IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW – SEPTEMBER 6TH & 8TH

The final weekend of action in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League this term will feature four games across three days as things stand, as a full round of fixtures on Saturday afternoon is supplemented by Monday evening’s T20 refix between Leinster and Pembroke in Observatory Lane.

Kicking off however with Saturday, the game of no consequence sees Railway Union visiting the Park to take on Phoenix, whilst in Sydney Parade, Pembroke will hope to take their title run all the way to Monday as they face off against Merrion in a reverse of last season’s ‘league final’. Finally the featured action of the day will come from Observatory Lane, where the beaten finalists from the Irish Senior Cup and Leinster Senior Cup will bid to turn over the Alan Murray Cup runners-up, with both sides seeking something of a ‘clubhouse lead’ in the title charge.

Such is the complicated nature of our bonus points system, there are so many permutations which will lead to a pulsating final few days, however there are some certainties when it comes to the last few days.

The maximum total points which the various sides can now reach are as follows;

Leinster – 318.5
Pembroke – 316
Clontarf – 298.5

The permutations therefore see several fascinating possibilities;

• Two wins for Leinster would see them securing the title for the 2025 season
• Two wins for Pembroke would see them securing the title for the 2025 season
• A win for Clontarf, would leave them top of the table ahead of Monday’s fixture, however, in order to have a chance of winning the title;  
  • they would need a minimum of four bonus points on Saturday to rule Leinster out of the title race
  • they would need to score 18 more points than Pembroke to rule the Sandymount side out of the title race
• A win for Leinster and loss for Pembroke on Saturday would see the Rathmines side crowned champions, as long as they get at least three more bonus points than the ‘Broke
• No matter what results occur, Pembroke can not confirm the title on Saturday, they can, however, top the table, should both they and Leinster win, whilst also claiming at least three more bonus points than the Rathmines side

With just five of what feels like hundreds of permutations laid out above, doubtless all parties involved are just focussed on the job at hand this weekend, with Pembroke and Leinster sure to both be hoping to fight out a league-decider on Monday evening. The featured action on both days will come from Rathmines, with Clontarf visiting Leinster firstly, before the potential decider on Monday as they then host Pembroke.

SEPTEMBER 6TH

LEINSTER VS CLONTARF

Kicking off proceedings with Saturday’s featured action, Clontarf get possibly as close to full strength as they have for much of the season, as they welcome back the enigmatic Fionn Hand to their side, boosting the seam bowling stakes, as well as offering an extra-dimension with the bat. Adding Hand’s bowling to the side gives a suddenly robust look to the ‘Tarf side, when compared with the team that was due to take the field last Saturday, as both Reuben Wilson and David Delany are back in the side, meaning that John McNally is now reverted to his fourth seamer role. Ethan Marshall supports that quartet, however he’s likely to be sparingly used, as Cillian McDonnell’s left-arm orthodox is accompanied by Yash Bala’s off-breaks in this fixture, giving Delany plenty of options to rotate through.

With the bat, in spite of the absence of both Mitchell Thompson and Curtis Campher, they do still boast each of their top four being in the top 20 leading run-scorers in the province this season. Their overseas man Pat Xie has clicked into gear in a big way since the league split, appearing to be invigorated by the move to the top of the order, with his only ‘failure’ so far coming when the order was jigged around in Sydney Parade as Clontarf looked to exploit match-ups. He’s accompanied by Séamus Lynch, who ‘Tarf will be hoping to show off his game winning ability one more time this season, as having gotten them off to flying starts on several occasions before being dismissed, they will hope there’s one more occasion left this season for him to kick-on and make a match-winning contribution. Eoghan Delany has 482 runs in Leinster competitions this season, and it’s somewhat surprising that having been in such good form for much of the season his numbers don’t include a century, he remains the rock around which the side builds it’s innings, and is set to be key once again. Skipper David Delany at four is averaging in excess of 64 for his 513 runs this term, and has been skilful and dynamic in most positions throughout the order this season, once again he’s set to play a crucial role in this fixture. McNally and Hand will slot in at five and six, with the platform laid for that duo doubtless the key as to whether they can overpower Leinster’s attack later on, or will need to counter-attack in a more measured manner.

Leinster meanwhile are reliant on a much smaller pool of run-getters for much of this season, with just two of their batters having passed the 400-run mark thus far. Monil Patel and Younas Ahmadzai are those men, and it’s perhaps indicative of how important that duo are to the side that they are the only players to have passed three figures in an innings. Ben Mitchell and Tom Johnson are the likely opening pair, however neither of them have built on strong starts to this season, with both averaging in the mid-20s having promised so much more. Their match winner lies in wait in the middle order, and with Gareth Delany in the side this weekend and likely to bat at number 5, there’s no doubt that this Leinster side could certainly do some damage to ‘Tarf with the bat. Joey Carroll has flourished finishing off innings’ this term, whilst Mark Tonge was crucial in last week’s victory over Merrion, as his unbeaten 43 guided the side to a massive victory in the context of the title race.

