Johnny Thompson delivered a Man of the Match display as Newbuildings beat Donemana by 5 wickets to claim their first NW Senior Cup crown. JT's first innings 47 ensured a narrow but vital 18-run lead - a half century too for Samarth Seth. JT then took three wickets as Donemana spluttered to 81 for 7, eventually setting what looked a modest 109-run target. However, Newbuildings wobbled at 45 for 4 and 64 for 5 in the chase, but they had the back up of Seth, who signed off his season with an unbeaten 46 that took his final season tally to 997 - he departs for a training camp in India on Monday. He and JT - who else? - shared an unbroken 6th wicket stand of 45 to clinch the win. A crowd of almost 2000 on Saturday drank Beechgrove dry. I hope the Newbuildings Bar is well stocked in the days ahead!

Rain delayed the start of the Newbuildings reply and play was eventually called off for the day. The match will resume at 11.00am on Saturday.

Donemana steamrollered Eglinton, taking advantage of an early start and an important toss to all but decide the game in the first hour. The experienced Gary Neely and skipper Gary McClintock each took three wickets as the visitors slumped to 49 for 7. The tail wagged a little with Jamie Millar making 21, but a total of 119 rarely wins games at The Holm. Andy Millar and Mattie Mills struck two blows in the reply, but the McClintock twins soon warmed to the task, each hitting four sixes in an unbroken third wicket stand of 95 in 12 overs. William also hit 5 fours in his 41-ball 57 not out, while Gary finished unbeaten on 44 - the eight wicket win settled in 21 overs.

Newbuildings will be hoping it's a case of third time lucky as they made light work of Brigade, whose disappointing batting effort cost them dearly, the Beechgrove side slipping to their third loss in a week. Jason Dunn was the destroyer-in-chief as he picked up 5 for 25 as the visitors slipped from 65 for 2 to 142 all out. There were two wickets apiece for Trent McKeegan and former Brigade idol Johnny Thompson, who cut short a holiday in Turkey to make the clash. JT had been the hero in the quarter-final but with such a modest target, he wasn't required with half centuries for overseas professional Samarth Seth - who hit 11 fours and a six in a 33-ball 52 - and Ryan Hunter, who hit 9 fours in his unbeaten 52. They added 84 in 9 overs after two early wickets had the nerves jangling slightly for the home side. The final is set for Beechgrove on the 26th and 27th of July.

Eglinton marched into the semi-final with a thumping 128 run win at Bready. Andy Millar curbed his natural aggressive tendencies to play a mature innings that ultimately laid the platform for the victory. His 85 (7 fours, 2 sixes) was the stand-out performance in the villagers total of 189, with only Lahiru Dilshan (25) chipping in. Gavin Roulston (3-31) and David Rankin (2-31) among the wickets. What transpired next though, few could have predicted as Mark Averill (6-35) and Jamie Millar (2-20) ripped through the normally solid Bready top-order to leave their cup hopes in shreds. The opening pair were backed up by some stunning catches on a day when everything went right for Eglinton as Bready were skittled for 61.

On paper, Donemana's 166-run at Glendermott looks the ultimate one-sided affair, but the Rectory side had their moments and there were a few furrowed brows as the Tyrone men were wobbling at 135 for 7. Crisis, what crisis, as there were shades of the Donemana of old as they launched one of their famous comebacks. Levi Dougherty counterattacked as he thumped 10 sixes and 6 fours in his 110 from just 61 balls, adding 72 for the 8th wicket with William McBrine - who made a run-a-ball 23, and rubbed further salt in the wound during a last wicket stand of 51 in 27 balls with Gary Neely. Ben Mills claimed a five-wicket haul but 277 looked too many for the Championship side and that's how it panned out. Mills made 23 and skipper Alan Johnson 42, but three wickets for Buddhika and two apiece for skipper Gary McClintock, Raymond Curry and Gary Neely ensured the victory as the hosts were dismissed for Nelson - 111.

