cricket

Portadown Taverners face Monaghan with the target of a successful trophy defence.

However, Monaghan can also boast past glory in the Cross-Community Border Classic Shield so a tight tussle is anticipated in town.

Play will start at 2.30, with everyone welcome.

Laurelvale’s weekend will focus on a trip to Cregagh entering the closing stages of the Section Two league season.

Promotion remains the primary goal for Laurelvale, with last weekend’s fixture postponement putting the villagers third with three games left on the calendar.

Laurelvale’s weekend trip to take on BISC finished in frustration. Club officials have opted to lodge a complaint with the Northern Cricket Union over the decision to postpone the match.

“We just want to put on record our disappointment at the circumstances of the decision,” said Laurelvale captain David Sinton. “We feel our photo evidence will be supported by the umpire pitch report.

“It is not about demanding points or anything, more raising awareness of an issue in the best interests of the NCU to help resolve across the leagues.

“It is frustrating that we basically wasted three or four hours on Saturday, especially when it is always difficult asking for players to commit time to games over a season.”

The trip to Cregagh tomorrow (Saturday) offers another opportunity to move one step closer to second.

“It’s still in our hands,” said Sinton. “We will target wins then see how it develops.”