Derriaghy captain Curtis Moorhead heaps praise on Patrick Kruger after Gallagher Challenge Cup victory

Set a target of 269 for victory after Aniruddha Chore (88), Peter Eakin (82*) and Alistair Shields (55) had all fired with the bat for North Down, Kruger was the calming presence as Derriaghy booked their spot in a second consecutive quarter-final.

The 28-year-old scored 76* from 69 balls for the Queensway outfit, who sealed victory in the final over.

Kruger was well supported by Jordan Wade (64) and Jamie Magowan (42) in what was the only real shock on Saturday.

"Pat is absolutely quality,” said Moorhead. “He is just so talented - a hard hitter who also bats for the team.

"He has been not out in three of his last four games and has 300 runs this year averaging around 75 and for me he still hasn't got going.

"It's fantastic and he's really coming alive with the ball too. He's also a fantastic fielder and guy.

"When things aren't going your way in the field he's the first person you hear chirping up in the field and he gets on with everybody and he is a fantastic professional to have.

"This won't be the last time we speak about Pat because he's phenomenal.

"I'm delighted and very proud of all the lads.

"It was very much a team effort with the bat with a few notable scores from Jordy Wade, Jamie Magowan and Pat bringing us over the line.

"Everybody chipped in and boys know they are good enough.

"It's definitely a win that will be remembered by us for the coming years.”

It’s another step in the right direction for Derriaghy, who were promoted to the Premier League after winning the 2022 Section One title last season.

They arguably should have beaten Carrickfergus earlier this month and were also in a great position against neighbours Lisburn too before coming out on the wrong end of the result.

Moorhead’s men picked up their first win of the season with a 55-run LVS Twenty20 Cup triumph over Woodvale last time out and he feels they are starting to show what they’re truly capable of after some adjustment.

"We are finding our feet a lot better now,” he added. “It was just boys getting used to the standard and level.

"A few of the guys seem to be doing better with the bat at this level than they did in Section One and with that comes the confidence to know they are good enough.

"With a bit of consistency we are going to give ourselves a chance in games.

"For me we should have beaten Carrick and Lisburn in the league and we gave ourselves a great chance against Civil Service as well.

"Bar the first game against CIYMS we have been in a position to win every game at one point, which is all I can ask.

"We're definitely making real progress and that's down to working hard with Marc (Ellison).

"As a coach he's helping us to analyse our performances each week and picking what we should be working on to better ourselves."

Elsewhere, Ross Adair produced another memorable Challenge Cup innings by blasting 184 from 113 balls to help reigning champions CIYMS set up a 302-run victory over Dundrum.

The Ireland international struck 23 fours and 10 sixes on his way to the mammoth total – meaning 152 of his runs came from boundaries alone – as the Belmont outfit made their way to 382 inside 47 overs.

In Adair’s last eight Challenge Cup matches, he has now scored 713 runs at an average of 101.86 and registered four centuries, including 103* in the 2022 decider against former club CSNI.

Northern Knights all-rounder Tyron Koen (102) was also celebrating a century of his own – a first for CIYMS since joining ahead of this season – from 81 deliveries.

CI went from 364/4 to 382 all out with Stian Swanepoel (4/60) picking up four wickets to round out a brutal innings that included 53 boundaries (36 fours, 17 sixes) before the hosts were dismissed for 80 with captain John Matchett (4/7) pick of the bowlers.

There was a dramatic conclusion to CSNI’s Challenge Cup second round victory over Woodvale with a Super Over required at Ballygomartin Road.

The two sides couldn’t be split after 100 overs of action with the hosts posting 272/7 as Ruhan Pretorius (80) and Aditya Adey (72) led the way towards a competitive total.

Marc Ellison (46), Ryan Hunter (35), Ryan Harrison (30) and captain Stuart Thompson (46) all chipped in for the 2022 finalists to leave them requiring six from the final over to seal progression.

In thrilling scenes, Woodvale picked up two wickets with the final two balls to tie the game and send it into a rare Super Over – a six-ball shoot-out where each side selects three batsmen and whoever scores the most runs in that single over wins.

Thompson once again showed his class by taking 14 from Stephen Bunting’s first three deliveries before passing over to Harrison, who added a further 10 to give CSNI a whopping 26 to defend.

Harrison then held his nerve with the ball, bowling Pretorius as Woodvale could only manage 13 despite Ludwig Kaestner rounding it off with a maximum.

An inspired performance from Templepatrick’s Bradley Munro (4/16 and 111) put the Section One side within range of a cup upset against Carrickfergus but they ultimately fell 25 runs short at The Cloughan.

Batting first, Carrick posted 232/8 with Craig Averill (113) starring in a 115-run fourth-wicket partnership with Michael Rippon (45).

The hosts had made their way to 199/4 with Munro at the crease, but with the run-rate rising risks were required and they fell to 207 all out with Rippon (3/19) having the final say.

Muckamore are the only second-tier side heading into the quarter-finals after they defeated fellow Section One competitors Cregagh by five wickets.

Captain Neil Gill (5/14) led from the front as Cregagh were bowled out for 105 before a half-century from Kyllin Vardhan (55) broke the back of their run chase.

Elsewhere, 2012 champions Instonians put their name in the hat with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Ballymena.

Shane Dadswell (5/31) reduced Ballymena to 156 all out despite a half-century from John Glass (54) and Rob McKinley (67*) made light work of chasing down the total.

Lisburn were made to sweat by Cliftonville Academy before eventually securing a six-run victory at the Castle Grounds.

Callum Atkinson’s side made a solid start through Jonny Waite (46) and James Hunter (45) but then fell from 102/1 to 162 all out, including a spell of losing four wickets without scoring a run as Ben Kane collected figures of 5/25.

The hosts had their own batting struggles with star man Max Burton departing early and they’d fell to 27/3 when Jared Wilson arrived at the crease.

Wilson (55) brought the upset within range but with quick runs needed, he was caught off the bowling of Mark Berry (3/19) before Cliftonville Academy ran out of time.

Armagh were also dreaming of a colossal cup upset when they had Waringstown 9/3 on The Mall but Morgan Topping (83) and Greg Thompson (76) steadied the ship and James Cameron-Dow (67) then helped propel them up to 325/7.

Ross Waite, Ross Allen and Pat Botha all departed early and with Lee Nelson retiring hurt, Armagh had made inroads but the 26-time champions dug in.

​Botha (5/11) starred as Armagh were bowled out for 130.