Carrickfergus looking to create piece of history by reaching first Gallagher Challenge Cup final

They booked their spot in the semis following victory over reigning champions CIYMS in the last-eight and it’s a mammoth occasion for both sides with Lisburn’s last final involvement coming in 1996 when they lost out to Lurgan by five wickets.

This cup run has been a bright spark during an otherwise mixed campaign for Carrick, but they know what it takes to defeat their Wallace Park-based opponents having picked up a six-wicket Premier League triumph last month as Michael Rippon’s 112* helped them successfully chase 295.

Van der Walt also scored 71* in that winning effort and in his first season as skipper could become the first man to lead a Carrick team into the showpiece decider at Stormont on August 4.

"The boys are definitely up for it and it's a big one for the club,” he said. "Since I've been at the club the only real cup run has been in the Twenty20 Cup when we made it to the final and won it.

"It has been a long time since the club has had anything like this in the 50-over format so it's obviously a big one. It has been a bit up and down for us if you look at the league table and see where we are, so to be in the cup semi-final is big.

"The game we beat Lisburn in was a high-scoring one where we chased down 294 so us beating CI and Lisburn gave us extra confidence.

"We all know that we can do this because we've beaten two big teams at the top of the league so there's no reason why we can't do it again.

"It's the first year as captain so that would be pretty special. It's something that I would always remember going forward.

"For any club to be in a Challenge Cup final is a massive thing. If the boys rock up and they are ready for it then there's no reason why we can't do it. I still think we have the potential to do it and we're going to be pushing hard."

The middle-order combination of Rippon and van der Walt will likely be crucial if they’re to progress with the duo contributing 43% of Carrick’s Premier League runs.

Rippon, who has represented the Netherlands and New Zealand on the international stage, in particular has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in the NCU with no player able to better his tally of three league centuries while he also boasts an average of 78.

"He's been great,” said van der Walt. “He's coming off three tons in a row - all three not out - so the way he has been going about his game has been brilliant.

"I've batted twice with him now where we've had two big partnerships and he's a lovely guy to bat with and he has such clear plans.

"He's very calm and it's been great. Two of those hundreds pulled us over the line and he's a great player."

Waringstown, who have already booked their spot in next month’s Irish Senior Cup final, host last year’s beaten finalists CSNI in the other semi-final at The Lawn.