It was the final round of fixtures in Division One on Saturday before the table split, Limerick were heading into their tie against Nenagh knowing a win would guarantee them a top half finish and an outside shot at the title. Needing a change in fortunes given a dip in form over recent weeks, skipper Dharmesh Patel won the toss and elected to bowl.

Limerick had a lively start with the ball, Prasad Hegde taking an early scalp which was followed soon after from the other end by Mirhamza Ahmedzai with the score at 63-3. Incidentally, it would be Ahmedzai’s 99th and 100th wickets for the club making it a landmark day for the Afghani teenager. Nenagh increased the run rate with some steady partnership before and after drinks. With the score 122-4 after 26 overs, the away side looked in prime position for a sizeable total in Adare, but Limerick’s bowling attack did well to claw them back. Sarfraz Ramay bowled some extremely nice lines to take four wickets and wrap the Nenagh innings up with the score at 171.

Limerick 2nd XI vs Nenagh: (Back row, l-r) Manoj Sharma, Ramoji Alla, Mirhamza Ahmedzai, Sumukh Venkatesh (wk), Nishant Kumar, Prasad Hegde. (Front row, l-r) Waqas Shinwari, Zaheer Udin, Abdul Baqi Khan, Shaoib Zazai (12th man), Dharmesh Patel (Capt.), Sarfraz Ramay.

It was a tough start in the run chase for the home side who lost openers Nishant Kumar and Zaheer Udin early on. A bit of resilience from Ramay (in at 3) looked to be steadying the ship but Nenagh bit back and like a flash, Limerick were in serious trouble at 31-4. When skipper Dharmesh Patel departed with the score at 74-5, Limerick were relying heavily on their tail with just under 100 needed. Ramay carried his bat for a well-made 47 before a sharp run out meant he would be dismissed on 118-8, but Limerick’s tail battled on. Waqas Shinwari nurdled the ball around with Ahmedzai at the other end, the game was set for a tense finish. Ahmedzai departed after scoring 18 with Limerick needing 23 runs off 8.2 overs.

Waqas Shinwari flashes at a ball outside off

The game went to the final over with Limerick needing 5 runs, Shinwari was dropped off the second ball and Limerick were within touching distance. But a few dot balls meant Limerick needed two to win off the final delivery, a ball which was bowled just back of a length as Shinwari attempted the sweep as he looked to clear the narrow infield, he unfortunately couldn’t make contact and being out of his ground, meant he would be stumped and Limerick would lose the game by just a single run.

RESULT| MCU Division One.

We lost to Nenagh by 1 run today.

Nenagh 1: 171 all out off 36.3 overs.

Sarfraz Ramay 4-33

Prasad Hegde 2-14

Limerick 2: 170 all out off 45 overs.

Sarfraz Ramay 47

Waqas Shinwari 27

* * *

Elsewhere, Limerick’s 3rd XI were the only other adult side in action as they made the long trip to Lisronagh on Sunday. The 3rds were in a much more ambiguous position in the table, they would need other results to go their way if they wanted to make a top half finish in Division Two.

Limerick elected to bat were up against it early on as the home side took three early wickets and Limerick could never recover. Despite some resilience from Karthik Karur, Limerick could’t offer anything in the middle order and Clonmel were well on top. The tail became a precession for Limerick who succumbed to a total of 85 runs.

Limerick 3rd XI vs Clonmel: (Back row, l-r) Shaoib Zazai, James Spencer (wk + Capt.), Karthik Karur, Zaheer Udin, Muhammed Fahad, Syed Asif Hussein. (Front row, l-r) Waqas Mehmood, Olid Mia, Abdul Baqi Khan, Naveed Zazai, Moshtaq Safi.

With hardly anything to defend, Limerick’s bowlers were looking to restore some pride in the jersey and a more respectable score on the board. Clonmel were almost on for a ten-wicket win before youngster Naveed Zazai came on first change and put the ball in some beautiful areas to take a deserving three wickets. But it was too little, too late as Clonmel got home comfortably to secure another win.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We lost to United Cricket Clonmel by 6 wickets yesterday.

Limerick 3: 85 all out off 25 overs.

Karthik Karur 22*

Asif Hussein 11

United Cricket Clonmel 1: 86-4 off 26 overs.

Naveed Zazai 3-13

Muhammed Fahad 1-22

* * *

There were better fortunes for the youth sides which saw two victories for the U15 and U13 sides. On Saturday, it was experience which was crucial in Limerick’s 15-run victory over Cork County in the Mardyke. A Chaudhary provided a strong rearguard after the dismissal of S Laksmanan, his near 50-run partnership for the second wicket with S Anwari put Limerick in the driving seat on 51-2 with the tail providing some additional runs to get the score up to 113.

Batting out the overs proved the decider, as County’s reply with the bat saw them get up to 98 runs before being dismissed in the 26th over, Y Ramay and N Khan the pick of the bowlers for Limerick who both went home with three wickets apiece.

RESULT| MCU U15 Superleague.

We defeated Cork County by 15 runs today.

Limerick: 113-9 off 30 overs.

A Chaudhary 24

S Anwari 15

Cork County: 98 all out off 26.1 overs.

Y Ramay 3-13

N Khan 3-22

RESULT| MCU U13 T20 Cup.

We defeated Cork County by 15 runs yesterday.

Limerick: 79-3 off 20 overs.

Y Ramay 15*

B Khan 13

Cork County: 65 all out off 17.4 overs.

B Khan 3-5

Y Ramay 2-5

RESULT| MCU U17 T20 Cup.

We lost to Cork County by 25 runs today.

Cork County: 108-8 off 20 overs.

Shoaib Zazai 3-25

Mirhamza Ahmedzai 1-8

Limerick: 83-7 off 20 overs.

Shoaib Zazai 19

Zaheer Udin 12

Afnan Chaudhary 12