Carrying hopes of NCU

The villagers face Dublin side Merrion in the last four at The Lawn with a 12 noon start.

And the reward waiting them should they win is a place in the final against either Fox Lodge or Railway Union.

The last time an NCU team reached the final was Cliftonville in 2001 and Waringstown last won the trophy in 1992.

Southern teams have virtually monopolised the competition in recent years and Waringstown will be determined to break that stranglehold having defeated Old Belevedere, Malahide and The Hills in previous rounds.

They warmed up with a victory over Civil Service North last Saturday to stay in contention at the top of the Premier League.

Said captain Jonathan Bushe: "We'd a pleasing result against CSNI on Saturday past. At one stage it looked unlikely that we'd win but full credit to the side for sticking at it and putting them under pressure with the ball.

“In saying that, we're all very aware that we're going to need to bat much better on Saturday if we've a chance of reaching the Irish Cup final.

"Kyle McCallan and Andrew Cousins have re-arranged their holidays to make sure they are available, so that's a considerable boost for us.

“However Saturday's a game where we are going to need everyone to stick their hands up and put in a performance. Merrion are a good side and have a number of decent players so it should be an exciting game of cricket.”