IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – ROUND 10 (JULY 19TH)

The penultimate round of fixtures in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League take place tomorrow, with some excellent ties in store as teams continue vying for position in the top 6 for the final five games of the season.

Currently, only league leaders Leinster are 100% confirmed their slot in the top 6, however second placed Pembroke need just a further three points to confirm their space, with Phoenix also guaranteed Premier League cricket to round off the season with a win this weekend.

In the bottom half, Cork County, Malahide and The Hills are all confirmed as being in the Championship, whilst Balbriggan’s chances of breaking into the top 6 are quite slim mathematically speaking. Rush and Railway Union are both within striking distance of the Premier League, however if neither of that pair win this weekend, the top 6 could be confirmed as early as tomorrow evening.

The fixtures see holders Pembroke travelling to bottom of the table The Hills, whilst just up the road in North County, Clontarf are the visitors. Balbriggan make the long trip to The Mardyke to take on Cork County, with Railway Union hoping to push themselves into the top 6 with a win against league leaders Leinster at Observatory Lane. Rush visit Merrion in a game they must win to keep their ambitions alive, whilst finally Malahide visit the Phoenix Park, to take on the newly crowned Alan Murray Cup winners.

THE HILLS VS PEMBROKE

In the Vineyard, two sides with very differing targets this weekend face off. Pembroke got the better of The Hills in the quarter final stage of the Leinster Senior Cup last month, and no doubt the hosts will be hoping to make amends for that result. The Skerries men will lean heavily on the batting prowess of Ollie Horlock and Nathan Rooney to provide the bulk of their runs, with support at the top of the order coming in the shape of Hassan Shahid, with the middle order bolstered by Matthew Weldon, Muzamil Sherzad and gloveman Andy Kavanagh, whilst Cian Nulty’s big hitting could play a part later in the game. With the ball, they are without Sean McNicholl this weekend, meaning the skipper Tómas Rooney-Murphy will likely share the opening duties with Nulty, whilst there’s further seam options in the shape of Sherzad and Shazil Ahmed. Horlock’s off-breaks will support Febin Manoj who is the frontline spinner in the side.

Pembroke meanwhile will be without a number of regular big names, but do still field a unit that would be the envy of plenty of sides around the league. With the bat they are led off by Tim Tector, who is likely to be joined by JJ Garth in spite of his recent lack of form. Blake MacDonald slots in at number three ahead of Jack Tector, whilst the middle order will feature all-rounders Gavin Hoey and Andrew Boulton, as well as wicket-keeper Sam Murphy. Their bowling this week sees four seamers in the attack, with Boulton and Byron McDonough appearing a likely pair to share the new ball, whilst Olly Riley and Mark Berry, who is becoming known for bowling 10 overs on the bounce, supporting them. Skipper Paul Lawson is the off-spinner in the side, making up a strong spin duo with Hoey, who’s leg-breaks have proved dangerous so far this season.

The man in-form in Pembroke’s batting line-up is undoubtedly Tim Tector. If he can get on top against Cian Nulty early in the innings, it will likely put the home side under all sorts of pressure.

KEY BATTLE: Cian Nulty vs Tim Tector

NORTH COUNTY VS CLONTARF

A massive game between this pair kicks off a huge weekend for both that sees them featuring in Leinster Senior Cup semi-finals on Sunday afternoon as well. North County’s batting unit will no doubt prove the key to their chances of winning this tie, and it’s led by some big names in the shape of overseas man Hunter Kindley, and their classy left-hander Suliman Safi. Eddie Richardson is the key cog in the middle order, whilst it will be intriguing to see what iteration of opening partnership the side goes with this weekend, with Jamie Grassi, Brian Dunphy and Niall McGovern all having filled the slots at stages this season. Their all-rounders including Alan Joseph Mathew and Brandon Morris are key to their long batting line-up, and that pair of spinners will be supported by Suliman Safi in a strong three-pronged off-break attack. The seamers will include Richardson and Abdul Ghaffar who are likely to share the new ball, with support set to come from the likes of Sean Sludds and Jake Devane, in a team that provides plenty of options for Richardson to rotate through when needed.

Clontarf meanwhile have a settled batting line-up which has performed excellently in recent weeks, most notably in it’s last two Irish Cup victories against Pembroke and Malahide. Séamus Lynch at the top of the order, and Eoghan Delany at number three were key cogs in those ties, both making centuries. Other centurions in the side this season include Mitchell Thompson, who is in brilliant form, and Pat Xie, and no doubt the settled nature of that top 4 for the Castle Avenue outfit has stood to them in fixtures this season. The big-hitting all-rounders in the side include skipper David Delany and John McNally, whilst Fionn Hand’s return from injury sees him continue in the side as a batter only. Reuben Wilson misses out this week due to bowling load management, meaning McNally and Ethan Marshall will accompany Delany in the seam-bowling department, whilst there’s also space for Andy Delany and David Vincent in the side this weekend.