On the bowling front, it’s Leinster who boast four members of their bowling attack in the top 20 wicket-takers so far this season. They are led off by Jai Moondra, who’s new-ball ability is there for all to see, taking big wickets early on has regularly been one of his big strengths, and along with Mark Tonge they complement each other nicely as a new-ball pairing. Skipper Bilal Azhar has a very similar record to Moondra so far this season, benefitting hugely from following his fellow left-armer, however, it is their overseas man Mitchell who leads the way in the wicket-taking stakes, as his 24 so far have come at a tick under 16, making him the undoubted leader of the attack. Joey Carroll has been an ever present in Leinster’s bowling attack for several years, however now only really played second fiddle with that quartet doing much of the heavy-lifting, whilst there’s spin from Saqib Bahadur, who has chimed in with 17 wickets this season and has proved important, particularly on home soil.

‘Tarf’s batting will need to be on song against Leinster here to put them into the fight, however on the only occasion where it really faltered badly so far this season their skipper David Delany produced a sensational spell against Railway Union, and this could be the key on a ground where hitting the stumps is crucial. Delany will likely line-up against Monil Patel at some stage during Leinster’s batting innings, and if the speedster can knock over the Rathmines side’s number three it will put ‘Tarf in the box seat.

KEY BATTLE: Monil Patel vs David Delany

PEMBROKE VS MERRION

A repeat of last season’s ‘league final’ sees Pembroke this time playing host to Merrion. There is no doubt about the fact that the home side firmly have the wood over their opponents in recent times, and whilst they have won each of the last two fixtures played in Sydney Parade in the Premier League, the psychological upper-hand lies in every way with the hosts this weekend.

Pembroke will have to do this the hard way however this weekend, they have been nothing short of excellent in the absence of Blake Macdonald in recent weeks, however they are now without Andy Balbirnie as well, who will miss the weekend’s action having taken a blow to the head in the Emerald Challenge game on Monday. That will almost certainly see JJ Garth returning to the top of the order alongside Tim Tector, a partnership in which the duo have thrived for much of their time together, averaging just about 33 before losing a wicket over the course of the past two seasons. Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker are both available for this fixture, and look set to bat at three and four, whilst Jack Tector and Macdara Cosgrave round out the batting line-up. They will, no doubt, need to be on top of their game if they are to continue Pembroke’s title charge.

They are equally luckless availability-wise on the bowling front, as Byron McDonough and Barry McCarthy are both out for this game as well. Olly Riley does return to the side having been on Ireland U19 duty, and he joins Mark Berry and Andrew Boulton in the seam bowling attack. The hole that McDonough leaves in the bowling unit cannot be understated, and it heaps pressure onto three men who will relish it like no other, with leading wicket-taker, leg-spinner, Gavin Hoey supported by the skipper and off-spinner Paul Lawson, whilst Harry Tector’s off-breaks have proved game-breaking on a number of occasions this term.

Pembroke are very much eyes on the prize this weekend, with Lawson hoping they can look after things one game at a time, ultimately very aware of the perils of looking too far into the future;

“It’s a great reflection on the competition that there are still 3 teams that can win the league going into the last round of games. For us, we’re just thinking simply and looking to put in a good performance on Saturday against a strong Merrion side and go from there.”

Merrion meanwhile are without Stephen Doheny this weekend, and will once again be skippered by Sean Stanton as they look firmly towards the future with much of their team selection. In Doheny’s absence, Swapnil Modgill will deputise behind the stumps, and having made an unbeaten 95 last weekend as part of an experimental batting line-up, it remains to be seen where the regular opener will slot in. Connor Blaxall-Hill looks certain to remain somewhere in the top three, whilst Jamie Forbes has been relatively successful at number four and ought to appear in that role once again. Seb Dijkstra and Danny Forkin are the two academy graduate batting options, and it would be no surprise to see one of them at the top of the order with the other at number 6 or 7. John Anderson is likely to continue at number 5 where he has been excellent for much of this season. With the ball, Melvin Devaraj could share the opening duties with his skipper, whilst there’s further seam in the shape of Max Sorensen and Andy Doheny. The spinners are led by Tom Stanton, with support to him coming from Dijkstra and Blaxall-Hill.

Pembroke’s greatest fear in this game is doubtless one of Merrion’s high quality players having a day out and batting them out of the game, therefore their bowlers will play a key role early on here, Connor Blaxall-Hill has shown some strong hitting ability against spin this season, and it could well be that Harry Tector is given the opportunity to battle it out with Merrion’s overseas man in this fixture.

