Ballyspallen booked their place in the last eight of the National Cup with a five-wicket victory over Templepatrick at The Cloghan on Sunday.

Templepatrick posted 195 for 9 from their 40 overs with Shane Henderson leading the charge in explosive fashion. Henderson hammered five sixes in a 26-ball 41, while Curtley Deelman and Mark Thompson laid the platform with a second-wicket partnership of 61. Deelman made 38 and Thompson added 34 before Jack Morrow provided a composed finish with an unbeaten 38. Hassan Shahid was Ballyspallen’s standout bowler, taking 4 for 22, while Stuart Kennedy and Graham Kennedy both claimed two wickets.

In reply, Ballyspallen reached 196 for 5 with 11 balls to spare. Shahid completed an excellent all-round display with 51 from 57 balls, including three fours and two sixes, while fellow opener Pushpender Singh made 25. Raveen Yasas anchored the chase superbly with an unbeaten 61, striking nine fours, and shared an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 53 with Stuart Kennedy (22*) to seal victory.

Lurgan secured a convincing 55-run victory over Donacloney Mill at Pollock Park after an impressive all-round performance.

Batting first, Lurgan posted 228 for 8 from their 40 overs with Liam Doddrell leading the way with a superb run-a-ball 64 that included eight fours and two sixes. Jack Maxwell contributed an excellent 45 and shared important half-century partnerships with both Doddrell and Ivan Sinovich, who added 47. Harry Lockhart was the pick of the Donacloney attack with 2 for 55.

In reply, Donacloney Mill never fully recovered after early breakthroughs from Doddrell and Sinovich reduced them to the back foot. Neil Kilpatrick and Ryan Matthews both made 30, while Lachy Aitken scored 26 and Alex Ogle added 22, but the chase lost momentum as wickets continued to fall. Iqbal Khan finished off the innings in style, claiming 3 for 20, while Doddrell completed an excellent all-round display with 2 for 21 and Sinovich took 2 for 46.

Last year’s finalists County Kerry safely progressed to the next round with a three-wicket win over Bangor at Upritchard Park.

Bangor were bowled out for 182 in 36.1 overs after struggling to build substantial partnerships. Angus Farrell top-scored with an unbeaten 36, while Sam McMillan made 30, Felix McMillan added 24 and Brodie Harrison chipped in with 20. Mohsin Taj led the Kerry attack with 3 for 39, while Yaqoob Ali and Usman Sherzad both claimed two wickets.

County Kerry reached their target with 21 balls remaining thanks largely to an aggressive innings from Qassim Mohammed. He struck 56 from just 51 deliveries, including six fours and two sixes, to put the visitors firmly in control of the chase. Bangor fought back through Brodie Harrison’s 3 for 42, while Max Walker and George Prince both took two wickets, but Kerry held their nerve to book their place in the next round.

Glendermott kept alive hopes of landing a major trophy in their centenary year with a five-wicket win over North Kildare in the National Cup at a sun-drenched Rectory.

North Kildare looked in control after Yash Kalasannavar blasted a run-a-ball 54, including six fours and two sixes, in a 103-run second-wicket stand with opener Asadullah Ahmadzai, who struck 59 with five fours and three sixes. However, from 129 for 1 the innings unravelled dramatically after both set batters were run out. Once the door opened, Glendermott skipper Trevor Britton charged through the middle and lower order, finishing with an excellent 5 for 28 as North Kildare were dismissed for 170.

Glendermott made a strong start in reply with Ben Mills hammering 47 from just 31 balls, including five sixes and two fours, sharing a 74-run opening stand with Blayde Capell (25). Nuralain Boda claimed 3 for 35 and also produced a stunning return catch to dismiss Alan Lynch, but Britton’s unbeaten 26 and Alan Johnson’s calm 29 not out guided the home side safely through.

Ardmore edged one of the closest contests of the National Cup second round with a thrilling 14-run victory over fellow former finalists Limerick at The Bleachgreen.

Batting first, Ardmore were bowled out for 154 in 38.1 overs with Kasun Aberaytne and Vimal Dwivedi both making 29. Limerick’s bowlers kept the pressure on throughout, with Anvesh Bogavelly taking 3 for 15 and A Hari claiming 2 for 21.

The chase went right down to the wire. Limerick skipper Bogavelly looked capable of steering his side home before the turning point arrived as Aberaytne produced a stunning diving catch at cover to remove him. Prasad Hegde top-scored with 29 after being dropped three times, while Bogavelly contributed 28 in a tense pursuit.

Ardmore held their nerve brilliantly at the death as their spinners took control. Sadiq Safi claimed 2 for 16 and left-arm spinner Conor King applied relentless pressure to spark wild celebrations as Limerick were dismissed for 140.

The Hills underlined their status as one of the National Cup favourites with a commanding six-wicket win over Saintfield at The Vineyard.

Saintfield were bowled out for 170 in 39.5 overs despite efforts from Brijesh Krishali, who made 37, and TJ McCavera with 30. Stefano Di Bartolomeo led the attack superbly with 3 for 19, while Tomas Rooney Murphy, Matthew Weldon and William Archer all claimed two wickets apiece.

In reply, The Hills looked in complete control as Yaseen Sherzad and his brother Muzamil shared an opening stand of 60, with Muzamil contributing 24. Sherzad, dropped early in his innings, made Saintfield pay in devastating fashion with an unbeaten 104 featuring 10 fours and seven sixes.

There were brief nerves among the home support as Werner Brand and Ethan Hanna both struck twice to reduce The Hills from 60 without loss to 87 for 4. However, Sherzad and Andrew Kavanagh calmly added an unbroken 80, with Kavanagh finishing 18 not out to secure victory.

Sandyford produced one of the shocks of the National Cup second round with a superb 51-run win over fancied Terenure at Marlay Park.

Batting first, Sandyford posted 164 for 9 from their 40 overs with Abhishek Pandey top-scoring with 28 and Rachan Potluri adding 26. Vishnu Sadanandan was the standout bowler for Terenure, claiming 4 for 21, while Bhavic Turkel took 2 for 49.

Terenure were expected to chase the target comfortably but Sandyford’s bowlers had other ideas. Henry Dall battled hard for 37, but wickets fell regularly as the innings never gained momentum. Manan Ishtiyaq and Pandey both claimed three wickets, taking 3 for 16 and 3 for 21 respectively, while Skando Rao also picked up 3 for 30.

The victory keeps Sandyford’s cup dream alive and sends them into the next round full of confidence.

Holders County Galway crashed out of the National Cup after a dramatic two-wicket defeat to University of Galway in a tense local derby that kept everyone on edge until the closing stages.

County Galway were bowled out for just 106 in 23.5 overs as Mohammad Sufiyan ripped through the batting with superb figures of 4 for 30. Muhammad Asad claimed 2 for 12 and Puskar Saner took 2 for 20 to keep the pressure firmly on the holders.

University of Galway’s chase was far from straightforward as Jayesh Juneja almost inspired a remarkable defence with figures of 4 for 49. Wickets tumbled regularly and nerves spread around the ground before the students finally edged over the line at 107 for 8 after 30 tense overs.