TOP MARKS HELP STRABANE POST VITAL LEAGUE WIN BEFORE IRISH CUP EXIT

Despite the autumnal weather it was a busy weekend for Strabane's cricketers as they played pivotal games in league and cup, however the Red Caps aside there wasn't a lot of action elsewhere in the County. Sion Mills' Northern Bank senior cup second round match with Donemana fell foul of the weekend rain and will now go ahead this coming Saturday at the same time as the three quarter final ties. Should Donemana win the match at Sion they will then play Fox Lodge in the last eight on Sunday, meaning that the semi final line up should be known by the end of this weekend.

Back to Saturday past however and with Strabane and Bready already having booked their place in the latter stages of the Northern Bank cup, they were able to press on with their scheduled league meeting, allowing the winners to take advantage of the inactivity of everybody else.

Strabane fielded without Niall McDonnell who had joined up with the Ireland squad in Belfast for the games against Pakistan but were heartened by the return of Peter Gillespie, Kevin Martin and Martin Deans, all of whom had been sidelined for various recent matches through injury. Batting first, the hosts didn't come to terms with the slow, low pitch early on and although skipper Jonathan Beukes dug in with a determined 41 they looked very vulnerable when reduced to 96 for 5.

That brought Mark Gillespie and Mark Roulston together however and those two then built a wonderful partnership that was to take the contest away from Trevor Hamilton's side. The pair added a 116-run sixth wicket stand; Gillespie hammering 6 fours and 6 sixes in a superb century while Roulston was making his first half century for his new club following his move from Burndennett.

After their 50 overs Strabane had set their visitors a daunting target of 253 with Mark Olphert, David Scanlon and Ian Young all picking up two wickets each for Bready. It has been an in and out start to the season so far for the Magheramason men and their batting has looked vulnerable more than once so the run chase was always likely to be a big ask. It didn't start well here either as they lost new opener Brian Scanlon and Steven Clarke early on before Mark Olphert and professional Agha Sabir Ali rallied.

Olphert made 43 and Sabir Ali went on to post a half century but the run rate had crept up alarmingly and Bready could find no way of clawing it back. Ian Young made a welcome return to form with a late 44 but Strabane were away and gone by that stage.

Fit again Martin Deans bowled very well to claim 3 for 30 and Mark Gillespie topped up his century with 2 wickets as Strabane recorded a 52- run win that lifted them back to the top end of the table.

Despite the rain Fox Lodge found ample time to brush aside Division 2 opponents Killyclooney as Brian Allen's side progressed easily to the quarter finals of the senior cup. Whilst the potential for shocks remains in the Blue Riband competition there hasn't been one for many years and it was clear early on that this wasn't going to be one either.

The visitors' Greg Stewart made an unbeaten 26 in the middle order but that was as good as it got as class told in spades. Gareth Heywood has been shaping up nicely for the Foxies since coming into the senior side last season and he was the pick of the bowlers here returning figures of 5 for 28 while Andy Britton and Darryl Brown picked up two apiece.

All of that meant that the hosts needed just 96 to win and despite losing Jason Milligan along the way, South African Darryl Brown finished unbeaten on 34 and former Killyclooney player Dean McCarter added 28 not out in a 9-wicket romp.

The other cup matches all went to form as well with Brigade seeing off Glendermott by 5 wickets and Eglinton and Coleraine progressing at the expense of Division 2 opposition Ardmore and Drummond respectively. The following revised draw and schedule is therefore as follows-

Saturday 4 June

2nd Round

Sion Mills v Donemana

Quarter finals

Limavady v Strabane

Brigade v Bready

Coleraine v Eglinton

Sunday 5 June

Quarter final

Fox Lodge v Sion or Donemana

On Sunday Strabane travelled to Dublin for their outstanding Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup tie against a very strong Railway Union side and despite a solid showing the hosts had too much up their sleeve for the Tyrone men. Both sides were missing their International players but Strabane certainly gave as good as they got in the early exchanges.

Kevin Martin made a half century as he returned to form at the top of the order after a shoulder injury and Mark Gillespie backed up Saturday's century against Bready with 57 here. Skipper Jonathan Beukes was among the runs as well as he made 44 and it would have been a reasonably happy away dressing room after Strabane had posted 227 all out just 2 balls short of their 50 overs. Greg Lambert with 3 for 38 was the pick of Railway's bowling while Conliffe and Collins picked up two each.

Phil Eaglestone was proving particularly difficult to deal with as the Dublin side began their reply, the left arm seamer giving his side two quick wickets but any hope of a surprise win was soon quashed with a 154-run partnership between Tom Fisher and Patrick Collins. The former was eventually out for 95, Eaglestone again the man responsible but Collins wasn't for shifting as his unbeaten 72 saw last season's beaten finalists progress with 7 wickets and almost 8 overs in hand.

It's all action over the coming week with midweek games in Division 1 of the Billy Henderson league actually ongoing at present and a full programme of matches upcoming this weekend also. As well as the senior cup games listed above there is a full league programme on Sunday next before this Saturday's scheduled league fixtures will have to be re-arranged as the cup takes preference. It is getting difficult to keep up but we will keep you posted next time.