It’s finals weekend of the Alan Murray T20 Cup in Leinster, with Merrion taking on The Hills at Anglesea Road, while Railway Union face Balbriggan at Sydney Parade – the winners competing at the Pembroke venue later in the day (4.30pm).

Three of the four sides are coached by former Irish internationals, with Jeremy Bray, Kevin O’Brien and Andre Botha all part of the ‘class of 2007’ that heralded Ireland’s arrival on the world stage in the West Indies.

‘JB’ is in his second season at Milverton, and will be hoping to guide the holders to further silverware this campaign. “It’s going to be a very tough game as Merrion are a very strong side, but I’m delighted with the squad we have at The Hills this year,” Bray told CricketEurope. “It’s probably the most depth we have had at the club with the additions this year. 

“I’m really enjoying my time here working at all levels throughout the club. Barry Grimes has been superb to work with, and is a real role model for the club. We have some real talent coming through the junior ranks and hopefully that will filter through to the senior ranks in the coming seasons.

On the prospect of coming face-to-face with Kevin or Andre in the final, Bray was relishing the challenge.

“It’s great that Kevin has joined the coaching set-up and I’m sure he will do a terrific job at Railway Union with all his experience. Just look at what Andre has done at Balbriggan, he has been really terrific there. Hopefully, I will be able to pit my wits against them if we get through against Merrion.”

Kevin O’Brien is in his first season at the helm with Railway Union, but is no stranger to the coaching ranks, having helped out the Italian side for the past few seasons. Indeed, this week he was with the Italian A side who were playing a series in The Netherlands.

“I’m really enjoying and excited by the challenge of coaching Railway. The players have trained hard so far his season, and have all progressed with their games nicely,” said O’Brien, who was part of the Railway Union team that won the 2006 Irish Senior Cup.

“A real pleasing thing for me is everyone is putting in performances, a different player every game is putting his hand up, stepping up for the team with bat or ball. We have match winners all the way down our side, with both bat and ball, and that is what you need in T20 cricket.”

The Park Avenue side have yet to taste defeat this campaign under O’Brien’s tutelage, and he will have a full complement of players available to him for the clash with Balbriggan.

“The real positive is we have not had a full squad available yet this season, with school exams and unavailability some weeks so it’s been nice to win 8 from 8. The players will be excited for the weekend, and the challenge, the expectations, and the pressure it brings. 

“We will try to play the cricket we have played all season, and if we do I’ll be confident we can take the first trophy of the year.”

It won’t be an easy task against a Balbriggan side who are a side packed with talent, and used to winning trophies after successive league titles.

“There are four very good sides in the semi-finals, all having additional qualities having strengthened over the close season. It’s sure to be tough for all, and it just takes special performances from one or two players on the day.

“I’m really excited by the fact that three players from the Ireland World Cup side of 2007 are bringing their experience to local cricket and willing to put their time back into the game. 

“Hopefully it’s a good sign that the new era of cricketers can learn something from our old bodies,” Botha laughed. “I’m really looking forward to the weekend and hopefully there will be some great cricket played.”

Looking to get one over on the World Cup triumvirate will be Merrion Coach Nicky Kenny, and with the experience and quality in their ranks, the possibility of that is a very real one.

The two semi-finals take place at 11.30am, with the decider down for decision at 4.30pm.

SQUADS

MERRION: Dom Joyce (capt) Stephen Doheny (w/k) Jack Carty, Sam Harbinson, Sean Stanton, John Anderson, Max Sorensen, Muhammed Sinan, Tom Stanton, Seb Dijkstra, Swapnil Modgil. Coach: Nicky Kenny.

THE HILLS: Andrew Kavanagh (capt) Mark Donegan (w/k) Nicolaj Laegsgaard, Murray Commins, Nathan Rooney, Tómas Rooney-Murphy, Cian Nulty, Matthew Weldon, Sean McNicholl, Jonathan Tall, Muzamil Sherzad. Coach: Jeremy Bray.

BALBRIGGAN: Greg Ford (capt) Connor Fletcher (w/k) Chris de Freitas, Farooq Nasr, Dylan Lues, Cameron Rowe, Matt Pollard, Andrew Darroch, Kashif Ali, Eoin Birch, Samuel Willemse: Coach: Andre Botha.

RAILWAY UNION: Liam McCarthy (capt) Riley Mudford (w/k) Kenny Carroll, Punya Mehra, Hashir Sultan, Philippe Le Roux, Alan Mathew, Sean O’Brien, Fakhar Zaman, Hamza Maan, Esmatullah Ibrahimi, Ashil Prakash, Brandon Kruger. Coach: Kevin O’Brien.