SPORTSHUB PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW - ROUND 10 (JUNE 26TH)

After a bumper round of fixtures that saw some scintillating action on Saturday this Thursday sees round 10 of the SportsHub Premier League. There is full round of 4 fixtures in store to be enjoyed and they are as follows: Leinster will welcome Malahide to Observatory Lane while Balbriggan will travel to their to Rush, taking part in their second most local derby. In D4 Merrion will host Phoenix while The Hills will make the trip to Sydney Parade to take on Pembroke.

The table looks very different than it did last week, Merrion have been knocked off the top spot for the first time this season by Pembroke albeit with a game in hand that they  will feel confident of taking back their spot when they can put it to use. Both Leinster and Balbriggan had tricky days on Saturday falling down the table while Clontarf were well able to well and truly catapult themselves upwards into midtable with two scintillating wins.

Leinster vs Malahide

Leinster will be looking to get their mojo back this week after a tough outing on Saturday against first and second place in the table. They will be thankful of the return of their full battalion as they look to wrestle back some of the damage done from their weekend outing.

Their batting will be led by Joanna Loughran and Rebecca Rolfe, they will be joined by Laura Delany in the top 3 who will no doubt be brimming with confidence after a match winning 90 in the last round she was available for. They will have 3 more internationals to call on in their middle order in Sophie McMahon, Eimear Richardson and Ava Canning. They also have a pair of hard hitters in Jenny Sparrow and Karina Bell to call on if required, the later in great form last Saturday.

Karina Bell is the leader of the attack, she will share the new ball with Ava Canning and they have an army of seamers to back them up in Laura Delaney, Sophie McMahon, Katie Dillon, Jenny Sparrow and Orla Bagnall. The spin hopes of their side will be placed on Eimear Richardson in an attack certainly not lacking in options.

Malahide had an exciting day on Saturday but will feel somewhat disappointed with the outcome, coming away with a tie and a loss in a close run affair. They, like many teams this season will be thankful of the return of their full strength side as they look to bounce back.

Their batting will be led by their overseas in Meg Thompson, she will be joined by Amy Hunter and Sarah Condron in the top 3 as they look to get their team off to a flier in a ground where the powerplay is hugely important. Should they struggle the village still boast strength through the middle order in the likes of Anna Kerrison, Sarah Brophy and Haley Moore should they misfire early doors.

They will be hopeful of the return of Arlene Kelly to lead the attack alongside her seam colleagues in Sarah Condron, Maria O’Halloran, Sarah Brophy and Saibh Mitchell. Malahide also have the spin of skipper Anna Kerrison along with Meg Thompson to call on too through the middle overs.

Laura Delany is in form for Leinster, Malahide will look to her Irish colleague in Arlene Kelly to remove her early and put her team in the box seat.

Key Battle – Laura Delany vs Arlene Kelly

Rush vs Balbriggan

This fixture is a one between two teams with very similar days out on Saturday with Rush coming away with an excellent close victory against Malahide, while Balbriggan could only manage one after a disappointing loss to Clontarf.

Balbriggan’s batting is spearhead by Ciara Gibson, she is joined by her overseas colleagues in Ella Marsh and Madison Landsman in a strong batting unit that is rounded out with a brace of Maritz sisters who have both been in a great form this season. Balbriggan will take confidence from their batting efforts on Saturday knowing that only a better bowling performance against Clontarf stood between them and a second win.

Their bowlers are led by Lara Maritz and she will likely share the new ball with overseas off spinner Ella Marsh. Balbriggan will also have the exploits of Madison Landsman, Tasmin Hope, Tess Maritz and Marisa Curtis to call on should they be required in an attack that will be hopeful of an improved output from Saturday.

Rush come into this game riding high after two more hard fought fixtures last weekend saw them emerge with a win against Malahide to wrap up their day. Ocean Bartlett was once again the star of the show for her side and she will again have the support of Aoife Beggs, Georgia Wilson and Rachel Bolton in a batting unit that will feel confident of dealing some damage come Thursday.

