TITLE RACE GOES TO THE FINAL DAY - IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE & CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP (SEPT 6TH)

For the second year on the bounce, Pembroke will be involved in what is ultimately a 'league final' on Monday evening, as both they and Leinster claimed victories this afternoon to set up a pulsating finish.

The first piece of featured action today came from Observatory Lane, where, in spite of the green tinge on the wicket, Clontarf elected to bat first having won the toss. An excellent opening spell between Jai Moondra and Mark Tonge chopped 'Tarf at the knees, shooting out the top three before double figures were on the board.

There was a fight-back, as John McNally (33) and David Delany (41) took 'Tarf to 93, however when Delany was the second of those two to fall, caught excellently on the boundary by Tom Johnson off the bowling of Saqib Bahadur. This instigated a brilliant spell from Bahadur, in which he claimed 4/8 from 5.3 overs, as the Bulls ultimately lost their final 6 wickets for just 27 runs, all out for 121, and ending their league title hopes.

When David Delany dismissed Ben Mitchell without scoring, there was a tinge of hope, however Johnson and Monil Patel batted well enough to see the 'Tarf skipper resorting to a barrage of bouncers in search of a wicket, by the time this tactic was abandoned, the home side were halfway to their target, and in total control of the chase.

Johnson was eventually dismissed for 24, caught by Delany off the bowling of McNally, meaning Leinster had dropped one bonus point, before Patel followed for an excellent 47, bowled by Yash Bala with the score on 101. Gareth Delany (24*) and Younas Ahmadzai (10*) guided their side to a straightforward victory with more than 22 overs to spare.

Over to Sydney Parade then, and in their pursuit of Merrion's 236/8, which saw John Anderson in the runs once again with 78, supported by 30s for Seb Dijkstra and Jamie Forbes. Andrew Boulton the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, taking 3/22, whilst there were also two wickets for Gavin Hoey.

Pembroke's chase was faltering, and needed to be a true all-round effort, as when Lorcan Tucker was fourth out for 39, the score still hadn't reached 100. Macdara Cosgrave attempted to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, however when he fell to a contender for catch of the season by Connor Blaxall-Hill, Pembroke were 8 down, and still needed 68 to win.

Enter Merrion's nemesis, Paul Lawson was at the crease when Jack Tector performed heroics earlier in the season, and this time he joined Olly Riley, knowing the pair had a task on their hands. They went about their task in a sedate manner initially, until the 43rd over when Lawson broke the shackles, and deposited Sean Stanton's first delivery over the sight-screen for six, that swung momentum hugely, as the following over then saw Olly Riley find the boundary twice, and suddenly extinguish any run-rate pressure.

Riley produced a sumptuous back-foot punch for four to begin the 45th, before a prolonged LBW appeal saw a shy at the bowlers end stumps off target by so far that it ricocheted off Riley, and ran away to the straight boundary, giving Pembroke five leg-byes. When that over finished, the hosts needed just 18, and allowed themselves to negotiate Melvin Devaraj's final over in a controlled manner. Riley took five off the 48th over, leaving the side needing just 7 from the final two overs.

A dot from Sean Stanton was followed by a full toss, which Lawson hammered past square leg, where Andy Doheny appeared not to pick up the flight of the ball, finding the rope, before a second full-toss was followed by a flick over mid-wicket, and sent the Pembroke sideline into delirium, Lawson finishing unbeaten on 35, along with Riley on 36, securing a two-wicket win with 9 balls to spare.

Elsewhere in the top-flight, a sensational bowling effort from Rory Maccoll for Phoenix saw him claiming 5/2 in 4.3 overs, supported by 3/25 for James Maginnis, as they bundled Railway Union all out for 108, only Ashil Prakash (31) passing 20. All eyes then turned to Eknoor Singh, in his quest to pass 1,000 CL runs for the season, and he did so with aplomb, dominating an unbroken stand of 113 with Shane Getkate (39) as his 71* came from just 37 deliveries, the hosts claiming their 10 wicket win in just 10 overs.

In the Championship, the first result of the day saw Balbriggan knocking Rush over for just 84, thanks to a five-wicket-haul for Dylan Lues, with Jordan Hollard also claiming two. Cameron Rowe was the only player to pass 20 in the whole match, as the 'Brigg were made to work hard in the chase, securing a four wicket win inside 15 overs.

In Inch, North County won by one wicket, chasing Malahide's 129, which was set thanks to 32 for Adam Doyle and 28* for 'keeper Matthew Langan, as Sean Sludds took 4/28. The chase saw two wickets for each of Jeremy Martins, Mike Frost and Kelvin Donnelly, however 33 for Alan Joseph Mathew and 28 for Suliman Safi ultimately helped them to victory.

Finally, The Hills finished their nightmare campaign with a win, as Ollie Horlock's 60 underpinned their total of 168 all out in the final over, Bakhtyar Nabi claiming four wickets for Cork County. The Milverton men however didn't let the Leesiders into the game at any stage, as Sean McNicholl's 4/39, supported by 3/18 for Febin Manoj, and 2/5 for Matthew Weldon saw Cork County all out for 103, a 65 run win for the hosts.