Brigade retained the Faughan Valley Trophy and booked their place in the All-Ireland T20 Semi-Final with a comprehensive 42 runs victory over Ardmore at The Rectory yesterday.

Replying to the Beechgrove side’s 190 for five, Ardmore openers Dharm Singh and Rachit Gaur put on 51 in just four overs but Brigade skipper Andy Britton had Singh caught behind with his first ball and when Scott Macbeth dismissed Gaur at the start of the eighth over, the Ardmore charge ended abruptly.

With Gaur hitting 44 from just 19 balls (five fours and twos sixes), the defending Premiership champions had 87 on the board when he was caught but they could add only another 61 runs with only Conor King, Hayden Melly and Sabin Babu reaching double figures and they were bowled out with 15 balls unused.

Iftikhar Hussain was the destroyer in chief, finishing with four wickets as Ardmore collapsed from 91 for three to 119 for eight. Babu’s late rally only delayed the inevitable.

It had also started well for Ardmore in the first innings as Gaur and Harry Zimmermann removed openers Cameron Melly and the North West’s leading run-scorer, Scott Macbeth, inside three overs but a third wicket stand of 66 in just 35 balls between Marcello Piedt and Hussain gave Brigade the initiative.

After Piedt was caught for 47, an innings of 22 balls which included 11 fours, Hussain then took 15 off Ciaran Roundtree’s second over. That was as good as it got for Brigade because with the loss of Britton and Hussain in quick succession, they scored only 43 from the next eight overs.

But there was still time for the Barr brothers, David and Ryan, to add 34 from the last three overs and that proved to be the match-winning partnership.

Brigade’s All-Ireland Semi-Final opponents will be Lisburn on August 11, a game to be played at Wallace Park, with Leinster hosting Cork Harlequins in the other last four game. The final is scheduled for August 25.