Merrion made the journey to Cork knowing a win would guarantee second spot and they duly achieved their goal with a professional 102-run win.

Franco Marais hit five boundaries as he top scored with 41 for the Anglesea Road side, sharing a sixth wicket stand of 67 in 12 overs with Muhammed Sinan (29) to rescue them from a precarious 85 for 5.

Mick Lewis also chipped in with 25, while Alex Gaspar was best with the ball for the Munster men, taking 4 for 22.

Cork County’s pursuit never got going, as they were bundled out halfway there, for 102, despite the best efforts of Abdul Ghaffar (33) and Ross Durity (28).

Muhammad Sinan (2-12) made early inroads, while left-arm spinner’s Amish Sidhu’s prolific form continued as he snared four scalps in the 102-run win.

Clontarf won again as they beat YMCA by three wickets to finish the group stages unbeaten.

The match was a test of both teams’ resources, shorn of their interprovincial stars in action at Comber.

Perhaps it was this unfamiliarity that caused three run outs in the home ranks – dismissed for 158 with Thomas Johnson and James Forbes making 28 apiece.

It looked as if the total might be more than enough as the Castle Avenue side slumped to 23 for 4 in the chase, but they were rescued by a fifth wicket stand of 81 between Ruan Cronje and teenager John McNally.

Cronje hit 10 fours and a six as he top scored with an unbeaten 77, while McNally hit 8 fours in his powerful 43.

YMCA battled to the end with three wickets for Tom Anders, and two apiece for Ireland Under 19 internationals Forbes and Reuben Wilson, but Cronje stayed resolute to clinch the three wickets win in the 41st over.

North Kildare secured their first win of the season with an 84-run win against Rush at The Maws.

Husnan Maroof top scored with 45, while Abdul Sattar (29) and Imran Ul Haq (25) chipped in with vital runs in their total of 201 for 9.

Alex Neary claimed four wickets, while Daniel Coffey bagged a brace – a word too for Allan Eastwood, who although went wicketless conceded just ten runs in his ten-overs spell.

With little at stake the Rush batting failed to fire, as they were bundled out for 127 – Llew Johnson making 23.

Imran Ul Haq took four wickets, while there were three for Sattar, and two for Sherzad in the 84-runs win.

Balbriggan finished their league cup campaign on a high note as they clinched a 44-runs win at Rathmines against Leinster.

Nathan Rooney top scored for the Fingal side with an almost even time unbeaten 86 which included 10 fours and 2 sixes as they posted 228 for 7.

Ghanim Dara hit 47, while Ryan Hadley made 29 in a sixth wicket stand of 87 with Rooney. Saqib Bahadur (3-15) was the pick of the home side attack.

Ben Mitchell’s 64 was the highlight of Leinster’s reply, but with Dylan Lues taking three wickets and Ryan Hadley two, Balbriggan closed out the victory.