The bowling unit is led by Aisling McCormack and she will likely share the new ball with Ramnathpur. They also have Aoife Beggs, Rachel Bolton and their brace of leg spinners in Ocean Bartlett and Ellie McGee to call on in an attack with no shortage of talent.

The key for Rush is Ocean Bartlett, Balbriggan will look to Lara Maritz to remove her and lead her side to victory.

Key Battle – Ocean Bartlett vs Lara Maritz

Merrion vs Phoenix

Merrion will come into this fixture somewhat disappointed to have opened the door for Pembroke having known a win against them would have got them one hand on the trophy, they will none the less feel confident of bouncing back on home soil this week.

Their batting is led by Bella Armstrong who forms a strong opening partnership and together those two will look to get their team off to a flier. They are joined in the top 5 by a trio of internationals in Rebecca Stokell, Leah Paul and Isobel Joyce. From their they have the utility of Celeste Raack and Aoife Brennan should they be required.

Niamh McNulty will lead the seam attack she will share the new ball with Sibha Bhoja and they will have support in their department from Aoife Brennan and Aisling Lawlor. The Anglesea Road outfit also have a trio of spinners to call on through the middle overs in Leah Paul, Bella Armstrong and Celeste Raack.

Phoenix had a tough day out in Balbriggan with two losses from 2. They will feel hopeful that with the return of their star in Gaby Lewis they can turn things around this week, she will lead the batting unit and will be joined by Lucy McDonough, Zara Craig, Alison Black and Siúin Woods in a batting unit that underperformed in her absence. They will look to put that right this week.

Their bowlers are led by Zara Craig, she will likely form a new ball pairing with Ali Keenan while the side from the Phoenix Park will also have the seam of Lucy McDonough and Alison Black along with the excellent spin of Arisha Foysal to call on in attack they will feel confident of putting it up to  a strong Merrion side.

Gaby Lewis is the batter in form for Phoenix, Merrion will look to their own star to remove her. Whoever prevails will have their team in the box seat.

Key Battle – Gaby Lewis vs Leah Paul

Pembroke vs The Hills

Pembroke will be coming into this fixture for two reason, the first of which will be their performances on Saturday that sees them sitting on top of the table, the second will be the strength they have returning for this round. They will have their international trio top 3 back in Prendergast, Little and Forbes. They will be hopeful of doing the bulk of the damage for their side but should they struggle they have two more internationals to call on in Kavanagh and Shillington to call on, the later in stunning form over the weekend.

The Little sisters will lead the seamers with support in their department from Mhairi Nicoll and Kimli McDonald. Pembroke also have a brace of spinners to call on in Forbes and Zoe Bell along with Prendergast who will likely have her overs managed.

The Hills will be coming into this fixture hopeful of building on weekend performance that were much improved from those previous. Their batting will be led as usual by Tahlia Dunne, she will have the support of Aimee Maguire, along with Abbi Harrison and Rebecca Gough in a batting unit the women from Skerries will know can put it up to anyone on their day.

Their bowling stocks which had begun to look very strong will now be without both Jane Maguire and Erin Carroll after the pair picked up injuries last weekend, with Carroll’s emerging to be a season-ender. That leaves the side slightly short on seamers where the support will come in the form of Gough and Vanessa Scollard while they will also have the spin of Dunne along with the options of Caoimhe Emmet and Sarah Everard to call on should they be required in an attack that unfortunately due to these injuries is somewhat lacking in options.

Aimee Maguire is undoubtedly the leader of her side’s batting this time around, she will have to be on song against a very strong Pembroke bowling unit, if she can get through Lou Lou Little’s early spell she will give her side the best chance of putting together a good total.

Key Battle – Aimee Maguire vs Lou Lou Little

SPORTSHUB PREMIER LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 10, JUNE 26TH, ALL 18:15 STARTS

At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Malahide

At Kenure, Rush vs Balbriggan

At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs The Hills

At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs Phoenix