After last weekend’s Junior Cup victory, there was more silverware up for grabs in the form of the Women’s SuperCup. Limerick’s women’s team wrote their name into the history books, in their inaugural season, by winning the cup with victories over County Galway and Cork County to claim their first bit of silverware and adding to the club’s trophy cabinet. 

With just one win so far this season, Limerick entered the day as considerable underdogs. Saadia Mehmood led the troops again in the absence of regular captain Holly Westmoreland, and she elected to bowl against the hosts after winning the toss. Sana George and Sheena van de Munckhof created some early pressure with the new ball, George picking up the early wicket of Thakur with just the second ball of the innings. Limerick were sharp in the field and forced two run outs leaving the score at 30-3 at the end of the sixth over. The skipper then lead by example, bowling a fine spell conceding just two runs and taking one wicket. Galway pressed on in the final three overs and made 49 to give Limerick a target of 50.

There was some good battles in the run chase but opener Sanjana Shashikumar and Ashitha Dabbadka played some delicate shots, with Dabbadka finding the boundary three times towards her 17 runs. She would depart at 27-2 at the cusp of the half-way point. With the game in the balance, a brilliant third-wicket partnership between Sana George and Madhumithaa Marimuthu sealed the deal as their 23-run stand gave Limerick the win with two overs to spare.

RESULT| MCU Women's SuperCup.

We defeated County Galway by 5 wickets yesterday. 

County Galway W: 49-4 off 10 overs.

Saadia Mahmood 1-4

Sana George 1-10

        

Limerick W: 50-2 off 8.1 overs.

Ashitha Dabbadka 17

Sana George 12*

Knowing victory in the second game would give them the honours, Limerick headed into the game full of confidence from the win against Galway. Mehmood lost the toss on this occasion as County chose to bat with dry conditions in Lycidan. The skipper took the new ball and history repeated itself with Limerick striking early in the first over again. County bounced back and took advantage of some extras to up the scoring which brough them into a strong position, 32-1, after 5 overs. Nisha Patil picked up a crucial wicket in the sixth over, clean bowling the dangerous Sara with her final delivery, to leave the score at 40-2. County meandered their way to 67-2 at the end of their innings, Limerick’s 24 extras making them the enemies of their own downfall. 

In response, Limerick were on the charge from the off with Maria van de Munckhof and Ashitha Dabbadka finding some much-needed boundaries. The loss of van de Munkhof didn’t stem the Shanonsider’s momentum, as Sana George ensured they were on par with some well-timed shots beating the outfield. Dabbadka’s 23 from 14 balls put Limerick in a great position before Patil and George steered the ship home as Limerick chased down their target with the final ball of the eight over. Celebrations ensued as Saadia Mehmood lifted the trophy with her teammates and bring another piece of silverware back to Limerick Cricket Club.

RESULT| MCU Women's SuperCup.

We defeated Cork County by 5 wickets yesterday. 

Cork County W: 67-2 off 10 overs.

Nisha Patil 1-7

Saadia Mahmood 1-15

        

Limerick W: 68-2 off 8 overs

Ashitha Dabbadka 23

Sana George 18*

                                           * * *

Nishant Kumar’s 2nd XI were straight back into action, following last weekend’s heroics, with a stern test at home to rivals Limerick Blasters in Adare on Saturday afternoon. Having won many games this year defending high totals, Kumar elected to bat once again after winning the toss.

Limerick conceded two early wickets in the form of Prabhu and Sridhar, who were both dismissed without scoring. But Blasters somewhat took their foot off the gas as Sayyam and Sharma looked to rebuild the innings. Scores of 36 and 29 respectively put Limerick back on terms at 78-4 after 17 overs. Dharmesh Patel carved out another breezy knock in the middle order, scoring 25 which included 2x4s, before Yogesh Borghare top-scored with 47 to push the hosts past the 200-run mark. This was backed up by Waqas Mehmood from the other end, whose contribution of 28 towards a ninth-wicket stand of 71 runs proved vital in the team’s final score of 229. 

