UNDER 19 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS GIVES NORTH WEST CHANCE TO SHINE

It is certainly one of the biggest weekends in the domestic cricket calendar upcoming as the 2011 final of the Northern Bank Senior Cup gets under way at Eglinton on Friday. Undoubtedly the season showpiece, this year's renewal has an intriguing look as top of the table Donemana bid for the first leg of a domestic double against a Bready side that has saved all their best form for this competition.

An injury to James McBrine has hampered the Holm side's preparations however the loss of Andy McBrine and Ryan Hunter is a huge obstacle for Donemana to overcome if they are to stage a repeat of their 2009 success against the same opposition.

That pair will be on Under-19 International duty for the next fortnight as Ireland attempt to qualify for next year's World Cup and while our own cup final tops the agenda over the coming days, little doubt that the decision of the ICC to host these qualifiers on our doorstep is a fitting tribute to Ireland's growing stock on the world stage.

In all, ten teams will participate in the qualifiers with the top six earning a place alongside the ten ICC full members who qualify automatically at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup finals to be held in Australia. The combatants are Afghanistan, Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, United States of America, Vanuatu and of course hosts Ireland and the tournament will run from 28 July to 9 August.

The first phase will be held in Leinster while the closing stages then moves to the North West giving local clubs the chance to vindicate the trust being shown in them. Six senior clubs will be involved here- Coleraine, Bready, Limavady, Strabane, Eglinton and Drummond in what is an excellent opportunity for them, individually and collectively, to showcase the region's undoubted organisational skills and hospitality.

One of them indeed is already in on the act as the USA team played a friendly against a Strabane XI at the Park on Friday and the visitors were more than pleased with both the welcome and the workout that they received. The Americans used their full squad for the game with the exception of Gurpreet Sandhu who was a late arrival while the two players omitted from their own team then turned out for the Select side that also boasted Fox Lodge trio Andy Britton, Gareth Heywood and Johnny Robinson.

The USA are in the same group as Ireland and therefore the game was well scrutinised by the home camp but the real business gets under way today when all the teams gather in Dublin as the tournament kicks off in earnest. Ireland will be among the favourites to qualify for one of those six places and there are four North West representatives in total in the squad skippered by George Dockrell with McBrine and Hunter joined by Coleraine's Scott Campbell and Fox Lodge's Graeme McCarter.

All four look sure to play a full part in the tournament but you would expect a lot of eyes will be on young McBrine who has every opportunity of coming under the County sides' radar sooner rather than later if current form is anything to go by. Obviously the local lads will be hoping for plenty of support from the cricket community here and it is an opportunity to send a signal to both CricketIreland and indeed the ICC that we can compete with anyone in hosting the big games.

The North West has made a lot of noise in the past about the fact that we always seem to miss out when the cake is being divided and whilst granted this isn't Ireland versus England it is a start, therefore we have to make sure that everyone goes back home suitably impressed. We can't do much about the weather of course but in terms of support and involvement it would be fantastic to see good numbers on hand. We will obviously carry updates over the next few weeks but for now we wish the competing nations and the hosting clubs every success throughout the tournament.

As far as this weekend's senior cup final goes I would hazard a guess that were it any side other than Donemana in the opposite corner, Bready would be favourites to win the trophy. Had they been playing Limavady without Andrew Riddles and Ricky McDaid, or Brigade without Iftikhar Hussain and Mark Simpson, Trevor Hamilton’s men would have been a warm order to take the old pot on a long overdue run to Magheramason.

The irony that McBrine and Hunter were the men behind Donemana's big win at home to Fox Lodge will have been lost on no-one but this is Donemana and everyone knows what you get with them. While the debate rages about whether or not they will bring William McBrine in as one of the replacements we are well aware that they could bring Doris in and still be favourites. The Holm side's refusal to go down has stood them in such good stead this season already although Sunday's thumping by Glendermott would suggest that they are definitely not unbeatable.

They had no right to pull off some of the wins that they have managed thus far but while Bready can match them every inch of the way in personnel, they have yet to prove that they have anything like the same scrap in them. Bready's problem is that if David Rankin or Steven Clarke don't get runs it is very difficult to see who will and you also have to bear in mind that there will be no Ian Young to beef up the middle order. On the plus side they can point to some irresistible form in this very competition when they not only beat, but hammered both Brigade and Strabane on their own patch on their way into the weekend's final.

Two massive results they were, however scratch the surface gently and see Clarke and Rankin behind the first of those wins and Rankin and Clarke behind the second. The Magheramason side looks to have no option now but to find a place for James Long after he seized his chance with both hands against Eglinton on Sunday, particularly given that he bats in the absolute right area for them. Agha Sabir Ali also has to be at his best with the bat over the weekend if Bready are to have a chance because so long as they get the radar mended and don't give Donemana a barrow load of free runs in “wides”, their bowling attack looks decent enough despite Young's absence.

The Scanlon boys and Davy Lecky have big roles to play too but if Marc Fleming settles into the game early that would be a big help. Donemana seem sure to look to get after the young spinner and that battle of wits could go some way to determining the outcome. Despite his tender years however Fleming is well aware that the Holm men will be trying to dominate him and he is confident after his superb performance at that venue on Sunday that the wide expanses of Eglinton will make that a lot more difficult. James McBrine's fitness is another pressing matter for the league leaders but given their situation already I wish I was as sure of getting through the pearly gates as the all-rounder taking his place in Friday's team.

McBrine's appearance at the weekend would seem to back up that particular theory. Realistically there should be very little between the teams given their make up but not everyone will see it that way. What the contest does have is all the makings of a classic cup shoot-out although we've said that a few times in the past and got it horribly wrong. Let's just hope that Alex McDonald is in good form on the PA and that whatever happens the outcome is still in the balance on Friday night, and not because of more stupid rain!