4 days ago
Lisburn left reeling after late Semi-Final heartache as wait for maiden Irish Senior Cup triumph goes on
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.