An early run-out started to turn the game in Limerick’s favour as the bowling attack made inroads into the top order. Manoj Sharma struck first before Sathya Prabhu’s ball found the safe hands of Dharmesh Patel to leave the Blasters on 50-3. The Blasters consolidated some decent partnerships as the game ebbed and flowed after drinks, Limerick continued to plug away with wickets as the turn of the 35th over saw the score at 6-169. Needing approximately a run a ball, Limerick dismissed the tail in fine fashion to secure victory, with Sumukh Venkatesh and Mohit Malik, on debut, taking the remaining scalps. 

RESULT| MCU Division One.

We defeated Limerick Blasters by 34 runs yesterday. 

Limerick 2: 229-9 off 45 overs.

Yogesh Borghare 47*

Waqas Mehmood 38

Limerick Blasters 1: 195 all out off 40.5 overs.

Sumukh Venkatesh 3-31

Mohit Malik 2-16

                                           * * *

Limerick’s 3rd XI were looking to get back to winning ways as they hosted Cork County at the Manor Fields on Sunday afternoon. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat in crisp conditions in Adare. 

Limerick got off to a flyer with Darsan Dwarakanth chipping in during his first over. He continued to keep the momentum with the home team taking two more wickets in his first spell. Dwarakanath also picked up a final wicket upon returning, as he finished with impeccable figures of 4-20 from his seven overs. Asif Hussein continued to take wickets as well, he picked up two in his second spell also to finish on 2-42 from his set of eight, including two maidens. County were eventually all out for 169 as Waqas Mehmood, the captain, also picked up two wickets to wrap up the innings after 35 overs. 

Despite a reasonably achievable target, Limerick’s 3rd XI batting woes surfaced once again. A consistent line and length from their counterparts resulted in a tough read of 26-5 after just 10 overs. Limerick were never able to recover as wickets continued to tumble, with Syed Asif Hussein the only notable resistance with 35 from 45 deliveries. County would wrap things up in the 30th over with a 63-run victory.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We lost to Cork County by 63 runs today. 

Cork County 3: 169 all out off 35 overs.

Darshan Dwarankanath 4-20

Syed Asif Hussein 2-42

Limerick 3: 106 all out off 29.3 overs.

Syed Asif Hussein 35

Pavan Prajapati 15

                                           * * *

Limerick’s U13 side were the only youth team in action over the weekend, with many players having one eye on Wednesday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Instonians. A double-header against close rivals Cork County offered one final opportunity for Yousaf Ramay and co. to iron out any last-minute creases before the big showdown.

Both games couldn’t have gone better for the Shannonsiders, who would win both matches by an impressive 72-run total to take huge strides of confidence into the week ahead. In the opening game, Chaudhry, Ramay and McCutcheon were all in flying form with the bat, surpassing the 30-run mark with an impressive shot selection on display. This was backed up with a mature knock from Atharvan Alegesan who made 29 from 34 deliveries coming in at number 5. Faizan Chaudhry ensured the scoreboard was kept ticking over with 11 from 20 balls towards the back-end of the innings as Limerick propelled to 161-3 at the end of the 20th over.

In response, Limerick’s bowlers produced some fiery stuff. Vishnu Pavan kept things tight from one end, conceding just 7 runs from his three overs, which created the pressure for the likes of Leon George and Faizan Chaudhry to take advantage of. The two picked up two apiece and left the middle order to Behroz Khan and Atharvan Alegesan to sweep up. County only managed 53 runs off the bat and were finally dismissed for 89.

RESULT| MCU U13 Superleague.

We defeated Cork County by 72 runs yesterday.

Limerick U13: 161-3 off 20 overs. 

Yousaf Ramay 33*

Ghufran Chaudhry 30*

Robert McCutcheon 30*

Cork County U13: 89 all out off 20 overs.

