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Clear Currency Irish Senior Cup and National Cup finalists determined

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The semi-finals in both the Clear Currency Irish Senior Cup and Clear Currency National Cup were played today with two fascinating finals set up for the first weekend in September.

Merrion, Waringstown set up Irish Senior Cup Final

An unbeaten 99 from John Anderson was key to a two-wicket victory by Merrion over Clontarf, while a brilliant all-round performance from Kyle McCallan brought Waringstown a 167-run victory in Strabane, as the favourites set up a toss-up final on 1 September at Stormont.

Merrion v Clontarf

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Clontarf struggled to dominate the Merrion bowling attack. Bill Coghlan (56 runs from 110 balls; 6 x fours) played the anchor role, but a regular fall of wickets restrained the run rate. David Delany, batting at number seven, hit a powerful 44* (46 balls; 3 x fours, 1 x six) to ensure Clontarf set a target that gave their bowlers something to bowl at, finishing on 205.

For Merrion, Jack Carty (2-17 off 5 overs) and David Langford-Smith (2-20 off 5.5 overs) were the pick of the bowlers, with an overall good fielding display helping to keep the scoring down.

The Merrion run-chase was dominated by John Anderson. After sharing a 95-run second-wicket stand with Captain Dom Joyce, Anderson steered the innings to a successful conclusion with a well-crafted 99* (130 balls; 10 x fours). Despite losing eight wickets, Anderson kept the required run rate in check.

A double-wicket maiden 49th over from Ropu Islam injected a few nerves into the situation but Anderson struck his tenth boundary to seal Merrion’s place in the final in the last over.

>> See full scorecard

Irish Senior Cup Semi-Final, Sunday 12 August 2018 at Clontarf CC:
Clontarf 205 (50 overs; B Coghlan 56, D Delany 44*; J Carty 2-17, D Langford-Smith 2-20)
Merrion 208-8 (49.3 overs; J Anderson 99*, D Joyce 40; S Islam 3-29, A Pienaar 3-43)

Merrion win by 2 wickets

Waringstown v Strabane

Strabane won the toss and decided to send Waringstown in to bat. The decision appeared to backfire as Waringstown amassed 331-7 from their 50 overs.

Kyle McCallan top-scored with 75 runs (106 balls; 4 x fours, 2 x sixes), and was well-supported by Shaheen Khan (68 off 72 balls), Adam Dennison (47 off 49 balls) and Captain Greg Thompson (46 off 26 balls). Their partnership of 122 for the 4th wicket took the game in the away side’s direction.

Strabane’s response was shaken early with a wicket falling in the first over. Aaron Gillespie’s half-century (57 off 55 balls; 7 x fours, 2 x sixes) was the mainstay for Strabane but his side never looked likely to threaten the target, being bowled out for 164 inside 40 overs

For Waringstown, Kyle McCallan backed up his 75 with the leading bowling figures of 3-39.

>> See full scorecard

Irish Senior Cup Semi-Final, Sunday 12 August 2018 at Strabane CC:
Waringstown 331/7 50 Overs (K McCallan 75, S Khan 68; R Gallagher 4-62)
Strabane 164/9 39.2 Overs (A Gillespie 57; K McCallan 3-39)

Waringstown win by 167 runs

Rush and Limerick set up National Cup Final pairing

In two comfortable semi-finals, Rush defeated Ballyspallen by 70-runs and Limerick beat Galway by 5-wickets to set up a National Cup Final date on 2 September at Stormont.

Rush v Ballyspallen

Rush made the long trip to the North West in a competition they’ve shown remarkable consistency in over recent seasons. After winning the toss and opting to bat, Rush put on 212-6 in their 40 overs before bowling the home side out for 142 in 33 overs to secure passage to a final berth in early September.

Stephen Doheny (54 off 47 balls; 6 x fours, 3 x sixes) put on 91 with Conor Mullen (45) for the second wicket, and an unbeaten 50 from Saadat Gull (75 balls, 5×4,1×6) anchored the Rush innings. A brilliant 36 off 26 from international under-age star Nathan McGuire propelled the visitors to 212-6.

When it came to the chase, Ballyspallen’s best partnership came from their openers who put on 43 for the first wicket. After that, wickets fell at regular intervals as the Rush attack put the squeeze on the home side’s batting line-up.

Ballyspallen were bowled out for 142 with the final ball of the 33rd over and Rush had sealed a 70-run victory. Doheny was once again the star with the ball as his 4-13 off five overs gave him the best bowling figures.