DEPLETED DONEMANA STILL MOST PEOPLE�S FAVOURITES

There�s just one show in town for local cricket followers this weekend with the final of this season�s Northern Bank senior cup getting under way at Eglinton on Friday. The all-Tyrone decider between Bready and Donemana will as usual be a two-innings affair as the local Union remains fully committed to the only surviving two-day format throughout Ireland. A large crowd is expected at the village ground over the weekend, particularly if the weather holds and the tie remains competitive while up until Sunday past we had both clubs go into the contest at different ends of the form spectrum. Donemana have their sights firmly set on a league and cup double at this stage following their huge win over joint leaders Limavady on Thursday evening before then falling in a hole to a rampant Roy Silva as their unbeaten run ended in style.

Unfortunately for Richard Kee�s men however they will be some way short of full strength when they take the field on Friday afternoon. Andy McBrine and Ryan Hunter will both be on Ireland Under-19 duty in the World Cup Qualifiers and the former in particular will be a huge loss. The all-rounder has been in superb form this season with both bat and ball and you would imagine that Trevor Hamilton will be delighted that their opponents will be without one of the lynch-pins of the side.

The youngster�s batting will be difficult to replace but he would surely have bowled his full 20 overs as well making it a proper double-whammy for the Holm side. Worse still, James McBrine has obviously been carrying a pretty troublesome knee injury over the past few weeks and it�s debatable whether or not he will be able to send down his quota over the two innings� either, leaving the Donemana bowling a lot more exposed. Hunter�s absence, while also disappointing for them, leaves only the issue of who opens but there appears to be no shortage of options. Skipper Kee may opt to return to the role himself but with Graeme Boyd, Ricky-Lee Dougherty, Dwayne McGarrigle and even Jordan McGonagle all deployed at the top of the order in the recent past, it�s not the concern it might have been.

Who replaces the Under-19�s will be a difficult matter for the Donemana selectors when they meet tonight to name their team but Dale Olphert, who returned from injury to face Limavady in midweek looks certain to claim one of the spots while William McBrine and possibly the likes of Lee Britton or Geoff McGonagle will come into contention for the other. In the circumstances you would suspect that James will take his place in the eleven as long as he can walk as that would leave Donemana with real problems if they needed another call-up.

Across the hall, Bready�s recent run of form has been really poor at times, their defeat at Bonds Glen and that mauling at Brigade particularly irksome but they have seemed to reserve their best for this particular competition. The Magheramason side has done things the hard way as well, winning at both Beechgrove and Strabane Park on their way to the final so they are certainly capable when they�re in the grove. Having seemingly taken their eye off the ball in the league in recent weeks however they do have a number of questions to answer.

They too will be missing at least one key player as Ian Young will be in England attending his sister�s wedding. Young�s all-round ability is a big loss for Bready and in a year when their middle order has proved brittle on several occasions they will miss his steadying influence. Brian and David Scanlon along with David Lecky will probably compete for the new ball in his absence while James Long looks certain to come in as Young's replacement following his superb display in that troublesome middle order at Eglinton on Sunday.

As well as that, having come so close on several occasions in the past, Trevor Hamilton�s side now have to prove they have the mental toughness to go all the way and close out that elusive trophy win. The batting really needs to hold up and they also have to stop conceding those mountainous extras if they are to prevent Donemana from getting an easy lead. On the plus side, David Rankin and Steven Clarke have been in brilliant touch throughout the cup campaign and those two could well be a thorn in Donemana�s side if they get going.

The form of professional Agha Sabir Ali will also provide a timely boost and when they take stock of their mission this coming weekend Bready will have to look at this as a golden opportunity to get a pot in the cupboard against a Donemana side that could quite literally be on one leg. They must be mindful too however that they have been masters of their own downfall many times in the past and that their opponents are at their most dangerous when their backs are against the wall. They keep proving that they don't know when to lie down and in the grander scheme of things Bready have to be able to contend with that snap as much as anything else.

In many respects the occasion has all the makings of a cracking contest and after the summer we have had we could be doing with one. Most pundits will have Donemana down as favourites, mostly because they are Donemana but the facts would suggest that they will have a job on their hands with such depleted reserves against the side that has already knocked out both the current holders and the current champions. Can Bready finally end their wait for a senior trophy or will the never-say-die spirit of their Tyrone neighbours prove too much for them? Time will tell.

Action gets under way on both days at 12pm unless weather intervenes in which case alternative arrangements will be announced in due course, As always,organisers have asked that no alcohol carry-outs are brought into the ground and refreshments will be available throughout the weekend.