Strabane were involved in one of the best T20 games in Irish history, coming out of the wrong side as Bonds Glen chased 270 to win with seven balls to spare. Skipper Aaron Gillespie hit an unbeaten 198, and he admitted he was still trying to come to terms with ending up on the losing side.

“Where do you start? I’m still trying to find words to explain what happened!” said Gillespie. “It was just one of those evenings where you couldn’t put a foot wrong. I even surprised myself. I’m still trying to comprehend today what I witnessed on Friday night. I don’t think that game will ever be replicated or one come close to it.

"I’ve never been involved in a game where I saw so much clean ball striking from both sides. The thing about that game is that when you go and expect to defend that total you can never take anything for granted, so a lot of credit has to go to Bonds Glen for going out and chasing it down. Yes, we were missing five of our regular first team but to still go chase 270 in a T20 is absolutely incredible and hats off to them for a quite remarkable effort.”

There was better news on Saturday in the Irish National Cup, as they hosted Civil Service Dublin.

“Although the result didn’t go our way from that game it gave us a lot of confidence going into Saturday knowing what we still achieved, and we gave our most complete all-round performance. Once again Tom Harpur was outstanding up top with the new ball which allowed our spinners to control the middle overs.

“Ryan Gallagher, Tanvir Hasan and Paul McNamee all bowled really well during that middle period and didn’t let them get any momentum, regularly taking wickets and restricting the boundary ball which allowed us to control the game and set a target we were able to chase.

“150 is one of those tricky totals if you lose early wickets, but Ehtesham Ahmed again did the business. He has been excellent for us since he has come in, and never allowed that to happen. He took the bowlers on and put them under pressure.

“Once I joined him as the crease it just allowed me to play freely without pressure knowing he was going well at the other end. To get over the line and into the second round of the cup is great and we’re all looking forward to it now.”

Strabane though have been given a tough proposition in the draw, facing holders Railway Union at home on Sunday June 19th.