Raymond Mitchell has fond memories of North-West cup finals and the new Chairman of the Union is keen to maintain its special position in local cricket.

The two-day decider is unique in not just Irish cricket, but further afield, and Mitchell, who won six of the seven finals he played in with Donemana sees no reason for change.

“I still think it’s very much the highlight of our season, a real blue riband occasion, and the crowds that have attended in recent times shows just how much of an appetite they have for it.”

It’s the one that got away that comes first to his mind though, a 1987 loss to Strabane.

“We were definitely under par that day, but it was in fairness a very good Strabane team that got the better of us. They had a West Indian professional Jerry Kirton that rose to the occasion and they ended up deserved winners.”

Speaking at the ongoing Test match between Ireland and New Zealand, Mitchell reflected on happier times with the 1981 win over Eglinton his particular highlight, the game renowned for the fielding exploits of Cecil Allen.

“Cecil caught seven catches in that game, including Indian Test player Mohinder Armanath with an incredible effort at short leg. Even more remarkable is of course this was in the days before helmets. They also had the legendary Sammy Jeffrey in their ranks.

“We won by six wickets, and it was the start of a great time for Donemana cricket with a few doubles, beating Brigade and Bready.”

It’s Senior Cup time in the NW this weekend, with the seeded draw giving plenty of opportunities for giant-killing acts. Mitchell though would prefer to revert to a normal draw.

“I don’t think it works for the smaller clubs who tend to be knocked out before they get a real chance of a run. With an open draw they could face each other and get to the latter stages, which hasn’t happened much in recent times.”

Ironically, while the seeded draw has thrown up some potential mismatches on paper as Donemana host Killyclooney and Burndennett take on Newbuildings, many of the remaining ties are potential banana skins for the Premiership sides.

“Definitely, a lot of the games look too close to call. Especially Fox Lodge against Bonds Glen, Ballyspallen v Strabane, St Johnston-Eglinton, and Glendermott at home to Bready. Those games could be real thrillers.

“If you want to win a cup you have to go out and play aggressive, tacking cricket. There’s no room for sentiment, you have to be ruthless.”

Since he finished playing, Raymond has been an influential figure behind the scenes at firstly Killymallaght, and over the past decade at one of the region’s newest clubs, Newbuildings.

Their achievement in not only building a new ground from scratch, but collecting major silverware by bloodying the noses of more established clubs has been one of the success stories of recent times.

“It’s been an incredible effort to look at what we have in place now considering it was a hill 12 years ago. It’s become a real focal point in the community and the numbers and crowds we are getting is great to see.”

Mitchell was hesitant to accept the role of Chairman after Brian Dougherty stepped down, but is now firmly enjoying the new responsibility.

“It wasn’t a decision I took lightly. It took me a while to settle down but thankfully it’s working well now. I have a good Board behind me, and I’ve been delegating tasks which they are really throwing themselves into.

“Bobby Rao is looking at our youth structures and we are hoping to have some exciting plans in place that we hope the clubs buy into at the end of the season. That would include the establishment of an Academy and we have a few other ideas in the pipeline. Colin Spence and Tommy Barr are looking into sources of funding too, and we are all going out around the grounds.

“Myself and Bobby have been very visible at the start of the season, and we are working our way through the clubs, listening and taking on board their thoughts as we explain our vision for the future.”

One area of concern has been the poor performances of local teams in the Irish Senior Cup, not having won it since 2004. Their last hope this season, Donemana, suffering a humiliating exit at Malahide last weekend. Does Mitchell think a major rejig is required?

“There’s no hiding the fact that the teams haven’t been anywhere near a good enough standard especially compared to Leinster and some of the NCU sides. They have benefitted from immigration to a degree that we haven’t experienced, and also the fact they seem to have far greater resources.

“We are very much aware of the issue and realise that we have to start with the youth and build it up through that. There’s no easy fix.”