North Manchester booked their place in the final of the Western Union Cup, after beating the Keighley Young Muslims in the semi-finals.

They will now play Kashmir of Dewsbury in their first final after seven years of endeavour.

North Manchester emerged victorious in a keenly fought encounter but Keighley, who batted first, made a flying start scoring at a rate of 4.5 runs per over.

Khalid Butt (86), Farhad Raja (46 not out) and Ajmal Farooq (43) all produced impressive performances as the Young Muslims finished on 247 for seven. Facing a daunting target, North Manchester replied with an opening partnership of 46 and went on to reach 250 for six wickets. Mazhar Saeed (40), Ur Rehman (36), and most notably Irfan Rana, who made (65 not out) set up an unlikely victory for the North Manchester outfit.

Kashmir, booked their first ever appearance in the final with a comprehensive victory over West Bowling of Bradford. Kashmir lost their first wicket for only 13 runs but recovered well courtesy of their middle order, despite the loss of four further wickets, including that of skipper Shoaib Latif. Mohammed Arshad was the pick of the Kashmir batsman, notching 37 as the Dewsbury side finished on 146 all out. Gurdev Singh of West Bowling provided most problems for the batsmen, taking four wickets for 35 runs.

In reply, the team from Bradford fell way short of the runs target, amassing 62 all out. Javed Iqbal produced a fine display of bowling, taking three wickets for only 19 runs. The West Bowling cause was hampered when they managed to run two of their top order batsmen, though Shahid Bashir (25) offered some resistance.

The Western Union Cup Final will take place at Bradford Park Avenue on Sunday 10 August 2003.