The NW season got underway with wins in the top flight for Donemana, Ardmore, Bready and Coleraine. There were runs aplenty throughout with the bat on top for the most part, while in the Championship there were victories for Ballyspallen, St Johnston and Killyclooney.
At Beechgrove, English county player Xavier Clarke top scored 72 on debut adding 114 for the 4th wicket with Cameron Melly 67. However, from 195 for 3 they added just 24 from last 7 overs to be 219 all out.
Andy Britton took 3 for 6 in 7 overs but Andy McBrine top scored with 74 and David O'Sullivan hit 5 sixes in a 38-ball 58 not out as he and skipper Gary McClintock 24no shared an unbroken 7th wicket stand of 72 in 62 balls to clinch the four-wickets win.
New Ardmore pro Junaid Ali hit 127 from 97 balls (15 fours, 5 sixes) as he and skipper Harry Zimmermann 61 (10 fours) added 182 in 28 overs for the 3rd wicket as Ardmore made 288 for 9 at Newbuildings.
Four wickets for Edrees Kharotai and three for Zimmermann led Ardmore to a 57-run win despite a hard-hit 57 in 32 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes) by Gregory McFaul.
At Bready, Gavin Roulston scored a century from 104 balls (7 fours, 5 sixes) as he and Ryan Clarke (40) shared an opening stand of 144 in 29 overs. Davy Rankin also made 40 as Bready posted 279 for 6.
Strabane without John Mooney never threatened - Skipper Kevin Gallagher hit 46, Sri Lankan pro Ranjitha 36, and debutant Subhan Shirzad 36 in their 175 all out - five wickets for young spinner Nathan McCombe.
Two Eglinton old boys, David Cooke (65*) and Craig Averill 57 were in the runs as Coleraine posted 219 for 6.
The villagers looked well placed in the chase thanks to runs from Robbie Millar (52), Lahiru Gamage (44) and Jamie Millar (34) but from 177 for 4, they lost six wickets for 14 to be 191 all out - three wickets for Bannsiders Captain Rory Knox, and two apiece for Matty Smyth, Craig Averill and Gareth Burns.
Glendermott were given the bird at Ballyspallen as the Bridge Park side's Irish passport holding New Zealander Isaac Bird showed his quality on debut. He top-scored with a 36-ball 41 (6 fours, 2 sixes) in a modest total of 122. There were four wickets for Glendermott skipper Alan Johnson, three for youngster JJ O'Brien, and two for Ben Mills.
The chase never got going as three early wickets for Michael O'Brien was followed by four for Bird and two for skipper Stephen Kennedy as Glendermott were bowled out for 61.
Killyclooney were the highest scorers of the day in the Championship with new captain Kenzie Hall hitting 113 (10 fours, 3 sixes) as he and William Finlay (51) took full advantage of loose bowling and dropped catches in an opening stand of 105. There were runs too for Timmy Dougherty (34) and Andrew Neil (32*) as they posted 284 for 6 without a significant contribution from their new pro Aron Visser. He went to a fine caught and bowled by Corey Roulston (2-35), while Niall McDonnell also claimed a brace.
The home side's reply never got any momentum as Matthew Capmpbell claimed four wickets, while there were two apiece for Timmy Dougherty and Alfie Moan. Corey Roulston (28*) and Derek Curry (20) the best of their 144 all out.
Closest game of the day was at Bonds Glen were the home side would have been relatively pleased at the halfway stage having posted 221 for 6 - runs for Davy Robinson (47*), Johnny Haslett (46), Sam Haslett (37), and Dharm Singh (20). The most successful of the Saints attack were Sam Macbeth and Michael Rankin who each took two wickets.
Wickets for Divan Posthumus and Dharm Singh looked to have the Bee Gees on top, but Graeme McCarter made an unbeaten 72 (9 fours, 2 sixes), sharing half century stands with Matthew Orr (31) and Deepak Reddy as the Donegal side prevailed by three wickets.
