TAIL OF THE TAPE - IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP!

The IBI Corporate Finance Championship was a far more clear cut and decisive league campaign than what went on just one league above in the Premier League, Pembroke ran out convincing league Champions with a week to spare as they beat all comers, including the weather for a couple of weeks, finishing their campaign with a fine record of 12 wins and 2 losses, finishing 32 points clear of their closest rivals, Phoenix.

As their record would suggest, the Champions were clinical and comprehensive throughout much of the season, so kicking off in round one, it will come as no surprise to remember they got off to an absolutely flying start to their campaign!

JUNE 3^RD

Cork County were the first team to visit Sydney Parade this season, and Pembroke laid down an ominous marker, JJ Garth top scored with 139 in a sensational innings of 352/7 for the home side, where there was also a rapid 66 from just 25 balls for Barry McCarthy. As if that wasn’t enough, the home side then rattled through the Leesiders for just 42, thanks to 5/16 from overseas Nick Stapleton in what is the first of many mentions for him throughout this review! A 310 run win to kick off proceedings and Pembroke’s stall firmly set out. Terenure made the second highest score of the day, Dónal Vaughan’s unbeaten 80 accompanying Raghav Grover’s 91 as they set 277 for North Kildare to chase, four wickets for spinner Sadiq Safi helping the Dublin 6W outfit to an opening day win. In Inch, Rush’s hell-for-leather batting approach met some good bowling in the face of Eddie Richardson and Sean Sludds who both took three wickets each in bowling the Kenure men out for 197, however former North County man Asher Abbasi took 5/23 as they were knocked over for just 78 in a comprehensive win for Rush to kick off their season. The tightest game was the derby in the Park, Civil Service batting first and making 210 thanks to Dhiraj Shetty’s 59, before 80 from Jed Wiggins and an unbeaten 43 for Theo Dempsey dragged Phoenix back from the brink for a 4 wicket victory.

Highlight of the Round; JJ Garth 139 vs Cork County

JUNE 10^TH

A rain affected day in Dublin saw a full round of fixtures completed. Rush were once again hell bent on obliterating the opposition’s bowling attack, but were indebted to 32 from number 10 Brandon Morris to scramble them to 177 all out in The Maws, as this time it was one of their own former players in Shahrukh Shamim who took 6/46 against them. Cian Egerton however proved too much for the NK batters to handle as his 5/20 saw the home side collapse to just 94 all out in a tame effort at the chase. North County batted first in Civil Service and made 197/9 thanks to 60 from Niall McGovern as Naveed Khan’s 4/37 halted any momentum the away side ever looked like establishing. An excellent start from Richardson and Ghaffar heaped pressure onto Service, before four wickets for Ashish Jain eventually helped see North County to a close than they’d have liked 7 run victory on DLS. In Terenure it was the Séamus Lynch show in the first innings as his boundary-laden 77 was the highlight for the home side, Stapleton was again on song taking 3/28 but it was Gavin Hoey’s spell of 4/52 which went through the home side’s middle order in keeping them to just 154. Pembroke’s chase was interrupted briefly by rain, however Diarmaid Tucker’s 41 and an unbeaten 34 from Macdara Cosgrave saw the side to a 7 wicket victory chasing a revised target of 132. The only game of the day not affected by the rain was played out in Cork where three wickets for Amish Sidhu and Theo Dempsey saw Phoenix bowl the home side out for 141, before an unbeaten 65 from Levon Shields led the visitors to an 8 wicket victory inside 23 overs.

Highlight of the Round; Cian Egerton 5/20 vs North Kildare

JUNE 17^TH

Round three saw Pembroke once again put on the most convincing batting effort of the day as they travelled to Rush, the top score of 73 from skipper Theo Lawson was accompanied by a brisk 57 from JJ Garth, a quick 51 from Gavin Hoey and a rapid 51 from Fiachra Tucker to bring their total to 314/7 in 50 overs. Neil Rock made 97 from just 51 balls as Rush did their level best to chase the score down, however when he was the second of Paul Lawson’s four victims their battle petered out somewhat. In Terenure, the home side shared something of a thriller with Phoenix, after a below par batting effort saw the hosts make just 152, with Jed Wiggins taking three wickets, Phoenix got off to a flying start. However from cruising at 96/2, following the wicket of Stephen Black for a fine 59, they were suddenly 128/6 and in real danger as there were two wickets for each of Grover, Tukrel and Séamus Lynch, before they eventually got over the line with three wickets to spare. North County rolled North Kildare over for just 116 thanks principally to Eddie Richardson’s 4/31, before a mini wobble saw Richardson’s 34 steady the ship and be the top score in a comprehensive 6 wicket victory. Finally in The Mardyke, Cork County batted first and 60 from Abubakar Saddique was the top score in their 250/8, Mubasher Siddique taking 4/38 for the visitors. In response Civil Service were always behind the rate as four wickets for each of Byron McDonough and Nabeel Anjum restricted them to just 192/9 and a 58 run win for the Leesiders. Three rounds of fixtures in, three wins for each of Pembroke and Phoenix, and three losses for each of Civil Service and North Kildare, as the league table began to take shape even at this early stage of the season!

