this term having been highly thought of for a couple of seasons now.

Cork County will look to one of their new additions to put them on the front foot in this tie, and whilst big things will be expected of Hartill, it’s William Shields who they will hope to see making early inroads. If his left-arm seamers can get the better of the new Phoenix skipper Shane Getkate, it could give them a look at the potentially inexperienced top order of their hosts.

KEY BATTLE: Shane Getkate vs William Shields

MALAHIDE VS MERRION

A generation jump sees Malahide player-coached by Greg Ford this season, as he takes over from his dad, Graham, who has been the head coach for the past two seasons. The return of Greg Ford will help to offset the loss in the batting line-up of Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin, who will not play this season owing to study commitments. They have the returning Robbie Foulkes back as their overseas player for 2026, whilst the return of Matt Ford to the team could prove to be a major boost, with the Villagers hoping they can avoid another brush with relegation. Adam Doyle will look to bounce back after injury ruined his 2025, whilst their new skipper Jeremy Martins rounds out a batting unit filled with potential.

The thing which hurt Malahide the most last season was the inconsistency with which their bowling attack was available and firing on all cylinders. If they are at full tilt, former skipper James Newland will likely share the new ball with Kelvin Donnelly, whilst Martins and all-rounder Andy Sheridan are both superb middle-overs options, with Sheridan in particular impressing with his economy in recent seasons. Robbie Foulkes’ medium pacers have been used last season, however they will doubtless be hoping to see Mike Frost rolling out his 10 overs every week this time around, with his left arm orthodox being the trump card in the hosts attack.

Their opposition this weekend is another team which has seen a leadership change this off-season, with Dom Joyce’s charges set to be skippered this time around by Sean Stanton. With that change in leadership there is also something of a change in squad dynamic, with overseas player Corne Botha (19), and youth products Seb Dijkstra (18) and Oisín Bhoja (21) adding a fresh-faced look to the side throughout the core of the team. These three will have their work cut out from the outset, with Max Sorensen retiring and Tom Stanton taking this season away from the game. Sorensen’s seamers will likely be replaced by Botha opening the bowling, whilst the Anglesea Road men will hope that Irish U19 Tom Ford, skipper Stanton and left-arm seamer Mikey O’Reilly can produce a potent quick-bowling unit. The spin looks set to see Swapnil Modgill more prominent again this season alongside Bhoja, as their spin attack will be completely new-look compared to last-term.

With the bat, Stephen Doheny is the main man in this side once again, and looks set to reprise his extremely successful partnership with Modgill. At number three, with a Connor Blaxall-Hill shaped hole to fill, this could be a chance for Seb Dijkstra to bust the door open on his ‘Senior’ career. John Anderson was his consistent self at number 4 in 2025, a year in which he passed the 10,000 Senior run mark, and he’s likely to be followed by left-hander Jamie Forbes, who progressed hugely in his second season at the club.  Botha, Stanton and Andrew Doheny will slot in at 6, 7 and 8, with pressure likely to come on the South African in that trio to clear the ropes regularly, as whilst both Stanton and Doheny are accomplished batsmen, they are certainly more comfortable in supporting roles.

Stephen Doheny’s record against Malahide 1 reads 711 runs at an average of 47.4, he’s passed fifty six times, converting two of those to centuries, and since joining Merrion, that number can be refined to 330 at an average of 110, with both of his centuries in that time, he doubtless enjoys facing the Village side and could well prove to be the key again this weekend. Malahide will hope to see James Newland dismissing the Merrion star man early on, and if he does so, it will put his side right in the game.

KEY BATTLE: James Newland vs Stephen Doheny

CIVIL SERVICE VS CLONTARF

The featured action of the weekend comes from the Phoenix Park, as Civil Service play host to their first fixture at this level of competition since 1944. They have no small task here, as they welcome Clontarf, who have a whole host of star talent to call upon in this side.

The hosts are skippered once again by Deepak Jayachandran, who was their leading light with the bat in 2025, however they have strengthened significantly this off-season, adding experience at Premier League level in the shape of top-order batter Hedayat Khogiani from Railway Union, and former Kuwait international Edson Silva, who has shown himself to be a very clean ball striker over the past couple of seasons with The Hills. Other players who will feature in the middle order include wicket-keeper Simranjeet Singh, and the very impressive Arjun Chandrasekar who kicked off his 2026 with an unbeaten century in the 2^nd XI Premier League last weekend, where Civil Service’s defeated Balbriggan in the team’s first fixture at that level. All-rounder Dev Ranolia adds the depth to this side, and he’s set to feature further up the order than has been seen in recent years, which should prove to be another boost to the Service ranks.

With the ball, the evergreen Mubasher Siddique will likely share the new ball with Zaman Safi, who they will hope can offset the loss of Naveed Khan in that department. Shreyansh Khanna and Sunny Malik are the likely other seamers in the side, and whilst a regular criticism of the side in their Championship campaigns would have been their lack of depth in the bowling stakes, they have also added Ranolia’s left-arm spin, meaning the likes of Chandrasekar and Ankit Gusain will likely only fill part-time roles.

