It has already been a summer to remember for the Mitchell family with Andrew representing Dungannon Swifts on the European stage after sealing Irish Cup glory, but it could get even better on Friday afternoon as younger brother James aims to clinch another Challenge Cup crown at Stormont.

The talented sporting siblings have achieved significant success in their respective fields – Andrew establishing himself as a proven Premiership performer through spells at Glenavon, Glentoran, Coleraine and Dungannon, while James is part of a Waringstown team which has dominated local cricket in recent years.

James will take to the field for his third Challenge Cup final – he’s won the previous two, including in 2018 alongside Andrew – against Instonians in what is the showpiece event on the Northern Cricket Union’s calendar.

He has won every senior competition available to him having also celebrated Irish Senior Cup, Premier League and Twenty20 Cup glory, picking up more than 180 wickets since breaking into the team as a teenager.

placeholder image — James Mitchell (left) and Andrew Mitchell celebrate winning the 2018 Challenge Cup with Waringstown. (Photo by James Mitchell)

The 28-year-old has watched on with pride in recent months as Andrew played a key role in Dungannon’s historic Irish Cup triumph and also made the trip to Liechtenstein in July where the County Tyrone outfit sealed a maiden European away win against Vaduz.

Roles will be reversed on Friday as Andrew cheers on his brother in Belfast with another major title on the line.

"I've loved going down to watch Dungannon - they play really good football,” said James. “They had an outstanding season finishing in the top-four, winning an Irish Cup and playing in Europe.

"I went over to Liechtenstein to watch the first-leg which they won and that was amazing. To come away with a result like that was great, it's unfortunate the way the game went at Solitude.

"It's a great experience being able to watch your brother playing in Europe and it would be amazing if they could have another good season."

Both Andrew and James represented Ireland at underage level – the former a talented wicketkeeper-batsman while the latter remains a superb fast bowler.

Even at the start of his Irish League career, Andrew still managed to fit some cricket into his summer schedule ahead of returning to pre-season training, but that hasn’t been possible for some time with the demands on Premiership players increasing.

Andrew endured a torrid time through injury during spells at Glentoran and Coleraine, revealing after Dungannon’s Irish Cup final win that he was almost forced to retire.

It’s that perseverance and resilience which has impressed James, who has taken extra joy in his brother’s recent achievements considering the path walked to accomplish them.

"He had a really hard time with injuries and to be able to come back, get back into the team and play regularly is great for him,” he added. “The success that has came with that shows the importance of keeping going and not giving up.

"It was good to see the rewards he got from it.”

A Challenge Cup final is to cricket what an Irish Cup final is to football, one of the most prestigious prizes in a competition which carries significant historical importance.

First played in 1887, only North Down (32) have won the Challenge Cup more times than Waringstown (27), who were most recently crowned champions two years ago following a classic with Carrickfergus.

Friday’s showdown pits the NCU’s top-two teams against each other – Instonians are currently sitting in pole position to secure Premier League glory after beating Waringstown by 10 runs last weekend – and Mitchell admits it’s an occasion every player wants to be part of.

"They are such brilliant days,” he said. “I was 12th man in 2014 when we lost to CSNI but we played them again in 2018 and won that day.

"That was the day Denny (Adam Dennison) scored 145* to beat his dad's record and then he backed it up again in 2023 with another hundred against Carrick.

"Morgan's (Topping) innings of 150* was probably one of the best I've seen. Those days are the games you want to play in, the big finals, and it's great to now be involved in playing a third one.

"When you look around our changing room, we've so many guys who have played in cup finals and have experience of playing in them.

"We have a lot of representative players in our team and the experience of playing at that level will be invaluable in cup finals. That's going to stand us in good stead having that experience and hopefully it can get us across the line."