Armagh’s hopes of a first NCU Section One win of the season were washed away by heavy rain after their clash with Bangor was abandoned with the hosts just four balls into the chase. Asked to bat first, Armagh recovered impressively from a shaky 35 for 4 to post a competitive 196 for 9 from their 40 overs. Matthew Steenson anchored the rescue effort superbly, striking 81 from 94 balls with nine fours and two sixes in a composed innings under pressure. He shared a crucial fifth-wicket stand of 81 with overseas professional Luan Liebenberg, who counter-attacked with 49 from 52 deliveries, including seven boundaries. Steenson then added another valuable partnership with Ben Mackey, whose 23 helped push the total towards 200. Bangor’s new-ball pair Angus Farrell and Chris Pyper were the pick of the bowlers, Farrell claiming 4 for 28 while Pyper returned 2 for 30. Liebenberg struck immediately in reply, dismissing Seb Yeates in the opening over, but persistent rain soon ended play in frustrating fashion for both sides.

Instonians completed a double-quick 10 wickets victory to make it three league wins out of three, reaching their rain-affected target of 75 in just 31 balls. Neil Rock faced 26 of them and hit 59, with nine fours and three sixes as the Cliftonville Academy opening bowlers were put to the sword. CA professional CJ Klijnhans scored 37 off 40 balls but when he was third out with the total on 62, Cian Robertson and Andrew White ripped through the rest of the innings, the visitors bowled out for 80 in just 24.1 overs. Robertson, who is the North’s 13-man squad for the Emerald Challenge next week, finished with figures of 7.1-4-8-5 and White had 4-13 from his seven overs.

An opening stand of 102 between Johnny Waite and David Miller all but settled this rain-interrupted match at Wallace Park in Lisburn’s favour. Waite hit eights fours and two sixes in his 49 but Miller went on to hit 72 off 59 balls with five fours and five sixes as the home side reached their revised target of 158 with more than nine overs to spare. Lisburn were short of six first-team players but they still restricted the Premier League newcomers to 141 for six when rain halted their innings after 31 overs. Adam Speers contributed to a fast start with 48 off 46 balls (nine fours) but after his dismissal to Ewan Wilson, Lisburn always had the innings under control.

Civil Service North’s young guns Harry Dyer and Adam Leckey steered them to a six wickets (DLS) victory. Set 156 in 23 overs, the visitors slumped to 74 for four after 10 overs. But Dyer 44, with four sixes, and Leckey 36 from 30 balls would not be parted after Ruhan Pretorius had taken three early wickets. However the Woodvale captain and professional Ludwig Kaestner could score only 36 between them in their side’s total of 211 for eight from 46 overs. Francis Collins top scored with 55 and and James West took three wickets in an accurate 10-over spell.

An unbroken second wicket stand of 115 between Neil Brand and Jason van der Merwe eased Muckamore to victory in a rain-shortened game at Moylena and inflicted Waringstown’s first league defeat. Brand finished 73 not out from 40 balls, finishing the match with his 10th four and third six and Van der Merwe was 47 not out when their revised target of 145 was reached with eight overs to spare. Sam Topping returned to the Waringstown team and top scored with 54, which included eight fours, but older brother Morgan was the only other batter to reach 20 in an innings twice interrupted before being finally reduced to 24 overs

Rain won the day at Comber to render North Down’s impressive 335-6 meaningless. Kian Hilton with 93 off 76 balls and Steven Saul (83) were the top scorers with Mike Erlank (53 off 44) and Tyron Koen (42 off just 28) piling the agony on the CI attack. Only 3.4 were possible in the CI reply and time ran out before they had a chance to get back on the field to complete the necessary 20 overs to obtain a result.

