Tigers see off Derriaghy to reach final

Lurgan captain James McCollum won the toss and made first use of the Queensway pitch.

However, the skipper hit the first ball of the match straight to the square leg fielder. Neil Kilpatrick joined Jack Harrison and the pair moved the score on to 77 before Kilpatrick was bowled by the last ball of Hughes’s spell for a well played 31. Jonny Hunter was next to join Harrison at the crease and he continued where Kilpatrick had left off. Harrison eventually fell in the 20th over for an excellent 75. Five more wickets, three of them run outs, were taken in the remaining overs as Lurgan pressed hard to set a challenging total. At the end of the innings Lurgan finished on 175 for 8 with Jonny Hunter the not out batsman as he scored 25.

By this stage the rain arrived and no more play was possible. As a result Lurgan had to make the trip back to Derriaghy at the weekend. Derriaghy had chased down over 200 in the previous round to beat North Down so the Tigers knew they would have to bowl and field well in order to progress. They would also have to do it without captain James McCollum who was now away on Irish Under-19 duty in Holland. Stand in skipper Jack Harrison was first to make the breakthrough when he had Moorhead caught behind for 9. The next over saw Peter Bell, who had scored a century in the previous round, run out. Good work in the deep from Jamie Hunter and hesitation from the batsmen led to his downfall.

Another wicket followed a couple of overs later as Lewis Lawson somehow managed to hold onto a stinging drive. Derriaghy were now in deep trouble at 36 for 3. A partnership between Mullholand and Goodfellow got the scoreboard moving for Derriaghy but when they fell in quick succession Lurgan knew they were nearly home. Neil Allen helped himself to three wickets and Lewis Lawson completed a great day in the field as he effected a run out with a direct hit.

Derriaghy finished on 121 to leave Lurgan winners by a comfortable 54 run margin.

The final is scheduled for a 2.00pm start on Friday at Carrickfergus Cricket Club with Lurgan set to play the winners of Armagh and Waringstown.