LHW FINANCIAL PLANNING SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW (JULY 20TH)

The showpiece final of the Cricket Leinster calendar is just two weeks away now, and with the LHW Financial Planning Senior Cup semi-finals set to be fought out on Sunday afternoon, that date looms large for the four remaining sides in the tournament.

With the prospect of inclement weather around tomorrow, it’s worth noting that should either of these fixtures not be completed on the field, the refix date is next Sunday, July 27^th, at the reverse ground from this weekend’s tie.

The semi-finals see North County, who came agonisingly close to victory against Clontarf in the league today, once again at home, as they host Pembroke. Meanwhile on Park Avenue, Railway Union will host Clontarf in a repeat of their quarter-final clash in 2023, when ‘Tarf ended up winning the competition.

North County’s route to the semi-final has seen them navigating a straight-forward run chase against Terenure, before a 64 run win over Balbriggan in the quarterfinals. Whilst their opponents, and competition holders, Pembroke, navigated their path with a convincing win against Adamstown, helped by a Jack Tector century, and another 100 run victory against The Hills, this time seeing Andy Balbirnie making an unbeaten 150.

Railway Union earnt their home tie thanks to a 40 run victory over Rush, where Ashil Prakash took 5/46, before thumping Dublin University by 8 wickets in the quarters, thanks to a powerful all-round bowling performance. Their opponents Clontarf smashed Merrion in round one, as there were runs for Mitchell Thompson, Eoghan Delany and Pat Xie, before their quarter-final victory against Phoenix, which will be remembered for Eknoor Singh’s right-handed batting, which preceded a sensational partnership between David Delany (121*) and John McNally (76*) as they recovered from 108/4 to chase down the ‘Nix total of 284 with more than 6 overs to spare.

NORTH COUNTY VS PEMBROKE

Two sides with contrasting fortunes in today’s Premier League games will put the results right to the back of their minds straight away in the hope of securing their spot in Sydney Parade in two weeks’ time. Pembroke’s side sees them welcoming Harry Tector back in place of Olly Riley, who has his bowling managed ahead of a stint captaining Ireland U19s this week. This means their bowling attack will feature three spinners, Tector joining Paul Lawson and today’s hero Gavin Hoey, whilst the seamers will be Byron McDonough, Mark Berry and Andrew Boulton, in a well-rounded attack.

With the bat, whilst Tim Tector and Blake MacDonald will both look to bounce back from golden ducks, there were encouraging signs from JJ Garth and Jack Tector, whilst they would hope that the return of Harry Tector will bolster their stocks significantly. Hoey and Boulton are the two all-rounders in the side, in a unit which ought to relish the chance to bat on a ground which saw 580 runs scored this afternoon.

North County meanwhile will no doubt be hugely encouraged by the form of their top 6 following today’s game, with Niall McGovern making the most of an early life to top score, whilst Jamie Grassi and Eddie Richardson are looking close to their destructive best. Hunter Kindley has had several starts in recent weeks and will no doubt be looking to convert into a big score, whilst the top six is rounded out by Brian Dunphy and Suliman Safi, and whilst both have had struggles in the last couple of weeks, they remain a very formidable unit on paper.

With the ball, their seamers line-up well, with Richardson set to be partnered by Abdul Ghaffar with the new balls once again. Sean Sludds and Jake Devane provide the other pair of right-arm seam options, whilst there’s no fewer than three off-break bowlers in the side, as they boast Brandon Morris and Alan Joseph Mathew, as well as the part-timers of Safi.

This game could well hang heavily on the toss, with an excellent batting pitch likely, whoever gets first use of the pitch could set a very imposing total, with that in mind, the early battle between Tim Tector and Eddie Richardson in Pembroke’s batting innings seems to be the one to look out for this time around.

KEY BATTLE: Eddie Richardson vs Tim Tector

RAILWAY UNION VS CLONTARF

Railway Union come into this tie near to full strength, with their bowling attack set to feature their star man Liam McCarthy, accompanied by Muhammad Sinan and Farman Afridi, and all-rounder Mark Canniffe the fourth seamer in the side. Their spin will come from Srihan Karpe, who’s offies will be crucial on home turf, alongside their hero of the first round Ashil Prakash, with the opening batter potentially playing a crucial hand with the ball should conditions allow.

Prakash will be joined at the top of the order by Hedayat Khogiani for the ‘Patch’ whilst their middle order is full of talent, with Rob O’Brien in fine form at number three, followed by the skipper Philippe le Roux, coach Lotli Sesele and then the all-round pair of McCarthy and Karpe. Peter le Roux continues behind the stumps for the home side in what is a very settled line-up.

Clontarf meanwhile will be on a major high with their recent form having been excellent, their batting is led by the destructive Séamus Lynch at the top of the order alongside Mitchell Thompson, who was in red-hot form throughout May and June. Eoghan Delany at number three has been in some career-best form, whilst their overseas man Pat Xie and big-hitting John McNally have been crucial to recent victories. Today’s heroes were David Delany and Fionn Hand, and doubtless the entire batting unit will come into this game feeling as though they can have a material impact on the fixture.

On the bowling front, ‘Tarf are heavily reliant on Delany and McNally in the absence of Reuben Wilson, whilst Fionn Hand is still restricted to a batting only role. That sees the spin of Cillian McDonnell vital to their side’s chances, whilst Xie will almost certainly be relied upon for ten overs in this fixture as well.

Eoghan Delany’s temperament saw him guide the side to an unassailable total in last weekend’s all-Ireland semi-final against Malahide, thanks to his unbeaten 117, and no doubt Railway will be keen to get an early look at ‘Tarf’s most experienced player. If he can temper the early spell of Liam McCarthy, then the away side will be in the box seat to secure their place in August 2^nd’s showpiece final.

KEY BATTLE: Liam McCarthy vs Eoghan Delany