IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE – WEEK ONE PREVIEW (APRIL 26TH)

Following one of the busier off-season periods for clubs in recent memory, this weekend sees the noise surrounding ‘what might happen’ stop, and the 12 sides who have forged their way into the newly-formed IBI Corporate Finance Premier League can finally get down to business.

A huge thanks must firstly go to IBI Corporate Finance, particularly their CEO Tom Godfrey, from all at Cricket Leinster, with their continued support of the top-level Open Competitions League being a massive boost to cricket in the province. Their sponsorship of this competition is hugely appreciated by all those taking part.

Now, as has already been alluded to, there are 12 teams set to do battle in this year’s edition of the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League. Holders Pembroke are joined by their 6 compatriots from the 2024 iteration in Merrion, Leinster, Phoenix, Clontarf, Malahide & Balbriggan, whilst Rush, Railway Union, North County, The Hills & Cork County have made the step up from the Championship.

These 12 sides will face each other once each in an 11-game regular season which brings us right up to July 26^th, before being split, with the top 6 doing battle for the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League, whilst the bottom 6 will fight out the IBI Corporate Finance Championship. Jeopardy remains as the team which finishes bottom of the Championship will fall into the First Team League for the 2026 season, replaced by the winners of that title.

Unlike last season, each round will see 6 games played with no bye-weeks for any of the teams, so lets jump in to the first bumper preview of the season with our featured action!

CLONTARF VS BALBRIGGAN

Castle Avenue is the location for the first featured action of the season. The home side have a new name from a familiar family at the helm, with David Delany taking over the reins from his eldest brother Eoghan. Cillian McDonnell is his deputy, and that pair are the leading lights in their bowling attacks, with the skipper the senior seamer in the side in the absence of the star power of Fionn Hand, whilst McDonnell’s spinning compatriot on week one looks set to be Yash Bala, as David Vincent remains unavailable due to the conclusion of the hockey season.

There’s a new head-coach too for the Castle Avenue outfit, and Nicky Kenny is excited for the new challenge that lays ahead this season;

“It’s a fresh start for me but I’ve really enjoyed my short time at the club so far and everyone has been welcoming.

We are excited to get going with the league campaign which promises to be an interesting and very competitive league this year with the competition expanded to 12 teams.”

He’s quick to praise the side’s efforts so far, but as with most games this season, is acutely aware of the dangers that lie ahead this weekend;

“Our lads have been working hard in pre season and will be looking to get off to a good start but there are not many tougher starts than playing Balbriggan, who as usual will be a very strong team.”

‘Tarf have been busy on the batting side of the ledger, with two exciting recruits set to feature in the top four of their line-up. ‘Moose is a Bull’ was the tagline used on Clontarf social media when they confirmed the arrival of Séamus Lynch from Terenure, and his firepower at the top of the order adds a dynamic which the Castle Avenue men haven’t had for a number of seasons. He’s also going to be taking the wicket-keeping duties for the side, and is likely to be joined by Mitchell Thompson at the top of the order, whilst Curtis Campher’s absence having joined the Multan Sultans means that Eoghan Delany will reprise his role at number three. The other big name which ‘Tarf have acquired is their overseas man Patrick Xie, with the Sydney native coming off the back of an excellent year in Premier Cricket there for Parramatta, it will be intriguing to see what impact these new additions have in their top order. The other batter in the side who adds X-Factor is John McNally, and with his bowling restricted due to injury, there’s no doubt he’ll be seeking to make a big impact here.

Balbriggan meanwhile spent much of the 2024 season battling against a litany of injuries, and their coach and captain combo of Andre Botha and Greg Ford will no doubt be hoping for some slightly better luck in that regard to start with. They too are affected by the Ireland Wolves’ tour to start off however, with Chris de Freitas unavailable for this weekend. They are boosted by the return of Connor Fletcher, with the wicket-keeper batsman having missed last season due to travels in Australia. He’s likely to occupy a slot at the top of the order alongside Cameron Rowe, who had a decent 2024, averaging just under 35 in spite of missing some games due to injury.

The main addition in Balbriggan is on the bowling front, having added Jordan Hollard to their squad last season, he is joined this term by his older brother Matthew, who adds to the seam bowling stocks. Left-armer Sam Willemse was recently named in the North West Warriors squad, and having debuted for the Leinster Lightning in September he will be hoping for a clear run of club cricket this season after his last term was disrupted by muscle injuries. Sebastian de Oliveira is their overseas man once again and he is the third prong in what could prove to be a very potent seam-bowling trio. Their spinners meanwhile see the aforementioned Jordan Hollard playing a supporting role to the excellent Dylan Lues, who’s performances for the last couple of season have seen him now named in the Lightning squad for the 2025 season.

