IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – ROUND 7 (JUNE 20TH)

As we hurtle through the halfway stage of the first phase in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League, the league table is starting to take shape, as the top two have given themselves a small bit of a break on the chasing pack, whilst both Malahide and Merrion will be more than satisfied with where they stand having claimed four wins at this stage.

Currently five teams sit on two wins apiece, and with the race for 6^th firmly on, those sides, including top 6 teams in 2025 Railway Union, Phoenix & Clontarf, will be involved in some intriguing fixtures in coming weeks.

This weekend sees Balbriggan involved in yet another tussle at the top, this time 1^st vs 2^nd as they visit Sydney Parade to take on Pembroke in a mammoth fixture. Elsewhere in Dublin 4, there’s a local derby between Railway Union and Merrion in Park Avenue. The Phoenix Park sees a double dose of cricket, with Leinster visiting Phoenix, whilst Cork County face off against Civil Service. Lastly, North of the Liffey, Clontarf welcome Rush to Castle Avenue, whilst North County visit The Village to take on Malahide.

MALAHIDE VS NORTH COUNTY

We start off proceedings in The Village, and a Malahide side that have undergone a new lease of life this season and have their eyes firmly fixed upwards in the league. Their efforts have been led this season by the remarkable form of Jeremy Martins, who has rarely gone a game without contributing significantly with both bat and ball, ultimately leading to a Leinster Lightning debut at the start of this month. He makes up a powerful batting unit alongside overseas player Robbie Foulkes, in-form number three Adam Doyle and player-coach Greg Ford in the middle order, whilst a return for Alan Reynolds would be hugely welcome for the hosts, who have also benefited from a return for Matt Ford as well. The bowlers who support Martins include Kelvin Donnelly and James Newland, who have regularly paired up to open the bowling, whilst Foulkes also bowls his medium pacers. Timcy Khanduja’s leg-breaks support the left-arm orthodox of Mohit Sane as the spin bowling options in the side.

North County look to bounce back from defeat against Phoenix last weekend, in what was the first game of the season where none of their batting unit threw much of a punch, they have been led brilliantly at the top of the order by Aussie Lachie Hardy, who has been in fine form for much of the season and forms an excellent partnership with Suliman Safi. A third left-hander in John Devane has also shifted up to number three in recent weeks and has looked in good form in District Cup fixtures. The middle order sees Eddie Richardson and Jamie Grassi both holding the ability to take the game away from their opposition, and doubtless Grassi will be keen to showcase his abilities against his former club this weekend. The bowling sees Richardson opening the bowling alongside the returning Abdul Ghaffar, with that pair regularly making early inroads. They are supported by Hardy and Sean Sludds in the seam bowling department, as the side is without left-armer Husnain Maroof this weekend. The spin comes from all-rounder Alan Joseph Mathew who will dart them in, whilst Brandon Morris supports him with his off-breaks.

Malahide will be acutely aware of the abilities of Lochie Hardy at the top of the order for North County here, however no doubt they will feel that Jeremy Martins’ ability to win big moments this season is showing no signs of stopping. If Martins can knock Hardy over, this game swings massively in Malahide’s favour.

KEY BATTLE: Jeremy Martins vs Lochie Hardy

CLONTARF VS RUSH

Two sides who will be extremely keen to get away from the bottom of the Premier League table face off in Castle Avenue. Clontarf have welcomed their talisman David Delany back into the side in the past couple of weeks, slotting seamlessly into number three and top scoring with 64 last weekend. He will look to build on a platform set by Séamus Lynch and Mitchell Thompson at the top, with overseas player Sam Morgan at number 4 a really dangerous prospect should the top order set the game up well for him. Eoghan Delany’s shift to number 5 allows him to marshal proceedings around him, with the hard hitting of skipper Fionn Hand and left-hander John McNally potentially able to take the game away from their opposition. With the ball, Reuben Wilson leads the attack, and he’s likely to open alongside the skipper Hand, with support from more right-arm seamers in the shape of Nawaz Khan, arguably the side’s most in-form bowler at the moment, and John McNally. The spin will come from the left-arm orthodox of Cillian McDonnell, who will be supported by the off-breaks of Kartik Joshi this time out.

Rush meanwhile will be keen to turn their form in other cups into league results this weekend, as having progressed as far as the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland, as well as being two from two in the Alan Murray Cup, the side still remain winless in the Premier League. Their batting revolves around the exploits of Kiwi Isaac Bird and skipper Nathan McGuire, with both more than capable of piling up a huge score when they are on a going day. The most feared player in the side however is undoubtedly Abid Taniwal, who’s ability to clear the rope almost at will in some innings makes him incredibly dangerous. They are supported in the batting unit by the McGee brothers, Jack and Finn, who will also keep wicket, whilst the all-rounders in the side who can also contribute include Alex Neary and Nasir Totakhil. The bowling has benefited from the return of Jarred Barnes in recent weeks, especially as that has coincided with an injury to Allan Eastwood, and he leads the seam attack which also features Neary, Asher Abbasi, Conor Butterly and Jawid Oryakhil. The spin comes exclusively from the all-rounders, as Totakhil’s left-arm orthodox leads the way with support in the shape of Bird and McGuire giving the skipper plenty of options.

