PEMBROKE STORM BACK TO PREMIER LEAGUE

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE (SATURDAY 2.9.2023)

Balbriggan vs Railway Union (Jack Harper Park)

Balbriggan 64 All Out off 20 overs (Dylan Lues 22*; Zaman Safi 7-25, Sean O’Brien 2-32)

Railway Union 70-6 off 16.5 overs (Kenny Carroll 15, Samuel Willemse 2-7, Dylan Lues 3-20, Kashif Ali 1-8)

Railway Union won by 4 wkts

Opening the bowling for Railway, Zaman Safi bowled unchanged and in doing so ripped the heart out of the Balbriggan line up which only last week had competed so well in the All-Ireland T20 Final. Safi finished with 7-25 off his 10 overs as Balbriggan were bundled out for just 64 on home soil (this is Balbriggan's 3rd lowest senior score ever (after 49 all out vs Clontarf last year and 59 all out vs Terenure in 2013). Their previous lowest against Railway Union was 139 all out in 2017 and 2018.

In reply, Kenny Carroll was first out for 15 but not before he passed the 9,000 senior runs (average 32.49) milestone for his club, only the second player for Railway Union to do so after the legendary Brendan O’Brien. Carroll departed with the score on 23 and from this point forward, Railway lost wickets on a regular basis in their pursuit of the modest target. In the end, Railway stumbled over the finishing line with Riley Mudford at the wicket having come in with the team on 48-5. The Balbriggan bowlers did their best to defend such a modest total with Dylan Lues (3-20) and Sam Willemse (2-7) worthy of mention as they push Railway all the way.

Merrion vs Leinster (Anglesea Road)

Leinster 277-9 off 50 overs (Saqib Bahadur 64, Gareth Delany 53, Monil Patel 37, Joey Carroll 34; Tom Stanton 3-34, Daniel Forkin 2-43)

Merrion 238 all out in 47.2 overs (John Anderson 81, Sam Harbinson 38; Gareth Delany 3-34, Peter Francis 2-49)

Leinster won by 39 runs

Leinster posted a big total at Anglesea Road with solid contributions from all their middle order. The All-Ireland Champions finished on 277 with Tom Stanton bowling effectively for the home side to finish with 3-34 off his 8 overs.

Set a mammoth 278 to win, Merrion lost Jack Carty to the last ball of the first over and when Peter Francis removed Stephen Doheny, Merrion had reached just 27-3 in the seventh over. Sam Harbinson and John Anderson then set about steadying the ship with a 58 run partnership for the 4^th wicket off 11 overs. With wickets continuing to fall at regular intervals, John Anderson continued to play a lone hand and when he fell after a brilliant 81 the task was too much for the lower order. Merrion finished on 238, 39 runs short and would have face a crunch match against The Hills on the last weekend of the season.

The Hills vs Malahide (The Vineyard)

The Hills 108 All Out off 36.5 overs (Tomas Rooney-Murphy 24, Mark Donegan 22; Michael Frost 6-32, Kelvin Donnelly 2-11, Hunter Kindley 2-25)

Malahide 111-7 off 36.5 overs  (Jamie Grassi 30, Fintan McAllister 22*; Tomas Rooney-Murphy 2-21, Nicolaj Laegsgaard 2-25, Sean McNicholl 2-31)

Malahide won by 3 wkts

The Hills continued their recent poor form with the bat as tight Malahide bowling & fielding restricted the home side to just 108 all out inside 37 overs. All the bowlers made a contribution for Malahide with Mike Frost the star of the show finishing with 6-32 off 9.5 overs. Earlier Kelvin Donnelly had produced an excellent opening spell to dismiss both Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin and Murray Commins inside the first 5 overs.

In reply, Malahide got off to a flying start thanks to opener Jamie Grassi who made a quick-fire 30 off just 18 balls before being clawed back by some tight change bowling. Tomas Rooney-Murphy picked up 2 wickets including the dangerous Younas Ahmadzai whilst Matthew Weldon removed Hunter Kindley to leave Malahide a little anxious at 58-3. The anxiety deepened as The Hills bowlers tightened their grip reducing Malahide to 84-6 off 26 with still 23 needed for victory.

In a nail-biting finish of attritional cricket (reminiscent of yesteryear), Fintan McAllister showed all his skill and experience to see his side over the line with a crucial unbeaten 22* off 54 balls. McAllister was well supported by Jimmy Newland as the pair put on 22 to see Malahide over the line.

The win keeps Malahide in the top half of the table but consigns The Hills to a likely play-off with Phoenix to retain their place in the top flight for 2024.

YMCA vs Clontarf (Claremont Road)

Clontarf 182-7 off 50 overs (David Delany 63, Fionn Hand 57; Olly Riley 4-40)

YMCA 183/5 off 39.4 overs (Jack Tector 37, Adam Rosslee 35, Henry Thompson 23, Ashley Burton 25, Curtis Campher 21; David Delany 1-35, Fionn Hand 1-31, Cillian McDonnell 2-41)

YMCA won by 5 wickets

Batting first at Claremont Road, the Clontarf innings was built around a 105 run partnership between David Delany and Fionn Hand before Hand was dismissed for 57 with score on 138-4 off 42.2 overs. YM will have been happy with their discipline in the field as Clontarf made relatively sedate progress in the face of some disciplined bowling by the home side. Best of the bowling for YM was Olly Riley who finished with 4-40 off his allotted overs.

