IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW (SEPT 6TH)

We’re just 8 days away from the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League Champions for 2026 being crowned, with two rounds of fixtures remaining, firstly this weekend, on Sunday, before the season comes to an end next Saturday, September 12^th.

As it stands, Merrion are 15 points clear of Balbriggan at the top of the table, with quintuple-chasing Pembroke just four points further back. 2^nd and 3^rd face off in Jack Harper Park this weekend, in a game that will see the winners remaining in the title race, with the losers set to be out of contention.

In Anglesea Road, Merrion host the other form side in the division, with Railway Union making the short trip to Ballsbridge, knowing that a win will see them on the verge of their first title since 2021. Finally, in Rathmines, Malahide visit Leinster, with the two teams now vying for 5^th place in the final standings.

BALBRIGGAN VS PEMBROKE

The most important game of the round takes place in Jack Harper Park, where Balbriggan and Pembroke will both know that a defeat will in all likelihood end their respective title charge. Balbriggan lost out in the top of the table clash last weekend in spite of another blistering century for Jordan Hollard, and they will be hoping that their top five can fire this weekend to supplement the form of their middle order, where Hollard and Connor Fletcher have made important runs in each of their last two games. Cameron Rowe and Chris de Freitas are the key wickets in the top five, if that duo can get settled and lay a good base, the ‘Brigg have plenty of firepower to kick on later in the innings. With the ball, the opening pair of Seb de Oliveira and Ruan Strauss have been in excellent form throughout the last few weeks, which they have desperately needed to keep themselves in contention in the absence of Matt Hollard. Andy Darroch is the third seamer in the side and the trio will need to be on-song this weekend to keep Pembroke in check. The spin comes from the skipper Dylan Lues, accompanied by Jordan Hollard and Kai Curran, with the three-pronged spin attack having proved extremely potent wicket-taking options for much of the season.

Pembroke meanwhile will come into this game almost feeling robbed of a victory last weekend, when the weather intervened for just long enough to scupper their efforts as they rocketed off in pursuit of just 104 to win, having moved to 41 from the opening 19 balls of the innings. They are helped hugely by the strong form of JJ Garth at the top of the order, who has been their top scorer in three of their four cup finals so far this season. He and Macdara Cosgrave will be the key to set the tone at the top of the order, with Andy Balbirnie a consistent figure at number three in the side now another vital cog in the wheel. Aussie Addison Sherriff has been in strong form no matter where he has batted this season, and made runs in both games against Balbriggan in June, so will no doubt be full of confidence going into this tie. The middle order features good depth in the shape of Sanil Gupta and wicket-keeper Danny Hogan, whilst Dan Murray fills another all-rounder role at number 7. With the ball, Byron McDonough and Olly Riley will share the opening duties once again, with Sherriff still needing to manage bowling loads. Murray is the third seamer in the side, before the spin of Paul Lawson comes to the fore, he continued his good form last weekend claiming another three wickets. He’s supported by another pair of potential off-spin options, with both Cosgrave and Balbirnie capable of keeping things tight.

Pembroke will be well aware of the need to get through Balbriggan’s top 4 early on to restrict the damage their middle order can cause, that means when Byron McDonough gets his chance to bowl to Chris de Freitas, it could be the spell that defines the match.

KEY BATTLE: Chris de Freitas vs Byron McDonough

LEINSTER VS MALAHIDE

Leinster and Malahide combined for just one win between them in the month of August, with this game set to, in all likelihood, decide who finishes 5^th and 6^th at the end of this season’s Premier League. Leinster’s top 6 has settled down again following the early departure of Thomas O’Connor and absence of Gareth Delany to ETPL duty, this sees Luke Horgan and Tom Johnson at the top, followed by the classy Monil Patel at three. Younas Ahmadzai always carries the threat to be destructive at number four, whilst Sanith Poojary and Saqib Bahadur are good accumulators. Joey Carroll also features in the middle order and is a key man in the bowling attack, as he and Bilal Azhar are likely to continue their new-ball partnership, having taken 6/67 between them in their last game against Balbriggan. Bahadur and Johnson provide the spin, whilst Brandon Carolan and Kaustabh Apsunde are other options the side could turn to with the ball going into this fixture.