With Clontarf’s bowling devoid of three frontline options this weekend, it looks like the skipper David Delany will need to step up in a big way with the new ball this time around. His opening spell to Cameron Rowe is likely to shape the game, with Rowe’s wicket especially important in the absence of their star man de Freitas.

KEY BATTLE: David Delany vs Cameron Rowe

LEINSTER VS CORK COUNTY

Next up we look to Rathmines, where a settled Leinster side will be hoping to build on their successes over the last two seasons, they continued their upward curve last season under Jonny Garth’s coaching, taking home the Alan Murray Cup and finishing in third place in the league. They have strengthened with two notable signings, and will be hoping to continue that trajectory, there’s a familiar face in Ben Mitchell, with the Randwick-Petersham clubman having featured in their Championship-winning side in 2022, making 380 runs and taking 27 wickets, he adds another polished all-rounder to the side on his return. The other man coming in is a familiar face within the province, with Younas Ahmadzai having made the move to Rathmines after two seasons with Malahide. These two signings add plenty of depth to the side, which had been heavily reliant on the trio of Monil Patel, Joey Carroll and Saqib Bahadur last season. The availability of Gareth Delany could prove to be a massive bonus, as if he is added to this five, it makes an extremely formidable top six.

With the ball, skipper Bilal Azhar and 2024 Leinster Lightning debutant Jai Moondra are now supported by Mitchell in providing left-arm seam options, while Mark Tonge and Carroll are the right arm-seamers, however it’s in the spin department where the game changers really lay last season. Bahadur’s ability to shred a batting line-up with a spell of bowling has always been a massive danger for oppositions, however the arrival of left-arm offie Tom Johnson added another weapon to the armoury at Azhar’s disposal, and with no fewer than 7 bowlers set to regularly take the field for their side, Leinster could prove a very tough nut to crack early this term.

Cork County are another team who have added some strength to what was a settled line-up from last season, and whilst they will be boosted by the inclusion of PJ Moor later in the season, this weekend is likely to also see them feature three debutants. North Kildare’s star all-rounder Bakhtyar Nabi is one of two players to have relocated to Cork and bolster the team, his spin bowling is a real addition, whilst playing in this team ought to allow him slightly more freedom with bat in hand. The also have a pair of former Terenure seamers in line to debut, Darsh Shetty is the second man to have relocated, and his seamers could prove tricky on early-season wickets, whilst Munster Reds man Zubair Khan has featured for Cork Harlequins in the interim and his physique and style of bowling offers something of a point of difference to the Leesiders this season. That trio, along with skipper Diarmuid Carey, leggie Nabeel Anjum and overseas player Mark Andrianatos sees the side have a very useful bowling attack at its disposal.

With the bat meanwhile, they will lean on the likes of Andrianatos and Thorne Prophet for big contributions, with Benji Marris and Syed Aiman also both capable players who can occupy the crease. The key for those four in reality is to build solid platforms, with the likes of Nabi, Anjum, Shetty and Khan all capable of finding the boundary in the latter stages, however if they are exposed to frontline bowlers too early, there is no doubt the Cork men could find themselves wanting with bat in hand. This is undoubtedly where they will be hoping Moor proves to be a match winner at a latter stage in the season.

This fixture is undoubtedly one which has several players who could easily take it by the scruff of the neck and produce a performance to propel their team to victory. On the Leinster side, Ben Mitchell is sure to be keen to remind the Rathmines faithful what he’s all about with bat in hand at the top of the order. Fast starts against the seamers were his biggest attribute when he last featured, and therefore it’s likely Zubair Khan is going to have his work cut out to keep the left-hander quiet, however if he does, it will give Cork County half a chance of getting right on top in the Power Play.

KEY BATTLE: Ben Mitchell vs Zubair Khan

PHOENIX VS MERRION

In the Phoenix Park, Merrion are the visitors, and the away side are sure to be aiming to exact some revenge upon the side which put them firmly behind the 8-ball in last year’s league run-in with a one wicket defeat.

Merrion’s head-coach Dom Joyce is looking forward to the beginning of the season, and gave us a quick thought ahead of this opening fixture;

“The main thing for us is how important the early season is, with the new format of the league, the split and points carrying over it’s key to put ourselves in a good position.

