CRICKET/Irish Senior Cup final: It's two years since Railway Union lost to North County in the final of the Irish Senior Cup and even the most optimistic Park Avenue supporter could not have thought they would get such a quick opportunity to exact revenge for what was a desperately disappointing day for them in Castle Avenue in 2003.
That day North County only made 217 but Paul Mooney ripped through the Railway top order so that by the time they were 25 for five it was game over.
While North County are still the top club team in Ireland, in many ways, this is a more confident and accomplished Railway side than the one that made it to this stage two years ago. Opening bowler Roger Whelan is close to Ireland selection now, Kenny Carroll has had a very good year as captain and in Adrian Murphy they have a potential match winner in any circumstances.
Gary Black has been named in the team despite an ankle injury sustained a couple of weeks ago, although Simon Grehan stands by in case he doesn't come through a late fitness test.
Today's game gets under way at Castle Avenue at 11am and after spending almost the whole year without a sponsor for Ireland's premier knock-out competition, the Irish Cricket Union has finally managed to get a backer on board. As such, this match will be known as the Lion Sports Irish Senior Cup final.
Despite their improvements, however, this may well feel like a lion's den for Railway. North County have selected a typically strong side for today's game. Three Armstrongs (Dara, Conor and Cian) make the team, along with two Mooneys (Paul and John) and of course Andre Botha, Sean O'Connor and Reinhardt Strydom.
Admission is €5 for adults with ICU members and under-16s getting in free. There will be live coverage of the game at regular intervals during the day on NEAR 101.6fm in the north Dublin region.
NORTH COUNTY: D Armstrong (captain), Cian Armstrong, Conor Armstrong, A Botha, T Garry, D Harper, P Martin, J Mooney, P Mooney, S O'Connor, R Strydom. 12th Man: S Plant
RAILWAY UNION: K Carroll (captain), G Carroll, C Mullen, A Murphy, M Tariq, P Johnston, G Black, R Whelan, G O'Meara, G O'Brien, J Rogan. 12th Man: S Grehan.
