The ridiculous scoring rate which is almost becoming the norm in 2026 continued at Wallace Park on Saturday when Lisburn chased down their victory target of 227 in 26.3 overs. And yes, they had 50 overs to do it.

It helps when your team includes both Adair brothers and yet, it had the potential to be even quicker! Ben Calitz was asked not to play, ahead of Ireland’s ODI series against Afghanistan, starting on Wednesday, so he was one of the few Lisburn spectators who chose this match rather than make the journey to Sandy Bay to see the club’s 2nd XI win the Junior Cup final.

The speedy victory over Civil Service North, which consolidated second place in the Premier League table with two games to play, improved their run-rate to 0.34, but as leaders Waringstown’s run-rate is in excess of two, Lisburn have no chance of overhauling that, so their only route to the title is to beat the Villagers in their next match on August 15 and then Instonians on the final Saturday of the season and hope Muckamore win at The Lawn.

Unfortunately for Lisburn, they will have to take on the leaders – unaffected by Ireland call-ups - without Mark Adair and Calitz as the game clashes with the final match of the Afghanistan series. Some things just aren’t fair.

Having said all that, the Lisburn chase could have been so different if Ryan Hunter had not dropped Ross Adair at the start of the third over. The big-hitting opener was already on 22 but he went on to make 86, from just 42 balls with 13 fours and four sixes, and by the time he was out at the end of the 10-over powerplay, Lisburn were halfway to their target.

Younger brother Mark was already in the middle, having replaced captain Neil Whitworth, and he continued where Ross left off, hitting 57 off 30 balls, including nine fours and two sixes. Even after he was caught, on the long-on boundary, off James West, David Miller, batting at No 7, scored 19 off 13 balls. Only on his departure did a sense of pre-2026 normality return as Nigel Jones and James Hunter took all of 37 balls to score the remaining 31 runs.

West finished with four wickets but at a cost of 83 runs, bumped up by three successive sixes from Mark Adair. At that stage it looked as if there would be no need for a drinks break and, in the end, it was actually taken four balls early after Hunter hit the ninth six of the innings as they tried to retrieve the ball.

By contrast, there was not a single maximum in the CSN innings which started with all eyes on Mark Adair, told by Cricket Ireland to get some overs under his belt after his long injury lay-off.

Ireland’s strike bowler went for more than sevens in his opening six-over spell but he picked up the wickets of West, caught at slip and Hunter, who looped a ball to mid-wicket. Mark’s return was much more economical, conceding just 12 runs in his remaining four overs, although a third wicket proved elusive.

The early damage was done by Marc Ellison who reached 50 off a respectable 37 balls, with back to back fours off Ben Walsh but in the next over he pulled Ewan Wilson straight to Nikolai Smith at deep mid-wicket and CSN found themselves 84 for five with Ashwin Hebbar and Jordan Neill, the other Ireland squad member allowed to play, also back in the pavilion, having contributed just 10 runs between them.

Stuart Thompson came in – ahead of Jake Collingwood - to steady the ship as he so often does and, as he so often does, did it with ease. The skipper was happy to open his account with nine singles and then again after a partnership of 66 with Adam Leckey was ended by Ben Walsh, he nurdled another 12 runs before attempting to hit a boundary as the recovery continued.

A horrible attempt at a reverse sweep by Collingwood, gave Walsh a second wicket and left CSN 192 for eight with 10 overs still to bat. Thompson found an able ally in the hugely experienced Andrew Cowden and they knocked off another 34 runs, including’s Thompson’s latest half-century, off 78 balls with three fours, before he was bowled by Wilson.

A total of 226 at least gave his bowlers something to bowl at, but these days, you rarely get 50 overs to take 10 wickets in a run-chase. As CSN found to their expensive cost!

However, if this team stays together, they should be a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League next season. And they deservedly have the Challenge Cup and Irish Cup finals to look forward to in the next two weeks. Understrength Instonians and Pembroke sides will hold no fear.