Waringstown eased past Woodvale to win their semi-final by eight wickets. The match was decided by Daniel van der Merwe taking three wickets in five balls, including Ruhan Pretorius first ball and Ludwig Kaestner for nine. The left the home side on 46 for five although they struggled through to 121, the total proved no problem for Waringstown, despite losing Adam Dennison to the second ball of the innings. James McCollum dominated the scoring, finishing 71 not out, having hit 10 fours and two sixes.

An undefeated 62 by opener Rob McKinley ensured Instonians reached the Challenge Cup final, but he lost rather more partners than he would have liked. Shane Dadswell hurried the Shaw’s Bridge side to their target with 41 off just 17 balls (three fours, four sixes) but Matthew Humphreys took two wickets in two balls, albeit with just five runs required, to set up a nervous finale. Ben Rose, however, hit the winning boundary with 14 overs to spare. Their winning target of 188 was much more than expected when, after winning the toss they reduced Lisburn to 76 for six but 44s from Nigel Jones and David Miller plus 47 not out from Josh Manley saw them bat through to the 48th over. James Magee and Cian Robertson each took three wickets.

If the first three ties were one-sided affairs, then the fourth certainly made amends as Woodvale beat Cliftonville Academy in a last-ball thriller. Varun Chopra’s unbeaten 104 and 56 from Hayden Melly took CA to 253 for eight, with three wickets for Ludwig Kaestner. A shower meant an adjusted target of 242 in 43 overs, and the chase always seemed to be lagging a little behind as the required rate climbed. Harry Warke (45) and Stephen Bunting (28) got starts, but when the visitors lost Ruhan Pretorius for just five, the odds were heavily stacked against the Ballygomartin Road side. However, Kaestner proved the man for the big occasion as he and Finn Restieaux (37 not out) set about chasing down the score. With eight needed from the last three balls, Restieaux slashed a boundary, followed by a single to leave Kaestner needing three from the final ball. His powerful cut raced to the boundary amidst great scenes. He finished unbeaten on 112 (nine fours, six sixes), making the Man of the Match award a formality. The Semi-Final draw will be made on Tuesday during the T20 inter-pro series at Stormont.

Judd Markham hit seven fours and two sixes in a 51-ball 58 but received little support from the rest of the Donacloney Mill batters as they were bowled out for 126. The Lisburn bowling quintet of Neil Whitworth, Adam Kennedy, Ryan Macbeth, Josh Manley and Matthew Humphreys all took two wickets apiece. Ross Adair (12) went cheaply, but that was to be the sole success for the visitors as, conscious of the showery weather, Humphreys was promoted up the order. The move paid off as the Irish international added 88 in eight overs with overseas professional Faiz Fazal.He top-scored with an unbeaten 53, while Player of the Match Humphreys made 44 not out, both hitting six fours and three maximums as the nine-wicket win was sealed in just the 11th over.

Cade Carmichael made it back-to-back hundreds as he and Nikolai Smith made sure Instonians made short work of what looked like a challenging target of 212 in 38 against North Down. Carmichael has enjoyed a prolific 2025 campaign with his form bringing him Irish international recognition, and he was soon into his stride at Shaw’s Bridge, hitting 15 fours and three sixes in a rapid 87-ball unbeaten 124. His stand with Smith was 215 in just 29 overs, with the skipper no slouch himself in an even-time 85 not out (nine fours). Mickey Copeland (88) and Tyron Koen (66) both made half-centuries for the Comber side, but their bowling unit had no answer to the blitzkrieg of boundaries that the Inst openers unleashed.

It was a similar story at Middle Road where, batting first, Carrick would have been pleased to have reached 101 for one against Waringstown, with Atish Varape (54) and Iain Parkhill (34) sharing a century stand. The wheels came off in spectacular fashion, though, as they lost nine wickets for just 44 runs to be all out for 145. Waringstown captain Greg Thompson (four for 24) was the destroyer-in-chief, while there were two wickets apiece for Adam Dennison and James Mitchell. The game was all but over in the powerplay of the chase as Sam Topping and Dennison took the home side attack apart in an opening stand of 128. Topping bludgeoned eight fours and five sixes in a whirlwind 72 from only 29 deliveries, while Dennison’s undefeated 61 saw him hit eight fours and two sixes as the nine-wicket win was sealed in the 15th over.

Neil Whitworth was yet again the Lisburn hero as they survived an early wobble to beat CIYMS by four wickets in a rain-affected cup clash at Wallace Park. Jack Beattie top-scored with 43 and Carson McCullough made 32 as the Belmont side posted 183 for nine – three wickets apiece for Josh Manley and Ross Adair. The chase started poorly for the hosts, as they slumped to 54 for 4, but Whitworth - the glue that holds Lisburn's batting together - made an unbeaten 54 that guided them home in the penultimate over sharing a vital stand of 52 in 46 balls with Nigel Jones (22). There were also breezy cameos from David Miller and Matthew Humphreys - who both cleared the ropes twice - to ensure the required rate in the adjusted target of 153 in 34 overs never climbed too high.

