The draws for the second round of the Irish Senior Cup and National Cup all-Ireland club cup competitions have been undertaken and some mouth-watering clashes await.
The two competitions are the peak club cup competitions in men’s club cricket in Ireland, with hundreds of players travelling thousands of kilometres collectively with the goal of winning a highly sought-after national title. The second rounds of the Irish Senior Cup and National Cup are scheduled for 9 June 2024.
The dates for the Irish Senior Cup and National Cup rounds are:
- 2nd Round: 9 June 2024
- Quarter Finals: 30 June 2024
- Semi Finals: 14 July 2024
- ISC Final: 17 August 2024
- NC Final: 18 August 2024
Livescoring of all matches can be found here.
Details about each competition follow.
IRISH SENIOR CUP 2024
The Irish Senior Cup is the premier All-Ireland Club cricket competition, featuring the leading club sides from across the four main Provincial Unions. The competition is currently played on a 50-over knock-out format, and played between 28 teams.
Previous clubs to have won the Irish Senior Cup can be found here.
Second Round draw – 2024
- Phoenix v Railway Union
- Waringstown v Pembroke
- Cork County/Balbriggan v North Down
- Brigade v Leinster
- Merrion v The Hills
- CIYMS v Muckamore
- CSNI v Instonians
- Malahide v Clontarf
Speaking about the Irish Senior Cup and his side’s 10-wicket win over Donemana in the first round, Sam Harbinson from Merrion Cricket Club said:
“Yeah, it was a really strong performance from the lads, and I was really proud of the way we bounced back with the ball after Donemana got off to a pretty solid start in the powerplay. Melvin [Melvin Devaraj] sort of brought it back for us, took his five wickets and brought us back into the game. And then Ste [Stephen Doheny] and Swap [Swapnil Modgill] were clinical with the bat.
“Of course, there’s always room for improvement. If I was being hyper-critical, I would say we probably gave them a few too many boundary balls and a little bit of width with the ball there in the powerplay as I said before.”
About the next round opponent:
“The Hills obviously are a very dangerous white ball team – I think they knocked us off in the semi-final last year in the T20 cup – so, yeah, on the day they’re very dangerous but I’m backing us in to play our best cricket on our home ground that will still get us the result we’re after.”
What would it mean for Merrion to win the Irish Senior Cup?
“Oh, it’s everything for us. We’ve definitely got our eyes on that big trophy. We’re playing some really good cricket at the moment, but I still feel like we’ve got another gear to go up and really push the bar there. So, I’m backing us if we play our best cricket.”
NATIONAL CUP 2024
The National Cup is played between the next tier of club sides who did not qualify for the Irish Senior Cup. The National Cup started in 2012 and is played over a 40-over knock-out format involving teams from all five Provincial Unions.
Previous clubs to have won the National Cup can be found here.
Second Round draw – 2024
- North County v County Galway
- St Johnston v Terenure
- Laurelvale v Ballyspallen
- Fox Lodge v Templepatrick
- Strabane v Derriaghy
- The Nedd v Donacloney
- Civil Service v Rush
- Adamstown v Sandyford
Speaking about the National Cup first round, Ross Bryans from Templepatrick Cricket Club said:
“To be honest our preparation wasn’t the greatest – we actually didn’t get a bus booked until three days before the fixture so we were very lucky to get one within a short space of time. Luckily, it was a dry, sunny day and playing on a mat it was a quite straightforward decision to bat first after winning the toss, as we had a strong batting lineup selected for that fixture.
“All in all, we were happy with the performance – we always treat the National Cup as an opportunity for players to get more game time, possibly getting some more overs under the belt or getting a chance to bat up the order, so we are usually quite relaxed and just look to compete in the Cup. However, we certainly got more involved in the game after we found ourselves up against a few fired-up players from the opposition.
“The day itself was an early start, meeting at our own club at 8.45am for a 9am departure, allowing for food stops on the way down and giving us enough time to have a sufficient warm-up. We played the game, stayed for a drink in the away bar, then proceeded to head home to arrive back at our club for around 11pm, with a stoppage on the way for some food. A long but highly enjoyable day.
“As for the National Cup, we certainly feel like we can go deep in the competition, but will continue to enjoy each fixture as they come.”