David Delany has immediately looked right at home featuring as a batter in this Clontarf side, and will hope to extend his good form to start the season, Rush will be hoping that Nasir Totakhil can get on top against him, however if Delany dominates, it could spell trouble for the visitors.

KEY BATTLE: David Delany vs Nasir Totakhil

RAILWAY UNION VS MERRION

A big game in Park Avenue this weekend, as the hosts look to push themselves right into top 6 contention, and bring Merrion back into the fight for Premier League qualification. The hosts’ batting unit is nearing full strength again this weekend, with Philippe le Roux returning to captain the side, as well as Ashil Prakash who will open the batting alongside Bruce Whaley. The Railway middle order looks formidable with le Roux’s addition, as he will feature alongside Rob O’Brien who is set to bat at three, whilst Abhay Tipnis and Hayden Hamilton have been in fine form in recent weeks, Liam McCarthy could see himself in the traditional all-rounder role at number 7, where his preferred clean-striking method could see him prove to be a great success. McCarthy leads the bowlers, with options to open alongside him including the right arm seamers of Digamber Mishra and Sumit Kumar, with the other quick option coming in the shape of Musa Shinwari. Tipnis and Prakash are the two spinners in the side, and will doubtless play a big role in this tie.

Merrion meanwhile welcome Stephen Doheny back to the team this weekend, and he’s likely to open the batting alongside Danny Forkin, with Swapnil Modgill back at number three. The middle order has a very strong look to it, Seb Dijkstra has made the jump into the Premier League this term comfortably and has looked at home sharing the crease in the middle overs with John Anderson, who himself has found good form in recent weeks. Jamie Forbes at 6 is the beginning of a quartet of batters who can accelerate matters rapidly, alongside overseas man Corne Botha, skipper Sean Stanton and all-rounder Mikey O’Reilly. O’Reilly and Stanton have formed a strong opening pair with the ball this season, allowing the skipper to make use of Botha in more of a strike-bowler role, with his extra yard of pace proving to be a big boost to this unit this term. Hugh Kennedy is the fourth seamer in the team this weekend, before the spin bowling options, including the off-breaks of Peter Forkin are considered, he’ll be supported by Modgill’s offies, whilst Forbes and Dijkstra could both also be considered by Stanton if the conditions require more spin options.

This looks set to be a game that hangs on a couple of big wickets on either side, Liam McCarthy will doubtless line up with ball in hand opposite Stephen Doheny in Merrion’s batting innings, and if he can knock over the visitors’ opener, it could crack the door open for Railway.

KEY BATTLE: Liam McCarthy vs Stephen Doheny

CIVIL SERVICE VS CORK COUNTY

After a false start last weekend, Cork County do in fact welcome their skipper Diarmuid Carey back to lead the side this weekend as he’s recovered from a knee injury. He’ll feature in a bowling attack alongside fellow spinners Nabeel Anjum and Ehsan O’Sullivan who bowl leg-breaks and off-spin respectively, however the side is without Bakhtyar Nabi this time around. The seamers will be without William Shields’ left-arm seamers taking the new ball this time around, meaning the opening duties are likely to fall to the previous stand-in skipper Thorne Prophet alongside right-arm quick Zubair Khan. Tiago Oelofse’s medium pace swingers can cause plenty of trouble for batters, however he will have his work cut out defending the straight boundaries in Rush this time around. The Leesiders welcome Raj Undre back this weekend, and also retain Benji Marris in the side, meaning Prophet can push down into the middle order and support last week’s centurion Josh Hartill, who is sure to be a vital cog once again. Brian Upman also returns to the side this weekend and will feature in a middle order that is looking deeper by the week.

Civil Service meanwhile bounce into this weekend’s game, off the back of Hedayat Khogiani’s century propelling them to their first Premier League victory last weekend. He features in a batting line-up that is led by their skipper Deepak Jayachandran, alongside Edson Silva who seeks to keep his good run of form going. Abhishek Arvind Kare, Simranjeet Singh and Vijay Adhikari are likely to feature in the middle order, alongside the all-round duo of Zaman Safi and Dev Ranolia. There’s a welcome sight in the side this week as Mubasher Siddique will open the bowling once again alongside Noor Ullah, whilst there’s support in the right-arm seam department from Safi, who has arguably been the pick of their bowlers this season without necessarily getting the just rewards. It’s likely that both Ranolia and Ramgokul Srinivasan will be given the chance to roll out their respective off-breaks early in the piece on home turf this time around.

The absence of William Shields is significant for the visitors this weekend, and it will mean Thorne Prophet’s opening spell becomes all more important in restricting the home side, if he can knock over Deepak Jayachandran early on, it could give them the foothold they need.

