TYRONE DOMINANCE IN NORTHERN BANK SENIOR CUP

Despite the fact that the Fox Lodge versus Donemana quarter final tie in the senior cup fell victim to Sunday's incessant rain the semi final line up will consists of three Tyrone sides and Coleraine with an all-county showdown decider now a very distinct possibility.

The Holm side unsurprisingly saw off the last remaining Division 2 challenge in Sion Mills on Saturday, the hosts again forced to field without both John Brown and Lee McGonigle but there was little sympathy for their plight as Richard Kee won the toss and decided to put Sion through the mangle.

Openers Ryan Hunter and Graeme Boyd both made half centuries in a 100 plus opening stand before young Andy McBrine got to work on Sion's exposed attack. McBrine hit 7 sixes and 4 fours in an unbeaten 117 although the hosts will have been pleased to keep Donemana below the 300- mark, albeit by just 1 run.

Lee Finlay led the attack well in the circumstances returning figures of 2 for 42 but the Mill men were never in the hunt in reply. Ryan O'Neill made 21 out of their 109 all out, a 190 run defeat in the end as the former winners marched into the last eight.

Whilst that was going on the other three quarter final ties were already under way and most eyes were on the Hunter Grounds where Limavady entertained Strabane in what turned out to be an unexpectedly low-key affair.

Strabane won the toss and elected to bat with the Red Caps at full strength for the first time this season. Niall McDonnell and Kevin Martin gave them a decent start but some good seam bowling from Stuart Thompson and an accurate spell from Decker Curry saw both openers and the key wicket of Peter Gillespie fall in quick succession.

Skipper Jonathan Beukes and Mark Gillespie then batted sensibly to repair the damage, those two adding 88 for the fourth wicket before the South African holed out in the chase for quick runs. The skipper had just passed his own half century by that stage and when Gillespie fell just short of his, the resistance tailed off and the visitors were all out for a moderate looking 206.

Thompson was the pick of Limavady's attack as he claimed 3 for 41 and Richard McDaid took 2 for 40 in a solid performance from them. Strabane took the new ball knowing that 206 is only a losing score if you make 207 and the fact that the home side's skipper Andrew Riddles was recovering from knee surgery meant that Limavady's batting could be light.

Pivotal to their chances was going to be shifting Curry and with only 6 runs on the board Martin Deans gave them their wish. Strabane's collective tail was immediately in the air and Phil Eaglestone then complimented his opening partner by sending down a magnificent spell of seam bowling to which Limavady had no answer.

With Curry gone the Red Caps sensed that any recovery would be down to Ireland under-19 International Stuart Thompson and new professional Adnan Akmal but Eaglestone was in the zone and accounted for both before they had the chance. At 48 for 4 Limavady were all over the place with only in-form Adam McDaid prepared to swap punches with the rampant visitors.

McDaid and his namesake Mark rallied briefly to suggest a possible recovery but Strabane were on top and despite Adam McDaid making a determined half century, last year's beaten finalists closed out a cosy 60-run win. Eaglestone returned excellent figures of 3 for 15 with Mark Gillespie and Martin Deans both weighed in with two each in a very impressive display all round.

Bready made it an excellent day for local sides when they turned around a somewhat indifferent start to the season by travelling to current cup holders Brigade and inflicting a crushing defeat on the current league leaders.

Batting first the home side were unable to cope with David Scanlon and the fit again Ian Young and although former Bready player Chris Dougherty made 35 at the top of the order, Brigade were soon in trouble at 87 for 5. Johnny Thompson and Dale Culbert combined to add some respectability in the latter overs as the Beechgrove side finished on 187 all out. Whilst the seamers bowled well for Bready the plaudits once again fell to young Marc Fleming who returned figures of 4 for 35, the latest in a string of impressive performances from the spinner.

Having seen his side's batting fold inexplicably on several occasions already this year, Trevor Hamilton may have been a little concerned at Brigade's late run harvest but any doubts the Bready skipper had about his batsmen's mettle were soon dispelled. Despite losing fellow opener Mark Olphert early on David Rankin simply fell at the hosts' bowling attack and paid particular attention to Johnny Thompson, smashing 29 off the openers 3 overs.

In all Rankin hit 12 fours and 2 sixes on his way to a very entertaining 81. Olphert's dismissal had brought Steven Clarke to the middle and he and Rankin, two batsmen who have played together since primary school hammered Brigade out of the game. Clarke had been having a fairly lean time of things until now but when Rankin finally fell he and professional Agha Sabir Ali coasted to the target with tons in hand, the Bready number 3 posting an unbeaten 66 en route in a stunning win.

Coleraine inflicted an even heavier defeat on Eglinton in the other quarter final and Sunday's semi final draw means that the winner of the outstanding quarter final between Fox Lodge and Donemana will host the Bannsiders in the last four while Strabane will entertain Bready in the other.

There was just one game in the Billy Henderson Properties league on Saturday as Fox Lodge and Bonds Glen wisely agreed to bring their game forward from Sunday with the Bee Gees in Irish Senior Cup action in Belfast.

The visitors had lost their three previous league games as they struggle to cope with the requirements of top flight cricket and unfortunately for them it got no easier here. The Bee Gees lost Roy Robinson to the first ball of the match and that more or less set the trend for their day. Willie Jackson's 23 late on was the best they had to offer in a disappointing total of just 97 all out;

Mark Mooney picking up 3 for 9 and Johnny Robinson and Darryl Brown claiming two apiece. Despite getting rid of Jason Milligan and Dean McCarter early on an unbroken partnership between skipper Brian Allen and professional Brown sealed a straightforward 8-wicket win for the Foxies.

On a brighter note however Bonds Glen did enjoy some very unexpected good fortune in the Bob Kerr Cup on Sunday when they took full advantage of a torrential downpour to beat a star-studded Civil Service North team at Stormont in a bowl out. The Bee Gees won through to meet 2009 winners Leinster at home this Saturday in the second round courtesy of Leslie Curry hitting the stumps in a 1-0 win.