Despite a complete washout on Sunday which abandoned three club matches, Limerick CC were flying high on Saturday afternoon where welcome victories at both adult and youth levels were the high point for the weekend.

Limerick’s 1st XI however made the journey to the Mardyke to face rivals Cork County in a game which both captains anticipated to be affected by adverse conditions. Nonetheless, after winning the toss returning skipper Arslan Anwar decided to put the home side into bat, fancying his chances with what was becoming a trusted attack. Opening bowler Prasad Hegde struck with his first delivery, a nippy ball off a short length coming through to take the finest of edges into the gloves of Sumukh Venkatesh. Hegde didn’t have to wait long for his second, as by the end of the same over the in-form bowler was once again on the money. A beautiful inswinging delivery caught the front leg pad and Limerick’s appeals were greeted with the raise of the finger.

The Mardyke ground pictured in pristine condition before Sunday's game

County however started to dig themselves out of a hole, and look settled on 84-2 before a complete mix-up in the middle saw both batsmen at the same end, Anwar at cover was calm and executed the run out comfortably. From this point on, the showers began to thicken with run-ups becoming slippy as the players were on and off intermittently for quite some time before a decision was made by the umpires to abandon the game at around 4.15

RESULT| MCU Premier League.

Match abandoned- no result.

Cork County 1: 117-3 off 26 overs.

Prasad Hegde 2-13

Asif Hussein 0-14

* * *

The 4th XI were the only other adult team in action over the weekend, they welcomed County Kerry to Adare on Saturday with Shubham Poddar’s team having a mixed record so far this year. They found themselves coming into today’s game around the mid-table mark but with aspirations of a top-half finish.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Poddar opened with his usual pair of Uzair Khan and Waqas Mehmood. The loss of Khan early built a lot of pressure for the away side which converted into wickets; Limerick would lose Johnson, Ashok and Poddar all in quick succession to leave the score at 40-4. A strong partnership however from Mehmood and the older of the Zazais, Shaoib, brought Limerick back into the game and showcased resilience. Shaoib had a well-made 23 before departing for the tail to enter. Despite wicket’s falling all around, Mehmood held firm for his maiden half-century on his debut year before eventually finishing on 63 and setting a target of 161 for County Kerry to chase.

Wicket-taking is not always the first port of call, especially when defending a target and that’s exactly how Limerick’s bowlers performed. Tight spells from the seamers allowed the home side’s spinners to take advantage of some loose shots with the run-rate increasing, most notably through the bowling of young Afghani Abdul Baqi Khan, who picked off three in the middle order to leave Kerry right up against it. A late flurry from the tail was not fruitful enough and Limerick managed to close out the game with Kerry 22 runs shy of their target.

RESULT| MCU Division Three.

We defeated County Kerry by 22 runs in Adare today.

Limerick 4: 160 all out of 37.3 overs.

Waqas Mehmood 63

Shoaib Zazai 26

County Kerry 4: 138 all out off 39.5 overs.

Abdul Baqi Khan 3-20

Navroop Johnson 2-14

* * *

Limerick continued their run of form at youth level which saw victories for both the U13 and U15 sides in Lycidan on Saturday. The U13s were first up for the Shannonsiders, with skipper Y Ramay leading from the front with a flawless 23 not out before retiring his bat. He paved the way for the middle order, where S Laksmanan occupied the crease for a significant amount of time, collecting runs from both ends as well as a handful of extras. Limerick would be eventually out for a respectable 80 on the board.

The Limerick U13 XI vs County Galway: (Back row, l-r) N Van den Bergh, E Tanveer, S Lakshmanan (wk), Y Ramay*, S George, Nick Munckhof (coach). (Front row, l-r) F Chaudhry, B Khan, H Munckhof, L George, S Munckhof.

Limerick attacked early, aiming to not let any partnerships establish. Their sharpness in the field was rewarded with two early run-outs, which set the tone and gave Limerick some early momentum. The introduction of S Van de Munckhof proved to be a big turning point in the game, her tight spell saw just 6 runs conceded and two wickets which left Galway in a spot of bother with a mountain of runs still to chase. The in-form B Khan was introduced with the intention of wrapping up the tail and succeeded in doing so, taking two late wickets which left County Galway short of the target.

RESULT| MCU U13 Superleague.

We defeated County Galway by 7 runs today.

Limerick: 80-9 off 24.2 overs.

Y Ramay 23*

S Lakshmanan 13*

County Galway: 73 all out off 24.4 overs.

S Van De Munckhof 2-6

B Khan 2-11

* * *

Finally, Limerick’s u15 side were looking for another win on the road in the later game of the day. Electing to bat, Limerick were helped through the bat of O Crosbie and S Anwari, a good partnership between the two set a nice tone for the visitors early on with others chipping in along the way to set a target of 86 for Galway to get in 18 overs.

Limerick were on the backfoot early on with the ball as Galway ran well to find themselves on 37-1 after 5 overs and well on their way. A valiant fightback with the pace of E Tanveer, an experienced cricketer with multiple senior caps for LCC, spoilt the party with some tight bowling, backed up well with B Khan who continued his bowling form from the previous game. The Crosbie duo chipped in with a wicket a piece and Y Ramay came on late to the penultimate wicket, a nice delivery which took a clean edge and well caught by S Lakshmanan behind the stumps as Limerick would take a 20-run victory home.

RESULT| MCU U15 Superleague.

We defeated County Galway by 20 runs at Lycidan on Saturday.

Limerick: 85-3 off 18 overs.

O Crosbie 19

S Anwari 14

County Galway: 65 all out off 13.3 overs.

B Khan 2-6

O Crosbie 2-12

* * *

It will be Limerick’s other two adult teams in action this weekend. On Saturday, Limerick’s 2nd XI will take on Nenagh in what will be their final game of the first round of league fixtures before the split, a win for Limerick should ensure they finish in the top half of the table and challenging for the title in their remaining games. Elsewhere, Limerick’s 3rd XI will be back in action on Sunday where they will travel to Lisronagh to take on United Cricket Clonmel for a 12pm start. In a slightly less fortunate position, Ashokkumar Jayaraman’s team will need a victory to keep their top 4 dreams alive.

In youth, 4 teams will be in action in what should be a hectic bank holiday weekend. The U17s will kick off the action on Friday as they welcome Cork County to Adare for a 11am start. The U13s will play back to back games on Saturday and Sunday against County Kerry and Cork County respectively, with the U15s looking to go one better with two wins from two as they face Cork County in a 30 over game, this time in the Superleague, in Adare on Sunday morning.