Eaton Park men hope to improve upon poor cup record against Ardmore

This game will now be rearranged, mostly likely on a Friday date later this month.

This Saturday attention switches from the league to the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup. Ballymena have been drawn at home to North West Union side Ardmore in a game that gives the Eaton Park side a chance to improve their unimpressive record in this competition in recent seasons – although, to be fair to Ballymena, they have not been helped by continually drawing one of the “big guns” from Leinster in the first round.

However Ardmore will certainly not be pushovers, even if they are not one of the top-ranked North West sides. In some ways, the team from the Bleachgreen ground are similar to Ballymena in that they rely mainly on home-produced players and have a reputation for being at their best in close finishes.

Ardmore also have a potential match-winner in Desmond “Decker” Curry, a former Irish international batsman who has dominated North West cricket for almost 30 years.

Ballymena will welcome their home draw – particularly their bowlers, who seem to reserve their best bowling performances for Eaton Park. Certainly Ballymena are long overdue the ‘rub of the green’ in a cup game and will be hoping that home advantage might just be enough to give them the edge in a very close game.