Willow Cuts and Cleveland will be hoping this is the weekend they finally clinch a place in the Belco Cup final.

Last year’s third and fourth place teams in the league face tough opposition when they meet Southampton Rangers and St David’s in today’s semi-finals. That Rangers and St David’s have not played a competitive match so far could tilt the balance and make for two evenly contested matches at Somerset Cricket Club and St David’s. Cuts and Cleveland have never reached the Belco Cup final, while Rangers and St David’s have 16 final appearances between them, going back to when the competition was the Camel Cup.

St David’s won the final two Camel cup finals in 2001 and 2002 before losing three straight Belco Cup finals in 2004, 2005 and 2006. They were then beaten in the final again in 2012 and 2013 when Bailey’s Bay stopped them by 29 runs before Southampton Rangers beat them last year by 87 runs to make it eight wins in nine finals going back to 2003.

Rangers’ only loss in a Belco Cup final came in 2010 when PHC beat them by 13 runs to end a five-year winning streak. Cuts have the all-round strength to cause an upset today, with new captain Malachi Jones eagerly awaiting the clash against his former team. He knows how to win the Belco Cup, too, having helped Rangers to victory in 2006 when he scored 78 not out against St David’s. He was still a 16-year-old Berkeley student at the time. “Playing against your former team, you always want to win,” Jones said after scoring 98 against Bailey’s Bay last weekend. He scored a century against Rangers in 2012 and has confirmed he intends to bat at No 5 this season, taking more responsibility as the captain. “Against Rangers with Janeiro and Dion [Stovell] and the boys, I hope our guys are up for it,” he said. “I know I am. I normally do good against Rangers.”

Rangers could give a debut to James Celestine, the hard-hitting former Flatts batsman, who will give extra strength to a batting side already containing Tucker and Stovell. Willow Cuts have a solid top five with Chris Douglas and new signing Shaquille Jones likely to open, followed by Chris Foggo, Deunte Darrell and captain Jones.

Whichever way the results go, there is certain to be an east versus west final tomorrow, with St David’s battling with Eastern Counties rivals Cleveland for a spot in the final. St David’s have Angelo Cannonier back playing again and he will be part of a strong bowling attack that also includes Justin Pitcher, Rudell Pitcher, George O’Brien, Del Hollis and Delyone Borden. Cleveland will pin much of their batting hopes on wicketkeeper Jason Anderson and Treadwell Gibbons.

St George’s have picked up two of the three players granted loans by the Bermuda Cricket Board this week. Ronald Gibbons joins them from Flatts, while Garnell Hollis moves from Bailey’s Bay. The third player, Keyshe Robinson, is moving in the other direction, from St George’s to Devonshire Rec.