It was difficult to know which of the Lewis Hohn Williams Senior Cup semi finals to watch. In the end I settled for the extra twenty minutes in bed, and drove down to Sydney Parade to see Pembroke attempt to beat North County in a cup match for the second time this season. They had a good start by winning the toss, but whether asking County to bat was a good idea, I wasn't so sure.

Pembroke had taken the difficult decision to leave out captain Emmett Whaley, asking Brian O'Rourke to be skipper. Bill Whaley and Allan Eastwood opened proceedings against Conor Armstrong and Shaun O'Connor on a dampish pitch with a very damp patch short of a length from the Sydney Parade end which Eastwood tried to exploit. Conor and Blackie were their usual positive selves, launching into anything overpitched.

Pursuing one of these drives, Andy Leonard made a good stop by the pavilion, saved two runs, and gave himself a bump just below the knee the size of a duck's egg. Half an hour's ice and a crepe bandage allowed him enough mobility to bowl after he'd done his time.

The score had reached 28 when O'Connor (10) carved a shortish delivery from Whaley to Andrew Balbirnie at extra cover. Ciaran Garry pottered around, helping Conor add another 21 runs before he played half forward to Whaley and was fully lbw for seven. André Botha immediately started to stroke the ball around as Conor went into his shell.

On 22 'The Doctor' edged Whaley low to Anthony Brooks's left, but the catch wasn't held. Three runs later he swished poor Builder over Brooks. Meantime, Boatsy looked the class act he is, and moved effortlessly to his half-century, being 55* at lunch, with County 130-2 off 34 overs and Conor 43*.

Pembroke knew they had the opportunity to get right on top if they could only get rid of André, and thought they had done just that when he drove a ball low back to Andrew Balbirnie. The batsman took no notice of the jubilant 'Broke players and stayed where he was. Umpire Mick Dwyer also reckoned it was a bump ball, and checked with his colleague Marty Block, who couldn't really help him. There were some unnecesaary histrionics and verbals, mainly from 'keeper Lawson, who was spoken to by his skipper. It's good to talk, but very often it's better to listen.

While the curry was still being digested, André (65) drove too soon at one from Balbirnie on a pitch that was increasingly 'stopping' and found Eastwood at straightish mid wicket. Conor had struggled to his half-century in the 41st over, and was out four overs later for 51, lbw back on his stumps to Andy Leonard's leggies, to make it 167-4.

Brian Shields and John Mooney are uncomplicated batsmen: they stop the good deliveries and belt the bad ones. Shieldsy had added 15 out of 22 when he missed a straight one from Brooks. Terry Richardson is also a student of the uncomplicated school, but could only loft Eastwood to Whaley at long on. At 189-6 with only seven overs left, County were in a little trouble, but skipper John Boy rode to the rescue, mixing his puck over the pavilion with his paddle from outside the off stump.

Four short of his half-century he nicked Eastwood high and wide to Theo Lawson's left, and the keeper made a medium grade catch look far more difficult than it was. Lawson could learn a lot from Brad Friedel by shutting up and cutting down on the flash Harry stuff. That's one of the reasons why Friedel is a class 'keeper and Lawson isn't.

François van der Merwe (10) and Dara Armstrong (16*) put it about them to take the score to 251-8 off the sixty overs. After Whaley's opening spell of 9-3-22-2, the slowies were the main men, Balbirnie and Brooks each taking 1/44 off their dozen overs, and the limping Leonard 1/39 off 11. Eastwood's second spell gained him three wickets, but 3/65 off 10 was disappointing.

Pembroke's pursuit of a decent score on a worsening pitch was made even more difficult when Brian O'Rourke (3) nicked van der Merwe to Shields at slip. While not (yet) in André's class, Brooks is a very good bat, and played several fine shots all round the wicket off both front and back foot to take the score to 95 and himself past fifty.

Andrew Balbirnie was becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability to get the ball away off bowling that was no better than tidy. He started to play chancy shots, and it was disappointing, but no surprise, when he was caught behind for 24 flicking at Eddie Richardson. In the next over Brooks appeared to lose concentration and was lbw to Botha for 53.

van der Merwe returned to have a go at Graham McDonnell, who was bristling with intent and aggression but unable to ignore the helpful hints he was receiving from behind the stumps. He gave Dara catching practice, and stupidly responded to a gentle send-off. Some advice from an old soldier who still has great difficulty keeping his mouth shut: only get into fights when you have some chance of winning, otherwise you look an even bigger plonker than you already are.

Pembroke's cup run was over two balls later when Stuart McDonnell was on the Bakerloo line while van der Merwe's delivery was on the Piccadilly. 95-1 had become 105-5. After tea Ryan Hopkins played a lovely cameo, including a pick-up for 6, but his 22, Andy Leonard's fighting 14 and Theo Lawson's well-constructed and -executed 51* could only get the 'Broke to 212 off 55.4 overs. Botha's offies returned 2/31 off 12, and van der Merwe (3/34), Terry Richardson (3/28) and brother Eddie 2/44 collected their scalps. Dara Armstrong pouched four more victims.

The last thing to say about the match is how well umpired it was by Marty Block and Mick Dwyer. I don't know if they got every decision right (neither, I suspect, do the players) but as far as I'm concerned they got nothing egregiously wrong. When the chat/banter/sledging started, they let the players sort it out themselves as far as they could, and at the end of the match the only things bruised were a couple of egos and Andy Leonard's knee.

Imagine my surprise, then, when in one of the intervals Mick Dwyer told me that he'd just received his mid-season grading to discover that he'd been ranked 19th of 19 Senior umpires. Were there 18 better Senior umpires than Mick, I'd be delighted, but there aren't. There aren't eight better umpires. I know a couple of Senior teams have had their problems with Mick, but he's a good umpire.

