With the bad weather dominating the weekend’s play, it was only Limerick’s 2nd XI who were in action on Saturday, albeit with one game restricted to just 8 overs per side. Limerick’s 1st XI’s double header against Kerry and Clare was rained off in Tralee on Sunday afternoon. 

The Shannonsiders firstly welcomed Nenagh to the Manor Fields where persistent rain meant a delayed start and just 48 balls in each innings to decide a winner. It was the visitors who won the toss and elected to bowl on a dampish but drying outfield.

 

The home side’s attempt to get off to a flying start was short-lived, with the loss of both openers inside the first over an unfortunate sign of what was to come as Limerick continued to bat freely. Some joy came in the form of Ayan Ullah and Parth Borghare, who constructed a meaningful 20 runs from 12 balls, finding some much-needed boundaries. Nenagh did well to limit Limerick in the final few overs as a score of 58-6 was posted by the hosts. 

Nenagh were a lot calmer with their response, keeping wickets in hand but ensuring a decent run-rate was maintained so as to not fall behind. 27 runs from the third and fourth overs turned the game in the visitor’s favour with the score at 42-1 with four overs remaining. A late surge from Limerick brought the game back into contention however, firstly through skipper Waqas Mehmood whose two wickets in the fifth changed things to 48-3. Borghare was tight in the following set, conceding just three runs to leave the score at 51-3 after six. Arham Ullah, the younger of the two brothers, was rampant with his opportunity, The debutant was ruthless in taking three wickets in the penultimate over at the concession of just three runs. Nonetheless, Nenagh got over the line scoring the five runs needed in the last over to give them a victory by a margin of four wickets.

RESULT| MCU Division 1 T20 Cup Group A.

We lost to Nenagh by 4 wickets today.

Limerick 2: 58-6 off 8 overs.

Parth Borghare 13

Ayan Ullah 12

Nenagh 1: 59-6 off 7.4 overs.

Arham Ullah 3-3

Waqas Mehmood 3-12

Limerick went into their second encounter knowing nothing less than victory would count towards qualifying for the finals day against County Clare. Mehmood won the toss on this occasion and opted to bat first.

Similar woes recurred for the Shannonsiders, whose top order struggled to negotiate the opening exchanges with the score at just seven runs at the loss of the fourth wicket. Clare continued to dismantle the middle order with just Borghare (17 from 26) and Bhargav Kumar (13 from 6) getting into double figures and withstanding the attack to set a score of 64.

Despite a low total, Limerick managed to fight hard and earn precious wickets in the early overs. Mehmood lead by example, taking two in the second over, before Borghare followed up with two more to leave the score at 22-4 after three. The two continued to dovetail magnificently in their opening spells, with wickets tumbling and suddenly, a scoreline of 32-8 meant the game was miraculously brought back into contention.

Wickets dried up for the home side from that point, with a five over partnership consolidated from Clare to bring them closer to their target. All was not lose when Ayan Ullah dismissed Pannerselvam in the twelfth over to leave the game on a knife edge, Clare needing 3 runs with Limerick just one wicket shy of victory. It was the visitors who came through in the end, taking three runs off the subsequent three deliveries to give them a one wicket victory and knock the hosts out of the competition.

RESULT| MCU Division 1 T20 Cup Group A.

We lost to County Clare by 1 wicket yesterday.

Limerick 2: 64 all out off 15.4 overs.

Parth Borghare 17

Bhargav Kumar 13*

County Clare 2: 65-9 off 12.3 overs.

Waqas Mehmood 4-14

Parth Borghare 3-21

                                           * * *

No games for Limerick next weekend means the adult sides will rest after their 8th weekend of the season has been completed. At youth level, Limerick’s U15 side will travel to Farmer’s Cross on Saturday where they will play back-to-back T20s against Cork Harlequins in the MCU U15 League.