An unbeaten 77 from opener Iain Parkhill steered Carrickfergus to a seven wickets (DLS) victory over Section One rivals Cregagh. Set 209 to win in 44 overs, Parkhill put on 99 for the second wicket with Atish Varape and when captain CJ van der Walt hit the winning runs they had 28 balls to spare. Jonny Moore scored 72 of Cregagh’s 209 for nine with their most successful bowlers from opposite ends of the age spectrum. Elliott Parkhill took three for 51 from six overs and Ryan Eagleson, on a rare outing these days, had two for 16 from eight overs.

For the second day in a row, Instonians came out on the right side of a thriller. After beating Lisburn in a controversial finish to their T20 Cup match, they defeated Civil Service North by six runs (DLS) to reach the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup. Set 226 for victory in 34 overs, CSN needed 21 off the last over and Stuart Thompson took 12 runs off James Lambert's first three balls. He failed to score off the fourth and was caught off the fifth to end their superb chase. The captain made 84 from just 54 balls and hit 10 boundaries, half of them sixes. Andrew White top scored for Instonians with 51 from 45 balls in their innings of 218 for seven

Ryan Matthews brought up his hundred with the winning six as Donaghcloney Mill eased to victory in the all-Section clash with Armagh. Matthews finished 105 not out from 88 balls with 16 fours and four sixes in the home side’s 148 for one after bowling out Armagh in 36.4 overs. Alex Ogle and Mark Hanna shared seven of the wickets with Michael Villiers scoring more than double any of his team-mates.

Holders Muckamore made an embarrassing exit in their first defence of the Challenge Cup when they failed to produce a DLS print-out after rain interrupted the second innings. Waringstown were awarded the match. The Villagers had stormed to 323 for eight from 48 overs when asked to bat first with skipper Greg Thompson run out off the last ball for 114, from 77 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. He shared stands of 86 with Morgan Topping and 77 with Tom Mayes. Muckamore were 24 for no wicket after 5.3 overs when the rain returned. The umpires ruled that the match would restart at 5.20pm with a target of 266 in 36 overs. But by 5.21pm there was no DLS print-out and Muckamore forfeited the match.

North Down survived an early scare to see off Co Down neighbours Bangor, who fought bravely at The Green. Christopher Pyper reduced the Premier League side to 75 for four, bowling captain Mickey Copeland and Alistair Shields with successive balls but Ryan Haire, with his first 50 for six years and Kian Hilton’s 82 from 55 balls (five fours, six sixes) hauled them up to 253 for eight in their 39 overs. Pyper’s early success reduced Bangor’s target to 242 but despite a last wicket stand of 22 between Jonny Parker and Pyper, they fell 30 runs short.

Cliftonville Academy continue to be the specialists in the short-form game easing to an eight wickets win over Templepatrick. In what effectively became another 20-over chase – they have won all three T20 Cup games this season – they were set 100 for victory in 21 overs and needed only a third of those to complete the chase, Abi Raut batting through the innings for 37 not out. Templepatrick professional Sandun Weerakkody provided the lone resistance when they batted first, hitting 60 off 47 balls before he was one of Ben Kane’s three victims. Cliftonville Academy captain Matty McCord went one better with four wickets as the home side were bowled out four overs short of their reduced 35 overs innings.

Woodvale are the first team into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals after a double-quick nine wickets victory over Ballymena. The Section One side were bowled out for 82 in the 23rd over with only two batters in double figures. Showing no mercy, Ruhan Pretorius bowled his 10 overs unchanged to finish with 4-27 and Carl Robinson had identical figures from 7.1 overs. Stephen Bunting was 31 not out when Woodvale won with more than 33 overs to spare.

A third wicket stand of 147 between Man of the Match Curtley Deelman and Michael Glass powered Ballymena to 281 for 9 at Eaton Park. The South African hit 13 fours and 5 sixes in his 92-ball knock and was well supported by Glass, who made 53. The pair then shared a combined five wickets as Lurgan made a real go of the chase, led by Stephen Johnston's 68 and 41 from Peter Maxwell, ultimately ending 29 runs adrift. Ballymena now face Woodvale at home on May 31st.

A fine all-round batting effort propelled Donacloney Mill to an emphatic 138-run win over Laurelvale. Player of the Match Judd Markham top scored with 67, sharing a century stand with Shane Warren (66), while there were runs too for Ryan Matthews (54) and James Cunningham (42) in a total of 310 for 8. Adnan Malik (62*) and Alex Speers (59) both scored half centuries but Laurelvale could only manage 172 - Mark Hanna taking 3 for 11. They will now play Armagh for a place in the last eight.

Cregagh had little trouble ousting Downpatrick after they bowled them out for just 111 - four wickets for Alistair Watt, and two apiece for Adam Beattie and McCormick. Johnny Hunter's 42 and an unbeaten 23 from Moore saw them clinch the six wickets win.

Bangor caused something of a shock as they thumped Derriaghy by an emphatic 130-runs at Upritchard Park. Mark Hutchinson's 63 and 32 apiece from Johnny Parker and Simpson helped them to 217. That proved way too many as Derriaghy were skittled for just 87 with only Craig Lewis (44) making any sort of a fist of it. There were three wickets each for Brown and Pyper in an impressive display by Bangor, who now face an away trip to North Down in the next round.