Shane Dadswell starred again as Instonians got their defence of the Lagan Valley Steels Cup off to a successful start with a 23-run win over Lisburn.

The South African continued his destructive form with a 26-ball 72 that included eight towering sixes and two fours that set the Shaws Bridge side on their way to 217 for eight.

He was dismissed by Ross Adair with the left-arm spinner taking 3-23, and the Irish international then clubbed four sixes and a four from the first five balls of the reply, but fell off the sixth.

Dadswell then took a hat-trick as Lisburn slumped to 48 for five, but a stand of 98 between Neil Whitworth (86) and David Miller (31) kept Lisburn in contention, before they were eventually bowled out for 194.

Jake Collingwood put in a superb all-round effort as CSNI beat Muckamore by six wickets at Moylena. In-form Neil Brand had put the hosts in a strong position with a brutal 74 for just 25 balls, hitting 13 fours and a six. But Collingwood stemmed the flow with three wickets to keep them to a total of 165 – two wickets also for Harry Dyer and Adam Leckey.

A second wicket stand of 90 in just seven overs between Ashwin Hebbar (54) and Collingwood (45), both of whom cleared the ropes four times, broke the back of the chase, with Harry Dyer’s unbeaten 32 sealing the six-wicket win with nine balls to spare.

Closest game of the night was at Belmont where North Down edged out CI by just eight runs. Mike Erlank continued on from his Irish Senior Cup exploits by hitting 11 fours and five sixes in his unbeaten 96 as the Comber side made an imposing 185 for three.

Erlank and skipper Tyron Koen, who made 28 not out added an unbroken 85 in 38 balls with 44 coming from the last two overs.

That brutal late assault was to prove crucial as Charlie Swart hit four sixes in a rapid 55, adding 61 for the second wicket with skipper John Matchett (41). Despite their best efforts, CI finished on 177 for seven.

Woodvale had little trouble at Laurelvale winning by 91 runs. The piled up 210 as Francis Collins was again among the runs, making a top-score of 67 from 44 balls, that included seven fours and four sixes.

He added 80 for the second wicket in seven overs with skipper Ruhan Pretorius who made 47 (7 fours, 1 six). The Innings had been given a fast start by Ludwig Kaestner’s 17-ball 31, crunching 5 fours and a maximum.

Laurelvale made no real attempt to chase their challenging target, opting for batting practice, with Adnan Malik (35) and Mark Thornbury (25) taking them to 119 for four.

Just one game beat the weather in the North-West with Jason Milligan taking three wickets and making an unbeaten 34 as Fox Lodge beat Bready by five wickets.