The Limerick 1st XI were back in action yesterday as they welcomed Cork County to the Manor Fields in Adare, a team with a slightly new look to last year which saw a mix of experience merged with up and coming talent within the club. Cork county were looking to pick up where they left off from last year which saw a strong finish to their league campaign, whilst Limerick were looking to bounce back after a disappointing 5th place finish.

Limerick bowled first as Prasad Hegde, enjoying a recent run of form in the 2s and 3s, took the new bowl with youngster Mirhamza Ahmedzai from the other end. County were steady in keeping out the Limerick attack until a strong spell from Shani Alam and Ajay Hari close to drinks left the visitors on 119-5.

Opening bowler Prasad Hegde takes aim in the latter stages of the innings

However, County’s late middle order and tail picked up a lot of valuable runs towards the end of the innings, taking advantage of some loose feilding to see them through to 236-9 after 50 overs. LCC skipper Arslan Anwar backed up fellow spinner Hari with figures of 0-32 but was ultimately disappointed with the runs conceded through extras and misfields from his side.

Shani Alam bowls from the pavilion end

With the bat, Limerick found themselves in a deep hole of 13-3 early on, losing both openers to two inswinging deliveries. A brilliant stand of over 100 runs for the 4th wicket brought the home side right back into contention, skipper Arslan Anwar (37) and Sumukh Venkatesh (48) pushing Limerick past the century mark. With around 130 runs needed after drinks, with six wickets in hand, the tie was fairly balanced. But upon losing Anwar and Venkatesh, Limerick had no answers with the remainder of the order as the dismissals fell one by one. County would wrap up the innings taking the final wicket of Ahmedzai on a score of 167 all out.

Arslan Anwar and Sumukh Venkatesh in the middle for LCC

Cork County 1: 236-9 off 50 overs

Ajay Hari 2-16

Shani Alam 2-37

Limerick 1: 167 all out off 45.2 overs

Sumukh Venkatesh 45

Arslan Anwar 37

The Limerick 1st team: (Top row, l-r) Stephen Hackett (Team Manager), Arslan Sayyam, Sayed Anwari, Arslan Anwar (Capt.), Nishant Kumar, Sumukh Venkatesh (wk), Prasad Hegde. (Bottom row, l-r) Sarfraz Ramay, Ajay Hari, Shani Alam, Ayan Ullah, Asif Hussein.

* * *

In Division One, the rain came as somewhat of a blessing for LImerick’s 2nd XI on Saturday in their encounter with Midleton. Similar to the first XI, Limerick struggled to contain the opposition with the ball, leaking runs at a severe run rate. The return of Sarfraz Ramay proved significant to the away side’s chances, as he picked up three wickets to Midleton to surpassing 350.

Although Limerick looked comfortable with the bat, a monumental task was on hand with the target of 306 to chase. When rain fell around the 5 o’clock mark in Midleton, both captains agreed a return to play would be impossible in the given conditions and the points were shared.

RESULT| MCU Division One.

Match abandoned- No Result.

Midleton 2: 305-9 off

45 overs.

Sarfraz Ramay 3-44

Waqas Shinwari 1-30

Limerick 2: 36-1 off 7 overs.

Saurabh Teke 24*

* * *

The Shannonsider’s success of the weekend came on Sunday in Division Two as the 3rd XI hosted Midleton 3 at the Manor Fields. It was the duo of Manoj Sharma and Ayan Ullah who provided the early threat with the ball for Limerick. Despite conceding a boundary in the opening over, Ullah struck back with two wickets in three balls in his next, putting the away side under pressure.

Midleton struggled to establish any real partnerships in response, skipper Ashokkumar Jayaranam bringing on Sathya Prabhu in the 13th over whose line and length was on the money from start to finish. He would be rewarded with a four-wicket haul as his figures of 4-27 off 6 overs kept Midleton restricted to 134 in just 26 overs.

The Limerick 3rd team: (Top row, l-r) Ashokkumar Jayarman (Capt. + wk), Sayed Anwari, Nishant Kumar, James Spencer, Karthik Karur, Kumar Divyesh. (Bottom row, l-r) Manoj Sharma, Ayan Ullah, Shoaib Zazai, Tharun Bharati,Sathya Prabhu.

Despite the loss of openers Kumar Divyesh and Sayed Anwari early on, Limerick rebuilt their innings competently. A strong stand between Nishant Kumar and Karthik Karur from 40-3 to 59-4 before a 39* from Manoj Sharma sealed the deal for Limerick.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We defeated Midleton by five wickets yesterday.

Midleton 3:134 all out off

26.5 overs

Sathya Prabhu 4-27

Ayan Ullah 3-18

Limerick 3:135-5 off 26.2 overs

Manoj Sharma 39*

Karthik Karur 28

* * *

With the 4th XI being handed a walkover on Saturday, it meant the only remaining team in action was the u13s on Friday night in Lycidan. A strong effort from Limerick in this one saw them pick up a 41-run victory over County Galway to clinch their first win of the season. Carrying over a lot of players from last year, Limerick lined up with a lot of red ball experience. Skandan Lakshmanan and Charlie Wharton made it into double digits for the away side and helped their team to what would be a very defendable total of 92-4. In response, County Galway could only muster 51. However, a massive mention must go to the way in which the spirit of cricket was upheld by both teams. It was a sight to behold to see so many budding cricketers announcing their names on the competitive stage, with both teams respectful of their opponents talents.

The Limerick u13 team: (Top row, l-r) Afnan Chaudhry, Charlie Wharton, Skandan Lakshmanan, Ayan Ullah, Yousaf Ramay, Ghufran Chaudhry, Riyan Shah, Hadi Alam. (Bottom row, l-r) Nathan Joseph, Arham Ullah, Faizan Chaudhry, Behroz Khan, Kulvant Singh.

Next week sees all four teams in action again as the season begins to meander into its course. The 1st will face a tricky test away to unbeaten County Galway in the Premier Division on Sunday while the 2nd XI will play newcomers County Clare in Adare on Saturday. The 3rds game vs newly promoted Waterford and 4ths vs County Kerry make up the full complement of fixtures.

RESULT| MCU u13 Super League.

We defeated County Galway by 41 runs on Friday.

Limerick u13: 92-4 off 20 overs.

Skandan Lakshmanan 17*

Charlie Wharton 10*

County Galway u13: 52-6 off 20 overs.

Hadi Alam 1-3

Nathan Joseph 1-3