IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE – INDIVIDUAL AWARDS CONFIRMED! (SEPT 15TH)

Following a most remarkable end to the season on Saturday afternoon, which saw Pembroke crowned IBI Corporate Finance Premier League Champions for the third year on the bounce, the final scorecards for the season are in, which means the individual awards have been confirmed.

League Champions Pembroke take home two awards, whilst we also have a double award winner in the Premier League this season. Balbriggan round out the three clubs represented in the award winners for the 2026 season.

Each of these awards will be presented at the CL Awards Night and Gala Dinner in the Round Room at the Mansion House with tickets available to purchase here;

https://buytickets.at/cricketleinster/2361582

MARCHANT CUP (BATTING)

With a qualification of 600 runs set, four players reached the threshold for the 2026 season. Pembroke’s JJ Garth was top of the aggregate, making 653 runs at an average of 43.53, with his top score being the vital century he made in the Leinster Senior Cup final. Alongside him in the top four were Monil Patel, who passed 50 six times in his 600 at 35.29, and Raj Undre, who managed 632 runs at an average of 52.67, remarkably 478 of his runs came in just four of his innings’.

But the leading average and winner of the Marchant Cup for 2026 is Jeremy Martins, with the Malahide all-rounder passing 50 in 7 of his 15 innings in the season in amassing 619 runs at an impressive average of 56.27.

O’GRADY CUP (BOWLING)

The O’Grady Cup saw three players reaching the qualifying threshold of 30 wickets, with the top three featuring Leinster’s skipper Bilal Azhar who claimed his 31 wickets at an average of just under 24, whilst Pembroke’s Paul Lawson claimed 31 scalps at an average of 22.35.

However the winner of the O’Grady Cup for 2026, seeing it return to Pembroke for the third year in a row and regaining it having last won it in 2024, is Byron McDonough, who rounds out a sensational season, which saw Leinster Lightning and Ireland debuts, by taking 33 wickets at just 18.15.

HOPKINS CUP (WICKET KEEPING)

The leading wicket-keeper for the 2026 season was another hotly contested award, however having claimed the Satchwell Trophy for the Championship last season, this season’s Hopkins Cup winner is Connor Fletcher of Balbriggan, as his 24 victims saw him three clear of both Matthew Langan and Rian Cassidy, who took 21 apiece.

SAMUELS CUP (ALL-ROUNDER)

The leading all-rounders table is dominated by two players who have streaked clear of the rest. The top four features two players already mentioned in the bowling stakes, with Bilal Azhar and Paul Lawson in third and fourth respectively. However there is a gap of nearly 250 points from second to third, where Jordan Hollard sits on 1102 thanks to his 522 runs and 29 wickets.

However there’s another wide margin to the top performer of the season, where Jeremy Martins sits having managed an already mentioned 619 runs and accompanied them with 28 wickets to finish on a mammoth 1179 points for the season and claim the Samuels Cup!

SOLOMONS CUP (FIELDING)

Finally, the Solomons Cup for the leading fielder sees three players all tied at the top with 12 catches apiece, meaning a tie-breaker is required. Pembroke skipper Jack Tector and Malahide captain Jeremy Martins are two of the three men to hang onto a dozen outfield catches this season.

However, when T20 competitions are also considered in order to break the tie, Paul Lawson of Pembroke claims the Solomons Cup, having taken three catches in the Alan Murray Cup to go along with his 12 in the Premier League & Leinster Senior Cup.

Congratulations to each of the winners on claiming each of these awards at the end of an excellent season of cricket.

These winners will be presented with their prizes on January 29^th, at the CL Awards Night & Gala Dinner in the Round Room at the Mansion House.

This is always one of the most popular nights in the cricketing calendar – with tickets available here; https://buytickets.at/cricketleinster/2361582