A sublime unbeaten 99 from John Anderson was key to a 2-wicket Merrion victory 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 September 1st in Stormont.
Clontarf opted to bat first on home soil, but a combination of ill-judged shots and exceptional fielding ensured their much-vaunted top-order couldn’t dominate.
Jack Carty (2-17 off 5 overs) had the wickets of Gallagher, through a fine catch from Tice behind the stumps, and overseas pro Pienaar, thanks to a stunning grab at backward point by Michael Lewis.
From 18/2 Bill Coghlan and Andrew Poynter looked to go big, but Merrion kept chipping away with wickets, including Coghlan (56 off 110) who had tried to anchor the innings, run out by a fine direct hit from Carty.
David Delany added 44*, including a stunning ramped 6, late on as Clontarf crept passed 200 to post 205 all out from their 50 overs. JJ Walsh’s catch at deep square leg another example of the excellent Merrion fielding performance that restricted Clontarf to a score that was probably 20-30 below par.
The Merrion chase revolved around one man, possibly the best club batsman of the last decade, John Anderson.
He joined Dom Joyce at the crease with his side 15/1 and proceeded to put on 95 with his captain for the 2nd wicket.
While Joyce and Mehta fell with the score on 110, Merrion were well ahead of the required rate and Anderson continued to play his shots as wickets fell at the other end. With 10 overs remaining Anderson was 72* and Merrion were 157/4.
Anderson played boundaries to all parts of Castle Avenue and could survive the further loss of Lewis and Tice. With five overs remaining, Merrion needed just 21 and the result seemed a formality.
A double-wicket maiden 49th over from Ropu Islam injected a few nerves into the situation but Merrion were just 4 runs short of their target with 6 balls to go.
That man Anderson struck his tenth boundary and took his own score to 99 as he sealed Merrion’s place in the September 1st showpiece.
In that showpiece final Merrion will face Waringstown who had a comfortable victory over Strabane in the North West.
Asked to bat first, Waringstown amassed a mammoth 331/7 off their 50 overs.
Kyle McCallan top-scored with 75 (106b, 4x6,2x6), batting at number 3, while Shaheen Khan added a virtual run a ball 68 of his own. Their partnership of 122 for the 4th wicket took the game in the away side’s direction.
Secondly, 155 added off the last 20 overs took Waringstown passed 300 and to their large total of 331. Captain Greg Thompson played his part, adding 46* off just 26 deliveries.
Waringstown rocked Strabane with a first over wicket in the reply and they were relentless from there, taking regular wickets throughout.
Aaron Gillespie’s half-century (57 off 55, 7x4, 2x6) was a particular bright spot for Strabane but when he was the sixth wicket to fall at 109/6, Waringstown’s victory seemed a matter of time.
Kyle McCallan backed up his 75 with the leading bowling figures of 3-39 as Strabane were bowled out for 164 inside 40 overs.
A comfortable victory for Waringstown but they will not have things the same way on September 1st one suspects.
Irish Senior Cup Semi-Final, Sunday August 12th
At Clontarf CC:
Clontarf 205 a/o 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
Irish Senior Cup Semi-Final, Sunday August 12th
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