As Brigade began celebrating last season’s North West Senior Cup final win over Strabane, Niall McDonnell clearly wasn’t revelling in the moment quite as much as his team-mates.

The opening batsman had made the move from home-town club Strabane to Brigade over the winter with a heavy heart, but those emotions were intensified as what should have been a euphoric occasion at Eglinton, as McDonnell collected a Senior Cup winner’s medal, fell flat.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the moment of lifting the premier knockout trophy in North West cricket, but he just couldn’t help staring at the disconsolate faces of his former team-mates. It was with those bittersweet memories at the forefront of his mind that when Strabane approached him earlier this year about a return to the club as player-coach, he accepted in an instant.

McDonnell said: “Playing in the cup final against Strabane last year was a very difficult situation for me. I remember in my youth leaving Strabane to go to Fox Lodge and almost wanting to rub their noses in it when I played against them. But this time was very different. Make no mistake, I was playing in that cup final to win and anyone who watched me bat, and especially in the field, could not have doubted that. But while I really wanted Brigade to win, at the same time I saw the pain in my friends’ faces and I shared Strabane’s disappointment.

“Don’t get me wrong, if the roles had been reversed and Brigade had lost I would have been absolutely gutted to lose, but it was very difficult playing in a cup against guys who I was in the trenches with the year before.

“I live in Strabane, I was born here and grew up there before going to university. There is a special feeling playing for your home-town club and I’ve missed that”

Brigade’s recruitment spree a year ago, which included the signings of Johnny Thompson, Trevor Britton, Chris Dougherty and McDonnell himself, was heavily criticised in some quarters. But despite leaving Beechgrove after just one season, McDonnell has nothing but kind words for those he has left behind.

He said: “Brigade came in for me last winter and Bertie Faulkner said all the right things. But while I really enjoyed it at Beechgrove, I realised what I was missing in playing for the town where I grew up and the togetherness that we had. Strabane thankfully thought they were missing me too but I have nothing but positive things to say about Brigade. I enjoyed my cricket there but I just think I will enjoy it more at Strabane.

“I’ve qualified as a Level 3 coach, I’ve been coaching for ten years, and a qualified PE teacher, and Ciaran Patton asked me to come back and show them how it’s done. As soon as I heard those words it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone else had said, that was me sold.

“I spoke to Bertie and told him, and told everyone at Brigade, and they couldn’t have made it any easier.”

McDonnell’s return to the league champions should, you would assume, make Strabane overwhelming favourites for a third successive title. But as the Ireland A international rightly points out, nothing is ever certain in North West cricket.

He said: “The North West is a strange league, results happen that never should, like St Johnston beating Strabane last year. I would not be brave enough to put a favourites tag on anyone. With Limavady, you can’t overlook any team where Decker Curry is involved and speaking to Richard Kee, he is chomping at the bit to get Donemana back up there again.

“David Lecky did a fantastic job at Bready, they were right up there until the last couple of weeks despite everyone thinking they would struggle after losing Chris (Dougherty) and Ted (Trevor Britton).

“As for Brigade, Mark Simpson is in his forties now, but he is taking as many wickets as he ever did and having been with him in the dressing room, the word lose just doesn’t enter his vocabulary. They have some fantastically talented players and they have everything on paper there. But for them it all depends on finding that level of consistency.”

The odd blip apart, consistency has been Strabane’s optimum word in the last two league campaigns, and if anyone is entitled to the favourites tag McDonnell speaks about, it is them. He added: “The great thing about Strabane is that although Peter and Mark (Gillespie) both performed magnificently last season, everyone won at least one match on their own. We have set very high standards by winning back-to-back leagues and it would be fantastic to win three in a row.

“Winning leagues is all about producing when the chips are down and Strabane have developed that habit. I’m here to play a role in helping the club go even further and I’m confident we’ll do that.”