The words East Bierley and cup kings seem to go together.

Not only have the South View Road side featured in three of the last four Sovereign Health Care Priestley Cup finals, winning in 2009 and 2012, but they have reached the JCT600 Bradford League’s showpiece final an incredible 14 times since the 1980s began.

But don’t get the idea that Bierley are already thinking of retaining the trophy.

There is the small matter of a trip to Pudsey St Lawrence for starters on Sunday.

Saints beat Bierley in the 2011 final and pushed them all the way in a thrilling league match at Tofts Road as recently as Saturday, May 4, Bierley winning by three wickets with four balls to spare.

Andrew Rennison, one of Bierley’s leading batsmen, knows only too well the threat that St Lawrence pose, having played in that 2011 final, where he dislocated a thumb, and had his only failure so far this season at Tofts Road, when he was stumped for nine.

Rennison said: “St Lawrence will be difficult at their place but we enjoy our cup cricket at Bierley.

“We have a win-or-lose mentality that suits us in knockout matches and we look forward to our Sundays.”

Rennison has started the season well with the bat, making 48 against Pudsey Congs, 40 against Bradford & Bingley and an unbeaten 71 against Lightcliffe.

He puts his good nick down to touring Argentina with the MCC in March, and said: “It wasn’t a bad trade, and I managed to score a hundred against the national side.”

Rennison is only too aware that, having lost Lee Goddard and Nick Walker to New Farnley over the winter, more is expected of the Bierley top and middle order that remain.

He said: “We can’t look to Lee, who was our leading run-scorer last year, to make a score, or think that Nick is going to come in lower down and smash it around.

“It means that Gav (Hamilton), Richard (Atkins) and myself have to do it - but hopefully we will be good enough.”

The other tie on Sunday that stands out is Hanging Heaton’s visit to Cleckheaton, while the only other all-First Division tie in the last 16 is Pudsey Congs v Baildon.