In reply, YM made steady progress, initially led by Jack Tector (37 off 53 balls) and then by Adam Rosslee who combined with Henry Thompson to add 54 for the third wicket before both fell to the work of former YM spinner Cillian McDonnell with Rosslee run out and Thompon out leg-before wicket – YM were suddenly 117-4 with Ireland’s new number 3, Curtis Campher and Ash Burton at the wicket. They put on a vital 56 and despite the late dismissal of Campher YMCA got across the line with more than 10 overs to spare.

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE (2.9.2023)

IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP (SATURDAY 2.9.2023)

Pembroke vs Rush (Sydney Parade)

Rush 130 all out off 44.4 overs (Nathan McGuire 25; Paul Lawson 3-22, Gavin Hoey 3-29, Zack Micklewright 2-30)

Pembroke 131-1 off 17.1 overs (JJ Garth 76, Diarmaid Tucker 37*)

Pembroke won by 9 wkts       

Batting first at Sydney Parade, Rush were bowled out for just 130 as the Pembroke spinners took a firm grip on the game. Paul Lawson and Gavin Hoey shared six wickets for just 51 off their combined 20 overs to leave Rush in trouble. Nathan McGuire had opened the innings scoring 25 before losing his wicket to Zack Micklewright but there were no other individual contributions of note for the Kenure side.

In reply, Pembroke’s opener pair put on 112 for the first wicket with JJ Garth playing the dominant role, plundering 76 off just 43 balls (6X4s, 6x6s). Diarmuid Tucker played his role well finishing unbeaten on 37* in a chastening afternoon for the Fingal side.

Congratulations to Pembroke who are the IBI Corporate Finance Championship champions for 2023, returning to the Premier League at their first attempt. It is the third time they have won the second tier of the League after previous wins in 2001 and 2012

North County vs North Kildare (Inch)

North County 335-6 off 50 overs (Niall McGovern 89, Simi Singh 83, Abdul Sattar 51*, Eddie Richardson 37, Luke Whelan 24; Nazmus Monon 2-62, Mohammad Zaman 2-79)

North Kildare 98 All Out off 22.3 overs (Mohammad Zaman 30*; Alan Joseph Mathew 3-13, Eddie Richardson 3-18, Abdul Ghaffar 2-29)

North County won by 237 runs

Batting first on home soil, North County’s innings was dominated by two major contributions – opener Niall McGovern with 89 (including 14X4s) and Simi Singh with an entertaining 83 which included 8X4s and 4X6s. The pair put on 112 for the second wicket and then Singh combined with Eddie Richardson to add a further 84 for the third wicket. Luke Whelan and Abdul Sattar then took full advantage of the tiring North Kildare attack to plunder a further 59 for the sixth wicket to enable County to set Kildare an imposing chase. Sattar finished on 51 not out off just 24 balls (2X4s, 5X6s).

In the face of a mammoth chase, the North Kildare batting line up (which has been frail all season) quickly faltered as North County applied pressure from both ends. All the bowlers made a contribution with special mention for Alan Joseph Mathew whose first 3 overs were all maidens and yielded 3 wickets to leave the visitors on 49-7 inside 15 overs. Despite some late hitting by the tail, North Kildare’s innings petered out for just 98 handing North County full points for their efforts.

Phoenix vs Terenure (Phoenix Park)

Terenure 127 All Out off 33.5 overs (Donal Lynch 29, Henry Dall 25; Amish Sidhu 4-33, George Dockrell 2-14)

Phoenix 133-3 off 25.1 overs (Jed Wiggins 71^; Kripesh Shetty 2-36)

Phoenix won by 7 wkts

Batting first in the Park, Terenure lost wickets at regular intervals with five of the six Phoenix bowlers taking wickets to dismiss Terenure for just 127 with 16 overs unused. Amish Sidhu was again the pick of the bowlers for Phoenix with 4-32 whilst George Dockrell was parsimonious taking 2-14 off his 7 overs.

Phoenix made relatively light work of the modest chase with Jed Wiggins (at 3) being the main-stay of the innings with a well-made & unbeaten 73* combining with George Dockrell to finish the match with an unbeaten 80 run partnership for the 4^th wicket.

Congratulations to Phoenix who have confirmed their spot in the Premier League/Championship play off, where they will play either The Hills or Railway Union in the Phoenix Park on Saturday 16th September

Civil Service vs Cork County (Civil Service)

Cork County 168 All Out off 45.5 overs (Abdul Ghaffar 51, Syed Mohammed Aiman 34, Thorne Prophet 34; Mubasher Siddique 2-24, Naveed Khan 2-29, Dhiraj Shetty 2-34, Aamir Bafanda 2-39)

Civil Service 101 All Out off 34.4 overs (Kevin O’Sullivan 4-20, Diarmuid Carey 2-13, Byron McDonough 2-17)

Cork County won by 67 runs

Despite decent contribution from three of the top four, Cork County found themselves reduced from 126-3 off 32 overs to 168 All Out with 4 overs unused. It was a decent all performance from Service in the field with four bowlers taking 2 wickets each and in doing so restricting County from what might otherwise have been a much bigger target. Cork County lost their last 7 wickets for the addition of just 42 runs.

In reply, Civil Service were quickly reduced to 18-3 as Byron McDonough removed both openers. Unfortunately for Service, none of their batting line-up got going and the County attack combined well to further reduce Service to 62-6 inside 21 overs of the chase. In the end, Civil Service were bowled out for just 101 as Cork County travelled home with a solid win from their first visit to Civil Service. Special mention for Kevin O’Sullivan who finished with 4-20, the second time he has taken four wickets in an innings in his 22 match career in Leinster.

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE (2.9.2023)