KEY BATTLE: Harry Tector vs Connor Blaxall-Hill

PHOENIX VS RAILWAY UNION

Finally in the Phoenix Park, there is a dead rubber in every sense of the word, as Railway Union make the trip across with neither side able to change their league position no matter the result.

Phoenix’s side is unlikely to see too much change from the one that took the field last time out, and perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the game this weekend sees Eknoor Singh just 64 runs away from passing the 1,000 run mark for the season in all CL competitions, with his 19 innings thus far having yielded three centuries and five further half-centuries, averaging 58.5 along the way. He’ll likely open up alongside skipper Shane Getkate, whilst Tyrone Kane and George Dockrell, who himself has managed 827 runs at a staggering average of 137.83 in all competitions, make for a destructive batting line-up. Johit Munjal will precede the all-rounders in the shape of Raghav Grover and Amish Sidhu, whilst the bowlers will be led by Kane and Grover, with support from seamers Theo Dempsey and James Maginnis. The spinners remain Phoenix’s trump-card, with Sidhu and Ben White the two men most likely to cause damage.

Railway Union are without Philippe le Roux for the third week in succession, after his finger injury turned out to be worse than the club had first hoped, however they do welcome back Rob O’Brien to skipper the side, along with Bruce Whaley behind the stumps, with both having been on Ireland U19 duty last weekend, whilst Ryan Smith also comes back into the middle order having been absent last time around. The regular opening pair of Ashil Prakash and Hedayat Khogiani will look to lay a platform for that trio, with Ted Hasler and Srihan Karpe set to round out the batting line-up. The bowlers are led by Farman Afridi and Sumit Kumar with the new ball, and their bolstered spin attack including Kathan Shah in company with Karpe will look to cause Phoenix some trouble through the middle overs.

In the absence of le Roux, Railway’s batting hinges on the exploits of Rob O’Brien, if he can get on top against Amish Sidhu, it could prove important to the outcome of this tie.

KEY BATTLE: Amish Sidhu vs Rob O’Brien

SEPTEMBER 8TH

LEINSTER VS PEMBROKE

Whilst much of the importance of this game hangs in the balance of what happens on Saturday afternoon, the season looks set to come to a close with two excellent T20 sides doing battle against each other in a repeat of last season’s Alan Murray Cup Final. Leinster were the winners that time around, however Pembroke have been superb in recent times in title deciders, and there are plenty of big names that could come to the party on both sides.

The sides faced off on June 20^th in a group game in the T20 competition, and Leinster were comprehensive, 90-run victors on that occasion, Pembroke were however, missing several big names and regular players who will feature on Monday.

The hosts have the ace in the pack in T20 cricket in the shape of Younas Ahmadzai, he was the third highest run-scorer in the Alan Murray Cup this season, and the side also have another three men who played key hands across their five game campaign, adding in excess of 100 runs each, it should come as no surprise that one of these is Monil Patel, whilst Ben Mitchell and Tom Johnson are the other duo who excelled in this competition. It comes as little surprise considering their progress in the competition that Leinster also had the 2^nd-5^th highest wicket-takers in the competition, with Joey Carroll, Devan Keenan, Saqib Bahadur and Mitchell all appearing on this list, giving Leinster the ‘all-known-form’ upper hand on Pembroke in this tie.

One thing which is absolutely certain though is that Pembroke will not think for a minute that any of these stats or figures rule them out of contention against their title rivals. Tim Tector at the top of the order played just one T20 game for the side this season, plundering 73, and has regularly blasted the side off at 10-an-over in the 50 over PowerPlays this term, he also boasts an excellent record for the Leinster Lightning in T20 competitions. Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector are likely to play crucial roles here, whilst the clean-striking of Gavin Hoey could also see him earning a move up the batting order. With the ball, they are sure to be sweating on the potential inclusion of Barry McCarthy or Byron McDonough for this fixture, however if neither features it could well centre on the spinners to produce the goods once again, with that trio of Hoey, Tector and particularly the skipper Paul Lawson undoubtedly front of mind for Leinster. Lawson’s sensational seven-for proving the catalyst for a quite incredible collapse in the league game between these two sides in Observatory Lane in 2024.

There’s one man and one man only that Leinster will be hoping to see in good form when Monday rolls around, and that is Younas Ahmadzai. Having very nearly dragged his team to Alan Murray Cup glory single-handedly on one leg, this could prove to be his chance to guide the team to the league title, Pembroke are sure to make an effort to bamboozle him, and if Gavin Hoey can take his wicket early on, it could prove the moment that swings the destination of the title.

KEY BATTLE: Younas Ahmadzai vs Gavin Hoey

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

FINAL WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 6^TH-8^TH

Saturday, September 6^th , all 12 Noon start

In Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Clontarf (FEATURED GAME)

In Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Merrion

In Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Railway Union

Monday, September 8^th, 16:00 start

In Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Pembroke (FEATURED GAME)