This fixture looks set to be a reprisal of a battle that has shown out many times over the last few seasons in the Championship, as Eddie Richardson will look to knock over ‘Tarf’s Séamus Lynch in the PowerPlay to give North County a foothold in the fixture. If ‘Moose’ can dominate him early on, it will give the away side a head-start they massively value.

KEY BATTLE: Eddie Richardson vs Séamus Lynch

CORK COUNTY VS BALBRIGGAN

Cork County are the side who have caused the most trouble to the sides around them this season, having downed both The Hills and Malahide, results which see them above the pair this season, and another victory in this tie would see them leapfrog Balbriggan as well. Their side is skippered by Diarmuid Carey, and he leads a fine spin bowling attack, with his left-arm orthodox supported strongly by a pair of off-spinners in Ehsan O’Sullivan and Munster Reds’ recent debutant Bakhtyar Nabi. Their seamers are led by Zubair Khan and Mark Andrianatos with the new ball, with Darsh Shetty the third front-line pacer in the attack. With the bat, Mark Andrianatos has been the key man in both wins this season for the Leesiders, whilst wicket-keeper Benji Marris is another player they will look to for contributions, whilst Ross Durity returns to the side and will likely feature at the top of the order. Sunil Gautam will bat in the middle order, however the absence of Thorne Prophet will likely see Zubair Khan promoted into the middle order as well.

Balbriggan come into this game having found some decent form in recent weeks, with their batting unit in particular beginning to hit it’s stride. Cameron Rowe and Chris de Freitas have been strong contributors to this good form, making telling contributions when needed, whilst last weekend’s Irish Cup semi-final victory was the first occasion on which the lower-middle order was called upon to fire, and they did just that. The clean ball-striking of the likes of Dylan Lues and Jordan Hollard could prove crucial against Cork County’s battery of spinners, however they will be looking up to Connor Fletcher and Ghanim Dara to give them a decent start in the PowerPlay. The seamers are led by Matt Hollard and Seb D’Oliveira, with support coming from the left-arm of Kashif Ali and Andy Darroch’s right arm quicks. The spin twins of Hollard and Lues are likely to cause some issues on what is generally a spin-friendly track, which could well give Balbriggan the upper hand.

Mark Andrianatos is the key wicket for Cork County in this tie, with his contributions having been key to their wins so far. If Seb D’Oliveira can knock him over early on, it will put the visitors well on top in this game.

KEY BATTLE: Mark Andrianatos vs Seb D’Oliveira

LEINSTER VS RAILWAY UNION

League leaders Leinster will look to assert themselves at the top of the table, however they come up against a Railway side which is gunning to push themselves into the top six with a victory this weekend. Leinster’s batting unit is powerful, however they may feel they have something to prove after faltering in their chase in last weekend’s T20 Final. Younas Ahmadzai was in the runs that day, and they will look to him to continue that good form, alongside top-order batter Monil Patel and Tom Johnson, who made runs in the semi-final last weekend. Ben Mitchell and Joey Carroll are a pair of clean-strikers who top & tail the batting unit, whilst Mark Tonge and Saqib Bahadur are another pair who find the boundary in awkward places. With the ball, Tonge and Jai Moondra are likely to open the bowling, whilst Bilal Azhar is an excellent third option. Ben Mitchell’s death bowling is another key component, before looking to the spin attack which features Tom Johnson’s left-arm and Bahadur’s mixture of straight-breaks and off-spin.

Railway meanwhile have a bowling attack that could cause some trouble in Observatory Lane, featuring the seam of Muhammad Sinan, Farman Afridi and Mark Canniffe, with the trio supporting their star-man Liam McCarthy in an excellent quick-bowling quartet. The spin comes in the form of Srihan Karpe’s off-breaks, and he’s supported by the part-time leg-breaks of Ashil Prakash, giving their skipper Philippe le Roux plenty of options to turn to. With the bat, the aforementioned Prakash has been in good form this season, and he will be partnered by Hedayat Khogiani at the top of the order. Robert O’Brien and Philippe le Roux will be in the middle order along with coach Lotli Sesele, whilst Karpe and Canniffe will round out the all-rounders, likely to appear at numbers 7 and 8.

