The Shannonsiders acquitted themselves well on Sunday afternoon when they looked to make it two wins from the three in the Premier League in a tricky tie away to Midleton. A valiant effort with the bat chasing a score of over 300 came just short, with skipper Anvesh Bogavelly scoring his third century in LCC colours and leading by example in what was a valiant effort from his side. 

It was an uphill battle from the off for the visitors, who lost the toss and were put into field where they would be second-best to the opening partnership of 167 from the hosts. The breakthrough came from Bogavelly who doubled down to dismiss Khan a few overs later. However, this wasn’t to be before Midleton had surpassed the 200-run mark with eight wickets and twelve overs in hand. The home side were able to profit from this, scoring over 100 runs in the remaining overs to set a target of 319. Wickets came from Hari (2-74), Alla (1-64) and Hegde (1-52) for Limerick who would attempt a club record chase with the bat after the interval.

The dismissal of Dahima in the third over to a straight delivery rocked Limerick as Kumar continued to play his shots from the other end. Two more wickets would fall for Limerick in the shape of Karur and Kumar as the Midleton attacked gained the upper hand. Bogavelly’s entrance to the crease was calm with the pressure now on both him and Ullah, coming in at number five, to bring their side back into the contest.

Ullah was once again consistent with the bat, carving out a well-made 37 and more importantly, a 72-run partnership with Bogavelly before his dismissal in the 24th over. This brought the innings to its halfway mark, with Limerick still needing just under 200-runs or so. Hegde’s cameo of 35 runs from 50 deliveries moved things along with another crucial partnership made and Limerick now with wickets in hand with 15 overs to play. Bogavelly took off at this point, controlling the strike and punishing anything loose to bring the target closer. He raised his bat for another century in just 82 balls, which included 10x4s and 2x6s as Venkatesh ably supported. No resting on the laurels permitted, as a run-rate hovering around the 10-run per over mark forced some risky running and shot selection which played into Midleton’s favour; first Venkatesh being run out attempting a single was then followed by Bogavelly’s demise, who would be bowled attempting another heave. The tail faced a daunting task which proved too much in the late stages, and despite a couple of late boundaries the home side were able to hold on by a margin of 11 runs as Limerick chased 13 to win from 6 in the final over.

RESULT| MCU Premier League 

We lost to Midleton by 11 runs today. 

Midleton 1: 318-6 off 50 overs.

Anvesh Bogavelly 2-39

Ajay Hari 2-74

Limerick 1: 307 all out off 49.5 overs.

Anvesh Bogavelly 119

Prasad Hegde 35

                                           * * *

The other senior game saw Limerick’s 3rd XI unlucky to not finish out against Cork Harlequins at the Manor Fields on Sunday afternoon, with the game falling foul to the weather with the match abandoned in just the seventh over of the second innings.

It was another showcase from the evergrowing talent coming through the club with the bat. Firstly, from opener Abubakar Aziz whose 26 from 39 balls took the shine off the new ball and set his side on the frontfoot. The experienced Pawar came back into the side and added a neat 22 before being bowled by Komala to leave the score at 71-3 after 14 or so overs.

Skandan Lakshmanan and Yousaf Ramay entered the fray and steadied the ship after the loss of captain Sathya Prabu, controlling the middle for 10 overs, as Ramay became the aggressor with some elegant shots off the middle of the bat. His stint was called to a halt with just two overs remaining as showers decided that the first innings would come to a close with the game already having a delayed start, with the youngster unlucky not to perhaps mark his maiden half-century at senior level.

Early pressure in the run chase was afoot, with both opening bowlers Prabu and Tanveer taking a wicket each in their three-over spells. Persistent rain continued for too long a period from this point as both captains agreed to put an end to proceedings with the match declared as a no result as Quins were just under 14 overs short of the required overs completed in their innings.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

Match abandoned- No Result.

Limerick 3: 182-7 off 38.1 overs.

Yousaf Ramay 42*

Abubakar Aziz 26

Cork Harlequins 3: 21-2 off 6.2 overs.

Sathya Prabu 1-10

Eshan Tanveer 1-11

                                           * * *

The remaining game of the weekend saw Limerick’s U15 side enjoy a sizable victory in Farmer’s Cross against Cork Harlequins on Saturday afternoon, kickstarting their campaign with maximum points in this Superleague encounter.

The Shannonsiders were led out by Ghufran Chaudhry for this contest, with his first task being that of the batting order after losing the toss where Quins elected to bowl first. 

Two dismissals in the powerplay didn’t hinder the visitors in the slightest, as opener Abubakar Aziz rose to the occasion and batted responsibly on his way to another 50 at youth level, doing so in 49 deliveries which saw six boundaries and the score at 100-3. His counterpart Yousaf Ramay contributed 24 from 22 before Aziz accelerated with ease, taking advantage of anything short or wide to capitalise well for his team. The middle order ensured Aziz was able to continue in this way, with scores of 13 (R. McCutcheon), 21 (M. Ibrahim) and 27 runs a piece for Chaudhry and Ullah getting Limerick above 200 runs with some overs to spare. Aziz downfall came on 98, agonisingly close to his century but the youngster was against the clock with just two balls remaining, and was left with little choice but to throw the bat at any remaining deliveries. He added another five boundaries from where he was at 50 to bring the away side’s total to a mammoth 286-9 from 40 overs.

Chaudhry ensured little to no complacency would creep into his side’s performance as he demonstrated a resilient spell with the new ball, taking three wickets to pile on serious pressure in the early exchanges. No let up followed for the Harlequins’ batters, as Limerick skittled through the middle order and into the tail in no time as Ramay, McCutcheon and Khan were on point with the ball. Ibrahim, Aziz and Ravishankar joined the party to put an end to the innings with comfort, as Limerick ran out winners by an impressive 189 runs to land the first youth victory of the season for the club.

RESULT| MCU U15 Superleague.

We defeated Cork Harlequins by 189 runs yesterday. 

Limerick U15: 286-9 off 40 overs.

Abubakar Aziz 98

Arham Ullah 27*

Ghufran Chaudhry 27

Cork Harlequins U15: 97 all out off 22 overs.

Ghufran Chaudhry 3-4

Robert McCutcheon 2-10

                                           * * *

Attention turns back to the National Cup this weekend where Limerick will once again make a long journey up north, this time to Ardee Cricket Club just outside Derry. Start time for the clash on Sunday is 1pm, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs. Elsewhere, Limerick’s remaining three adult sides are in action. The 2nds will return to the test of Cork County in the Mardyke on Saturday, as the 4ths will host the same opponents in Division 5. The weekend wraps up with some action in Division 2 where the 3rd XI will make the short trip to Ballyneety to face the Limerick Blasters, as well as a double-header for the women’s side who take on Lismore and County Galway respectively at Casltelands, Waterford.