Johnny Morton

The highly anticipated Gallagher Challenge Cup semi-finals will be played on Sunday as four teams battle it out for a spot in the showpiece decider at The Green on Friday 13th August.

Here is all you need to know ahead of North Down vs Instonians with team news, who to watch out for, previous Challenge Cup meetings and quotes from those involved.

North Down vs Instonians

Team News
There will be no Paul Stirling present in the North Down side but captain Alistair Shields does welcome fast bowler Craig Young back into the fold after his Ireland commitments.

Aniruddha Chore will be looking to continue his superb form in a competition he is yet to be dismissed in after scoring 118 runs in the opening two victories over Cliftonville Academy and Lisburn.

Instonians picked up an impressive Robinson Services Premier League victory against Carrickfergus last time out and they'll also be strengthened by the returning Shane Getkate – who has the highest strike-rate in the NCU's top-flight this season – and captain Andrew White.

Cian Robertson's haul of 23 wickets at an average of 18.35 puts him top of the wicket-taking charts and he is joined in the squad by fellow spinner Ben Rose, who has also picked up 22 in his 15 matches this season.

2021 Star Performers

North Down
Aniruddha Chore – 706 runs, 22 dismissals
Alistair Shields – 546 runs
Tom Mayes – 19 wickets
Peter Davison – 19 wickets

Instonians
Oliver Metcalfe – 338 runs
Cian Robertson – 23 wickets
Ben Rose – 22 wickets
James Magee – 19 wickets

Previous Challenge Cup meetings (since 2011):

2012 FINAL

North Down 182 (49.1 overs, A Sutherland 58, E Moleon 3-25)
Instonians 184-2 (36 overs, J Shannon 99no, A White 57no)
Instonians beat North Down by 8 wickets

2017 QUARTER-FINAL

Instonians 226-7 (Ni Smith 86, S Bunting 32, R Pretorius 2-36, C Robinson 2-31)
North Down 210 (D Graham 40, A Shields 60, P Eakin 46, Na Smith 2-44, Ni Smith 2-32, S Getkate 2-30, A White 2-35)
Instonians beat North Down by 16 runs

2019 FIRST ROUND

North Down 85 (R Haire 21, A White 4-15, J Magee 3-23)
Instonians 88-2 (N Smith 20, O Metcalfe 35)
Instonians beat North Down by 8 wickets  

What did they say?

North Down fast bowler Tom Mayes on Sunday's game: "I'm very excited and so are the lads at North Down. To have a chance at playing in a Challenge Cup final with the semis coming up would be brilliant and I'm looking forward to the challenge. The excitement is there and we have been playing good cricket, so I'm hoping we can take that momentum and confidence into the next couple of weeks."

Instonians spinner Cian Robertson on the semi-finals: "It's a huge game. We may be going into the game on Sunday as underdogs but we have shown that when we play our best cricket we can compete with any side in the league and that gives us huge confidence. We all have a huge desire to win this weekend and we couldn't wish for more than being in the final in a couple of weeks time."

Gallagher Challenge Cup Match Summaries