We’ve been training really well the last few weeks, however we are missing a number of players this week which obviously isn’t ideal”

The players Joyce alludes to include skipper Max Sorensen and his vice-captain Adam Rosslee, meaning the Samuels Cup winner for 2024, Swapnil Modgill, takes over the armband for the first week of the season. Stephen Doheny and overseas man Mo Manack are the other two who will miss the opening fixture this weekend. This leaves their top four without two of its mainstays of last season, and will see the Anglesea Road men pinning plenty of hope on Modgill and John Anderson, whilst the likes of Danny Forkin, Sean Stanton and Andy Doheny would all appear likely candidates to fill the slots left in the top order by the players who are missing.

With the ball, Melvin Devaraj’s form last season saw him earning a Leinster Lightning cap at the end of the season, and he is likely to share the new ball with Mikey O’Reilly, who’s left-arm seamers should complement him nicely. Seam bowling was an area of real strength for this side last year, however with Sam Harbinson and Pete Francis both not around this season, their only other option remaining from last year’s team is Hugh Kennedy’s right-arm swingers. This means that the spin of Tom Stanton & Modgill, possibly alongside Jamie Forbes, is going to prove crucial in terms of keeping the Phoenix middle order under wraps.

The home side meanwhile are set to field a strong side once again this season, with some high calibre recruits added to the squad that finished in 4^th place last term. They too have a Randwick-Petersham man in their midst, with Eknoor Singh filling a spot in the top order, whilst their batting is further bolstered by the addition of Queenslander Joe Cotgreave. That duo add to the firepower of Shane Getkate, Levon Shields and Johit Munjal at the top of the order. Meanwhile, slightly further down, they have some excellent stroke players and boundary hitters in the shape of wicket-keeper Nicolaas Pretorius, former international Tyrone Kane and skipper Adam Chester, in a batting line-up which on paper, at least, appears to be among the strongest in the league.

With the ball, alongside Kane, they have been boosted by the addition of Raghav Grover, who has signed for the club from Terenure, he will most likely spearhead the bowling attack where the trump cards are doubtless their pair of spinners, Amish Sidhu’s left-arm and Ben White’s leg-spin. There are several potential part-time options in the side, and as a result, it’s likely that the fifth bowler will be made up by extra overs from the likes of Getkate, Singh and Shields.

Mainly owing to the absence of several of their top order, the stand-in skipper, Swapnil Modgill will have a huge job on his hands with the bat for Merrion this weekend. If he can manage his way through the opening spell of Phoenix’s latest signing Raghav Grover, it should give Merrion the platform it needs to put together a strong batting effort.

KEY BATTLE: Raghav Grover vs Swapnil Modgill

NORTH COUNTY VS PEMBROKE

Inch plays host to Premier League cricket for the first time since 2018, and the side has strengthened significantly compared with last year as a result. Jamie Grassi returns having last played in Malahide in 2023 and missed the 2024 season due to travelling in New Zealand. They also have an overseas player for the first time since 2022, with Hunter Kindley joining having also been a part of the Malahide team Grassi played on in 2023. This pair bolster the batting line-up which saw some consistent performances last season from the likes of Suliman Safi, John Devane and Niall McGovern in the top 6, whilst they also have youngster Brian Dunphy who has been training with the Irish U19 squad, even before mentioning their talismanic captain Eddie Richardson, who comes into this season off the back of winning yet another all-rounders trophy in the Championship last season, and he’ll be hoping to continue that form into 2025.

With the ball, they have Usman Azhar returning after spending the last two seasons playing for Strabane, and he joins the brothers Abdul, Sattar and Ghaffar in putting together a very strong seam attack, again, without even mentioning the brilliant Richardson once again. Their spinners feature Alan Joseph Mathew, who has developed extremely well since his move to the Inch side in 2023, his off-breaks are sure to prove crucial for the home side, whilst the extra option is Suliman Safi, who proved to be efficient when he was used, albeit sparingly, last season.

Pembroke are the visitors to Inch this weekend, and they have a new skipper for the 2025 season, with Paul Lawson back at the helm for the first time since 2017. He has a new overseas player in toe, with Blake MacDonald replacing Nick Stapleton, the pair are former club-mates, with MacDonald having relocated from Sydney to Melbourne this off-season and having an extremely strong season with the St Kilda club, which resulted in a debut for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.

In looking ahead to this weekend’s game Lawson is firstly excited by the inclusion of MacDonald;

“Blake arrived earlier this week, fresh from a busy season in Melbourne; he enjoyed quite a bit of success in that time and we’re extremely excited to see what he’ll bring to our side.”

