Limerick Cricket Club suffer defeat in Munster's Super Cup final

LIMERICK Cricket Club's women’s side suffered defeat to Cork County in the final of the Super Cup in Ballyneety on Saturday of the August Bank Holiday Weekend.

Limerick received a bye to the final with County defeating Galway in the semi, and the stage was set for Limerick to retain the trophy they won in 2024. Limerick opted to bowl first having won the pre-match toss.

Cork County ran well in the opening exchanges and were much the better side in the powerplay with the scoreboard reading 30-0 at the end of the 4th over. The introduction of Sana George into the bowling attack reaped immediate rewards, as Sanjana Shashikumar was sharp to run out Padaniya off a wide ball for her side’s first wicket. Limerick remained sharp in the field and Avni Harishankar was able to capitalise on another mix-up in the middle to dismiss Dhananjayan to leave the score at 44-2. 

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County built a steady partnership for the second wicket with in-form batswoman Sara Kamel fortunate to see her edge adjudged not to be taken behind the stumps, despite the remonstrations from Shashikumar for a clean catch. 30 runs or so were ticked on before Westmoreland forced Spalding into an aerial shot which she took off her own bowling. 

The game was in the balance at 79-3 and continued to ebb and flow up to the 15th over, when the score read 93-4, a wicket off the final ball of the 14th for Sheena Van De Munckhof was the fourth for her side and was caught by her own mother, Maria, in the covers. Limerick leaked some runs through the leg-side in the latter stages but some bright moments also occurred; Sindhusha Chandu, arguably the pick of the bowlers, clinched two wickets in the 17th over and bowled economically at the death to finish with figures of 2-16 from three overs as a target of 134 was set.

Limerick opened with Maria Van De Munckhof and Katy Hewison and saw off the first over from Spalding before Hewison was mankaded at the non-striker’s end in the second over. Confusion surrounded the situation before Hewison was eventually confirmed to be dismissed under what could be described as rare circumstances. A mix-up in the following over left Van De Munkchof short of her ground as the pair of George and Westmoreland attempted to rebuild for their side. Westmoreland looked in good touch from previous games but an attempted sweep resulted in her dismissal in the third over with the score now reading 9-3. George continued to rally for her side but struggled to combat the increasing run-rate with a long outfield making it difficult to score runs inside the boundary. Limerick were valiant as they continued to chase but the loss of too many wickets was too hurtful to their innings with an eventual score of 58 leaving them well short of their target. 

Cork County W: 133-6 off 20 overs - Sindhusha Chandu 2-16, Holly Westmoreland 1-25,Sheena Van De Munckhof 1-27.

Limerick W: 58 all out off 14.1 overs - Sana George 21, Sanajana Shashikumar 5.

WITH the Senior Cup final taking place in the Mardyke, Limerick’s 3rd XI clash with Cork County was moved to The Farm, Curraheen Road where they looked to avenge the last time these sides met, which remarkably ended in a draw. Limerick elected to bat with the skipper, Sathya Prabu, opening the batting with the in-form Bharatkumar Dahima. The two set a very solid foundation, with Prabu’s 14 from 24 complemented by Damima’s 25 from 49. This took the sting out of the attack with Bhargav Kumar’s contribution of 22, coming in at 3, meaning after three wickets Limerick were up towards the 100-run mark. 

The runs continued to flow through the order with every player getting into double digits and the most notable contribution coming from Waqas Mehmood, whose 35 from 33 deliveries (including 6x4s), playing a positive role in getting his side to a very respectable total of 238. 

County punched back in the second innings and frustrated Limerick with risk-free cricket and keeping wickets in hand, this was counteracted by an economical attack which ensured the match remained competitive. A stand of over 150 runs for the third wicket looked to be the decider for County but Limerick took a number of wickets in the final 10 overs or so to claw things back. The tail were not up to the task and Limerick took the victory by a margin of 27 runs to put them right back up to the higher echelons of the table. 

Limerick 3: 238-9 off 40 overs - Waqas Mehmood 35, Bharatkumar Dahima 25

Cork County 3: 211-9 off 40 overs - Waqas Mehmood 4-33, Parth Borghare 3-34

Limerick’s 4th XI faced both Nenagh and Cork Harlequins over the weekend with both games vital to the side’s hopes of a high finish in the league table with a mixed bag of results thus far. 

The trip to Knockshigowna on Saturday was a good one for Ramji Lakshmanan and co. as the skipper went with experience in his starting XI, won the toss, ane elected to bat on a drying outfield.The captain was happy with his sides opening partnerships to get the Shannonsiders to 50-2, but the loss of four wickets in less than 20 runs turned the tide in Nenagh’s favour. A stand of 44 runs for the eight wicket between Parthasarathy and Gopal got Limerick from 104-8 to 148-9 before another significant stand for the last wicket meant a target of 182 was set. 

Opening bowler Solomon Azariah struck gold with two wickets in his spell to dismiss Oomman and Johny, Chandra followed suit with the dismissal of George before a run out in the sixth over handed the advantage to the visitors. Wickets continued to tumble but Limerick were let down be extras- a total of 68 in the entirety of the innings, as Nenagh stayed in the battle. Gopal wanted to add to his batting display with the ball and did so with conviction, three wickets in his second spell gave his side the upper hand but Nenagh neared their total. Lakshmanan opted to bring back on Girkin, a decision which paid off as he dismissed the stubborn Joseph for 22 to end proceedings in Knockshigowna.

