Awasker stars in Ashdod win; Be'er Sheva, Diamonds and Lod advance

In an exciting weekend of Cup action, Ashdod A provided the biggest upset of the day, defeating league champions Lions Lod by 14 runs. Be'er Sheva continued their late season revival, beating Young Ashdod for the second time in three weeks. As expected, Dimona A were no match for Diamonds, and Lod scored a comfortable victory over Ramle.

A brilliant all round performance by veteran Hillel Awasker led Ashdod to victory over Lions Lod, a team whose defeats over the past six years can probably be counted on one hand. Awasker (36), together with Joel Reuben (52), added 78 for the first wicket for Ashdod, but the middle order could not build on their good platform and Ashdod would have been slightly disappointed with their total of 162. However early wickets had Lions in trouble, and although Isaac Massil (44) led a recovery, when he was bowled by Awasker with the score on 111, Ashdod were firmly in control. Awasker (4 for 23) wrapped up the tail, with Lions all out for 148.

Young Ashdod, whose season promised so much just a few weeks ago, were bundled out of the Cup by Be'er Sheva, the same team who two weeks earlier ruined their league title celebrations. George Sheader (71*) batted through the innings to take Be'er Sheva to 255, and although Raymond Aston responded with a fine 96 for Young Ashdod, he never received the required support and Young Ashdod were dismissed for 200.

Half centuries by Shailesh Kheni (59*) and Kiran Patel (51*) eased Diamonds to their target of 130 without the loss of the wicket, as the Division 2 outfit booked their semifinal spot with an easy win over Dimona A.

Joel Varsulkar (57) was the unlikely batting hero for Lod, who defeated Ramle by 8 wickets. Earlier Avner Wasker (4 for 32) helped reduce Ramle to 131.

The quarterfinals will be completed this weekend with Ra'anana hosting Be'er Sheva at Hadar Yosef. The winners will meet Lod next week in the second semi-final, with the first of the semis being played this Saturday between Diamonds and Ashdod A in Ashdod.