Holders Brigade eased into the last four, storming back after Coleraine threatened at one stage to set them a challenging total. Craig Averill's 76 (10 fours, 2 sixes) saw him and Scott Campbell (50) share a second wicket century stand to take the Bannsiders to 153 for 1 in the 30th over. They would have entertained hopes then of a total near 300, but in the end they didn't make it to 200 as they lost 9 wickets for 38 runs to be 191 all out. Ifty Hussain broke the stand with a diving return catch, and that opened the floodgates. DD Barr continues to be under-rated by many with the ball, but not by Coleraine as he took 5 for 20 - his second five wicket haul against them in two weeks. Hussain hit 8 fours and a six in a hard-hit 42, while Barr made a steady 38. Player of the Month Scott Macbeth continued his dream season with 64 (5 fours, 3 sixes) to take his season tally to 640 runs and remain on course to break the 1000-run landmark this month. Cameron Melly (30*) and skipper Britton (15*) ensuring the 6-wicket win in the 37th over.

Johnny Thompson took the nail out of the boots for the second time this season and put a nail in Ardmore's hopes for cup glory. Batting first, Ardmore made 272 for 7, thanks to two significant stand. Skipper Rachit Gaur (54) and Harry Zimmermann (49) added 112 for the second wicket before they lost their way from 124 for 1 to 177 for 7. Dave Bezzant then pummeled the home side's attack hitting 6 fours and 7 sixes in a 27-ball unbeaten 76, adding 90 in 40 balls with Mark Chambers (24*) to get the Bleachgreen side up to a tough total to chase. Newbuildings - beaten finalists in the last two years - looked in trouble at 35 for 3 - but Ryan Hunter (72) and Ross Dougherty (52) added 112 for the 4th wicket to swing the momentum back. However, Ardmore kept chipping away and at 194 for 6 in the 37th over, the contest was in the balance. JT then took centre stage as he played some of his trademark lofted shots over midwicket and long-on and off, finding the boundary at will. He had a capable partner in Mark Hanna (23*) and the duo clinched the win with an unbroken 7th wicket stand of 84 in 9.3 overs - JT applying the killer blows with four consecutive sixes to end on 74 not out from 57 balls (4 fours, 8 sixes).

Brigade overcame a scare at St Johnston to record an ultimately comfortable six wickets win. Chasing 183, they were wobbling at 22 for 3 - two wickets for Scott Devenney (2-23). A fourth wicket stand of 134 in 100 balls between Cameron Melly and St Johnston old boy Scott Macbeth settled the Premiership side's nerves. Melly hit 10 fours and 3 sixes in a top score of 76 not out from 53 balls, while Macbeth's 58 from 61 balls included 4 fours and 3 sixes. Earlier St Johnston looked poised to post well over 200 as they reached 124 for 3 - runs for Graeme McCarter (47), Jack Macbeth (45) and Subhan Shirzad (35). They fell away though with JP Millar (4-38) , Scott Macbeth (3-42) and Josh Wilson (2-28) doing the damage.

Ballyspallen lost a controversial tie against Eglinton with Josh Martin taking 5 wickets to spin the villagers to a 24-run win. Chasing 163, the home side were looking well at 63 for 2, when Promod Maduwantha was given out hit ball twice while defending his wicket. James Cusack was run out shortly after as 96 for 3 became 139 all out with Martin taking 5 for 12. Earlier Andy Millar had cleared the ropes four times in a 30-ball 46, but it was the runs down the order from Ross McLaughlin (33) and Adam Lamberton (25) that were to prove crucial in the final analysis.

Kyle Magee scored his maiden century for Bready as he and Gavin Roulston made light of a potentially tricky chase of 219 against Bonds Glen. The pair added 131 in 21 overs for the second wicket with Magee top scoring with 107 from 96 balls (12 fours, 2 sixes), while Roulston's 79 from 69 balls included 9 fours and 3 maximums. Sam Haslett took two consolation wicket but Bready were always in control of the chase. earlier Divan Posthumus hit 54 (9 fours), while there were runs too for Heinrich Roberts - a 27-ball 40 with 9 boundaries - and David Cooke (38). Parth Palawat's wicket laden start to the season continued as he claimed 4 for 43, while fellow spinner Nathan McCombe took 3 for 46.