Highlight of the Round; Paul Lawson 4/45 vs Rush

JUNE 24^TH

Phoenix hit the ground running in round 4, as Oli Hald’s 4/36 was the main damage in bowling Rush out for just 153 in Kenure, however as has been their case in a couple of instances already this season, Rush were able to make that target enough runs, three wickets for each of Jarred Barnes and Nathan McGuire dismissing their visitors for just 144 and inflicting Phoenix’s first loss of the season. Pembroke were in full flight once again, as Fiachra Tucker’s 5/7 helped North County collapse from 137/4 to 157 all out. The batting unit’s good form continued, as Stapleton and captain Lawson made 70* and 61* respectively in an 8 wicket victory. Civil Service secured their first victory thanks to Naveed Khan’s 4/40 and Aamir Bafanda’s 3/12 keeping North Kildare to 103 all out, before Bafanda followed up with 51 in the chase to secure a 6 wicket win. The closest game of the round came in The Mardyke, where an unbeaten 53 from Stefano di Bartolomeo supported by 40s from Matt Spanner and Syed Aiman brought Cork County up to 198/5 in their reduced 38 over innings. In response, Dónal Vaughan’s excellent 102 from just 90 balls was one of only two scores in excess of 20 as Terenure couldn’t quite stay with the run rate and lost regular wickets as a result, Cork County ultimately running out 25 run winners on DLS.

Highlight of the Round; Fiachra Tucker 5/7 vs North County

JULY 1^ST

The two highest scores in the league this season occurred on July 1^st, with them also being the 2^nd and 3^rd highest scores in Open Competitions cricket for the 2023 campaign as well. Starting off in Sydney Parade, Nick Stapleton was again in the runs, making 119 and supported by Diarmaid Tucker’s 65 as they piled up 368/6 in their 50 overs. The man from St George then followed up with 4/28 as North Kildare were bowled out for 163 and slumped to a 203 run loss. The highest score in the league this season came in Terenure, where the home side batted first and were briefly in a spot of bother at 85/4. Raghav Grover and Dónal Lynch however came together and both made excellent centuries in a partnership of 229 as the side racked up 370/7 in their 50 overs. In spite of a fine unbeaten 88 from Arjun Chandrasekar a good spell of 4/44 from Séamus Lynch led Terenure to a 70 run victory. Phoenix pulled off a remarkable “come-from-behind” victory, as having been 15/6 against North County in Inch, a brilliant century from just 56 balls from Oli Hald, supported by 63 from Adam Chester brought the visitors up to 231 all out. North County wobbled at the start, before recovering to 48/2, however a brilliant spell from Amish Sidhu of 4/19 saw them collapse to 68/8, before eventually succumbing to 114 all out and a 117 run win for Phoenix. The final game was by far the tightest of the weekend, as Cork County made 171 all out thanks to a half century for Syed Aiman, as Alex Neary and Brandon Morris took three wickets each. However Rush slumped to 99/5 and 130/8 as they were always just behind where they needed to be in the chase, three wickets each for di Bartolomeo and Anjum eventually finishing off the job with the Kenure side 6 runs short to round off an incredible day of cricket in round 5.

Highlight of the Round; Oli Hald 104 off 56 balls vs North County

JULY 8^TH

The clash between the top two in the league saw Pembroke travel to Phoenix, and with the home side batting first, three wickets for each of Stapleton and Hoey restricted them to just 179 all out on an excellent batting wicket. The chase saw JJ Garth make an unbeaten 67, whilst Stapleton was in the runs again with 70* in a barnstorming 9 wicket win for the Pembroke side who even after just 6 games were clearly the champions elect. Rush batted first at home against Civil Service, and 72 from Nathan McGuire along with an unbeaten 66 from Jarred Barnes guided them to 282/9. Wickets for Barnes and Morris helped restrict Service to 126/6, before a brilliant counter-attacking century from Simranjeet Singh gave the away side a chance, he ran out of partners however with the home side running out 30 run victors. In The Maws, a sensational six-for from new man Bakhtyar Nabi saw the home side bowl Cork County out for just 109. At 50/5 the chase looked in some trouble, before Nabi came to the crease and made a brilliantly measured 37* to guide NK to a 4 wicket triumph, securing their first win of the season. The most dramatic game of the day by far however took place in Terenure. North County batted first and ran up 246/6 thanks to 73 from Niall McGovern and 57 from Eddie Richardson. In response, Henry Dall made 90 of the first 203 runs to take the side a long way towards victory, however wickets continued to fall, and with 14 needed for victory with only one wicket left, Bhavic Tukrel hit the penultimate ball of the innings for 6 to secure a one wicket win for the home side by the barest of margins.

