IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE & CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP

TOP THREE ALL POWER TO VICTORY IN PREMIER LEAGUE

A sensational afternoon of cricket in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League saw each of the top three claiming comprehensive 25-point victories as the title race continues to be as exciting as ever!

Firstly in the Phoenix Park, Paul Lawson's Pembroke side emerged victorious by 217 runs against Phoenix, putting to bed any concerns that may have existed following last weekend's loss to Clontarf. Their 386/5 was underpinned by 174 from Andy Balbirnie, his third time passing 150 for the club this season, as he shared huge stands with Tim Tector (85) and Lorcan Tucker (79) in guiding the side to a huge total. Only George Dockrell could manage any resistance for Phoenix, as his 77 put some respectability on their total, as Harry Tector and Gavin Hoey claimed four and three wickets respectively to complete an absolute walk in the park for the Sydney Parade outfit.

In Park Avenue, a crucial 90 from Younas Ahmadzai guided Leinster to 269 all out in their 50 overs, as he got support in the shape of 30s from Tristen de Beer and Jai Moondra. Ben Mitchell and Saqib Bahadur then took three wickets apiece as they restricted Railway to just 93, securing a massive 171-run victory for their title challenge.

Finally, the last game to finish in the day saw the 'Moose' in full flow for Clontarf, as Séamus Lynch's 119 from just 81 deliveries helped the side to a sensational 9-wicket win, as they hunted down Merrion's 250 in just 29.1 overs. He added 223 for the opening stand with Pat Xie, who was unbeaten on 89 in the end as they obliterated their target with more than 20 overs to spare. Earlier in the day, it was Reuben Wilson who was the pick of the bowlers with 3/56, whilst there were two for each of David Delany and Xie in keeping Merrion to their total of 250/9.

24 APIECE FOR THE VICTORS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!

The first result of the day came from The Mardyke, where Brian Upman's blistering 87* from just 33 balls included five boundaries and nine maximums in taking his side to a thumping 7 wicket-win over Rush, chasing down 125 in just 17 overs. Earlier there were three wickets apiece for Bakhtyar Nabi and Ehsan O'Sullivan as only Finn McGee (53) could offer much resistance for the Kenure men.

In The Village, Malahide were indebted to an unbeaten 69 from Adam Doyle as they made relatively light work of The Hills' 143 all out. Their chase took just 24.2 overs as there were also contributions from Alan Reynolds (32) and Jeremy Martins (26*) with the hosts running out 8 wicket winners with more than half their innings to spare. The Hills owed a great deal to Matty Weldon (54) in getting them to 143 in the first innings, as he added 77 for the 9th wicket with Febin Manoj (29) however wickets for Ravi Kumar (3/14) had put them on the back-foot early on.

Finally, in Inch, Cameron Rowe's 112 propelled Balbriggan to 269/6 in their 50 overs. He was well supported by Chris de Freitas who made 76, however no North County bowler could really penetrate the 'Brig's batting unit on this occasion. The same could not be said of their own bowling attack, as three wickets for Dylan Lues, and two apiece for Matt Hollard and Farooq Nasr rounded out an 83 run win for the Irish Senior Cup champions, and pushed them right into contention for the Championship title!