Limerick’s 2nd XI were the first of the adult teams to play on the weekend, making the trip down to Midleton on Saturday afternoon, aiming to get their league campaign back on track with a top-half of the table finish in their sights.
Having lost the toss, Limerick were put into field but struck early as opening bowler Ayan Ullah got the wicket of Gandhi which safely fell into the hands of wicketkeeper Skandan Lakshmanan. Mehmood opened from the other end and took an early wicket also, dismissing Sarhadi for 7 at 15-2. Midleton began to form some meaningful partnerships thereafter, firstly 58 for the third wicket which was followed by 62 for the fourth as the hosts surpassed the 150-mark with 15 or so overs to spare. Mehmood brought himself back on late, with himself and Dahima both chipping in with one dismissal each to limit the scoring, as Midleton ensured big ones at the back end of the innings got them to 238-6.
In response, Dahima showed a lot of resilience from one end, as he carved out another 50 with his 62 from 90 deliveries, a much-needed knock for the visitors. Partners fell away at the other end however, and it wasn’t until Aziz’s 14 from 25 balls saw another batsman reach double digits. Aziz’s departure on 98-6 brought Ramay to the crease, with the pair putting 30 runs or so for the seventh wicket, before both batsmen got dismissed in short time to leave too much for the tail to do. Limerick’s final wicket came in the 37th over with in and around 100 runs left in the run chase, as Midleton claimed the victory comfortably in the end.
RESULT| MCU Division One
We lost to Midleton by 95 runs yesterday.
Midleton 2: 238-6 off 45 overs.
Sarfraz Ramay 2-32
Waqas Mehmood 2-33
Limerick 2: 143 all out off 36.5 overs.
Bharat Dahima 62
Sarfraz Ramay 19
* * *
In a game which could only resemble a rollercoaster, Limerick’s 3rd XI were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday afternoon in a highly entertaining encounter against UCC.
Having won the toss, skipper Sathya Prabu elected to bat with reasonably dry conditions expected, barring the odd light shower in the late afternoon at the Manor Fields.
Hussein and Chandshekharaiah opened for the hosts and negotiated the new ball quite well, with Hussein upping the strike rate whilst his counterpart anchored. Hussein’s dismissal in the sixth over brought Pawar to the middle, who steered his team in the right direction on his way to another half century in LCC colours. The two put on 60 runs for the second wicket, before Pawar and Prajapati put an incredible 98 runs for the fourth wicket, getting Limerick to 193-4, as Pawar fell just 17 runs short of a maiden ton. Prajapti continued in style from the other end, with some impressive shorts over the infield as he too carved out a half-century, eventually making 64 from 56 deliveries (6x4s, 2x6s). Both Pawar and Prajapati were instrumental in getting their side to a very respectable 241, setting a target of 242 for UCC to chase.
Monish Pawar pictured after making his half-century yesterday afternoon
In what turned out to be a bizarre run chase, UCC started the better, just losing one wicket before drinks as opener Vijay was run out in the ninth over to see the score at 30-1. Limerick failed to break through what looked to be a match-winning partnership for the second wicket, as opposition skipper Patel and Shinde put on a 170+ run stand, with the visitors only requiring 40 for victory, after Patel was dismissed for 95, from 48 balls.
With eight wickets in hand, the remainder of the game seemed somewhat academic, but three wickets in seven balls turned the game on its head, with the equation now lessened to 35 needed from six and six wickets in hand. Prabu brought seamer Hussein back on, who produced exactly what was required, as his spell saw another two wickets fall as the UCC middle order began to dismantle. Chandrashekharaiah delivered another pummeling blow in the following over, dismissing Doshi whose shot found the safe hands of Abdur Rahman, as panic set in to the away team with the score now 214-7 with three overs remaining. Hussein’s following over went for 10, as UCC battled back to now needing 18 from 12, with Hussein poised to bowl the last over. Shekharaiah conceded a boundary in his second ball, but followed with consecutive dot balls followed by a single and double, restricting the opposition to 10 required from the final over. Hussein used all his experience to come in clutch, and albeit in similar fashion to the previous over by conceding an early boundary, bounced back well to take a wicket two balls later, which was followed by a run out to force UCC to hit a boundary from the final ball. A single was joyfully conceded, with Limerick astonishingly defending their target by just three runs to earn the narrowest of wins.
