Glendermott host tie of round

Cricket After 10 years of loyal support, Royal Liver has taken its name off the Irish Senior Cup this year but don't expect the event to lose any of its excitement just because the Irish Cricket Union cannot find anyone to sponsor their premier knockout competition.

After a couple of preliminary round matches, the ISC gets going in earnest today and, as usual, it throws up a couple of juicy cross-Border matches. In years gone by, the prospect of Eglinton hosting Clontarf or Phoenix travelling to Strabane would certainly get the mouth watering, but logic would suggest Eglinton do not have the strength to trouble Tarf at the moment and as far as Phoenix are concerned, Thinus Fourie and Eric Godward will have to perform miracles if they are to bother the Gillespies et al at Strabane Park.

The game of the round could be at The Rectory, where Glendermott entertain The Hills.

The Milverton side have started 2005 very well, already having qualified for the semi-finals of the Leinster 45 Overs League, and with Barry Archer, Luke Clinton and Michael Lax in form they will be full of confidence as they head to the Northwest.

But Glendermott will not be easy to beat. Opening batsman Seán Hargan scored a half-century against Donemana in the league last week and his top-order partner, skipper Gareth Watson, has also shown good early form.

In the field, they have the formidable opening pair of Johnny Thompson and Gary Neilly taking the new ball, and behind the stumps they have a new wicketkeeper in the person of Paul Hampshire, son of former England Test player and umpire John.

Elsewhere, another huge game will be between Waringstown and Donemana at The Lawn, the ground where Ireland will play the USA in the ICC Trophy on July 5th. In Leinster, the draw for the semi-finals of the 45 Overs League was made on NEAR FM last night. The Hills are drawn at home to Malahide while Clontarf will take on either Pembroke or Munster Reds at Castle Avenue.

Both games will be played on Saturday, May 28th.