It was just too early for Instonians to claim the title of NCU Premier League champions after their victory against Muckamore but it will take something remarkable next weekend to prevent Nikolai Smith from lifting the trophy for the second time in three years.

They go into the final round of games – on August 23! – with a four points advantage and a run rate almost half a run superior to Waringstown who stayed in contention with a 143 runs thumping of Lisburn. Only something similar for the Villagers when they visit CIYMS on Saturday and Lisburn reversing the result against Instonians at Wallace Park will bring the calculators into action. It’s Instonians title but not quite mathematically yet.

Waringstown may have done all they could do at The Lawn but Instonians were just as convincing at Shaw’s Bridge – well, at least after they had dismissed Neil Brand. The South Africa Test star was threatening to leave the champions elect with a formidable total to chase. In the 39th over, he was 114 not out and Muckamore were 216 for four but Cade Carmichael has just beaten him all ends up without the ball hitting the stumps. Next ball, however, while he made contact, he could only top edge it to backward point and George Craigan held a simple catch.

It was the turning point with Muckamore adding only 48 runs in the last 11 overs to leave them on an under-par 265. There was a sliver of hope for the visitors when Neil Gill removed Rob McKinley and Smith and young Sam Magee got the big wicket of Neil Rock with his first ball and just 58 on the board but that only let in Shane Dadswell in the 15th over. Fourteen over later, the South African professional and Cade Carmichael had put on 115, with Dadswell scoring 74 of them (three fours and seven sixes) and it was effectively game over.

Brand, in his last game for the club, bore the brunt of the Dadswell onslaught, conceding 29 runs from 14 balls, but after hitting his first ball from Sathish Suresh for six, Dadswell was caught on the mid-wicket boundary next ball.

No panic, the experienced Andrew White leg glanced his first ball for four and he was still there when Instonians won the game with five wides at the start of the 43rd over. He had lost Carmichael just two balls earlier but not before the Ireland international had scored his fourth century of the season and also became the first NCU player to 1,000 runs.

The opening batter, in with a chance of doing the same in the Test match in Bangladesh in November, was happy to rotate the strike – he hit only 12 fours - and it was only within five runs of victory that he lost concentration and was trapped leg before.  He had faced 115 balls.

Muckamore’s defeat saw them saw them lose fourth place, leapfrogged by CIYMS, but even without Brand they should be confident of matching last season’s finish by winning their home game against North Down on Saturday.

Jamie Jackson, one of nine locally produced players, came in to open the batting with Brand and made an instant impression, outscoring the professional with 34 from 38 balls in an opening stand of 67.

Cian Robertson, as he so often does, made the breakthrough in his first over and followed up with a fortunate leg before decision next ball to dismiss Mark Gleghorne.

Jason van der Merwe has been Muckamore’s stand-out batter this season and he passed 50 for the fifth time in a third wicket partnership of 117, hitting four fours and three sixes in his 55-ball knock.

White trapped him leg before when he missed with a sweep shot and after James Magee had Sam Gordon caught, the wicket of Brand in the next over was one that Muckamore could not afford.

The class batter was accelerating perfectly – his first 50 came off 68 balls, his second from just 36 and he was preparing to hit top gear when the introduction of Suresh proved his downfall. It was also Muckamore’s but, more importantly, it was Instonians who were on course for a 12th win of the season. A 13th would be the perfect way to win the Premier League.