Donemana’s strong season continued as they turned in a solid display to avoid a potential banana skin by beating Burndennett by 136 runs at the Holm. The all-round nature of the victory was particularly pleasing for captain Dwyane McGerrigle.

“I thought it was a good enough performance from the lads,” he told the Chronicle. “We got the runs on the board through some mature batting which was great to see. The players seem to be putting a bigger price on their wicket now instead of panicking.

“There’s a lot of balls to face in fifty overs and especially in the holm runs can come quickly if you have plenty of wickets in hand near the end.

“All the bowlers did a job, and we used the slightly slow pitch to our advantage, as we bowled stump to stump and generally made it difficult for the Burndennett batters to score freely.”

The club’s attention now switches on Saturday to the Irish Senior Cup as they take on Carrickfergus at home, attempting to win the trophy for the second time – their sole success coming in 2000.

“The All-Ireland is always a fantastic occasion for the club through the years. We have had some good battles with clubs from other provinces and I’m sure Carrickfergus will be no different. All we need now is a good week’s weather, a bit of luck, the supporters to turn up as they always do and I'm sure we will see a cracking match.”