Instonians bowed out at Pembroke despite the hosts missing no fewer than six Irish internationals. It was a seventh Andrew Balbirnie – surplus to requirements in T20I’s – that was to be the match winner. He survived an early lbw call to go on to make 118 (six fours, five sixes) sharing an opening stand of 102 with JJ Garth (40) as the hosts made 261 for seven. The Shaws Bridge reply was poor as they slumped to 115 for nine, given some respectability by a last wicket partnership of 50 between James Lambert (31 not out) and James Magee (20).

Coleraine must have thought they were in with a real chance against five-times winners North County after scoring 237 for three in 44 overs. Louren Steenkamo made an even time unbeaten 134 that included nine fours and six sixes, adding 177 in 30 overs with former Irish international David Cooke. Brian Dunphy (86) and Jamie Grassi (79 not out) shared a match winning fourth wicket stand of 156 to deny the Bannsiders.

Malahide skipper James Newland was the last-ball hero as they knocked out holders Phoenix by two wickets in a real thriller. Phoenix had made 253 for 9 with a solid batting effort seeing runs from Eknoor Singh and Raghav Grover - who both made 47 - skipper Adam Chester (43), Tyrone Kane (33), and Joe Cotgreave (30). Peter Chase 3-19 was the pick of the bowling unit. Amish Sidhu's four wickets had Phoenix on top, but Malahide hung in there with Jeremy Martins and Mike Frost both making half centuries and Matt Ford a hard-hit 43. It all came down to the final ball and Newland's boundary won the day in a game that will live long in the memory.

DONEMANA professional Anuj Jotin was the last over hero as the Tyrone side knocked out two-times Irish Senior Cup winners Merrion by one wicket at Anglesea Road. Needing five off the last over, Jotin cleared the ropes to finish unbeaten on 77 as they chased 223. He shared a fourth wicket stand of 71 with Irish international Andy McBrine (35) and when David O’Sullivan hit three sixes in a quickfire 27, it looked as if they would win comfortably. Merrion captain Max Sorensen had other ideas and his five-wicket haul set up a tense finale that Donemana edged. Earlier, Merrion’s Australian professional Connor Blaxall-Hill top-scored with 109, adding 143 for the third wicket with John Anderson (64), but their middle and late-order has been their Achilles heel and they failed to fire in the latter stages – all out for 222. That was to prove their downfall.

David Delany and John McNally were the Clontarf heroes as they overcame a shaky start to beat Rush by 75 runs. Allan Eastwood (4-61) and Asher Abbasi (3-49) had reduced Clontarf to 89 for six, but skipper Delany's brilliant 99-ball unbeaten 101 (11 fours) helped them to 247 for 8, adding 87 for the 7th wicket with Andrew Delany (26). The chase was all about McNally's six-wicket haul that saw Rush bowled out for 172 - three wickets also for Ethan Marshall.

Balbriggan pulled off one of the great escapes to dump two-time winners Leinster out of the tournament. Conor Fletcher made 34 in what appeared a woefully inadequate 102 - four wickets for Joey Carroll and three for Bilal Azhar. Not too many would have backed Balbriggan at the halfway point, but my word they stuck to their task well and Seb De Oliveria (4-34) , Andrew Darroch (2-30) and Matthew Hollard (3-19) clinched a famous win by just two runs.

Lisburn were in early trouble in the all-NCU clash, with Sean Davey’s opening spell having them in trouble at 61 for four. Not for the first time this season Neil Whitworth and Nigel Jones got them out of a sticky situation in a fifth wicket stand worth 65. Jones top-scored with 43, while Whitworth made 34 in a total of 180. It may not have looked too many, but an hour into the CSNI reply and they had stumbled to 55 for nine. Josh Manley claimed a five-wicket haul, and there were two apiece for Ryan MacBeth and Adam Kennedy. Paddy Beverland hit three sixes in a defiant 43 but it was all in vain as Lisburn won by 77 runs. One footnote is that Lisburn gave a debut to Ben Calitz, adding further firepower to an already strong side - as evidenced by their progression without three internationals.

CIYMS produced a fine all-round display to oust Railway Union. Herman Rolfes hit eight fours and two sixes in a fine unbeaten 98 that propelled the Belmont side to 252 for six in 41 overs. There were runs too for Chris Dougherty (53), Jack Beattie (30) and Carson McCullough (28). The Dublin side looked threatening as opener Hedayat Khogiana thumped 11 fours and four sixes in a 79-ball century, adding 116 for the second wicket with Irish youth international Robert O’Brien. It was very much in the balance at 161 for one in the 27th over, but teenage spinner Alex Armstrong broke the stand, and went on to claim a five-wicket haul that included Ireland World Cup hero Kevin O’Brien in a 49-run win.

