After a tremendous performance was spoiled last week by the weather, the Treaty were searching for a repeat of fortunes as they welcomed the Tribesmen to Limerick for the first time this year.
Limerick were able to see off the challenge of Galway on Friday, in a testing opening round fixture in the Arachas National Cup at the Manor Fields in Adare. After a tremendous performance was spoiled last week by the weather, the Treaty were searching for a repeat of fortunes as they welcomed the Tribesmen to Limerick for the first time this year.
The Shannonsiders were put into field as the searing heat transcended, and although it was Galway who started the better, Limerick struck back with bowler Prasad Hegde taking consecutive wickets during his opening spell. He was soon joined by Mirhmaza Ahmedzai, a bowling partnership which is becoming quite fruitful at both junior and senior level. The Afghani youngster was in the thick of the action as he broke into the middle order with an LBW, followed by a sharp run out as Galway lost their fifth. Limerick really piled on the pressure with the ball after the break, with seldom boundaries accrued. The away side could only muster 156 with Shani Alam, Arslan Anwar and Asif Hussein all chipping in with wickets.
Limerick knew a solid run-rate of four runs an over would be enough to get them over the line, but early pressure meant the Shannonsiders were 30-2 and needed to construct a partnership. The trusted duo of Anwar and Smithies were once again in decent form, taking the sting out of the attack and getting the Treaty over the 100-run mark with plenty of batting still to come. Despite losing both to close LBWs, the middle order, namely Sumukh Venkatesh and Sarfraz Ramay, were able to close out the game by a margin of four wickets.
RESULT| Arachas National Cup.
Limerick Cricket Club defeated County Galway by 4 wickets.
County Galway 1: 156 all out off 33.5 overs.
Mirhamza Ahmedzai 3-39
Shani Alam 2-25
Limerick 1: 159-6 off 36.5 overs.
Tim Smithies 50
Arslan Anwar 24
The results kept coming for Limerick over the weekend, Saturday’s action saw both the 2nd and 4th XI in T20 encounters.
Having already qualified for the knockout stages, the Shannonsiders were looking to seal top spot in Group B against Kerry, with the game taking place in the neutral venue of Ballyeighan. Skipper Sumukh Venkatesh used the game to give opportunities to some emerging players, one of which was Karthik Karur, who put his name in the mix for the finals day with a well-made 47, anchoring the innings as others chipped in.
Although not an insurmountable total by any stretch of the imagination, Limerick’s bowling quickly quenched any chances of an expected run chase. As Kerry struggled to establish any meaningful partnerships, they too were faced with a sturdy fielding performance from the away side, with very few drops and misfields to take advantage of.
A late rally from Kerry’s tail wasn’t enough and Limerick were deserved winners by 24 runs.
RESULT| MCU Junior T20 Group B.
Limerick Cricket Club defeated County Kerry by 24 runs.
Limerick 2: 144 all out off 19.5 overs.
Karthik Karur 47
Sourabh Teke 25
County Kerry 2: 120 all out off 18.3 overs.
Prasad Hegde 3-20
Ramoji Alla 3-29
It was a simple ‘do or die’ scenario for the 4th XI against United Cricket Clonmel on Saturday afternoon, the first of two T20s in Adare that day, with only the winner progressing to the semi-finals next weekend.
Despite only reaching 120 batting first, Limerick amazingly came back with some brilliant spells of bowling, most notably from stand-in captain Siva Gujjula and Christian Matthew. As the game ebbed and flowed, it was anyone’s contest in the final few overs, as both teams missed chances to snatch victory. Wali Safi came back into the attack to bowl the final over in which the away side needed 12 runs to win, but Safi held his nerve to concede just 9 runs to hand Limerick the victory by the smallest of margins.
RESULT| MCU Division Three T20 Cup Group B .
Limerick Cricket Club defeated United Cricket Clonmel by 2 runs.
Limerick 4: 120-9 off 20 overs.
Laxman Prasad 30
Mohammed Fawwad 18
United Cricket Clonmel 2: 118-7 off 20 overs.
Siva Gujjula 4-17
Christian Matthew 2-10
RESULT| MCU Division Three T20 Cup Group B .
Limerick Cricket Club defeated County Kerry by 35 runs.
Limerick 4: 183-9 off 20 overs.
Christian Matthew 78
Nikul Kevadiya 33
County Kerry 4: 148-8 off 20 overs.
Olid Mia 3-7
Nikul Kevadiya 2-7
Next weekend sees another jam-packed weekend of action with Limerick’s 4th and 2nd sides competing in the finals of their divisional T20 competitions. The Treaty’s 2nd XI will take on Midleton in the semi finals on the bank holiday Monday, as they go in search of their first Junior T20 title since 2020, whilst the 4th XI travel to Clonmel for their finals day, which will start off against Lismore 2nds at 10.30am.
The main event of the weekend will come on Sunday, as Limerick look to avenge last year’s loss to Cregagh when they go head to head with the Belfast outfit at the Manor Fields, with an expected start time of 1pm. A win would see Limerick progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
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