Malahide meanwhile have seen a bright start post-split followed by a comprehensive defeat to Railway, and another poor batting display against Pembroke last weekend before the rain intervened. They will be desperate to bounce back from this, and have plenty of players more than capable of doing so. Alan Reynolds and Robbie Foulkes at the top of the order have the potential to take the game away from their opposition in the PowerPlay, whilst in Adam Doyle they have the ideal foil to bat around through the middle overs, as his style of accumulating runs provides the perfect balance for the likes of skipper Jeremy Martins and player-coach Greg Ford to bat with and take the game on at their own tempo. David O’Halloran has shown some glimpses of becoming a genuine all-round threat at number six, and he along with Aaron Doyle and fellow all-rounder Andrew Sheridan will be tasked with accelerating in the latter stages of the innings. With the ball, James Newland has been in fine form this season and is a front runner to claim the O’Grady Cup, and will likely open the bowling alongside Martins, whilst Sheridan, Foulkes and O’Halloran will bowl the bulk of their overs through the middle. Timcy Khanduja has been the frontline spinner in recent weeks, whilst they could also plump for the left-arm option of Mohit Sane too this weekend.

Jeremy Martins has been the key man for Malahide for most of this season, contributing heavily with bat and ball when the team have been successful, in reality, it could be his opening spell with the ball that proves crucial this weekend, if he can get an early look at Monil Patel, that spell could be where the game swings in his side’s favour.

KEY BATTLE: Monil Patel vs Jeremy Martins

MERRION VS RAILWAY UNION

The two form teams in the league face off in Anglesea Road, with Merrion no doubt more than aware of the dangers that Railway Union pose, particularly at this stage in the season with the ‘Patch’ already having inflicted defeat on Pembroke in the first round post-split to essentially open the door to Merrion to go top of the table. Railway make the journey however knowing they are the last team to inflict defeat on Merrion in the league, way back on June 20^th, when Ashil Prakash’s career best 7/18 saw him destroyer-in-chief as this week’s hosts were bundled out for just 166 having been 129/3. He will be front and centre of the bowling attack once again this weekend, alongside the left-arm spin of Abhay Tipnis, with the pair both set to be vital through the middle overs. Liam McCarthy and Sumit Kumar will likely share the opening duties, with Sean O’Brien and Connor Walden the other frontline seam options in the side. With the bat, Bruce Whaley will look to get the side off to a flying start as has been his want this season, whilst McCarthy offers another clean ball striker in his new role at the top. Rob O’Brien and Philippe le Roux have been in fine form in recent weeks, with le Roux having made an unbeaten century in the win against Pembroke, and following up with an excellent 85 against Malahide, as well as being the key man when these sides last met. Tipnis and gloveman Peter le Roux will feature in the middle order, with the top 6 more than capable of causing Merrion some issues this weekend.

The league leaders meanwhile have had a settled formula for a number of weeks, and will be looking to their top order to put them on the front foot in this fixture. Stephen Doheny has been the key to several of their victories, including an excellent 92 against Pembroke in Anglesea Road two weeks ago, and he’s likely to be joined at the top by Swapnil Modgill once again. There was a different shape to the top order last weekend, with Mikey O’Reilly promoted to number three, and it will be interesting to see if that continues, or if Raj Undre moves back up to that slot once again. Danny Forkin’s half-century was key in their victory over second-placed Balbriggan, whilst John Anderson’s experience in the middle order will help the side to tee the game up for the big hitting of Corne Botha and fellow all-rounders Sean Stanton and Andy Doheny. With the ball, O’Reilly and Botha have gotten the side off to flying starts in each of their last three games, with no side managing more than 15 runs before losing their third wicket against the Ballsbridge side since the league split. They are supported by Doheny and Stanton, who both provide good movement and control with their medium pace. The spin comes from Peter Forkin’s off-breaks, supported by Seb Dijkstra’s leggies, whilst there’s also the option of Modgill’s part-time offies should conditions require them.

Mikey O’Reilly has gotten Merrion off to the perfect start with the ball in recent weeks, and he will be looking to extract plenty of movement early on this weekend on a fresh wicket in Merrion, however, if Bruce Whaley can get his side off to a quick start again, it could put Railway ahead of the game early on and allow them to build pressure on Merrion through the middle.

KEY BATTLE: Mikey O’Reilly vs Bruce Whaley

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6^TH, 11:30AM

At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan vs Pembroke

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Malahide

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Railway Union