Younas Ahmadzai was brilliant for Leinster last weekend, and they will be hoping to see him kick on and make the most of having 50 overs to bat this time around. If he can get on top against Liam McCarthy early on, it will give them an excellent chance of setting up a victory.

KEY BATTLE: Younas Ahmadzai vs Liam McCarthy

MERRION VS RUSH

The featured action this weekend comes from Anglesea Road, as there’s a crucial game in the qualification stakes, with Rush making the trip to take on Merrion. Rush need to win their last two games and have other results go their way to finish in the top 6, whilst a win for Merrion would oust the Kenure side’s chances of qualifying into the Premier League. Merrion are missing key men with bat and ball for this game, as Adam Rosslee misses out, whilst Mikey O’Reilly’s still yet to return to action with a hamstring injury. Stephen Doheny and Swapnil Modgill will open the batting, followed by a star duo of Connor Blaxall-Hill and John Anderson, with that quartet hugely important to teeing up a big total for the side. Their all-rounders include big-hitters in the shape of Max Sorensen and Jamie Forbes, whilst Danny Forkin is another man who is likely to contribute to the cause in the middle order. The bowlers are led by a probable opening pairing of Jack Atkinson and Melvin Devaraj, whilst Tom Stanton could be used in the middle overs. Sean Stanton and the off-spinning duo of Modgill and Blaxall-Hill round off a bowling attack that should be able to exert some pressure on Rush this weekend.

Rush have a similar ‘X-Factor’ in their top order, with Nasir Totakhil’s role in the side to ensure the likes of Nathan McGuire, Abid Taniwal and Hashir Sultan have the freedom to play their natural flowing style. Jack and Finn McGee will also feature in a strong Rush middle-order, that will hope they can take advantage of the high-scoring nature of Anglesea Road. Callum Armstrong and Craig May also feature in the side, with the former an exciting selection for the Kenure men in the context of his recent performances for Leinster in the U15 InterPro win. With the ball, Jarred Barnes and Allan Eastwood will lead the way, with support from Alex Neary, whilst it remains to be seen whether Taniwal will return to the bowling crease as yet. Totakhil and McGuire will deliver 20 overs of high quality left-arm orthodox and right-arm offies respectively, in a bowling unit that should offer skipper Barnes plenty of variety to run through when needed.

Merrion’s key wicket in every game is doubtless Stephen Doheny, and this week will be no different, as the ex-Rush man will look to produce another high-quality effort against his former club, however, if Allan Eastwood can knock him over early on, it could give Rush a sniff of an opening.

KEY BATTLE: Stephen Doheny vs Allan Eastwood

PHOENIX VS MALAHIDE

Finally, in the Park, Phoenix’s battalion of high-class operators will welcome Malahide, in the hope of keeping their league season firmly on track. Eknoor Singh and Shane Getkate at the top of the order will hope to get them off to a good start, before the middle order which looks incredibly strong featuring the likes of Tyrone Kane, George Dockrell, Joe Cotgreave and returning wicket-keeper Nic Pretorius. Dockrell in particular would be a big boost to the side this weekend, after his pair of unbeaten centuries were so pivotal to last weekend’s successes. With the ball, Tom Malone has been particularly impressive in recent weeks, since making his debut just a month ago, whilst Kane held his nerve in the clutch when it was most needed last week. Raghav Grover is the third seamer, whilst James Maginnis is also likely to feature at the bowling crease. Amish Sidhu and Dev Ranolia are the left-arm spin duo in the side, who will be bolstered by Dockrell, should he feature.

Malahide meanwhile will be looking to Robbie Foulkes and Timcy Khanduja to lead the way with the bat, with support from Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin, Matt Ford and Jeremy Martins through the middle order. Alex Brown is another hard-hitting Kiwi who will look to keep some momentum up through the middle overs, whilst there’s also support in the middle order from Andy Sheridan. With the ball, James Newland and Kelvin Donnelly will lead the way, with support from David O’Halloran and Jeremy Martins. The spin will come in the form of Jonathan Tall’s left-arm orthodox, with the surprise package of last weekend final being Khanduja’s leg-breaks, which are likely to prove to be a strong asset once again.

Malahide’s key batter is undoubtedly Robbie Foulkes, and they will be looking to him for a big contribution this time around to put up a good showing against Phoenix this time around. If he can get through the opening spell of Tom Malone, it will give his side a good chance.

KEY BATTLE: Tom Malone vs Robbie Foulkes

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEGAUE

ROUND 10, JULY 19^TH, ALL 12 NOON STARTS

At The Vineyard, The Hills vs Pembroke

At Inch, North County vs Clontarf

At The Mardyke, Cork County vs Balbriggan

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Railway Union

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Rush

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Malahide