Cregagh edged a rain-affected thriller by eight runs on DLS against Armagh. Cregagh’s innings was built on a solid all-round batting effort with seven of the top eight reaching double figures in their total of 191. Stuart Nelson top-scored with 31, while Max Shannon made 29 and Chris Boultwood added 28. Alistair Watt also chipped in with 23. For Armagh, Aaron Wright and Luan Liebenberg both claimed three wickets, while Sam Wilson took two. Rain revised Armagh’s chase to 173 from 37 overs and Wright kept them in contention with an aggressive 57 featuring five boundaries. Liebenberg added 23, but Cregagh held their nerve as Watt starred with 4 for 27, supported by Nelson’s 3 for 37 and two wickets from Shannon, bowling Armagh out for 164 in 35.1 overs.

Carrickfergus made it two wins from two in NCU Section One with a crushing nine-wicket victory over Templepatrick at Middle Road. The visitors were blown away for just 81 in 24.5 overs in a one-sided contest dominated by the Carrick attack. Opener Richard Greer top-scored with 22 and was the only batter to reach double figures as wickets tumbled steadily. Prince Sharma was the chief destroyer, producing outstanding figures of 5 for 15, while experienced seamer Anthony Martin claimed 3 for 40. Richard Hood and skipper CJ van der Walt chipped in with a wicket each. Carrick raced to victory in only 13.2 overs. Michael Gilmour struck a lively 20 before falling to Curtley Deelman, but Iain Parkhill and the in-form Atish Varape shared an unbroken stand of 55. Varape finished unbeaten on 38 from 26 balls with seven boundaries as Carrick climbed to second in the table behind Bangor.

Bangor continued their impressive start to the NCU Section One campaign with a crushing seven-wicket victory over Cooke Collegians at Upritchard Park. The visitors were blown away early after collapsing to 17 for 5 against a disciplined Bangor attack. Chris Pyper and Angus Farrell ripped through the top order with three wickets apiece, while George Prince and Brodie Harrison chipped in with two each. There was some resistance from Ashish Pandita who made 22, while Reneesh Hassanar added 20. Bibin Babu showed plenty of patience in an innings of 19 from 79 balls, but Cooke were eventually dismissed for just 95 in 34.3 overs. With rain threatening, Bangor wasted little time in the chase. Sam McMillan blasted 33 from 21 deliveries before Harrison finished unbeaten on 37 from only 21 balls, striking four fours and three sixes as Bangor surged to 99 for 3 in just 11.1 overs to go top of the table at this early juncture of the campaign.

Fresh from steering Saintfield to National Cup glory last week, Werner Brand produced another sparkling century before rain denied Derriaghy any chance of a chase at Queensway. With the game reduced first to 40 overs and then again to 29 following persistent interruptions, Saintfield made full use of the shortened format to post an imposing 171 for 4. Brand dominated the innings with a blistering 100 from just 73 deliveries, peppering the boundary with nine fours and six towering sixes in a commanding display of power hitting. The South African shared a crucial second-wicket partnership of 78 with skipper Andrew McGavera, who contributed a well-paced 32 to keep the scoreboard moving. Ben Kenny was the pick of the Derriaghy attack, returning tidy figures of 2 for 12 and eventually removing the dangerous Brand.

Just 8.3 overs were possible at Pollock Park with hosts Lurgan on 37 for 2 when the plug was pulled. Openers Iqbal Khan (12) and Callum Grieve (7) the men dismissed by Donacloney Mills' Lewis Goodbam and Ryan Matthews respectively. They will now have to try again in a second attempt later in the season.

A century from Morgan Topping and six wickets by Tom Mayes ensured Waringstown made it two wins out of two to start their Premier League game campaign. Topping made up for the absence of his brother Sam – ruled out by a knee injury – with 105 (nine fours, two sixes) to steer the Villagers to a total of 267 for nine. When Waringstown lost three quick wickets to collapse to 159 for eight, such a total seemed out of reach but James Cameron Dow – Sam Topping’s replacement – hit an unbeaten 45 in a ninth wicket stand of 106 to give the visitors a competitive total. When Mayes and Hume reduced CI to 21 for three, they were in control but Chris Dougherty’s 70 (six fours, three sixes) kept the hosts in touch. A seventh wicket stand of 50 between Satish Suresh and Jack Snell got them to within 61 runs of victory but Mayes cleaned up the tail.