Highlight of the Round; Nick Stapleton 70* & 3/37 vs Phoenix

JULY 15^TH & 22^ND

Whilst not quite the rain break that plagued the Premier League, there were just two results gleaned across the two weekends of round 7 and 8 in the Championship. Firstly in Sydney Parade, Civil Service batted first and two wickets for each of Hoey, Paul Lawson and Fiachra Tucker saw Pembroke needing to chase just 82 to win, before a 9.5 over spell of crash-bang-wallop saw Diarmaid Tucker top scoring with 29 in a successful 6 wicket chase for the home side just before the heavens opened.

The following weekend saw slightly more cricket played, North Kildare made 260/8 in Terenure however the home side only managed to bat for 11 overs in reply leading to a No Result, whilst in The Mardyke, Cork County batted first against Pembroke. Five wickets for Zach Micklewright restricted the home side to 88 all out, before yet another helter-skelter race against time saw Stapleton top scoring with an unbeaten 29 as Pembroke got to their target of 63 inside 10 overs with 8 wickets to spare. 8 rounds of fixtures complete, and Pembroke still remained on course for a perfect season!

JULY 29^TH

Another rain affected day in the capital this time around saw four results. Firstly Phoenix rolled over North County for just 60, thanks to three wickets for each of Theo Dempsey and Ben White, before chasing down their adjusted target of 46 inside 7 overs without losing a wicket. Pembroke visited North Kildare, and four wickets for Paul Lawson, alongside three for Stapleton saw the home side all out for 81, before an unbeaten 50 from Stapleton guided the Sydney Parade men to victory in just 12.2 overs. In Kenure, 54 from Abubakar Saddique guided Cork County to 150 all out, as Jarred Barnes took 5/27 to put Rush well on top. Llew Johnson top scored with an unbeaten 42 in the chase as the home side won by 8 wickets. The upset of the round in the league saw Civil Service make 220/9 in 47 overs against Terenure, Nilesh Joshi making 40 whilst there were 44 extra to boost the score. In reply, Terenure lost wickets regularly after the loss of Séamus Lynch for a dominant 53, and in spite of also benefitting from 37 extras were always just behind where they needed to be in the chase, with Service running out 23 run victors.

Highlight of the Round; Jarred Barnes 5/27 vs Cork County

AUGUST 12^TH/13^TH

The opening game of the weekend saw North Kildare travel to The Mardyke, 4/25 for Byron McDonough the chief destroyer as they were all out for just 88. Stefano di Bartolomeo made 35* in the chase as Cork County ran out comprehensive 7 wicket winners. Inch saw an excellent performance from Eddie Richardson, as he took 5/32 to restrict Terenure to 108 all out. The chase saw Simi Singh make an unbeaten 42 as North County ran out 6 wicket winners in just 28 overs. In Civil Service, Nathan McGuire’s 89 was the top score as Rush ran up 273/8 in their 50 overs, before he was the pick of the bowlers with 3/8 as the home side were all out for 103 giving Rush a comprehensive victory. Possibly the shock of the round was Phoenix turning over Pembroke in Sydney Parade, in spite of the game being 1^st vs 2^nd in the league, not many expected to see Pembroke all out for 128, however Oli Hald’s 5/32 ensured just that, before unbeaten 40s for George Dockrell and Tyrone Kane brought the away side to a 7 wicket win and inflicted Pembroke’s first Championship defeat of the season.

Highlight of the Round; Eddie Richardson 5/32 vs Terenure

AUGUST 19^TH

If the defeat to Phoenix was a shock, there were no doubt tremors around Sydney Parade after round 11, North County batted first and an unbeaten 85 from Eddie Richardson was supported by an excellent 77 from Alan Joseph Mathew to bring the side to 253/6 in their 50 overs. At 105/4 Pembroke would have felt firmly in the game with one big partnership, however an excellent spell from Mathew saw him take 4/29, whilst Simi Singh took 3/34 as the home side were all out for 133, and slumped to back-to-back defeats. In the Phoenix Park, the home side once again collapsed early on against Rush, seeing themselves 26/7 before an unbeaten 39 from Callum O’Byrne saw them scrambling once again to 122 all out. Amish Sidhu took the new ball, and his 4/18, alongside Anish Rana’s 3/27 saw the visitors all out for 117 and secure a vital 5 run victory for Phoenix, keeping the title race firmly alive. The best innings of the day came from Terenure, who having collapsed once again upon the dismissal of Séamus Lynch for 53, recovered thanks to a fantastic partnership of 140 between Raghav Grover (91) and Bhavic Tukrel (50) to ultimately finish on 276/9. Cork County were always just behind the 8 ball, as two wickets for each of Séamus Lynch, Tukrel and Vaughan saw them all out for 165 and a full points win for Terenure. The final game of the day saw Civil Service bowl North Kildare out for 88, thanks to three wickets apiece for Bafanda and Khan who were in ever-dependable form, before Husnain Maroof took 6/19 to really scare the Service lower order. Arjun Chandrasekar’s 38 ultimately being enough to see the visitors home.