Balbriggan proved much too strong for visitors Cliftonville Academy, easing to a seven wickets win at the Jack Harper ground. CA could only make 162 in fast scoring conditions, with Hayden Melly (38), Varun Chopra (35), and Dawood Khan (21) their main contributors - three wickets for Dylan Lues. The talented Connor Fletcher got the chase off to a typically fast start and his better than even time 53 (5 fours, 2 sixes), along with runs for Ghanim Dara (30), Cameron Rowe (24*), and Chris De Freitas (22) meant an early finish with almost 20 overs left. Jared Wilson got two consolation wickets for the Belfast side, but much too little, too late.

Five times winners North County made short work of Eglinton in another one-sided game. The NW side's batting didn't fire with the exception of Liam Doherty, who hit 5 fours and 2 sixes in a 26-ball 37, but received little support as they were bundled out for 115 - four wickets for Suliman Safi and two apiece for exciting Ireland Under 17 prospect Jake Devane and ex-Strabane opening bowler Usman Azhar. The chase took just 13 overs with Italian and former U19 Ireland international Jamie Grassi crashing 9 fours and 3 sixe sin a 30-ball unbeaten 65, with Safi making 30 as the Balrothery side romped home.

Pembroke made light of the absence of five of their Irish internationals - Club Cricket, the heart of our game...- to dispose of North Down with little fuss. Mikey Copeland's 60 (7 fours, 1 six) was far and away the best of their 172. Three wickets for Luke Muirray, and two apiece for Byron McDonough, Paul Lawson and Adam Bouton. That was never going to be enough at Sydney Parade and so it proved, JJ Garth cleared the wall and the ropes four times as well as hitting four boundaries in a top-score of 74, sharing half century stands with Tim Tector - who hit seven fours in a 20-ball 33 - one more than Australian overseas star Blake MacDonald who made 30. The 2019 winners romping into the next round with more than 20 overs to spare.

2006 winners Railway Union are safely through after they beat Cork Harelquins by seven wickets at Park Avenue. The Munster side made 192 with opener Shivam Kislay hitting 60 (9 fours, 1 six), and skipper Seanan Jones scoring 43. Mohammed Sinan (3-29) was the best of the bowlers. Railway had little trouble chasing it down with three successive half century stands. Rob O'Brien top-scored with 64 not out (6 fours, 1 six), while opener Ashil Prakash also made a half century., while there were 30's for Ryan Smith and Hedayat Ullah Khogiani.

An unbeaten 68 from 85 balls by Eoghan Delany took Clontarf to victory over Irish Cup new boys Templepatrick. Set 237 for victory, the Dubliners got home by five wickets with 12 overs to spare. David Delany had a fine all-round game following up his four wickets with 54 from 49 balls. Templepatrick, who welcomed new professional Sandun Weerakkody for his first game, were bowled out in the 49th over with captain Ross Bryans hitting 77 (eight fours and three sixes) and Weerakkody made 46 from 42 balls with five fours and two sixes.

A remarkable innings from David O’Sullivan which included five sixes in the 48th over, off Waringstown professional Daniel van der Merwe, helped Donemana complete a record run chase in the Irish Cup. Set 359 for victory, the North West side still needed 49 off the last three overs before O’Sullivan’s heroics. Although he was out in the next over for 66 from 22 balls, Ricky-Lee Dougherty needed to hit only a couple of twos in the last over as a wide, from van der Merwe, won the match with two balls to spare. There were half centuries too from DJ Dougherty, Raymond Curry, and Anuj Jotin. The top two scores in the game were both in the Waringstown innings, James McCollum hit 125, and Greg Thompson an unbeaten 74. His unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 89 with van der Merwe came from just 34 balls. Van der Merwe, ironically, hit five sixes in his 36 from 13 balls. A game that will live long in the memory.

Malahide enjoyed themselves in the sun at Ballygomartin Road, as they hit Woodvale for 340. Robbie Foulkes, the club's leading run scorer this season, compiled his first century, before being caught on the boundary for 143. He faced just 100 balls and hit 18 fours and seven sixes. He shared a third wicket stand of 179 with Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin who scored a run-a-ball 116 with 12 fours and two sixes. The Woodvale reply never got going with both openers dismissed in the first over and sub pro Pramod Maduwantha and a hobbling Ruhan Pretorius were the only players to reach double figures. All five Malahide bowlers took at least one wicket, with Mike Frost (3-31) and Andrew Sheridan (2-27) the pick of them.

Former Irish international Stuart Thompson hit a 71-ball unbeaten 94 to lead his CSN into the next round thanks to an impressive run chase, as they got the 272 needed with five wickets and ten balls to spare. The home side had been reduced to 111 for 7 with four wickets for James West, including overseas player Mark Adrianatos (34) and Brian Upman (34). Zubair Khan then hit 15 fours and 4 sixes in an 88-ball 105 to take them to 271. It looked a challenging target, but thanks to Tommo's heroics, along with runs too for Sean Davey (46), Adam Leckey (35) and James West (22) the competition's first winners in 1982 (in their previous guise of North) are safely into the hat for the last 16.