Clontarf meanwhile are looking to go that final 5% in the 2026 season, beaten finalists in the Irish and Leinster Senior Cups and spending half of the campaign at the top of the Premier League table only to fade late-on. They are without David Delany this weekend who is battling injury, whilst Reuben Wilson and John McNally are also both missing, meaning that newly appointed skipper Fionn Hand will find himself leading an almost entirely revamped bowling attack. There are 1^st XI debuts for ‘Tarf for Ahijah (AJ) Hill, a pacey left-armer who will also represent Dublin University this season, and Nawaz Khan, who impressed last weekend in the 2^nd XI having joined in the off-season from Terenure. Liam Gilhooly is the fourth seamer in the line-up, and with Yash Bala being one of the potential spinners, this means no less than 4 of the bowlers in the line-up also featured in the 2^nd XI Premier League last weekend, with two of these set to line out for Dublin University, Clontarf’s bowlers are sure to have plenty of opportunities to develop throughout the season. Cillian McDonnell’s left-arm spin sees him round out the attack as the likely frontline option, he returns from a season with East Keilor in Melbourne, and on what are traditionally spinners wickets in Civil Service, should prove to be one of the main men in this attack.

With the bat, one of the strongest opening pairs in domestic cricket last season will be re-united this weekend, as Séamus Lynch and Mitchell Thompson will open the innings for the Bulls. The pair added 403 runs together at the top of the innings last term, averaging 31 for their partnership, with the good news for Clontarf being that the only batter Thompson added more runs with last season was number three Eoghan Delany, with the pair adding 478 runs in the times they had batted together. On the two occasions Delany batted alongside ‘Moose’ they added 177 runs, meaning no matter what Civil Service do this weekend, they are going to have a tough task on their hands to get to ‘Tarf’s number 4 before the score reaches 100. It will get no easier, as Sam Morgan is the side’s new overseas player and he will bat at four, the Kiwi was recently named the Wellington Firebirds Most Promising Player for the 25/26 season. Morgan comes with a reputation for being destructive, and the visitors will be hoping he has a strong platform to work from this weekend. Kartik Joshi rounds out the frontline batters, and could potentially be an extra bowling option this time around, whilst skipper Hand will hope to add some late ballast to the innings from number 6.

Clontarf’s batting is clearly the key to this game, they will be hoping they can do enough to give their second-line seam attack as good a chance as possible, with that in mind they are likely to be looking to Eoghan Delany to hold the innings together. Civil Service’s strike bowler looks set to be Zaman Safi, and if he can knock Delany over, it will give the hosts a sniff of an opening.

KEY BATTLE: Zaman Safi vs Eoghan Delany

RAILWAY UNION VS PEMBROKE

The battle of Park Avenue takes place in Railway Union this weekend, as Pembroke make their shortest away trip of the season to face their local rivals. Starting with the hosts, they are captained this weekend by Robert O’Brien, with Philippe le Roux still in the UK for University commitments, whilst fellow Irish U19 Bruce Whaley gets the nod behind the stumps and is set to open the batting. Ashil Prakash looks to be his most likely partner, with O’Brien at his now very familiar slot at number 3. Their main pick-up of the off season is left-hander Abhay Tipnis, and he will slot into the middle order along with Ryan Smith, as well as all-rounders Liam McCarthy and Srihan Karpe. Connor Walden looks the most likely candidate to bat at 8, however Railway’s batting line-up does contain something of a long tail, meaning there will be pressure early-on, particularly on their U19 international pair, to bat for as many overs as possible.

With the ball, Farman Afridi and new addition Robert Carr are the two doing battle to open the bowling alongside the “Patch’s” talisman Liam McCarthy, with Sumit Kumar the other seam bowling option available for O’Brien to throw the ball to. It’s unlikely, however, that we’ll see 40 overs of seam bowled by the hosts this weekend, as their spin stocks look as strong as ever, Tipnis’ left-arm orthodox will lead the way, with support in the shape of Karpe’s off-breaks, whilst Walden also bowls some useful off-spin, as well as Prakash who has been used last season in a part-time role. They will need a big performance from one of their bowlers this weekend when the size of the task facing them is taken into consideration.

Pembroke come into this game nigh-on fully loaded, with just Andy Balbirnie and Byron McDonough missing from what could be considered to be their strongest XI. That however should make predicting the batting order slightly more straightforward! Tim Tector and JJ Garth were a formidable force at the top last season, as barely a game went by where one of them didn’t send Pembroke off to a flying start. Harry Tector looks set to bat at three, with Leinster Lightning skipper Lorcan Tucker at number 4. Macdara Cosgrave, Jack Tector and Gavin Hoey could feasibly appear in any order at numbers 5, 6 and 7, whilst new overseas player Addison Sherriff must also be accounted for, he’s set to be one of just three players in this side not capped by the Leinster Lightning, with the visitors looking as strong as they ever have with the bat.

