Instonians aim to complete silverware hat-trick in All-Ireland T20 Cup final
Instonians are targeting a silverware treble as they round out their 2025 campaign with an All-Ireland Twenty20 Cup final showdown against Cork County at Stormont on Sunday.
Nikolai Smith’s side earned their spot in the competition by lifting the LVS Twenty20 Cup after emphatically beating Cliftonville Academy in July’s showpiece decider.
While they’ve since been beaten in the Gallagher Challenge Cup final, the Belfast outfit bounced back by going on to claim their second Premier League title across the past three seasons, finishing the job by beating Lisburn last weekend.
Their prowess across the sport’s shortest format has been evident throughout the campaign – Ireland international Neil Rock (104*) and overseas professional Shane Dadswell (68) shared a partnership of 161 as Instonians chased 225 for victory in their semi-final triumph over Phoenix.
In the NCU T20 Cup, no player scored more runs than Rock (238) while Dadswell sat second on the list (210) and former international star Andrew White has shown no signs of slowing down at the age of 45, racking up 178 runs.
Spinner Cian Robertson (11) also sat atop the wicket charts and has enjoyed a sensational season after collecting a further 27 scalps in the Premier League.
Victory on Sunday afternoon would continue the NCU’s proud tradition in this competition with the last three winners – Lisburn and CIYMS (twice) – coming from the region while Waringstown also celebrated success in 2018.