CRICKET: Derriaghy skipper Craig Lewis up for Cup clash against Lisburn

When the first round draw for the Gallagher Challenge Cup was made, attention turned to one tie in particular - the derby clash between Derriaghy and Lisburn.
Craig Lewis batting for DerriaghyCraig Lewis batting for Derriaghy
Craig Lewis batting for Derriaghy

The pair last met in the Premier League back in 2016, with Lisburn winning by 30 runs and Derriaghy were ultimately relegated that year.

Derriaghy captain Craig Lewis is looking forward to welcoming their rivals to Queensway on Saturday, and is hoping to get one over on their neighbours.

“It’a very big day for the club,” said Lewis.

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“We haven’t played Lisburn for a couple of years now so it’s going to be good to bring them down to our place and try to get one over on them.

“It definitely makes it more important, especially because we have a lot of local lads, so it will be a big game for us.

“It’ll be a good tester for both teams to see where we are at in this stage of the season.”

Lewis’ side have kicked off their Section One season in fantastic form, having recorded two wins from two games.

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Their bowling in particular has been highly impressive, having dismissed Lurgan for 56 and then defending 121 against Holywood.

“We started last year very poorly, so it’s great to have won two from two this year,”added Lewis.

“Our bowling has always been our strong point and we always try to back them to defend whatever score we can put on the board.

“Our gameplan is usually to get as many as we can and then defend it, especially at home. We are hard to beat at home because we know the ground so well and we have a great team spirit.”

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Lisburn are adjusting to life in the second tier after being relegated from the Premier League last season having been mainstays in the top flight for many years.

They made a run to the semi-final of this competition last year before being beaten by Instonians, and although realising replicating that will be difficult, captain Adam Berry is just going to take it one game at a time.

“The Challenge Cup is a massive tournament and playing Derriaghy adds a bit more to it,” said Berry.

“We have to go out and do the same things we’ve been doing because it’s just a game of cricket at the end of the day, but there’s a bit extra on it given that it is a rivalry and a derby game.

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”It will be a very tough challenge but we would love to replicate last years run. We will take it game by game, and it’s a knockout tournament so anything can happen.”

Lisburn also face a league game against Downpatrick on Sunday, and Berry is looking to gather some momentum after a stop-start beginning to the season.

“We are into the thick of it now and we will have games week in, week out until August or September, so we are looking to get a bit of form going,” he added.