Limerick’s U17 side continued their 100% record in the Superleague with a comprehensive victory by seven wickets at the Manor Fields on Wednesday afternoon against Cork County. The win puts Ayan Ullah’s side within one game of sealing a place in the U17 All-Ireland Semi-finals, taking place on August 26th.
Ullah’s side were put into field after losing the toss but shifted some early momentum in their favour with wickets inside the powerplay, with wicketkeeper Skandan Lakshmanan playing a crucial part in both. Lakshmanan’s first grab saw him at full stretch to a leg-side flick, grasping the aerial shot with one hand. The dismissal of Aherne in the sixth over was more uppish, with Ullah pulling back his length to see a skyward shot land straight into Lakshmanan for 29-2. Ravishankar struck with his second delivery to dismiss Ross, a ball which pitched on off and straightened nicely. County developed a steady partnership for 47 runs, thwarting the Limerick attack as some catches fell through in the field. McCutcheon eventually got the breakthrough, with Lakshmanan sharp behind the sticks to claim his first stumping of the campaign. Ullah continued with spin, which paid dividends in the form of Muhammad Khan, as he claimed two wickets in the final overs to help restrict the opposition, who began to motor as the finish line neared. A respectable 137 runs was made for Limerick to chase in the second innings.
Limerick U17 XI vs Cork County: (Back row, l-r) Muhammad Aziz, Yousaf Ramay, Ayan Ullah (Capt.), Riyan Shah, Eshan Tanveer, Robert McCutcheon, Ghufran Chaudhry, Skandan Lakshmanan (wk), Arham Ullah. (Front row, l-r) Faizan Chaudhry (12th man), Atharvan Alagesan, Arnav Ravishankar.
With Chaudhry retiring early due to a back strain, Lakshmanan and Ullah resumed order to start their side’s pursuit, needing to maintain a run-rate just short of seven runs per over. Lakshmanan took control early on, playing some wonderful late cuts and allowing the pace of the ball to guide its way to the boundary. This was the tale of the powerplay, with the off-side working in both batsmen’s favour as Ullah maturely rotated the strike to keep the opposition attack at bay. The two had a superb stand of 67 runs before Ullah was bowled in the 12th over, a delivery which beat the defences and clipped the top of off-stump to see the score at 84-1, the hosts now needing 54 runs. Yousaf Ramay came to the crease and hit three quick boundaries, making a breezy 17 from 10 balls, forming another well-made partnership of 36 runs as Lakshmanan marked his 50 from the other end. Lakshmanan would go on to carry his bat, with his 66 from 63 balls including 6x4s, as Riyan Shah knocked the final runs with a straight drive over the inner-ring to see his side over the line with just over two overs to spare.
Lakshmanan was instrumental in the run chase with an unbeaten 66*
RESULT| MCU U17 Superleague
We defeated Cork County by 7 wickets today.
Cork County U17: 137-7 off 20 overs.
Muhammad Aziz 2-8
Robert McCutcheon 2-21
Arham Ullah 2-27
Limerick U17: 141-3 off 17.5 overs.
Skandan Lakshmanan 66*
Ayan Ullah 28
* * *
Next weekend sees youth take centre stage with all-ireland glory at the asking for both the U13 and U15 teams. Limerick’s U13 side will travel to Derry on Tuesday where they will face Coleraine in the first semi-final, whilst Limerick’s U15 side will take on Instonians in their semi-final in Civil Service on Thursday. The U17s make up a hectic week of fixtures, with two crucial fixtures against Cork Harlequins and Cork County on Monday and Wednesday respectively. For the adults, Limerick’s 2nd XI are the only side in action on Saturday. They will be on their travels once again, as they make the trip to Farmer’s Cross to take on Cork Harlequins in Division One. On Sunday, Limerick’s 1st XI will be back on the road, where they will also travel to Farmer’s Cross for a clash against Cork Harlequins, with the 3rd XI concurrently welcoming Waterford Vikings to the Manor Fields in Division Two.
