MCCARTHY FIRES RAILWAY INTO PREMIER LEAGUE - IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP (JULY 26TH)

It was an outstanding day for Railway Union at Park Avenue as they booked their place in the top 6 and the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League for the second half of 2025 as they ran out convincing winners by 6 wickets over their most direct competitors, North County, who were also vying for that spot.

North County won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a good batting day. However Liam McCarthy did not see it that way setting about dismantling the North County top order in style, he had Alan Joseph Mathew caught at extra cover in the first over by Philippe Le Roux and had Kindley soon following caught in the gully. Safi followed caught down the legside by Peter Le Roux to reduce the visitors to 17/3. A couple of overs of calm followed before McCarthy uprooted Richardson and McGovern’s stumps in consecutive balls. When Grassi followed 3 overs later again chopping on once again off McCarthy, the heart of the batting line-up had been ripped out. The Devane brothers and Dunphy battled hard contributing a pair of 17s and 14 but could only bring their side up to 90 before being bowled out.

Richardson set the cat amongst the pigeons early removing Prakash for 6 and then Rob O’Brien 2 balls later, caught and bowled. Khogiani soon followed for a breezy 16 the hosts were 30/3 and no doubt feeling the heat, Skipper Le Roux and Sesele set about their task cautiously from there, adding 30 in 9 overs as they eked their side towards victory. When Sesele fell LBW to become Richardson’s 3^rd victim it was all over but the shouting. McCarthy went to the crease and added the cherry on top for his day out scoring a quick fire 24* to bring his side over the line with 6 wickets and 31 overs to spare.

The Hills vs Pheonix

There was a low scoring thriller in the Park, that saw The Hills prevail by 9 runs over Phoenix. The visitors were bowled out for what seemed an under par 131, as a pair of 25s saw Cian Nulty and Muzaml Sherzad leading the way with the bat. Amish Sidhu the pick of the bowlers with 4/21. In response Nulty came out firing, returning the sensational figures of 5/21, before teenage spinner Manoj held his nerve to prise out the tail, picking up 4 wickets of his own as his side ran out eventual winners, bowling Phoenix out for 122 in a massive victory which lifts The Hills off the foot of the table.

Pembroke vs Malahide

Pembroke keep up the pressure on Leinster at the top of the table after a professional win over Malahide at Sydney Parade. Malahide won the toss and elected to bat first, they got off to a good start initially with Foulkes and Lanagan contributing 42 and 40 respectively. Unfortunately, however, they couldn’t capitalise, and fell away from 103/1 to 203 all out with Byron McDonough dealing the bulk of the damage, taking 4/25. Pembroke’s chase went off without a hitch, Tim Tector and Blake Macdonald contributing 74 and 84 respectively as their side ran out comfortable winners in the 31^st over by 7 wickets.

Cork County vs Clontarf

Clontarf amassed an incredible 427/4 as they ran out comfortable winners by 307 runs at the Mardyke. They got off to a solid start moving to 108 before losing Eoghan Delany for 38. That brought together David Vincent and John McNally who put on a further 107 in quick time. Losing McNally only brought Campher to the crease who blasted 114 from just 45 balls in support of an incredible 172 from Vincent. The Cork County chase never got going as they wilted in face of such an imposing challenge, McNally and Campher collected 3 wickets each as to put their side well on top, before a brace of wickets apiece for both Yash Bala and Mitchell Thompson romped Clontarf to a 307 run victory, rolling Cork County over in just 22.3 overs.

Leinster vs Merrion

Leinster added another great day with the bat to their thus far excellent season, which has seen them top of the table since gameweek 1. There were solid contribution from the top 3, getting their side off to a great start, with Patel in particularly strong form, adding 45 to the total. A mid-innings comeback from Merrion brought together Younas Ahmadzai and Saqib Bahadur who contributed 101* and 85* respectively adding 125 for the 5^th wicket in just 13 overs. The Merrion chase briefly threatened, however never really got going with Doheny, Anderson and Stanton all passing 40, however nobody was able to produce the three figure score needed to chase down such a mammoth total. Stanton was eventually the pick of his side’s batting effort with 59 as the ran out eventual losers by 80 runs. The pick of the bowlers for Leinster saw four wickets for Ben Mitchell, supported by 2/52 for Jai Moondra.

Rush vs Balbriggan

Rush fought hard in batting first at the Jack Harper ground as they ground out a score of 225 all out. Jack McGee was the mainstay with 70 having been promoted to the top of the order. A collapse brought young Callum Armstrong and Craig May together, and they added 35 and 33 respectively in bringing their side up to their eventual total of 225. The Balbriggan chase was underpinned by Chris De Freitas, who made 48, as wickets fell around him until he eventually found a willing partner in Sebastien D’Oliveira. D’Oliveira however fell after passing 50, triggering another collapse bringing together the Hollard brothers who added 34 before Jordan Hollard was dismissed LBW by Allan Eastwood, leaving his side agonisingly short by on 221, as Rush were able to sneak a four run victory.