With the 1st XI out of action for another week, attention turned to Division One where LCC’s 2nd XI had the chance to start their second round of fixtures off on the right foot against UCC on Saturday. With the recent semi-final loss to the intervarsity team still fresh in the player’s mind, it was an opportunity to assert revenge for the Shannonsiders who were now three games without a win.

Having won the toss, skipper Dharmesh Patel elected to field. The return of Ramoji Alla was fortunate for the home side, himself and the everpresent Ahmedzai inflicting some early damage to the wicket column. At 44-3 after 17 overs, UCC were in a spot of bother but a significant stand of 65 runs for the fourth wicket brought them back into contention at 109-4 after 30 overs. Nonetheless, having wickets in hand meant the away side could afford the odd risk here and there, resulting in a further 66 runs being added to the total and a target of 176 to chase.

Prabhu defends outside off-stump against UCC on Saturday

Despite a decent 40-run partnership between openers Yogesh Borghare and Nishant Kumar, Limerick lost their middle order structure as the cracks which have been there all season were exploited. A respectable scoreline of 54-2 soon became 82-6 as Limerick failed to stem the momentum. A bright bit of resilience from Sathya Prabhu, batting at 7, brought the score within touching distance. But with his departure at 141-8, Limerick were asking too much from their tail who would eventually be dismissed at 151.

RESULT| MCU Division One.

We lost to UCC by 24 runs today.

UCC 1: 175-9 off 45 overs.

Prasad Hedge 2-21

Ramoji Alla 2-29

Limerick 2: 151 all out off 40.2 overs.

Sathya Prabhu 37

Yogesh Borghare 36

* * *

The 3rds final game of their opening round of fixtures saw them entertain Cork County in Adare on Sunday with both teams in strong contention for a top-half finish.

Some lovely spells of bowling from Limerick’s attack, namely Moshtaq Safi whose strong performance saw him finish with figures of 3-15 off just seven overs, made sure County were limited to just 132 from their innings, a target well within the reach of the home side.

Limerick 3rd XI vs Cork County: (Back row, l-r) Kumar Divyesh, Waqas Mehmood, Nishant Kumar, Ashokkumar Jayaranam (Capt. + wk), James Spencer, Thomas Hancock. (Front row, l-r) Hasher Mohamed, Abdul Baqi Khan, Shaoib Zazai, Naveed Zazai, Moshtaq Safi.

However, Limerick’s batting order unraveled in rather nifty fashion. Mehmood and Hancock were both dismissed early via LBW and bowled respectively, and once again Limerick’s middle order showed little resilience to the opposition attack. Wickets fell at a rate of knots as the home side just managed to get over the 50-run mark but still a significant amount short. The result means Limerick just scrape into the top-half of the table but any chances of a shot at the title may be disintegrated with such a heavy loss.

RESULT| MCU Division Two.

We lost to Cork County by 76 runs today.

Cork County 3: 132 all out off 31.3 overs.

Moshtaq Safi 3-15

Abdul Baqi Khan 2-21

Limerick 3: 56 all out off 21.2 overs.

Nishant Kumar 18

Kumar Divyesh 10

* * *

The final result for the adults came on Saturday afternoon in Lisronagh and was fortunately, a lot more positive.

WIth Clonmel batting quite well and reaching a final score of 156, Limerick had an uphill battle on their hands with not too many successful run chases passed the 150-mark this year.

Afghani youngster Zaheer Udin started to find the gaps in the field and, complemented with some fast running between the wickets, continued to keep the scoreboard ticking despite the loss of multiple wickets around him. Udin would carry his bat and get his side over the line with a maiden half-century for the season and second of his career as Limerick ran out eventual winners by three wickets.

RESULT| MCU Division Three.

We defeated United Cricket Clonmel by 3 wickets today.

United Cricket Clonmel 2: 156 all out off 39 overs.

Shaoib Zazai 3-35

Khushal Bahramkhail 1-9

Limerick 4: 157-7 off 37.1 overs.

Zaheer Udin 51*

Waqas Mehmood 22

* * *

In the only youth game of the weekend, Limerick’s U13 side made the trip to the Mardyke to take on Cork County in one of the final games of the youth section. Limerick have had mixed results at U13 level to date and were unfortunate to miss multiple players in the last few games. County managed to bat out their 20 overs having lost the toss and being put into bat, a very respectable total.

Limerick U13 side vs Cork County: (Back row, l-r) R McCutcheon, Y Ramay*, S Lakshmanan, R Shah, J Tarpey. (Front row, l-r) F Chaudhary, B Khan, H Munckhof, S Munckhof.

Limerick tried to chase down the target of 124 in response, but County’s bowling was able to limit the away side to just 100. However, a brilliant knock from B Khan who carried his bat with a score of 32 not out, gave the Shannonsiders something to cheer about.

RESULT| MCU U13 T20 Cup.

We lost to Cork County by 23 runs today.

Cork County: 123-3 off 20 overs.

R Shah 1-15

B Khan 1-15

Limerick: 100-6 off 20 overs.

B Khan 32*

Y Ramay 9*

* * *

Next weekend sees the 1st XI return to action, Anwar and co. will have County Galway to contend with on Sunday in Adare after a few weeks break. With the opening round of the Senior Cup looming, the 1st XI will be looking to pick up some much-needed form. Elsewhere, the 2nd XI will look to cause an upset against Cork County on Saturday as they travel to the Mardyke. The actions is rounded off with the final adult game seeing the 3rd XI taking on United Cricket Clonmel on Sunday in Lisronagh.

But the highlight of the summer could be just around the corner for LCC, it has been confirmed that Limerick Cricket Club have finished top of the U15 Superleague and will have the opportunity to represent the MCU at the All-irelands later on this month. Stay tuned for more!