JOY OF SIX FOR MCGONIGLE

Donemana’s left-arm spinner Jordan McGonigle recorded the best figures of the season as his six-wicket haul helped his side get back into title contention as they brushed aside the challenge of Ballyspallen. The former international wore the captain’s armband as regular skipper Dwayne McGerrigle was ruled out with a bicep injury sustained in last week’s T20 win over Fox Lodge, in which Levi Dougherty made 99.

“Well, it worked out a handy enough one to captain in the end, a good toss to win on what looked and turned out to be a nice wicket for the spinners!” said McGonigle.

“Once we got the breakthrough we sensed we had an opportunity to go for the kill and fortunately it worked out well with the three spinners taking all 10 wickets.

“It was good to get back on track after a few disappointing results in recent weeks, we have a great bunch of lads that have a lot more to offer and hopefully with confidence they will show that in the coming weeks.

“Hopefully Dwayne will be back for Saturday as we look to build on the back of that victory as we travel to Glendermott.”

Before then Donemana take on Brigade in the T20 Cup at Beechgrove tonight, while their home T20 match against them has been rescheduled for Tuesday July 4^th at the Holm.

CAPELL REACHES MAGICAL 1000-RUN LANDMARK

There’s no doubt who has been the Player of the Season in the region with Killyclooney’s Blayde Capell being a revelation since his arrival in April. He made his fourth century of the season as they won at Eglinton. He passed the magical 1000-run mark the following day as Killyclooney lost in the National Cup.

“The Saturday game at Eglinton was one that I’ve been looking forward to as I was up against a good friend (Mike Erlank) that I’ve played with for a few years back home,” said Capell. “Being able to reach the 100 mark was awesome for me and I was happy that I was able to bring the Clooney boys over the line.

“1000 runs is something I never thought of achieving when coming over. Being able to reach that milestone is great but I’m not finished just yet, there are still loads of games to go and titles to win.”

Killyclooney are currently second in the table behind leaders Brigade, but face a tough taste on Saturday in the shape of defending champions Newbuildings.

“This weekend we take on a strong Newbuildings team at home. I have no doubt that we can take home the win. We are as good as any team in the league and we’ve shown that with our performances so far.”

MCGRANAGHAN GETS SUPER SERIES CALL-UP

There was good news at the weekend with Sion Mills and Strabane wicket-keeper Lucy McGranaghan making her Super Series debut for the Dragons in their win against the Typhoons in Dublin.

The 18 year-old has been involved with the Ireland girls youth squads and hopefully if she continues her progress, it may not be too long before she is representing her country.

“I was very excited to get the opportunity to play at this level,” McGranagahan said. “It was great to be able to play with and against some of the best women cricketers in Ireland.

“I was nervous as it was my first time keeping to the Irish Internationals, but after a few overs the nerves settled and I really enjoyed the game and standard of cricket played.”

Lucy was one of four North-West based players in the Dragons side, with Fox Lodge’s Mollie Devine, Bready’s Alana Dalzell and Eglnton’s Jenni Jackson all on the winning side.

TYRONE PLAYERS DOMINATE NW AVERAGES

Tyrone players are to the fore in the latest North West averages published this week. Fox Lodge skipper Aaron Heywood leads the way in the bowling aggregates with 22 wickets at an average of 13.86. Wicket-keeper turned off-spinner Kenzie Hall of Killyclooney also has 22 scalps at a cost of 19.91. His team mate Matthew Campbell is certainly justifying his switch from Bready, and he is fifth with 19 at 21.11. Donemana’s Jordan McGonigle is sixth having taken 18 wickets at 16, with Strabane’s Rhys Logue and Fox Lodge’s Adam Walker also having 18 scalps, while Bready’s Jordan McCorkell is also in the top 10 – with 16 wickets at 16.61.

In the batting charts, the aforementioned Blayde Capell has 1022 runs at 127.75 to be way out in front, while Strabane professional Nasir Nawaz is fourth with 452 runs at 56.50. The two other Tyrone batters in the top 10 are Burndennett’s Mark Pollock at number 8– 401 at 44.56, and Gayan Maneeshan, who is 9^th with 381 runs at 42.33.

MIXED FORTUNES FOR STRABANE ACADEMY IN SCHOOLS' CUP FINALS

Strabane Academy won the Ulster Under 12 Schools' Cup with a convincing 9-wicket win over RBAI at Osborne Park. Batting first RBAI were restricted to 101 for 8 with David Agnew scoring 56 of those. Ben Heywood took four wickets for 17 runs, while Roy McGerrigle bowled his five-over spell conceding just four runs while picking up two wickets.

An opening stand of 34 between Heywood and Olly Britton settled the Tyrone side's nerves in the chase, and they went on to record a 9-wickets win thanks to a second wicket stand of 68 between Britton and Alfie Moan. Britton made an unbeaten 44, while Alfie Moan finished on 34 not out.

In the senior competition, RBAI clinched the trophy for a record 12th time as they recorded a comprehensive 7-wicket win over Strabane Academy at Wallace Park.

The game was all but decided in the early stages as the Tyrone side lost two wickets in the first three balls as Adam Leckey truck twice. A third quickly followed, before Jamie Mutch (17) and Ryan McAuley (12) added 36 for the fourth wicket. Both fell to Alistair Watt, and it was left to Johnny Orr (27) to get his team past 100. James West (5-18) tore through the middle and lower order to dent any hopes of a comeback.

Cody Mehaffey removed Inst captain Rory Ellerby cheaply, but a second wicket stand of 74 in 10 overs between Josh Eagleson and Tom Crothers (28) all but settled matters. Aaron Cooke (2-16) struck twice to give the scoreboard some respectability, but Eagleson struck seven boundaries in his 43-ball unbeaten 60, which saw his team over the line in the 16th over.