Instonians made an impressive start to the defence of their Premier League title, posting the highest 50-over total at Stormont. Sully Gould, batting at No 3, scored his first senior century as the visitors totalled 379 for eight. He was fifth out in the 27th over with the total already on 215 and Nikolai Smith and Andrew White then piled the agony on their hosts with a stand of 115 for the sixth wicket. Adam Leckey tried to keep Instonians in check and finished with five wickets but the total was always going to be too many for Civil Service North. They finished 101 runs short with new signing Jake Collingwood hitting an impressive 61 from 52 balls and a late rally from Harry Dyer who top scored with 73 from just 47 balls (seven fours, five sixes).

Waringstown enjoyed a winning start but the worry was the retirement of Sam Topping with a twisted knee. Despite the early setback, the Villagers totalled 313 for five with every batsman reaching double figures, although new professional Steve Stolk was run out for 10. Morgan Topping top scored with 71 from 78 balls. In Woodvale’s reply, Graham Hume struck two early blows but professional Ludwig Kaestner and captain Ruhan Pretorius added 102 for the third wicket, Pretorius the first to go for 53, from 50 balls. With Kaestner’s dismissal, leg before to James Mitchell for 80, Woodvale’s hopes faded – as did the light and the umpires took the teams off at the end of the 45th over with the visitors on 248 for nine, giving Waringstown victory by 57 runs (DLS).

A century from Neil Whitworth steered Lisburn to a comfortable seven wickets victory over CI at Belmont. Chasing 232 for victory in 49 overs – one over was lost to rain - the captain finished 109 not out as the visitors won with 50 balls to spare. Ross Adair got them off to the usual fast start with 47 from 33 balls (six fours, three sixes) and Whitworth then put on 112 for the third wicket with James Hunter. After deciding to bat first, CI made the perfect start, Jack Egan and new signing Paddy Beverland putting on 110 for the first wicket. But they then lost six wickets for 32 runs and despite 38 from Carson McCullough they were bowled out for 230, new Lisburn professional Jon Hinrichsen taking an expensive three wickets and Whitworth the same number at almost half the cost.

A remarkable century by Matty McCord could not prevent defeat for Cliftonville Academy as North Down posted the highest total of the day. Set 384 for victory, McCord came to the middle at 49 for two in the fourth over and left in the 33rd having scored 168 off 94 balls with 14 fours and an incredible 15 sixes. New professional CP Klijnhans opened with a 19-ball half century but after his dismissal, at the start of the eight over, McCord scored all but 30 of the next 202 runs off the bat. Alfie Wylie’s contribution in the seventh wicket stand of 111 was nine. He was finally bowled by North Down’s new professional Mike Erlank and 10 runs later they innings ended, Cliftonville Academy bowled out for 290. Rain at the Castle Grounds had reduced the North Down innings to 42 overs but the visitors still crashed 383 for eight. Opener Mo Aahil top scored with 134 (13 fours, seven sixes), sharing stands of 101 for the first wicket with Kian Hilton and 146 with Stephen Saul for the second. Aahil was dismissed at the end of the 33rd over with 299 on the board. The result wasn't the only disappointment for captain McCord, his eight overs went for 90. But thanks to hitting Cliftonville Academy's highest individual score, he finished 78 runs in credit.

It was a brand new experience for all the Laurelvale players when they proudly took the field for their first match in the top section of the NCU for 54 years but it was Neil Brand who gave them a taste of what they can expect over the next four months. The South African scored 124 off 93 balls (11 fours, six sixes) as Muckamore piled up 344 for seven, although no other batter reached 50, which will be a disappointment. Babar Khan took four of the wickets. It was no easier when Laurelvale went out to bat. Mark Thornbury scored their first run off the bat, in the fourth over but they had already lost two wickets and they were bowled out in the 25th over for 57, Brand finishing with figures of 10-5-13-4 as Muckamore refused to take their foot off the pedal. Allen Coulter and Jason van der Merwe equally shared the other wickets. Captain David Sinton top scored for the new boys with 20.