On Sunday I dropped in on the early start in Phoenix on my way to Castle Avenue . CYM, inserted, had a lively start from young Doug Nicol and not so young Robbie Henson, but each went before the score was 25, Nicol lbw to David Langford Smith and Henson bowled by Andrew Downton. Kenny McDonald was his usual positive self, and Brad Rosool very watchful, although he played a lovely force through the covers just before I left.

It was hard to see Kenny, Brad and Donal Vaughan scoring enough runs to trouble Phoenix , and indeed that's how the match turned out. Castle Avenue was dampish when I got there, but the umpires were confident of a 1:30 start with no loss of overs. It was déjà vu all over again talking to one of them, Clive Colleran, who had received a mid-season grading ranking him 16th.

I can't think of 15 Senior umpires better than Clive, so I was beginning to have my doubts. His colleague for the day, John Bristow, is the Hon. Secretary of the LCUSA, and while he wasn't involved in the grading, he was able to tell me that the process and procedures were 'experimental.'

Clontarf won the toss and asked Pembroke to bat first. The ball was 'popping' off a damp patch well short of a length from the Castle end, and Andrew Balbirnie (9) was a little unfortunate to fall driving at one that stopped on him, Joe Morrissey clutching a very fine caught and bowled way to his left, a save Brad Friedel would have been proud of.

Anthony Brooks joined skipper Brian O'Rourke, and the two made steady progress against moderate bowling, Brooks resuming his form of the previous day, and O'Rourke nurdling and chipping with the odd drive through cover. The score was well past fifty when Brian (32) was very slow in taking a single and was comfortably run out.

Graham McDonnell replaced him and, while he battled well and the pair were never in trouble, he and Brooks didn't dominate the bowling, perhaps because the ball was stopping on them, and never looked like getting the 250 they'd need to put real pressure on Clontarf. Nevertheless, it was a surprise when Brooks got neither forward nor back and was bowled off an inside edge by Rod Hokin nine short of a well-deserved century.

McDonnell was getting unnecessarily angry with the excess of short-pitched bowling he thought was getting, and tried to tell umpire Bristow how to do his job. It wasn't very edifying watching the two of them arguing in mid pitch, although the sight of the Chink without his teeth in the previous day was marginally less appealing.

Graham eventually miscued Hokin to Keith Spelman for 49, brother Stuart brought up the family fifty and missed yet another straight one, Theo Lawson (17) was so far down the track to Hokin that he was stumped at the third attempt by Adrian D'Arcy, and Alan Eastwood holed out off the final ball with the score on 225.

That gave Joe Morrissey 3/39 off his ten, and Rod Hokin also had a Colombia Three-for, his ten overs going for 51. Before the resumption two overs were lost to a shower, and the D/L par score was 222. None of those runs was made when Adrian D'Arcy got in a complete tangle with a half-tracker that lifted and died, and he toe-ended it back to Allan Eastwood.

Bill Coghlan likes to stretch his 6' 4' frame forward and drive the ball, and he did this to good effect, making 38 of the first 53 before pulling Andrew Balbirnie down the throat of Ryan Hopkins at deep square. In the 1930s there was a renowned predecessor of 'Barnacle' Bailey at Essex, John Douglas, who had four given names and the initials J.W.H.T. When he played one of his defensive innings, he was dubbed Johnny Won't Hit Today.

Yesterday, Rod wouldn't, either. Hokin ground his way on while Andrew Poynter batted with great fluency and skill, working the ball both sides of the wicket, reaching his fifty quickly and then powering on toward three figures.

But Rod did give us the champagne moment of the day, when he tried to pirouette inside a free hit and help it over deep backward square (I think). All that happened was that he smashed his stumps as the umpire called 'wide'. Fielding skipper Brian O'Rourke joined the rest of the Sydney Parade Choral Society with an appeal and had to be convinced that Hokin wasn't out.

Once 'Tarf got within 50 of their target Hokin loosened up a bit, and got to his fifty. Then, on 58 with 17 runs still needed, he mishit Balbirnie to be caught by Leonard. Poynter reached a very fine century and was immediately out, swishing at Balbirnie and top-edging it through to Lawson, who made the most of his first opportunity to shout for a very long time.

Alex Cusack (12*) finished things off with a neat boundary to square leg off the first ball of the last over. Eoghan Delany didn't face a ball. Balbirnie bowled well for his 3/38, and Allan Eastwood can't be faulted for lack of effort. But he really should have kept the short ball as a surprise and pitched it further up with every expectation of a mistimed drive.

The only cheer for Pembroke over the weekend was that Leinster got hammered by Railway Union, again, setting up a juicy confrontation next Saturday in Rathmines. I shan't be there, because I shall be up in Inch for the Senior Cup Final. But who would be County's opponents? On Monday evening I drove up to Milverton to find out.

The Hills had made 217 off 59.4 overs, having been 111-0 and then 136-6. Clontarf had reached 164-4 off 41 overs when bad light stopped play. There was a sizeable crowd to watch the denouement, but twenty minutes before start of play there was a very heavy shower for ten minutes. The pitch and run-ups had been covered in time, and were playable, but the square wasn't, so the evening's only entertainment was a bowl-out for a place in the finals of the Twenty20.

The Hills went first, Luke Clinton and Mike Baumgart immediately hitting. On round 5 Conor D'Arcy hit for Clontarf. It was only then that I realised that it was a full monty jobbie, with everybody getting a go. Ropu Islam evened it up, but The Hills 'keeper James Rogan made it 3-2, and the Wilberries will be in Sydney Parade on the 16th August. So, unfortunately, shall I.