SPORTSHUB WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW - ROUND 1 (MAY 8TH)
Following on from Pembroke romping to victory in this competition 8 months ago in 2024 edition, the women’s Division one league is back in action with a full round of 4 fixtures.
There is new sponsor for this competition with SportsHub taking on the mantle, Cricket Leinster would like to thank them for their continued support of the game in our province.
The opening round of fixtures is as follows Leinster welcome Balbriggan to Observatory Lane while Malahide host Phoenix. Pembroke season kick off their season in the ‘East Link Derby’ against Clontarf while lastly Merrion will host The Hills in Anglesea Road. All games are set to start at 5:45 and are sure to be crackers.
Leinster vs Balbriggan
While a cursory glance at the 2024 league table would suggest that Leinster should be coming into this fixture the more confident having finished 3rd, a deeper dive however shows that just 2 points separated 3rd placed Leinster and 7th placed Balbriggan. This will no doubt be a tight one.
For Leinster they will rely on their battalion of experienced campaigners with batter Rebecca Rolfe, the all round prowess of Jenny Sparrow and keeper Ellen Ridgeway. A big plus for the Rathmines side is the availability of Sophie McMahon who’s hard hitting and accurate medium pace bowling will no doubt give her side an edge. McMahon aggregated an impressive 239 runs at a shade under 40 across just 6 innings. She will no doubt be huge if her side are to come away with an opening day victory.
As mentioned above Balbriggan’s 7th place finish in 2024 is something of a ‘red herring’ as some very small margins could have led them into the top half of the table. They will no doubt look to their star power in Lara Maritz to try and increase their consistency and help them to fulfil their potential. She scored 238 runs last season at an impressive average of 47.6 across just 7 innings, this coupled with an impressive season with ball in hand too (7 wickets at 9.56) will mean she will be the balrothery side’s key with both Bat and Ball.
If she can remove Sophie McMahon Early it will no doubt give her side the upperhand in what is sure to be a tight contest.
Key Battle – Lara Martiz vs Sophie McMahon
Pembroke vs Clontarf
The 2024 champions face off against 2023 champions, Clontarf had a disappointing defence of their title falling to 4th in the table however as previously mentioned it wan an exceptionally tight league season. Pembroke benefitted from some new additions after the untimely demise of YMCA CC and romped to victory with 12 wins and 2 losses, going the main portion of the season unbeaten.
The mainstay of the Clontarf batting effort throughout 2024 came in the form of Robyn Searle and Christina Coulter Reilly. Searle led the run charts for the league posting a gluttonous 492 runs at 54.67. Coulter Reily occupied the 3rd spot with 326 runs 46.57 across just 9 games. If there is to be one concern for Castle Avenue side it would be the lack of support for these 2 with no other player featuring in the top 25 runs scorers for the season. With Searle set to be in a race against time pending visa arrangements for Thursday evening Clontarf will be looking into their ranks to find support for Coulter Reilly as the takes the reigns for the first time for Clontarf.
Pembroke strolled to victory in 2024 and were indebted in this quest to Sarah Forbes with both bat and ball, she sat and number 4 in the runs charts for 2024 aggregating and impressive 323 runs at 64.8 across the 10 innings she was available for. She also was joint top of the bowling ranks with clubmate Kimli McDonald on 15 wickets. It is set to be a strong side for Pembroke with only Orla Prendergast missing. Lou Lou Little will lead the attack while experienced campaigners Shauna Kavanagh and Clare Shillington will fill in the gaps.
If Forbes can get one through Coulter Reily’s defences early and in the absence of Searle it could go a long way to putting the Sydney Parade on top.
Key Battle – Sarah Forbes vs Christina Coulter Reilly
Merrion vs The Hills
Merrion come into the 2025 season off the back of another strong showing in 2024. The finished second in the league with a points tally of 16, someway off the Pembroke in first with 24 points but equally they were outside of the mid table madness cementing themselves as undoubtedly the second best team for 2024.
This season they are shaping up as strongly as ever with internationals Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell likely to be available for the first couple of rounds. They are a club that epitomise strength in depth in support of their international stars with Niamh McNulty, Sibha Bhoja, Ally Boucher and Annabel Squires putting in strong performances throughout the last few seasons. However, they will no doubt look to Leah Paul to lead the charge for them, they will hope she can continue in the same form as she did in 2024 where she amassed 233 runs at 77.67.
The Hills will travel to Anglesea road with a strong outfit confident of causing something of an upset to kick off 2025. They are led by their international stars, the Maguire sisters. They will likely do the damage with ball in hand, the Skerries side will look to their Australian-born batter Tahlia Dunne to lead them in their batting effort. She aggregated 373 runs across just 10 games in 2024 at an average of 46.63, placing her second for whole competition. The Hills will look for increased consistency in support of her in order to ensure more consistent all round performances and that they are in the ‘trophy conversation’ come September.
Leah Paul had a stellar 2024, if her Ireland colleague Jane Maguire can get her out early, The Hills will be in the box seat.
Key Battle – Leah Paul vs Jane Maguire
Malahide vs Phoenix
Malahide are another club who somewhat underperformed in a hotly contested 2024 league (Outside of first place). They are victims of their own success with their 2 most key performers, Hunter and Kelly being unavailable for large portions of most seasons. There should be no such issues for ‘the village’ on week 1 with both Internationals slated to play. They will be ably supported by the Kerrison sisters and Sarah Condron who has had a brilliant 2 years in the lead up to this season for her side.
Phoenix has a disappointing 2024 finishing last season’s league in last place. One can only assume this was an anomaly and that the Phoenix Park side will bounce back this year with a vengeance. Their batting effort is spearheaded by Irish skipper Gaby Lewis, she will be supported by her ex YMCA compatriots Suin Woods and Alice Tector, Phoenix stalwarts Ali Keenan and Georgina Dempsey will join that trio to form a strong spine for Phoenix.
Gaby Lewis was the main stay of the Phoenix batting effort in 2024 gathering 248 runs at 62 from just 6 outings. Arisha Foysal is the up and coming star from Phoenix with her spin bowling and will no doubt be huge piece of the puzzle if Phoenix are to run out victors.
Amy Hunter is the star player for Malahide, Phoenix will look to Foysal to keep her under pressure in the middle overs, if she can do so Phoenix have huge opportunity to keep Malahide to a below par score.
Key Battle – Amy Hunter vs Arisha Foysal
SPORTSHUB PREMIER LEAGUE
Match Day 1, May 8th, All 5:45pm starts
At Observatory Lane, Leinster vs Balbriggan (FEATURED GAME)
At Sydney Parade, Pembroke vs Clontarf
At Anglesea Road, Merrion vs The Hills
At The Village, Malahide vs Phoenix
