MERRION BATTING OVERPOWERS RUSH - IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE (JULY 19TH)

It was another excellent day with the bat in Anglesea Road for the home side, as they piled up yet another massive total of 357/6 in their 50 overs, in a victory that secured their place in the top 6 for the second period of the season.

Having won the toss, Rush elected to field first, on a ground where chasing has certainly been the preferred method for victory so far this season, however they didn't make a breakthrough until the score was beyond 100, when Swapnil Modgill slapped a half-volley from Alex Neary straight at Abid Taniwal at mid-off, who made no mistake with the catch to dismiss the Merrion opener for 43.

Stephen Doheny had already passed 50 at that stage, and was continuing in a nice rhythm whilst sharing a five over stand with Connor Blaxall-Hill, before Merrion's overseas man miscued a sweep and was caught on the rope by Neary off the bowling of Nasir Totakhil for 19.

Any notion of a fightback was quickly quashed, as Jamie Forbes joined Doheny and was comfortable playing second fiddle to his opener for a long period, with Doheny again continuing to rotate with ease, whilst also punishing every poor delivery he faced. He reached three figures in the 33rd over of the innings, bringing the score to 211 before he was dismissed by Nathan McGuire for an excellent 105.

Forbes then picked up the mantle whilst John Anderson played himself in, as the pair put together the second century stand of the innings, adding 109 in just 75 deliveries, before Forbes attempted to go over the top, just failing to get the ball wide enough of Callum Armstrong at long-on, who took a tidy catch to dismiss the left-hander for an excellent 92.

Anderson then opened his shoulders, walloping the ball to the boundary straight, as well as using his familiar stylish game behind square to manipulate the field. He was eventually dismissed for 76 off the final ball of the innings, having brought the score up to its final total of 357. Nasir Totakhil was the bowler to make the most impact for Rush, taking 3/52.

The Rush chase never got going, and wasn't helped by some poor calling early on, which led to the run outs of both Armstrong and Jack McGee, both falling to direct hits by Merrion's ring fielders. When Nathan McGuire was dismissed for 22, followed by Totakhil first ball, both to Max Sorensen, the away side were in big trouble, however Taniwal fought back.

The left-hander doubled good rotation with the powerful ability to clear the ropes, making his way to 52 before being the last man to fall, caught at long-off by Swapnil Modgill off the bowling of Blaxall-Hill, with the catch being Modgill's fifth in the innings, equally the record for the most in a Senior game, one which was previously held by Lynal Jansen for Rush, who also took five in a game against Dublin University in 2014.

Tom Stanton was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, taking 3/14, whilst there were also two apiece for Sorensen and Blaxall-Hill, as Merrion secured a romping 237 run victory and solidified themselves in the Premier League for the season run-in.

The Hills v Pembroke
Pembroke stay in second place after a comprehensive six-wickets win at The Hills. Irish international Gavin Hoey took five wickets as the hosts batting brittleness was again to the fore as they were bowled out for just 127 - Muzamil Sherzad making 36 and Tomas Rooney-Murphy 31. Cian Nulty started the defence of their modest total in dramatic fashion accounting for Tim Tector and Blake McDonald with the first two balls of the innings. Normality was resumed in a third wicket stand of 68 between top-scorer JJ Garth - who hit 7 fours and a six in an unbeaten 49 - and Jack Tector 40 (8 fours). There were runs too for Gavin Hoey who hit five fours in his 29 as victory was secured at the 25 overs midway point.

Leinster v Railway Union
Table toppers Leinster had little trouble disposing of Railway Union as they romped to a nine-wicket win at Rathmines. Batting first, Railway were skittled for just 69 with three wickets apiece for Bilal Azhar and Mark Tonge, while there were two apiece for Ben Mitchell and Jai Moondra. The chase was over by the 12th over with only one wicket to fall - Ben Mitchell for 16. Tom Johnson hit an unbeaten 25, adding an unbroken 46 for the second wicket with Monil Patel (15*).

Phoenix vs Malahide

In the Park, the hosts batted first and were indebted to a big contribution from Eknoor Singh, as his 87 from 122 deliveries, boosted by a late unbeaten 38 from just 23 balls for Nic Pretorius, guided the team to 227/8 in their 50 overs, James Newland and Robbie Foulkes both taking 'two-fors' for Malahide. Tyrone Kane then proved to be the hero of the hour for the hosts, as he took 6/33 in his ten overs, supported by Amish Sidhu who took 3/31, as only Robbie Foulkes (61) could manage a real meaningful contribution for The Village, as Phoenix ran out 45 run winners.

North County vs Clontarf

In the Inch, Clontarf batted first, and in spite of Séamus Lynch getting them off to a quick start against Eddie Richardson, when he was dismissed by the same bowler it caused something of a collapse, with the visitors slumping to 111/6 nearing the halfway stage. The skipper David Delany and batting prowess of Fionn Hand came together however, adding 155 for the 7th wicket, with the latter finally dismissed for 90 in the 48th over. Delany's unbeaten 82 ensured they made 293/7, a score which looked a million miles away at one stage.

In reply, North County saw contributions from Richardson (45) and Hunter Kindley (30) helping them recover from 7/2, before a strong partnership between Jamie Grassi (52) and Niall McGovern took them along to 192. McGovern added a further 60 with John Devane, who made 24, before he was the seventh man out for a 72-ball 76, with the home side 34 runs from victory. That left enough pressure on the scoreboard for 'Tarf to turn the screw, as the 9th wicket fell with the hosts still 26 runs short of victory, there was some brief hope for County as Alan Joseph Mathew struck a brace of boundaries, however he was the last wicket to fall, caught by Pat Xie off David Vincent to secure a 16 run victory for 'Tarf.

Cork County vs Balbriggan

The game in The Mardyke was rained off in the first innings, with Balbriggan 85/4, after 21 overs, Mark Andrianatos' 3/8 having put Cork County in a decent position before the weather intervened.