THE final of the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup is always one of the highlights of the cricket summer. To get there, clubs have to overcome counterparts from all over the island, and every tie is hard fought.

This year’s final pitches Civil Service Northern Ireland against Pembroke, who are hoping to collect the third trophy of what they hope will be a historic quintuple.

The Dublin side were done no favours by the draw, being forced to travel north to play Waringstown, Instonians and Lisburn, the three strongest NCU sides. They overcame them all, and Malahide in the semi-final, despite frequently missing their Ireland players.

That issue has raised its ugly ahead again, with today’s game overshadowed by some obdurate administrators who refused to allow the teams pick from their best players.

Cricket Ireland insists players cannot play the day after an international, to comply with its ‘rest and recovery protocols’. Even though yesterday saw the last game of Ireland’s wafer-thin season, Pembroke’s Gavin Hoey, Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector and CSNI’s Jordan Neill have to sit out the biggest day of their clubs’ campaign.

By virtue of being left out yesterday, Byron McDonough can play, while Andrew Balbirnie made it clear that he would be turning out for the club he has played at for three decades.

Pembroke have had to draw heavily on their depth chart, and the reserves have delivered.

‘We've actually been without the Irish players for a number of the rounds, so it's been particularly satisfying to see guys step up at different times,’ says captain Jack Tector. ‘We've probably used near on 20 players throughout the campaign.’

His brother Tim has been the star of the summer, making two 152no against Waringstown and 169no v Malahide as he racked up 389 in four innings. Only Lurgan pro Rahul Mankad, who made 427 in 1984, has had a better ISC campaign.

The Belfast club also broke records on their way here, with a phenomenal stand of 391 between Ashwin Hebbar (207no) Marc Ellison (173) in the first round win against Strabane. In the same game Matthew Kennedy’s 7-31 was the fourth best figures in the competition’s history.

CSNI have a strong hand of young talent, with Ryan Hunter, Adam Leckey, Harry Dyer and James West all stepping up at times. The side is marshalled by former Ireland all-rounder Stuart Thompson: ‘We're not doing anything special in terms of training-wise. If we stick to our routines, it should feel a lot more normal. It's a young squad. We've got a lot of young players that have come up through our ranks, which is something that we're very proud of.

‘And there's a few old heads in there as well. The dynamic's good in the change room, a lot of fun in there and a bit of wisdom from the old guys.

‘The club have won trophies in the past and it's been maybe five or six seasons since we've delivered so to hopefully deliver an Irish Cup and a Challenge Cup all in one season would be huge. It turns an already very good season into a memorable one.’

Pembroke have one ISC, in 2019, while a previous incarnation of their opponents, NICC, won the inaugural cup in 1982.

It’s the tenth final between clubs from Leinster and the NCU, with the Northerners shading it 5-4.

To mark Clontarf’s sesquicentenary the game is staged at Castle Avenue for the ninth time – on every previous occasion a Dublin side won the trophy.

Jack Tector knows what a win would mean for his club: ‘Like every game we've played, we've had great supporters that have come up and got behind us for each round, so you can see how much it means to them.

‘It would be a massive day for everyone at the club. Already I've had messages from people who are going to be flying back, even one from Australia who's booked his flights for the game so you can see what it means to everyone. So hopefully we can give our best performance and lift the cup for everyone involved at Pembroke.’

LIVE on Cricket Ireland YouTube, starts 12.0.