Instonians continued their winning start to the season with a comfortable six wickets win at Shaw's Bridge. Three wickets each for Shane Dadswell, Cian Robertson and Andrew White helped dismiss Strabane for 178, with Ranjitha Liyanarachchi providing the only sustained resistance, hitting six fours and three sixes in his 66 before he was caught behind off Robertson. Instonians needed only 27 overs to reach their target with captain Nikolai Smith, opening the batting in the absence of Ireland call-up Cade Carmichael hitting 54 and White and Robertson seeing their side home with an unbroken stand of 46 at a run-a-ball.

Lisburn made it seven wins out of seven this season to send Brigade crashing out of the Irish Cup at the first hurdle. Ifti Hussain was the visitors' top scorer with 44 from 72 balls as they were bowled out in the final over for 196, with captain Neil Whitworth finishing with five wickets. Whitworth was the third wicket to fall in the reply in the eighth over but Lisburn already had 67 on the board and James Hunter then thrashed the Brigade attack, hitting 89 of the remaining runs from just 71 balls with 15 fours and two sixes in an unbroken stand of 130 with Faiz Fazal.

Two-times winners Leinster had little trouble brushing aside Newbuildings with a dominant display at Foyleview. Jason Dunn (23) and Ryan Hunter (33) gave the hosts a bright start, but three wickets apiece from skipper Bilal Azhar and Lightning's Jai Moondra, plus two for Ben Mitchell saw them bowled out for a disappointing 127. Tom Johnson went early in the reply, but a typically swashbuckling 60 from Mitchell (6 fours, 4 sixes) saw the energy drain from the home side, as he and Monil Patel (30) added 87 for the second wicket in just 11 overs. Steve Lazars ensured some respectability to a one-sided game, but Younas Ahmadzai's unbeaten 27 ensured the six wickets win with nearly 30 overs to spare.

National Cup holders Rush piled on the runs at The Bleachgreen with three familiar faces contributing to a decent portion of the carnage. Former Glendermott and NW Warrior, Nathan McGuire scored his second century of the season, hitting 17 fours and 2 sixes on his way to a typically fast 107 while former Strabane all-rounder Ehtesham Ahmed added 78 in the Kenure side's 364-9 - the biggest total of the day. Jack McGee made 89 with another player with a local connection - Jarred Barnes of Coleraine, adding an unbeaten 34. Harry Zimmermann continued his impressive start to the season- the home skipper claiming 4-61- with Muhammad Edrees taking 3-83. Ardmore were never in any sort of contention in the chase, with the exception of Zimmermann, who made 89 not out and probably deserved a century. Abidullah Taniwal (3-17), Barnes (3-40) and Allan Eastwood (2-26) - including the wicket of overseas professional Junaid Ali second ball - saw the Rushians through with 200 runs to spare. Tougher challenges will await.

CIYMS returned to the scene of their 2022 Irish Senior Cup triumph, and enjoyed another successful day with a 127-run win. Centuries from former Bready player Chris Dougherty and Jake Egan ensured an enjoyable return up the M2. The pair posted a 185-run stand for the second wicket as the Belmont side posted a formidable 312 for 4. Egan hit 13 fours and 2 sixes in his 128 while Dougherty had 9 fours and 4 sixes in his 105, before Carson McCullough piled on the agony with a hard-hit 46. Youngster Travis Faulkner did well to bowl his full quota to take 2-39. Bready's reply started brightly, with David Rankin making 45, Josh van Heerdon 41, Gavin Roulston 38 and Kyle Magee 21, however Carson McCullough ensured there would be no home side revival as he claimed 5 for 38, while teenage left-arm spinner Alex Armstrong's decent start to the season following his winter move from Carrick continued, as he took 2 for 35 - Bready all out for 185.

Coleraine were the first team through from the North West after the Bannsiders beat Muckamore by 114 runs at Sandel Lodge. It was the Scott Campbell show for the hosts as he top-scored with 69 (3 fours, 4 sixes) to help his side towards a competitive 213-8. He was well supported by opener Paddy Carson (42) and Matthew Hutchinson's late 22. Randeera Ranasinge (2-40), Shane Henderson (2-48) and Sathish Suresh (2-50) all took two wickets for the Moylena side, however their batting let them down as they were bundled out for 99. Scott Campbell was very much to the fore once again as he took three wickets, as did Gareth Burns, while left-armer Stephen Hutchinson claimed two on a good day for the hosts.Jason van der Merwe (24) offered brief resistance, but it was too little, too late.