Behroz Khan 3-24

Atharvan Alagesan 2-6

In the second game of the double-header, Limerick struggled to repeat the same impetus they had in the opening exchanges of the first game. Losing some early wickets, County started to get the upper hand of the contest and the Shannonsiders found themselves in a spot of bother at 52-3 after 10 overs. The tables were turned in the second half of the innings, Alegesan found form again with the bat and was backed up by his skipper from the other end, leading by example with a well-made 30 from 23. Chinmay Shinde came in late and accelerated proceedings with 26 from just 19 balls to ensure a strong finish and final score of 146-6.

It was the likely duo of Pavan and George again in this contest, doing the damage with the new ball before the first and second change bowlers ensured the momentum was maintained. Apooravan Alagesan and Ghufran Chaudhry both claimed one a piece before Behroz Khan came on and secured two of his own. Chinmay Shinde would also be proud of his figures of 1-6 off 2 overs, Shinde was also central to a run-out dismissal towards the latter end of the innings to get rid of Gude. County couldn’t pick things up thereafter and were all out for 74 runs after 17.5 overs.

RESULT| MCU U13 Superleague.

We defeated Cork County by 72 runs yesterday.

Limerick U13: 146-6 off 20 overs. 

Yousaf Ramay 30*

Chinmay Shinde 26

Cork County U13: 74 all out off 17.5 overs.

Behroz Khan 2-7

Faizan Chaudhry 1-3

LCC u17s travelled to the Mardyke to face their Cork County counterparts in their final match of the season.

LCC won the toss and elected to bat. Their innings was anchored by a combative 34 from Shayan Malik supported by Nofil Khan (10), Sohaib Akhtar (9) and Robert McCutcheon (9). Impressively, the final wicket pair of Eshan Tanveer (10) and Chinmay Shinde (1) shared a vital 18 run stand in the final two overs bringing the total from a precarious 105 to a reasonable 123.

The County innings started well for LCC with Chinmay ensuring a run out with a direct hit in the second over. However, County batters Nori Ershadullah (41 in 29) and Abas Faizi (31 in 20) attacked the LCC bowling with menace, taking the run rate to above 9 per over. There was a flicker of hope when Chinmay took the wicket of the rampant Faizi in the eight over while quick glove work by wicketkeeper Skandan Lakshmanan secured the run out of Nori who wandered from his ground having completed a single. 

Nevertheless, by mid-innings, County were in a commanding position of 90-3 and required only 34 off the remaining 10 overs. LCC’s hopes at this stage were slender but they were to change dramatically in the next few overs. Disciplined bowling and sharp fielding reduced County from 90-3 to 102-6 in the 12th over and 107-7 after 14 overs. The final three wickets were taken in the 15th over without the concession of any further runs ensuring a 16-run victory for LCC. It is noteworthy that wickets were taken by u13 bowlers: Chinmay Shinde (1 for 29), Ghufran Chaudhry (1 for 9) and Robert McCutcheon (5 for 11).

Many other contributions featured in the LCC victory: the low number of extras conceded; catches being held; potential boundaries being cut off; and the dogged spirit of the LCC team.

RESULT| MCU U17 T20 Superleague.

We defeated Cork County by 16 runs yesterday.

Limerick U17: 123-9 off 20 overs. 

Shayan Malik 33

Eshan Tanveer 10*

Nofil Khan 10

Cork County U17: 107 all out off 15 overs.

Robert McCutcheon 5-11

Ghufran Chaudhry 1-9

                                           * * *

With the U13s taking centre stage on Wednesday morning, attention will turn to youth for the meantime. Their T20 encounter with Instonians, winners of the NCU U13 T20 Cup, kicks off from 11.30am at Farmer’s Cross in Cork. The U15 side will take to the field also as they take on Cork County in Curraheen Road on Sunday afternoon. 

At senior level, the club’s 1st XI are back in action after a three week break as they travel to Galway for a 50-over league game in Lycidan. Elsewhere, Limerick’s 2nd XI will look to continue their unbeaten run away to Nenagh on Saturday whilst the 4th XI will play against the Limerick Blasters in Adare on the same day. Finally, the 3rd XI will host Nenagh at the Manor Fields on Sunday as they look to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to the hands of Cork County.