Elsewhere they have also added Andrew Boulton, who will help offset the loss of Diarmaid and Fiachra Tucker, both of whom are abroad for this season for work and study commitments. Tim and Harry Tector will both no doubt be hoping to hit the ground running ahead of the opening period of the IP50 season, whilst they will also be hoping to see more good form from JJ Garth, who was a stand-out performer on a number of occasions last season. In the middle order, Jack Tector will once again likely be at number 5, with Greg Hollins taking the gloves and likely to be one of the men looked to for acceleration later in the innings.

With the ball, the 2024 O’Grady Cup winner Byron McDonough will be leading the line this weekend in the absence of Barry McCarthy and Olly Riley. His remarkable breakthrough last season saw him averaging just 11.95 in taking 37 wickets across all competitions. He’s going to be joined in the seam bowling department by Andrew Boulton and Dan Murray, whilst the spin will come in the shape of the skipper Lawson and Garth, as Pembroke look to navigate a tricky opening week where they are impacted heavily by representative cricketers being unavailable.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Pembroke’s year as unbeaten champions last season undoubtedly makes them the team to beat, however Lawson is acutely aware of not aiming too big too soon;

“Last season was obviously brilliant for the club, and it was a great campaign. But it’s another long season ahead, with every side looking equally strong, so we’ll take each weekend as it comes.”

Finally, looking ahead to the new league format, the Pembroke skipper very much retains the attitude of taking things one week at a time;

“The new format is exciting. There’s probably a bit of added emphasis in starting well to be best positioned before the split, but it’s hard to tell, we’re just looking forward to getting going.”

North County’s Suliman Safi was a breakthrough player in the Championship last season, and whilst many tried, only the most skilful were able to dismiss him cheaply, his wicket is obviously still a massive prize even with the step up. Pembroke appear to have the perfect candidate to do battle with him in Byron McDonough. If McDonough can get the better of the left-hander, it will give Pembroke a massive upper hand early in the piece.

KEY BATTLE: Suliman Safi vs Byron McDonough

MALAHIDE VS RAILWAY UNION

Malahide are one of the teams who will be hoping to benefit from the league restructure this season, having finished second bottom in the Premier League in 2024, they will be aiming to climb their way up the standings this season.

Their coach and captain duo remains the same, with Graham Ford and James Newland still in their respective roles, and not much has changed in terms of personnel in The Village ahead of the 2025 season, however what has happened is significant. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Adam Doyle appear to be the two key men in the batting line-up with the ability to bat time and set the game up for their bigger hitters in the likes of Matt Ford, Jeremy Martins and Andrew Sheridan, whilst the unknown quantity is that of Robbie Foulkes, however the 20 year-old arrives with an impressive CV having represented Canterbury County and New Zealand U19 and could prove to be a game winner. They will certainly hope that he is, as his inclusion will need to account for the loss of Ali Frost and Younas Ahmadzai, who would both have consistently occupied positions in the top 3 last season.

With the ball, Newland will no doubt be leading from the front again, as he and Kelvin Donnelly prove to be excellent foils for each other as an opening pair. Martins and Sheridan offer some excellent control in the middle overs, with both having been extremely consistent last season, even if not spectacular. It’s in the left-arm spinners however that Malahide find their potential game winners, Mike Frost has been their stand-out bowler for a number of seasons now, and his efforts to push for representative honours will no doubt be reliant on some strong bowling performances early in the season here. Alongside Mohit Sane, who has broken into the team since an excellent season in the 2^nd XI Premier League in 2023, they boast two slow left-armers who could easily prove to be match winners.

Railway meanwhile come into week one without a couple of their regular starters, Liam McCarthy is yet another player unavailable due to being on duty with the Wolves, whilst their regular keeper Peter le Roux is also missing. Their batting line-up is led by the skipper Philippe le Roux, who will appear at number 4, just after their up-and-coming star Rob O’Brien, who will be hoping to kick off this season in a similar vein of form to that he did last time around. Ashil Prakash and Hedayat Khoghiani will be at the top of the order, with the latter taking the gloves this weekend. There will also be a debut for Ryan Smith in the middle order, after his recent transfer to the club from Terenure.

On the bowling front, Railway have been the beneficiaries of some transfers also, and whilst they will be without Sean O’Brien for this season due to injury, they will hope the addition of Muhammad Sinan from Merrion, and return from Civil Service of Digamber Mishra will help to cover off this loss. McCarthy is a clear hole in the line-up for week one, however they have a very dependable pair of back-ups that can be called upon in the shape of Sumit Kumar and Piyush Sharma, and should be well able to cover off all angles in the seam bowling department. Their spin will come from Srihan Karpe, who’s off-breaks proved to be a massive addition last season, whilst Prakash could also deliver some of his part-time right-armers as a 6^th bowling option.

