In a weekend where weather got the better of Limerick’s 1st XI chances of locking horns with close rivals Clare, the big takeaway from the club’s fixtures was the All-Ireland semi-final encounter on Wednesday afternoon in Cork. Losses for Limerick’s 2nd and 4th XIs were accompanied by victory for the 3rd XI on Sunday afternoon.

Limerick’s 2nd XI were unlucky to finish on the receiving end of a close defeat to Cork County on Saturday afternoon at the Manor Fields, as the visitors chased down a total of just over 200 in the final few overs. 

A much changed XI for Waqas Mehmood who lost the toss and was put into bat, where he entrusted Hussein and Kumar to face the new ball. The two opened with some fireworks, and managed to get to 48 without loss before Kumar departed in the eighth over. The turning point in the game may have come at this early juncture, with the hosts losing four wickets in nine overs, with recovery needed on 78-5. Hussein’s 33 was valuable, but short-lived innings in the middle order put unwanted pressure on the home side’s batting card. 

This was somewhat rescued by Venkatesh, who had an unbeaten 60 from 91 balls (7x4s), to enable his team to surpass the 200-mark. Venkatesh ran out of partners and swung for the hedges in the final few overs, as Limerick finished on 202. 

Mehmood started with Tanveer and Borghare in the defense of their total, with Borghare doing well to squeeze a delivery through the defences of Khot early on. County found themselves in a similar position of 75-4 after 19 overs to the first innings, as Tanveer, Khan and a run out through the arm of the skipper caused havoc to the top order. A number of dropped catches thereafter didn’t help, as Ross was able to move past his 50 as his side got closer to their total. The introduction of Venkatesh was crucial for Limerick, as the all-rounder took three vital wickets to claw County back to 179-7. An expensive penultimate over however went for 13 runs, with County needing 14 runs to win, which steered Limerick away from the game with the winning runs hit with four balls to spare.

RESULT| MCU Division One. 

We lost to Cork County by 2 wickets today. 

Limerick 2: 202 all out off 43.2 overs.

Sumukh Venkatesh 60*

Asif Hussein 33

Cork County 2: 203-8 off 44.2 overs.

Sumukh Venkatesh 3-35

Nofil Khan 1-14

* * *

Sathya Prabu’s side got back to winning ways in Division Two after a comprehensive batting display put their first innings total out of reach against Cork County, a game which took place at the neutral venue of The Farm on Curraheen Road.

A youthful top order took centre stage as Prabu elected to bat having won the toss, with Abubakar Aziz once again putting in a timely 20 runs from 41 deliveries after the loss of early wickets. Pawar set a nice pace to the innings, adding a good tempo back into his side’s batting before he departed for 23 from 29.

At 99-4, the Shannonsiders still had work to do which was implemented through a responsible knock from Waqas Mehmood. His half-century consisted of 6x4s and allowed others to contribute around him, namely Ryan Shah (18) and Yash Srivastava (25*), who added important runs to the scoreboard. Limerick finished to set a target of 193 as light rain began to fall sporadically.

County negotiated the new ball well and were just short of ten overs without loss, before Mehmood took his first of the day, with Khan dismissing the other opener in the following over. The game swayed in Limerick’s favour, with the Aziz brothers taking wickets in their spells to squeeze their opponents to 76-5. There were some starts which didn’t convert from the opposition middle order, with Abubakar Aziz bowling well and getting his rewards as wickets continued to tumble. Mehmood was reintroduced and tidied up the tail with 35 runs to spare, as Limerick put another victory under their belt with two games remaining.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We defeated Cork County by 35 runs today. 

Limerick 3: 192-9 off 40 overs.

Waqas Mehmood 51

Yash Srivastava 25*

Cork County 3: 157 all out off 35.3 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 3-22

Waqas Mehmood 2-27

* * *

With a number of young and developing players in the side, Limerick’s 4th XI battled hard against a strong Midleton outfit at the Manor Fields on Sunday afternoon, a game which saw their first innings score short of enough to defend with Midleton running out comfortable winners in the end.

The batting card never got going for Ramji Lakshmanan and co., who suffered in withstanding the early onslaught from the Midleton attack. The middle order was short of resistance, with the Vercoe brothers attempting to chew up some deliveries before both losing their wickets. The tail acted in similar fashion, and couldn’t chip away after moving past the 50-run mark, as Limerick were bundled out for 67. Midleton made light work of the run chase, making their required amount in just over 15 overs, with consolation coming in the form of Vercoe and Akhtar, who both added one each to the wicket column.

RESULT| MCU Division Five. 

We lost to Midleton by 8 wickets today. 

Limerick 4: 67 all out off 24.2 overs.

Ramji Lakshmanan 11*

Tom Vercoe 9

Midleton 4: 70-2 off 15.4 overs.

Jack Vercoe 1-2

Shaheer Akhtar 1-15

* * *

Limerick’s U17 side came up short in their quest for All-Ireland glory on Wednesday afternoon after a spirited display against Leinster champions Railway Union. Rain halted the start of the game and after a couple of ground inspections, umpires Declan Earley and William Clarke proceeded with a toss with a reduction of five overs per innings decided. Limerick skipper Ayan Ullah won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Mardyke.

Railway's steady start got them through the powerplay without loss, going at about 7 runs per over to see them at 43-0 after 6 overs. Ullah brought himself on with spin coming from the other end in the form of Ravishankar and McCutcheon, before deploying a newly becoming death bowler specialist in Abubakar Aziz. Railway passed the 100-run mark still without loss, but a tight bowling and fielding performance in the final few overs meant Arham Ullah and Aziz came away with one wicket apiece. Limerick’s wicket column was supplemented by a run-out in the penultimate ball of the innings, thanks to sharp work from Ghufran Chaudhry who threw back to the non-striker’s end, ably assisted by Aziz, to dismiss O'Leary for a duck. A single off the last ball meant a target of 120 for the Shannonsiders to chase.

In response, Limerick suffered early with the loss of Aziz in the opening over, before Ramay and his captain got things motoring with some good boundary hitting in the overs to follow. Despite finding themselves at 25-3, the required run-rate was still intact as Lakshmanan and Ullah began to work towards their target. The pair put together a partnership of 51 runs from 49 deliveries, before the skipper went for broke in attempting to keep the run-rate at an achievable equation. His shot found the hands of Hasler to see the end of his knock with Lakshmanan retiring on 17 runs made from 30 at the other end.  The remaining batsmen couldn't muster up a late flurry to see their side through, with the asking rate causing late wickets rather than runs, with the innings coming to a close on 95-9 after 15.

RESULT| All-Ireland U17 Semi-final 

We lost to Railway Union by 24 runs today.

Railway U17: 119-3 off 15 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 1-15

Arham Ullah 1-24

Limerick U17: 95-9 off 15 overs.

Ayan Ullah 30

Skandan Lakshmanan 17*

* * *

Next weekend sees all four teams with fixtures in what is becoming a busy end to the season for the club. On Saturday, Limerick’s 2nd XI make the trip to Tralee where they will face County Kerry in Division One, with the 4ths taking on Nenagh at the Manor Fields. The 3rds will also go into their game against Limerick Blasters with home advantage on Sunday in Division Two. The weekend will be rounded up in an enticing fixture for Limerick’s 1st XI, who do battle with Cork County at the Mardyke on the same day for an 11am start.