Highlight of the Round; Alan Joseph Mathew 77 & 4/29 vs Pembroke

AUGUST 26TH

Another rain-bludgeoned day saw all 4 games in the Championship miraculously reach conclusions. Least of all was Phoenix’s triumph over Cork County in the Park, the away side batted first and duly collapsed. Oli Hald taking two wickets in the first over of the game, before Amish Sidhu’s 5/4 from 7 overs spun the visitors to 59 all out. Levon Shields made a breezy 35 in a straightforward chase as Phoenix won by 8 wickets. In Kenure, 68 for Llew Johnson took Rush to 246 all out, before the best bowling figures of the year from Allan Eastwood saw him take 8/29 and dismiss North Kildare for just 51 in the process, as Rush ran out 195 run winners. In Sydney Parade, Nick Stapleton made 153 as Pembroke racked up 310/8 against Terenure, Fiachra Tucker also making a half-century as Dylan Cleary’s 4/56 was the pick of the bowling efforts. In a stop-start second innings Terenure were eventually 98/8 at the point of termination, with three wickets for each of Paul Lawson and Gavin Hoey. Finally in Inch, another excellent innings of 72 from Alan Joseph Mathew was the backbone of the home side’s total of 238 all out, Dhiraj Shetty taking 5/47. Civil Service could muster just 83/9 in their 20 overs, two wickets for each of Singh, Sludds and Tanvir Hasan securing victory for the home side.

Highlight of the Round; Nick Stapleton 153 vs Terenure

SEPTEMBER 2^ND

The penultimate round of the season saw Pembroke with the chance to secure the Championship title for 2023. Three wickets for each of Gavin Hoey and Paul Lawson saw Rush bowled out for 130, before 76 from JJ Garth led the home side to a 9 wicket victory and secured the title with a week to spare. In the Phoenix Park, Amish Sidhu was to the fore again as Terenure batted first, the left-arm spinner taking 4/33 as the visitors were dismissed for 127 inside 34 overs. In reply, Jed Wiggins made an excellent unbeaten 73 to secure a 7 wicket victory and confirm Phoenix’s spot in the promotion play-off for the 2023 season. Inch saw another massive score, as 80s from Niall McGovern and Simi Singh along with a half-century for Abdul Sattar guided the home team to 335/6. In response three wickets for each of the red-hot Mathew and Richardson saw North Kildare all out for just 98 and slump to a massive loss. In Civil Service, Abdul Ghaffar top scored for Cork County with 51 as they made 168 all out, however 4/20 from Kevin O’Sullivan saw the Mardyke men restrict Civil Service to 101 all out in their reply allowing Cork County run out 67 run winners.

Highlight of the Round; Amish Sidhu 4/33 vs Terenure

SEPTEMBER 9^TH

The final round of the season saw very little up for grabs, league champions Pembroke visited Civil Service, and 6/40 for Gavin Hoey meant the home side were bowled out for just 139, in reply Nick Stapleton rounded off his season in style with an unbeaten 91 to secure an emphatic 9 wicket win. Phoenix had already guaranteed themselves 2^nd spot, and they faced North Kildare on home soil, Nurulain Boda took 5/42 to keep the Park side to just 180 all out, however NK could never get going in reply, as the inevitable Amish Sidhu kept up his incredible run of wicket-taking, with another four wicket haul to bowl the visitors out for 129 and secure victory for Phoenix by 51 runs. North County made the trip to The Mardyke, where they batted first, three wickets for each of Thorne Prophet and Ehsan O’Sullivan restricting the visitors to 107 all out. That was before Alan Joseph Mathew took three of his own to leave Cork County scrambling, however Byron McDonough smuggled the team over the line. Terenure travelled to Kenure, where they hadn’t won a league game for a decade, and bowled first. 4/47 from Raghav Grover saw Rush all out for 144 and the Clee with a chance of amending that record, that was exactly what they did, as Henry Dall’s unbeaten 76 was the mainstay of a 7 wicket victory with 21 overs to spare.

Highlight of the Round; Gavin Hoey 6/40 vs Civil Service