Donemana eased into the second round with a six wickets win at The Nedd, who battled bravely in the Ballykelly sunshine. The home side will have been thankful to bat first, and managed to muster exactly 100 with McCann top-scoring with 25. Sri Lankan professional Rumesh Buddhika took 4 for 22, while Andy McBrine (3-24) and brother William (2-10) also were among the wickets. Buddhika made exactly 50 in the chase from 52 balls ( 4 fours, 2 sixes) but the home side did have four wickets to cheer about - two of which came from Jacob Logan Wilson.

Highest scorers, biggest winners and the only non seeded team to advance to the last eight were Glendermott, who took merciless advantage of an understrength Killyclooney to rack up 377 for 6 and win by 277 runs. Professional Malinga Amarasinghe top scored with 125 from 89 balls (13 fours, 8 sixes) sharing stand of 125 for the 3rd wicket with Ben Mills and 129 for the 4th with skipper Alan Johnson. Mills missed out on a century last week when the rains left him stranded on 88, but he made no mistake this time as he hit 12 fours and 6 sixes in 105 from 83 balls. Johnson almost made it a trio of centurions but was 87 not out (9 fours, 4 sixes) when the overs ran out. The chase was soon in tatters and despite 31 from William Finlay and 27 from Matthew Campbell, they only managed 100 - five wickets for Ted Britton and two for Ryan Nolan.

Ardmore ran out comfortable 107-run winners over Burndennett in a high scoring game at The Green. Harry Zimmermann hit 6 fours and 4 sixes ina top score of 95, adding 123 for the second wicket with skipper Rachit Gaur (71 - 10 fours) and 94 for the third with Dharm Singh (48 - 4 fours, 3 sixes). A late spurt by Edrees who cleared the ropes three times in his 26 got the total to 304 for 6. Burndennett were never in the hunt as the rate climbed and climbed, but they did manage to score 197 for 5, with Mark Doherty hitting 10 fours in a top score of 62, while Galvin and Conan Pollock each made 36.

2022 Cup winners Fox Lodge bowed out in the first round as they were beaten by Coleraine in a low scoring game at Ballymagorry. Marcus Poskitt got the Bannsiders off to a decent enough start with a hard-hit 43 (5 fours, 2 sixes), but the Bannsiders slumped from 60 for 3 to 70 for 8 - wickets for Gayan Maneeshan (5-26) and Aaron Heywood (3-20). The tail wagged to add 47 crucial runs - James Bell (18) and Gareth Burns (17) and a final total of 117. The Foxies found the going equally tough and despite late runs too from their tail, they fell 17 short - four wickets for Craig Averill, 3 for Stephen Hutchinson and two for Scott Campbell.

Newbuildings made light work of a potentially tricky tie at home to Strabane to ease into the last eight. Johnny Thompson's retirement lasted two weeks of the new season and he was in the action right away taking two catches including Aaron Gillespie. Rhys Logue top-scored with 66 not out, as he and Nasir Nawaz (32) added 69 for the third wicket. late runs from Usman Azhar (38) and Muddy Raijput (24) saw the Red Caps post 207 for 9 - four wickets for Trent McKeegan and two apiece for Samarth Seth and Ross Dougherty - who got John Mooney for 4. The reply raced out of the blocks with Jason Dunn hitting 7 fours and 7 sixes in a top score of 80 - sharing stands of 74 with Gareth McKeegan (37) and 56 in 5 overs with Ryan Hunter. Hunter (41*) and Samart Seth (46*) had little trouble getting the remaining runs with an unbroken third wicket stand of 78 as the win was achieved in the 27th over.