IBI CORPORATE FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND UP (27TH APRIL)

It was 4/4 and 25/25 for all of the teams who batted first in the IBI Corporate Finance Championship this afternoon.

In Terenure, North County recovered from a somewhat subdued PowerPlay to post an imposing 335/6 in their 50 overs against Terenure. Suliman Safi was the star as he compiled an excellent 110 from 92 deliveries, featuring seven boundaries and six maximums, he was supported well by Alan Joseph Mathew who made 54, whilst Abdul Sattar made an unbeaten 40 from just 20 balls, Raghav Grover's 3/51 the pick of the home side's bowlers. In response Terenure were under pressure from the outset as Eddie Richardson dismissed their two premier players in Séamus Lynch and Henry Dall in quick succession, a position from which they could never recover. Grover was once again the one bright spark as he made 32 out of a total of 108 all out, as an incredible spell from Abdul Sattar saw him take 5/27 to tear the heart out of Terenure's middle order.

Kenure was the venue for a fine comeback as Rush fell from 39/1 to be 91/7 thanks mainly to Thorne Prophet and Hamdullah Safi taking 2 apiece early on. Finn McGee was the focal point of the rearguard action for the home side, as he was at the crease from when the total was 77, right through to 224, making 57 from 86 balls in the process. The rest of the tail also piled in, Nasir Totakhil making 31, Asher Abbasi an unbeaten 40 from just 29, and Allan Eastwood 16, as the total got to 253 all out in just inside 46 overs. Any hopes Cork County had of a fightback were dashed early in the reply, as Jarred Barnes' opening spell saw him take 2/4 in 6 overs, Asher Abbasi followed on from him taking 3/17, before the final bowling change saw Nasir Totakhil taking 2/12 as Cork County were 89 all out, seeing Rush 164 run winners.

Railway Union batted first in Kilcock, and The Maws proved to be a happy hunting ground for Rob O'Brien, as the teenager made 86 batting at number 3, with no other batter passing 28 as he anchored the innings to 229 all out from just under 49 overs. An excellent comeback from North Kildare was led by Husnain Maroof, as Railway collapsed from 177/3, Maroof taking 5/38 as a total that had at one stage looked like it could be 300 plus petered out. Zaman Safi was the star in the second innings, as his 4/21 ensured that North Kildare's chase could never gain any momentum, as they were ultimately bowled out for 97 inside 26 overs, Bahktyar Nabi top scoring with 20.

Finally in The Vineyard, The Hills also had something of a shaky start to proceedings, recovering from 78/4 thanks to a brace of 62s from Brandon Kruger and Yaseen Sherzad, Kruger really impressing on his debut for the Milverton side. Sherzad shared a partnership of 80 with Matthew Weldon who made 47, as the home side piled up 258 all out from an unlikely position. Dhiraj Shetty the pick of the Service bowlers as he took 3/43. Nilesh Joshi was the only resistance of any note in the second innings, as he made 31 at the top of the order. Nicolaj Damgaard Laegsgaard took 3/21 for The Hills, supported by a wicket apiece for each of Cian Nulty, Weldon, Kruger, Andy Kavanagh and Zulfiqar Ali, restricting Civil Service to just 147 all out and ensuring a 111 run victory for The Hills.