NEDD AND 'DONNELL THROUGH TO SAMMY JEFFREY FINAL

Pick of the action on Saturday was the two semi finals of the Sammy Jeffrey Memorial Shield and there was a thrilling finish at The Nedd where Vinny O'Hara's side entertained St Johnston. The Donegal men batted first but were never really able to dominate the hosts' attack and scoring proved difficult. Sachin Dixit made 38 and Mark Wylam 24 but there was little else of note from the visitors as their innings closed on 143 all out. Creighton Wilson was the pick of the home team's bowling with 3 for 24 but this was a good all-round show from them with Gareth Burns (2 for 16), Johnny Murray (2 for 32) and Keith Burns (2 for 41) all chipping in. The hosts' reply didn't start all that well either and it took a solid 46 from Martin Mehaffey to get them back into it as Kushpal Singh and David MacBeth in particular led the Saints' line. Unfortunately for them however they were also masters of their own downfall as the visiting attack sent down a massive 36 wides to make The Nedd's job easier. Wickets still tumbled regularly however, Singh claiming 4 for 28 and MacBeth 3 for 18 as the hosts were reduced to 134 for 9. Last man in Keith Burns then hit his first ball for four and sent the third to the long on boundary when the unfortunate fielder spilled the catch over the rope for six to spark a party on the Kings Lane.

The Nedd will now take on Creevedonnell in the final as Stephen Scroggie's men continued their excellent run in this competition with a fairly comfortable win over Ardmore. It has been a few seasons since the Creevies actually won the shield having dominated for several years but they will feel they have a major chance now having seen off the league leaders for the third time in the past five weeks. The Curryfree Road side certainly seems to have the Bleachgreen outfit's number at present and dismissed them here for just 89 with Nicki Cooke (3 for 19), Ellis McGarrigle (2-0) and Gareth Falconer (2 for 24) doing most of the damage. Man-in-form Adrian Murphy experienced a rare failure as he was trapped lbw by Gary Neely for just 5 and Ardmore couldn't find the runs elsewhere with Ger McAuley's 28 the best they could manage. The small total didn't prevent Creevedonnell from getting themselves in a tangle in reply before yet another unbeaten knock from Alan Duddy (51 not out) proved the difference.

There was just the one league match on Saturday but something of a surprise here too as Sion Mills put another dent in Drummond's promotion hopes with a 2-wicket win in Tyrone. Gordon Cooke's side batted first and posted a reasonable 166 all out with Damien Carlin top scoring with 46 that included 3 sixes and 3 fours. Mr “Extras” reared his head here too, Sion conceding 40 of them but Nigel O'Neill's 3 for 14 was an excellent effort while Lee Finlay and Andy Lucas also picked up 2 apiece. The hosts reply was fairly stop-start, Johnny Friel making 24 and Ryan O'Neill 22 but just as Drummond looked set to close out the win, an unbeaten 46 from Kevin Gallagher turned the game the home team's way. Michael Lynch bowled well for the visitors to return figures of 4 for 37 and Gordon Cooke added 2 for 23 but it was all to be in vain as Sion claimed win number three of the season. With Drummond losing ground at the top only a win in their midweek match at the Bleachgreen will now do for them if their hopes of an extended title challenge aren't to be dashed.

There were three more games on Sunday and The Nedd completed a good weekend for themselves when proving six wickets too strong for Killyclooney. The visitors made just 124 all out on the back of some good bowling from Jamie Millar in particular with 4 for 20 as well as Creighton Wilson (2 for 19), Gareth Burns (2 for 27) and Johnny Murray (2 for 33). Mark Gordon with 28 was best with the bat for Killyclooney but the hosts wasted little time in posting their win. Adam Bond made 52 and Vinny O'Hara added an unbeaten 22 from just 6 balls as the hosts had 6 wickets to spare at the end.

Sion were on the winning trail on Sunday too as they made 205 for 9 in their 50 overs against in-form Burndennett. Kevin Gallagher was again among the runs hitting 4 fours and 3 sixes in his 72, while Ryan O'Neill, Mark Patterson and Simon Galloway chipped in with 28, 26 and 25 respectively. Skipper Johnny Devine claimed 3 for 52 and Eddie McGettigan 2 for 38 as the visitors found the going pretty tough. Burndennett made a real fist of the reply, John McCormack with 39, Niall Devine 34, Conan Pollock 25 and Stephen McCay 24 all among the runs but three wickets each for Lee Finlay and that man Gallagher set up the hosts' win.

And Creevedonnell made it a weekend to remember as they moved top of the table with a big win at home to St Johnston. The Donegal men posted 175 for 9 in their 50 overs with Naveed Chaudrey top scoring with 67 while Sachin Dixit and Rammohan Goud contributed 37 and 33 not out respectively. Ellis McGarrigle with 3 for 29 was the pick of the bowling while Nicki Cooke and Gary Neely picked up 2 apiece. Stephen Scroggie's side replied with an unbeaten 77 from Richard Philson and 31 not out from Gary Neely while David Lapsley's 3 for 48 for the Saints wasn't enough to prevent the hosts claiming a 4-wicket win.

Obviously there is no Division 2 action this coming weekend as the Northern Bank senior cup final takes centre stage but the league race now looks to be coming to the boil very nicely with possibly four teams still feeling they can win it.

SAMMY JEFFREY SHIELD SEMI-FINALS

At Creevedonnell, Creevedonnell 94-5 (A Duddy 51*) beat Ardmore 89 all out (G McAuley 28, N Cooke 3-19, E McGarrigle 2-0, G Falconer 2-24) by 5 wickets.

At The Nedd, The Nedd 144 for 9 (M Mehaffey 46, K Singh 4-28, D MacBeth 3-18) beat St Johnston 143 all out (S Dixit 38, C Wilson 3-24, G Burns 2-16, J Murray 2-32, K Burns 2-41) by 1 wicket.

BILLY HENDERSON PROPERTIES DIVISION 2

Saturday

At Sion Mills, Sion 167-8-49 (K Gallagher 46*, J Friel 24, R O'Neill 22, M Lynch 4-37, G Cooke 2-23) beat Drummond 166-10-44.4 (D Carlin 46, N O'Neill 3-14, L Finlay 2-36, A Lucas 2-43) by 2 wickets.

Sunday

At Sion Mills, Sion 205-9-50 (K Gallagher 72, R O'Neill 28, M Patterson 26, S Galloway 25, J Devine 3-52, E McGettigan 2-38) beat Burndennett 191-10-38.2 (J McCormack 39, N Devine 34, C Pollock 25, S McCay 24, L Finlay 3-18, K Gallagher 3-47) by 14 runs.

At The Nedd, The Nedd 128-4-25.2 (A Bond 52, V O'Hara 22*, R McMorris 2-22) beat Killyclooney 124-10-30.3 (M Gordon 28, J Millar 4-20, C Wilson 2-19, G Burns 2-27, J Murray 2-33) by 6 wickets.

At Creevedonnell, Creevedonnell 178-6-36.1 (R Philson 77*, G Neely 31*, D Lynch 3-48) beat St Johnston 175-9-50 (N Chaudrey 67, S Dixit 37, R Goud 33*, E McGarrigle 3-29, N Cooke 2-36, G Neely 2-13) by 4 wickets.