With two key batters gone from the top of their batting line-up, it appears that Malahide will be leaning heavily on their openers for a good solid start. Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin was their most solid player last season and is likely to be the man that Railway need to remove, the away side will be hoping that the accuracy and swing from Muhammad Sinan could be the key to winning the early exchanges here.

KEY BATTLE: Adam Doyle vs Muhammad Sinan

THE HILLS VS RUSH

Finally we get to The Vineyard, where the home side have been busy in the off-season, recruiting some new faces to replace Nicolaj Damgaard, whilst they are still without Mark Donegan who’s move to Australia has seemingly become permanent. On the positive side for the Milverton men, they have brought in Ollie Horlock, a talented top-order batter from Ringwood in Melbourne, who is likely to face up to the new ball this weekend. James Cusack, cousin of Alex, also joins having spent last season with Ballyspallen in the North West, providing some impressive numbers with both bat and ball. Their final big-named import is Pierce Ryan, another Irish passport-holder who plies his trade in Queensland, and he’s likely to feature with the new ball in his hand in the coming weeks. This trio strengthens the side significantly, with each of them adding something different in all disciplines. Tómas Rooney-Murphy is once again the captain, and is sure to relish bowling spells alongside his two new seam bowling options, as well as Sean McNicholl who is now in Ireland full-time, and the exciting left-arm seam option provided by Matthew Weldon. In the spin department, they’re likely to rely on Brandon Kruger’s off-breaks to be the front-line option, whilst mystery spinner Febin Manoj is another contender to break into the team having made a handful of appearances in 2024.

With the bat, the focal point looks sure to be at the top of the order, where Horlock and Kruger appear to be the most obvious candidates to take the game on, Andy Kavanagh looks set to deputise behind the stumps this season and will likely appear in the middle order, whilst not available this weekend, a massive boost would be if Nathan Rooney became more available this season, with the former Balbriggan man proving to be a match-winner when he took the field last term. Cian Nulty’s ability to find the boundary will also see him play an important role, Hassan Shahid’s transfer from Rush puts an extra bit of edge into this fixture for him, as he debuts against his old club.

Rush will do well to emulate their exploits of last season, however their first appearance in the top-flight since 2018 is in no small part down to how consistent their performances remained last season. Josh Doyle was a huge part of that in 2024, and although the Sydney native won’t return, the remainder of the team appears to be extremely settled. Doyle’s replacement is Nathan Engelbrecht, however he won’t arrive until mid-May, meaning the only real change likely sees Abidullah Taniwal’s move hoping to offset the absence of Doyle. Taiwal’s left-arm seamers will join a bowling attack spear-headed by the evergreen duo of former Irish International Allan Eastwood, and captain Jarred Barnes, both of whom were in fine form last season. Asher Abbasi’s right arm seamers round off a strong pace attack for the Kenure men, whilst it’s the left-arm orthodox of Nasir Totakhil, recently selected in the Leinster Lightning squad, which is the real trump card for last year’s Championship winners.

With the bat, they have had a steadily progressive line-up for many seasons now, with Prasanth Viswanath finding some brilliant form last year, whilst the hard-hitting Nathan McGuire returns from yet another year down under and will be hoping to prove impactful once again. The McGee brothers, Finn & Jack, have been ever-present in the middle-order for a few seasons, and both have really began to progress, whilst the hard-hitting Taniwal has the ability to swing a game in a heartbeat. Hashir Sultan is the other man in the middle order with that ability, and it will be interesting to see how these players complement each other, whether one takes a back seat, or if they go blow-for-blow attempting to out-do one another. If it’s the latter, no doubt Rush will be the team to watch with the bat this season!

The Hills’ top order will have to be on top form against a strong Rush seam attack this weekend, and with that in mind, Brandon Kruger’s wicket becomes absolutely vital. If Jarred Barnes can see him off early, it will give the visitors the route into the game they need to put plenty of pressure on their host’s middle order.  

KEY BATTLE: Brandon Kruger vs Jarred Barnes

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE

Round 1 - Saturday, April 26^th, All 12 Noon Starts

At Castle Avenue, Clontarf vs Balbriggan (FEATURED GAME)

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Cork County

At Phoenix Park, Phoenix vs Merrion

At Inch, North County vs Pembroke

At The Village, Malahide vs Railway Union

At The Vineyard, The Hills vs Rush