KEY BATTLE: Deepak Jayachandran vs Thorne Prophet

PEMBROKE VS BALBRIGGAN

Two sides who will be very familiar with each other by the end of Sunday’s cricket face off in a 1^st vs 2^nd match up in the league table this weekend. Pembroke find themselves without some high-profile names for this fixture as neither Harry Tector nor Lorcan Tucker will feature on Saturday. One player who does feature in this tie however is Macdara Cosgrave, who is ineligible for the Leinster Senior Cup game having featured for Dublin University. He will likely slot into number three to account for the absence of their star men. Tim Tector and JJ Garth at the top of the order have been excellent in the games where they have opened together, and will reprise their partnership once again, whilst Addison Sherriff is in brilliant form with the bat, and has stood up in big moments already when the team has needed him, including notable runs last week against Leinster, and in May’s home victory over Phoenix. Greg Hollins takes over behind the stumps and will feature alongside the skipper Jack Tector, whilst Gavin Hoey will look to add some impetus with bat in hand for the side. The bowling unit is led by Byron McDonough, who comes into the game off the back of receiving his Leinster Lightning cap this week, making him the 7^th member of this starting team to have played for the provincial team. Sherriff also features in a seam attack that includes Olly Riley and Mark Berry, as it returns closer to full strength this weekend. The spin comes in the shape of Gavin Hoey and Paul Lawson, with the former having returned to the club scene last week with a brilliant showing against Lisburn in the All-Ireland cup.

Balbriggan meanwhile will have to survive another weekend without Cameron Rowe at the top of the order, with Ghanim Dara also absent meaning another new opening partner for Connor Fletcher. Prashan Naidoo will likely feature at three once again, with the main man Chris de Freitas slotting in at number 4. The all-rounders are led by the skipper Dylan Lues, along with Seb de Oliveira and Kai Curran in the middle order, whilst the hard hitting Jordan Hollard has had success lower down, he could emerge as an option to slot in at the top of the order. With the ball, Matt Hollard and de Oliveira lead the seamers, with Ruan Strauss another option that has performed well in the past couple of fixtures. The off-breaks of Lues make him the headline spinner in the side, and he’ll be supported by Jordan Hollard.

In spite of this being a 1^st vs 2^nd tie, there is something of an opening act feel to the fixture, one thing is for sure however if players can carry confidence from Saturday into Sunday it will help their teams no end. That is where the battle at the top of the Pembroke order between Tim Tector and Balbriggan speedster Matt Hollard could be the key, if Tiger Tim dominates Hollard, it could spell trouble for the visitors.

KEY BATTLE: Tim Tector vs Matt Hollard

PHOENIX VS LEINSTER

Finally we have more action in the Phoenix Park, where Leinster are the visitors. The away side come into this game in strong form, and missing only Gareth Delany from what would likely be a full strength side. Tom Johnson and Ruben Newton look set to open the batting together, whilst Monil Patel is set to be vital at number three in the side. Younas Ahmadzai will have a particular liking for the spin-heavy attack which Phoenix pose to them, whilst the middle order is rounded out by Saqib Bahadur and the hard hitting pair of Joey Carroll and Mark Tonge. The Leinster bowling attack is led by their left-arm speedster, Jai Moondra, who has gone from strength to strength this season, and will open proceedings alongside Tonge. The left-arm side of the ledger also features Tom O’Connor and Bilal Azhar, whilst Carroll provides the right-arm seam back-up. Bahadur is the lone spinner in the side in the absence of Delany, as Leinster and Phoenix look set to have vastly contrasting balances in their bowling attacks.

Phoenix look set to be without Ben White this weekend, after he pulled up injured ahead of the Leinster Lightning fixtures this week. That will leave the spin options with Amish Sidhu and George Dockrell, both of whom deliver their left-arm orthodox, and it will be interesting to see whether the hosts go with another spin option to support those two this time around. The seam is led by Sean McNicholl, who will be supported by James Maginnis, whilst a return to the bowling crease for Raghav Grover would be very welcome, whilst the attack is rounded out by Aadil Naizam. The batting is led by the skipper Shane Getkate, who made a fine century in last weekend’s victory over North County, and he’ll open the batting alongside Johit Munjal, with Sidhu and Dockrell also reprising another partnership batting at numbers three and four, whilst Tyrone Kane will also feature in the middle order.

Jai Moondra will be the key man with the new ball here for Leinster, and if he can knock over the in-form Shane Getkate early in the piece, it will put Phoenix on the back foot very quickly.

KEY BATTLE: Jai Moondra vs Shane Getkate

IBI CORPORATE  FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 7 – JUNE 20^TH – All 12 Noon Start

At The Village, Malahide vs North County

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Rush

At Park Avenue, Railway Union vs Merrion

At Civil Service, Civil Service vs Cork County

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Balbriggan

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Leinster