(Cricket News) In the upcoming quarter-finals of the Arachas Irish Senior Cup and Arachas National Cup, the remaining eight teams will battle it out for a spot in the semi-finals. Among the participants, six teams from Leinster and two from the Northern Cricket Union (NCU) remain in the Arachas Irish Senior Cup. As for the Arachas National Cup, three teams are from the NCU, two from the North West Cricket Union (NWCU), two from Cricket Leinster, and one from Munster (MCU).
The most anticipated match of the round in the Arachas Irish Senior Cup is undoubtedly between Waringstown and Merrion at The Lawn. These teams have a rich history in the Irish Senior Cup, with Waringstown winning the title six times out of eight final appearances, while Merrion has claimed it twice in four final appearances. They previously met in the final on three separate occasions in 2015, 2016, and 2018.
Waringstown’s journey to the quarter-finals included a comfortable victory over Newbuildings in the first round and a thrilling 29-run win against Clontarf in the second round, thanks to an unbeaten half-century from Morgan Topping. Merrion, on the other hand, had an easy win over Cork Harlequins in the opening round and secured a significant victory against YMCA in their re-arranged second round fixture, winning by seven wickets with Swapnil Modgill scoring a century and Sam Harbinson remaining unbeaten on 92.
Pembroke, the winners of the 2019 Irish Senior Cup, defeated Cork County in the last round and will now face last season’s Leinster Premiership champions, Balbriggan, in an intriguing clash at Sydney Parade. Balbriggan emerged as 34-run victors over Railway Union in the second round, with a crucial ninth-wicket century partnership between Mark Pollard and Kashif Ali leading them to victory.
Leinster, coming off a remarkable 45-run win over last year’s champions CIYMS, will take on Phoenix in Rathmines. Both teams have previously won the prestigious Bob Kerr trophy, with Leinster lifting it in 2009 by defeating Donemana, and Phoenix emerging victorious in 1986, also against Donemana.
In the final quarter-final match, The Hills, who have comfortably defeated both Fox Lodge and Carrickfergus so far, will host Instonians, who caused an upset by knocking out 2022 runners-up Lisburn in the last round.
Moving on to the Arachas National Cup, Rush will continue their pursuit of a fourth title as they travel to Donegal to face St Johnston at few. After resounding victories over Strabane and reigning champions North County, the Leinster side heads to the North West region with great confidence, despite their recent elimination from the Leinster Senior Cup by Malahide.
Terenure, another team from Leinster and last year’s competition runners-up are set for a challenging task as they prepare to compete against Muckamore, the 2012 champions who are currently undefeated in the NCU’s League One. Terenure narrowly advanced from a closely contested match against Knockharley in the previous round, securing victory by a mere three runs. On their journey to the quarter-finals, Muckamore triumphed over both Wexford Wanderers and North Kildare.
At the Castle Grounds, there will be an exciting clash between Cliftonville Academy and Killyclooney, representing the NCU and NWCU respectively. Killyclooney has been in impressive form throughout the season, while Cliftonville’s performances have been a bit inconsistent. Killyclooney’s overseas professional, Blayde Capell, has been consistently scoring runs, including a remarkable 136 off 99 balls in their recent victory against Civil Service. In the last round, Cliftonville enjoyed a convincing win over Athlone, with both Francis Collins and Jared Wilson scoring centuries.
Limerick, who caused something of an upset in the second round by defeating Cregagh, face a long journey north as they travel to Queensway to take on Derriaghy.
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