Century for Vard, Solomon leads Lions Lod and Diamonds upset Ashdod A

Ra'anana marched through to the quarterfinals of the ICA Cup, with a comprehensive 129 run win over Dimona A. Be'er Sheva A, who had a miserable season and finished last in Division 1, put up a brave fight before losing by 5 wickets to league champions Lions Lod. Neve Yonatan proved too strong for Ramle, winning by 50 runs, whilst in the upset of the day, Division 3 winners Diamonds beat Division 1 Ashdod A by 8 wickets.

Despite missing several regular players, Ra'anana proved far too strong for Dimona A in Dimona on Friday. Ra'anana stalwart Adrian Vard scored an excellent 102 to take Ra'anana to a massive 231 for 6 in their 25 overs. Benny Nigrekar scored an aggressive 36 at the top of the order for Dimona, but with star batsman Sanjay Gupta falling without scoring, Dimona were never going to reach their target and were eventually all out for 102.

It has been a disappointing year for Ashdod A, and a good Cup run would have given them something to cheer about. However that was not to be, as the Diamonds showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in the domestic game, easing past the home team. Hillel Awasker scored 33 in Ashdod's 129, but with Anis Zaveri and Shailesh Bothra each scoring 45 not out, the Diamonds had little trouble reaching their target.

In Be'er Sheva on Saturday, the home side reached 192, thanks largely to 68 from number nine batsman Omer Penkar, batting first against Lions Lod. Benny David took 3 for 33, with David Massil and Anim Solomon taking two wickets each. Solomon then played the lead role with the bat, scoring 82 to ensure the win for Lions.

A top score of 50 from Israel U17 international Yaniv Razpurker helped Neve Yonatan post 181 against Ramle. Ramle started their run chase solidly, with Daniel Pingle (30) in good form, but Aby Daniels (4 for 31) ripped through the lower order to leave them 131 all out.

The quarterfinal matches take place this weekend, with Lod Cricket Club taking on Ra'anana at Hadar Yosef on Friday, and Dimona C hosting Young Ashdod, Diamonds playing Lions Be'er Sheva and Neve Yonatan entertaining Lions Lod, all on Saturday.