MOONEY JOINS WARRIORS SET-UP

It’s been an excellent week in the region for John Mooney with the former Irish international helping Strabane retain the Sperrin Springs Cup with victory against Bonds Glen at St Johnston.

Runs from Man-of-the-Match Mark McNulty and an inspired bowling effort by Andrew Mullen led the Red Caps to an ultimately comfortable win in a low-scoring contest.

Mooney then turned his attention to a new role with the North West Warriors, where he has joined on an initially interim basis to help out Head Coach Boyd Rankin.

The 43-year-old won 182 caps in a 15-year career that saw him play in three World Cups, and played alongside Rankin in the 2007 version in the West Indies.

The interprovincial competition has failed to capture the imagination of the Irish cricketing fraternity, especially in the local region where performances have been sketchy. Mooney is hoping that he can help rejuvenate the local side.

"I’m delighted to be joining the Warriors,” said Mooney. “This is my second season up here with Strabane where I’m a player-coach.

“I think it’s a good fit for me and the Warriors to take this on with Boyd. I know Boyd well, as we’ve played a lot together in the past.

“It would be great to see the Warriors push on and get some wins over the next few weeks.”

Mooney brings a wealth of experience to the assistant coaching role, both domestically and internationally where he has worked as a fielding coach with Denmark (under Jeremy Bray) and alongside Phil Simmons at Afghanistan.

The new partnership got off to a winning start as Jake Egan and Andy McBrine led them to victory over Munster on Tuesday, although they were brought back down to earth following a heavy loss to champions Leinster Lightning the following day.