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Lisburn left flying the flag for NCU in Irish Senior Cup semi-finals

Lisburn left flying the flag for NCU in Irish Senior Cup semi-finals

Ross Adair and Neil Whitworth were the Lisburn heroes in a tense contest at the five-times winners.
Chasing 229, Adair raced out of the traps as he thumped 10 fours and six sixes in a 48-ball 85, completely dominating an opening stand of 113 in 13 overs that had Lisburn almost half way to their target.
Alan Mathew's three wickets and two for Johan George had Lisburn nerves jangling at 198 for seven but, crucially for them, skipper Whitworth was still there. His cool head saw the Wallace Park side over the finishing line, making a vital unbeaten 52 (four fours, two sixes).
2022 winners CIYMS could only manage 167 at Malahide, with overseas professional Herman Rolfes top-scoring with 58 (eight fours) and Carson McCullough making 42. James Newland was the destroyer-in-chief, taking six wickets.
A fourth wicket stand of 67 between Jeremy Martins (40) and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin (28) put Malahide on top and, despite two wickets apiece for John Matchett and Carson McCullough, the Dubliners squeezed home by three wickets.
Balbriggan ended Donemana's dreams with a six-wicket win at Jack Harper Park. The North West side were dealt two blows beforehand with William McClintock and David O'Sullivan both ruled out.
Anuj Jotin was again in the runs as he top-scored with 61 in a Donemana total of 220 for nine, with Jamie Huey (33) and Andy McBrine (21) also in the runs. Jordan and Matthew Hollard shared a combined five wickets.
The reply was a cagey one initially with Donemana taking early wickets, but Cameron Rowe and Chris De Freitas shared a match-defining fourth wicket stand of 99 in 18 overs to put the hosts firmly in control.
Rowe hit nine fours and three maximums in a top-score of 78, while De Freitas (71 not out) added a further 65 for the fifth wicket with Farooq Nasr (37) as Balbriggan eased to victory in the 44th over.
Favourites Pembroke were beaten at Clontarf, for whom Seamus Lynch scored a century and Cillian McDonnell claimed a hat-trick.
Carrickfergus won a real nail-biter in the National Cup, holding their nerve to clinch a one-run win at Adamstown. Atish Varape hit an unbeaten 112 adding 159 with Prince Sharma (45) in their total of 234 for three. They needed them all as Richard Hood kept his cool in a tense final over that went down to the last ball.
Ballyspallen are in the hat after a seven-wicket win at Terenure. South African Test player Eddie Moore showed his quality as he made 142 from just 97 balls (13 fours, 10 sixes) to make light work of a 242 target.
Moore shared a third wicket stand of 187 with Graham Kennedy (61 not out), with the Ireland A international earlier having claimed four wickets in the Terenure innings.
Glendermott made the long trek to Kerry but lost by 56 runs, despite five wickets for Ben Mills and 41 from skipper Alan Johnson.
Meanwhile, in the NCU Women's Premiership, North Down shocked leaders Holywood, beating them by five runs. Rebecca Webster hit an unbeaten 58 for the Comber side, while four wickets for Gracie Keenan sealed the victory.
Waringstown are the new leaders after a 56-run win at home to CSNI. Charlotte Lyons made 54 and Abigale Gerken an unbeaten 31 in a total of 151 for three. Naomi Matthews then took four wickets to seal the win.
In the North West, Strabane beat Bonds Glen to win the Sperrin Springs Cup. Mark McNulty's unbeaten 25 and three wickets for Andrew Mullen were the highlights of the 38-run win for the Tyrone side.
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Lisburn left reeling after late Semi-Final heartache as wait for maiden Irish Senior Cup triumph goes on
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Needing 19 with two overs remaining, Balbriggan's Jordan Hollard took a liking to Faiz Fazal, plundering 18 off the penultimate over to tie the scores. Josh Manley trapped Matthew Hollard off the first ball of the final over, but last man Kashif Ali held his nerve to get the winning runs with three balls left. In truth, Lisburn only had themselves to blame as they had four overs unused in their under-par total of 254 in ideal batting conditions. Ross Adair hit seven fours and two sixes as he raced out of the traps with a 34-ball 46. Faiz Fazal made 63 and there was also a half-century for Ben Calitz, who top-scored with 72 (six fours, three sixes). David Miller chipped in with 26, but the other seven batters had single-figure scores in a real curate's egg display that would ultimately come back to haunt them. There were three wickets apiece for Andy Darroch and Sebastian D'Oliveria, while Matthew Hollard picked up two. Balbriggan seemed on course for a routine win as top scorer Cameron Rowe, with 73 (six fours, two sixes), and Dylan Lues (45) shared a second wicket stand of 100 to leave them 142 for two. However, Lisburn rallied, with three wickets each for Ryan Macbeth and skipper Neil Whitworth reducing the hosts to 197 for seven. Jordan Hollard, though, was still there, and he timed the chase to perfection, with his unbeaten half-century breaking Lisburn's hearts. The Final will be an all-Leinster affair as Eoghan Delany's century helped two-time winners Clontarf to a 104-run win over Malahide. That decider is scheduled to be at Bready on August 16, but the governing body may now switch to a Leinster venue given the two Finalists are from the same region. There was also disappointment for Carrickfergus in the National Cup Semi-Final as they lost another close contest, going down by just nine runs at home to County Kerry, making it a Cup double for the Kingdom after their triumph over Tyrone in the All-Ireland SFC last-four on Saturday. Khurram Iqbal clubbed 10 fours and two maximums in a hard-hit 80 that got Kerry up to 223, with runs too for Alam Morshed (36) and Yaqoob Ali (23), while there were two wickets apiece for Robin Arbuthnot and Alex Haggan. The hosts were without influential skipper CJ van der Walt, and the absence of his consistent runs in the middle-order was to be a crucial factor in their loss. Much depended on overseas professional Atish Varape, and the joy that greeted his dismissal for 35 by the Munster side meant they knew its significance, too. Iain Parkhill top-scored with 43, while there were runs down the order too from Alex Haggan (24) and Jay Parkhill (23), but the required rate had climbed to double digits, meaning their target was always just out of reach. They fought all the way but in the end finished on 214 for nine, with Kashif Mehmood and Alam Morshed each taking three wickets. Kerry will meet County Galway in the Final after the Connacht side thumped Terenure by a whopping 208 runs at The Lydican. Meanwhile, Holywood kept their NCU Women's title hopes alive with a 25-run win over Muckamore at Moylena. Overseas player Madison Landsman was the star of the show as she thumped nine fours and three sixes in a 25-ball 62, adding 40 with Erika Simms (29) in a total of 148 for seven – two wickets apiece for Nikki Niblock and Jenni Jackson. The Moylena side made 123 for eight in reply, boosted by the concession of 53 extras by Holywood, but luckily for them, it didn't prove fatal. The wickets were shared, with Lola Raphael picking up three and Lara Maritz two. Holywood's next match is against table-toppers Waringstown, where a win for the Seapark side would leave the pair level going into the final game of the season.

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