All roads lead to Donemana tomorrow for the game that was a Senior Cup final for three successive years not so long ago. This time either the hosts or Brigade will exit at the quarter-final stage.

The two-day final is still the highlight of the season for players in the North West and for William McCliintock it still holds a special place.

His first game in the competition was as a 15-year-old in the first round clash at Eglinton in 2012. Although run out for three he finished on the winning team and he would do so for the next 25 Senior Cup games, yielding six winners’medals!

 It is a record which will surely never be beaten, so  it’s little wonder that when asked what it will be like to face Brigade his reply was simple and to the point – “If there’s is  one thing we want to do this year is win the Senior Cup”

Brigade captain Andy Britton said exactly the same immediately after the draw was made so, as McClintock says: “it shows how big a game it is.

“We should have beaten Brigade in the league and last Saturday (when they lost to Fox Lodge) didn’t go to plan, the less said about that the better. But it’s a cup day at Donemana, good weather guaranteed so hopefully we can give the big crowd something to cheer about.”

Donemana have been boosted by the arrival of Geeth Kumara, who has continued where he left off in the Cup last year with Fox Lodge.

“He has been absolutely class since he has come in, scored nearly 200 runs in his first two games so we couldn’t ask for more from him,” says McClintock whose twin brother Gary – who made his Senior Cup debut the same day as William but whose run of games stopped after the 2017 final - is also available to play every game this season. That's “a definite bonus” adds William who says of his own form, “it’s not too bad, I’m seeing the ball well and feel confident.”

He handed over the captaincy this year to Dwayne McGerrigle, a burden that has rested easily on the international’s shoulders with runs flowing off his bat in double quick time.

It seems sure to another high-scoring thriller at the unique Holm ground between these giants of North West cricket.

Elsewhere, cup holders Fox Lodge host Glendermott and last year’s beaten finalists and Premier League champions Newbuildings travel to Strabane, a team they have already beaten in the league this season.

The remaining quarter-final is at Eglinton where Ardmore are the visitors, the last remaining unbeaten team in the North West Premiersship although because of a variety of reasons they have played only two league games.