Their true star quality however exists with the ball, Barry McCarthy has long-since been the top performing fast bowler in IP cricket over the last 5 seasons and more, he looks set to share the new ball duties with Luke Murray, another Pembroke man to come off their seemingly unending conveyor belt into Irish U19s representative colours. Sherriff looks set to be the third seam-up option in the side, however this is a tried and tested formula for the Sydney Parade outfit, with their bowling unit always bolstered by the inclusion of Harry Tector in the side. His off-breaks are well suited to PowerPlay bowling should the scenario arise, and allows the frontline spinners of 2025 O’Grady Cup winner Gavin Hoey, and last season’s double-winning skipper Paul Lawson to go about their work throughout the middle of the innings.

Railway Union simply must get off to a strong start with the bat in this game, and in order to do so they will need to get through Barry McCarthy’s opening spell, if he can dismiss Rob O’Brien early on, it will spell panic stations in the Patch.

KEY BATTLE: Rob O’Brien vs Barry McCarthy

NORTH COUNTY VS RUSH

Finally we have a Fingal Derby full of intrigue, as Rush make the short trip to Inch, a fixture which produced 649 runs for just 10 wickets when the sides faced off last term. The home side have strengthened in the winter, adding a new Overseas Player in the shape of Lochie Hardy, hailing from Western Australia, he comes off the back of a brilliant season with Claremont-Nedlands, where he only failed to pass 30 in two of his eleven innings, including two scores in excess of 150 in an extremely competitive competition. He will headline a batting line-up that also features the excellent stroke play of Suliman Safi, brute force of Jamie Grassi and timeless quality of the skipper Eddie Richardson. Supplementing that quartet, John Devane missed plenty of last season through injury, however will be hoping to get a clean run of games this term, whilst the usual all-rounder corps of Alan Joseph Mathew and Brandon Morris also sees the addition of Husnain Maroof, who joins from North Kildare, meaning the hosts arguably have a deeper look to them with the bat than they have for a couple of years.

With the ball, Richardson looks sure to continue his opening duties, whilst the speedster in the outfit remains Abdul Ghaffar, who can strike fear into most batting line-ups. Sean Sludds and Jake Devane also feature, with Maroof’s left arm seam meaning the Inch men will have a minimum of five seamers available to them for this fixture. The spin features three ‘offies’ with Alan Joseph Mathew the main man with his flatter and quicker style, whilst the more traditional flighted off-breaks can be found should Richardson choose to throw the ball to either Morris or Safi, both of whom are capable of getting a hatful of wickets should things go right on the day.

Rush meanwhile retain nearly the exact same squad as they had last season, as only Jarred Barnes misses out on this opening day tie from what would appear to be their first choice side. With the bat, they are strengthened by the recruitment of Isaac Bird, who had a fine season in the NW for Ballyspallen in 2025, even though his one outing in Leinster proved fruitless. Jack McGee looks a likely candidate to open the batting alongside Bird, whilst his brother and wicket-keeper Finn found plenty of success at number three in the latter half of last season and should occupy that role once again. The side are skippered by Nathan McGuire, who last did the role in 2023, and he looks set to continue in the middle order where he found plenty of success at the beginning of last season. The man who North County will fear the most no doubt is Abid Taniwal, his two knocks against the Inch side last season saw him making 135 off just 88 balls in Kenure, before striking 110 off 84 deliveries in this exact fixture in August. Hashir Sultan and all-rounder Nasir Totakhil are the last of the recognised batters at this level, and Rush will need their top 7 to do plenty of damage, as they are one of a few sides in this league with quite a long tail to contend with.

That tail however does provide some high-quality bowling options, Allan Eastwood has been consistent as ever in recent years, and will once again open the bowling for his side. Gary Smith looks the most likely to partner Eastwood, considering it is a role he fills regularly on their 2^nd XI. Conor Butterly has been touted as a player of promise within the club, and it is therefore no surprise that he is given the chance to showcase his skills on the opening day, whilst Alex Neary was ever consistent last season and his left-arm seamers offer a nice point of difference in this attack. Totakhil and Bird are likely to bowl the bulk of the spin overs between them, with the former’s left-arm orthodox being an excellent attacking weapon, whilst the Kiwi-born Bird bowls more defensive style off-breaks. McGuire is a third spin option should they wish to turn that way, however based on the evidence of when the side last had another off-spin option, he is likely to be happy to marshal things unless absolutely necessary.

North County will be fully aware of the dangers of Abid Taniwal in Rush’s middle order, especially after his pair of centuries against the side last season, it could well be a case of throwing the ball to the speedster when the left-hander comes to the crease. If Abdul Ghaffar can dismiss the hard-hitting Afghan cheaply, the hosts will feel right on top.

KEY BATTLE: Abdul Ghaffar vs Abid Taniwal

IBI CORPORATE  FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 1 – APRIL 25^th – All 12 Noon Start

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Balbriggan
At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Cork County
At The Village, Malahide vs Merrion
At Civil Service, Civil Service vs Clontarf (FEATURED GAME)
At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Pembroke
At Inch, North County vs Rush