On Monday afternoon, Ramji enforced a number of changes, this time going with a brand of youth with five U15s featuring in the named XI. Limerick won the toss again and elected to bat first at Farmer’s Cross against a competitive Cork Harlequins side. Shrava Chandra continued to prove his worth in the top order, scoring for boundaries on his way to a mature 31 from 43 deliveries at the top of the order. This example carried through to the middle order, where Abubakar Aziz partnered with Chinmay Shinde, oozed class from start to finish en route to their maiden half-centuries for the club. A 122-run partnership between the pair got Limerick to 291-8 from their 40 overs, their highest total yet this year.

Aziz completed a man of the match performance by taking two wickets in the second innings, and despite Quins batting out their full allotment, they would be well short of their target as the visitors ensured a comfortable victory by 83 runs.

Limerick 4: 181 all out off 34.5 overs - Darshan Gopal 34, Ajay Parthasarathy 22

Nenagh 3: 164 all out off 37 overs - Darshan Gopal 3-34, Solomon Azariah 2-24

Limerick’s U13 side were feasted to a plethora of games over the weekend with stakes in the All-Ireland qualifiers on the line. They firstly welcomed Lismore to the Manor Fields on Saturday where they ran out comfortable winners by a margin of 55 runs. Helped by extras in the first innings, contributions were significant from Mishra and Abraham, both playing their first games of hard-ball cricket, who were amply supported by Rao and the skipper Ramay late on as they finished on 103-7. The attack backed up the effort with a mixture of economical bowling and wicket-taking deliveries as Van De Munckhof, Abraham and Rajesh all finished the day’s play with two wickets apiece and Leon George and Arham Ullah also taking one wicket each as the 18th over proved to be the last for the visitors with a final score 48 all out. 

Monday’s double-header against Cork County and Cork Harlequins brought real entertainment, with the first game going to the wire in a thrilling contest. Having made only 68 with the bat, largely thanks to 29 from 30 balls from opener Behroz Khan, Limerick defended the total for their lives. Arham Ullah continued his rich vein of form with the ball with his four-over spell worthy to be a spell of the season; two maidens, two wickets and just four runs conceded. He wasn’t alone, as Vishnu Rao tore through the County middle order as a capitulation took place- the visitors looked to be cruising at 33-1 but were suddenly 60-8. Yousaf Ramay brought himself into the attack and finished off the tail in a tense finish which saw County all out for 66 runs, just two runs shy and two balls short of the full 20.

Immediate attention turned to the challenge of Cork Harlequins who elected to bat having won the toss. A much more stiff rearguard for the Limerick attack this time, who provided a different challenge and made a much more poignant 101-6 from their 20 overs. Limerick had other ideas to their first game however, and hit the ground running as Arham Ullah and Behroz Khan both retired with scores above 30 and their side cruising on 91-0. The opening pair won the game for Limerick, allowing the following bats to knock off the remaining runs with ease, resulting in a 10-wicket victory and putting them top of the All-Ireland Qualifying table for Munster.

Limerick U13: 68-7 off 20 overs - Behroz Khan 29

Cork County U13: 66 all out off 19.4 overs - Vishnu Rao 3-9, Yousaf Ramay 2-2, Arham Ullah 2-4

The U15 side had the test of an away trip to Cork Harlequins on Sunday afternoon, with many of the Limerick players having just played Quins on Friday evening. The loss didn’t live long in the minds of the players who brought a proud, away victory back up the N20 by a convincing 6-wicket margin. 

Quins elected to bat first after winning the toss and were in the ascendancy in the power play, both openers hitting at a rate above a run per ball, putting the visitors on the backfoot. Limerick came back into it with a run out on the final ball of the power play and continued with wickets in the two subsequent overs, with Leon George and Riyan Shah both making breakthroughs. Both bowlers ended up taking second wickets with an even spread amongst the remaining bowlers; Arham Ullah, Yousaf Ramay, Behroaz Khan and Robert McCutcheon finishing the innings with one dismissal to their names as Quins set a target of 109. 

Two early runs outs shifted the momentum of the second innings in the hosts favour with Ramay and Ullah both being dismissed early, but a captain’s knock of 51 from 24 deliveries from Ayan Ullah displayed a full range of shots and strike rate above 200. Ulllah’s innings included 10 4’s which accelerated the game away from the home side. Contributions from Lakshmanan and McCutcheon after Ullah’s retirement saw the visitors home before the 13th over as the 15s got back to winning ways and back in contention for a place at the All-Irelands later this month.

Cork Harlequins U15: 108 all out off 17.5 overs - Leon George 2-15, Riyan Shah 2-21

Limerick U15: 109-4 off 12.5 overs - Ayan Ullah 51, Yousaf Ramay 9

A much quieter weekend in store for LCC this weekend, only the 2nd XI are in action with their scheduled game against County Kerry to take place on Saturday afternoon with a venue TBC during the week. Only the U17 side will take to the field besides that, as they welcome Cork County to the Manor Fields on Monday for their third fixture of the Superleague. The U13s await confirmation of their All-Ireland qualifying status, with proposed dates for the finals likely to be confirmed this week.