WANDERERSCRICKET

Wexford Wanderers firsts advanced to the final of the Wallace Cup, a competition open to all clubs in the midlands and in the south-east, when they defeated Knockarley by three wickets at Kentstown on Sunday.

The home side, who operate two league divisions above Wexford, batted first but a tremendous bowling and fielding performance from Wanderers restricted them to a total of 161 runs all out. Umar Tarar with three wickets and Nithin Jain with two were the main wicket-takers, and two brilliant catches were held by Malang Jan and Alan Murphy.

Despite a break for rain during the run chase, the Wexford batsmen maintained their concentration, and in a thrilling finish they reached their target with seven wickets down but with just one over to spare.

Imran Jan with 53 and Khaled Shirzada with 43 were the top scorers, and yet again Nithin Jain with 21 not out guided the team home to a very satisfying victory.

The final will be played next Sunday in Wexford. The side will face another enormous challenge against Laois who also play a couple of league divisions above Wanderers, but such is the confidence in the squad that another cup upset could well be on the cards.

The seconds had a frustrating week as their home game against Cabinteely had to be called off due to consistent heavy rain. They will be hoping for better weather next Saturday when Clontarf will be the visitors to Park.