Muckamore moved into second place behind Waringstown as they eased to an eight-wicket victory over Cliftonville Academy after a commanding all-round display from South African overseas professional Neil Brand. Cliftonville Academy were dismissed for 128 with CP Klijnhans offering the main resistance with 48 and David O’Sullivan adding 22. Brand was the pick of the Muckamore attack, claiming 4 for 16, while Allan Coulter took 3 for 50 and Jason van der Merwe 2 for 28.Rain left Muckamore chasing a revised target of 118 and they cruised home in just the 16th over - Marko Bates finishing unbeaten on 42.

Kian Hilton’s run-a-ball century dealt a major blow to Instonians’ title defence as North Down raced to a 136-run victory at Shaw’s Bridge. Hilton, on the fringe of the Ireland senior set-up, struck a run-a-ball 112, finding the boundary 11 times and clearing it twice, to anchor a commanding North Down total of 256 for seven. Hilton was well supported by teenager Tom Crothers, whose unbeaten 51 from 41 balls, featuring six fours and two sixes, ensured North Down finished strongly. Instonians’ chase never got going as opening bowlers Tyron Koen and Craig Young each claimed three wickets, while overseas professional Mike Erlank added two as the champions collapsed to 119 all out. George Craigan hit a defiant 48 but in an ever-evident losing cause as the Shaw’s Bridge side fell apart.

Another Saturday and another century for Waringstown professional Steve Stolk. This time Cliftonville Academy were on the receiving end but they had the satisfaction of getting him out, albeit just eight runs short of the home side’s victory target of 186. Stolk hit 105 from 48 balls with nine fours and nine sixes after sharing an opening partnership of 140 with Adam Dennison who scored 61. CA skipper Matthew McCord top scored with 47, from 35 balls (six fours, two sixes) while there were good contributions also from Adam Kelso, Dawood Khan and David Reid. Five Waringstown bowlers shared the wickets with fourth change Dennison the most successful with three. The Premier League leaders won by eight wickets at the start of the 22nd over.

Muckamore’s title hopes took a major blow when they lost to Civil Service North by 42 runs. Even without an overseas professional – Ashwin Hebbar is due to return next week – CSN made it two wins out of two in the space of week after their Challenge Cup success at Moylena last Sunday. After slumping to 44 for four, Mark Ellison led the recovery with 72 (seven fours, two sixes) in partnerships of 45 with Harry Dyer and 56 with captain Stuart Thompson. Late runs from Andrew Cowden and Finn Lutton helped them to a total of 228 for nine in their 48 overs. When Muckamore lost Neil Brand to a run out and Jason van der Merwe to an Ellison catch off James West, in the space of six balls, the home side were in trouble. West took five for 35 in his 10 overs to reduce Muckamore to 99 for eight and only Chinmay Dakhane with a maiden senior 50 and Neil Gill’s 26 not out, in a last wicket stand of 60, held up CSN’s victory.

An undefeated century by Mike Erlank guided North Down to their third win of the season in their push for another top six finish. Erlank was 106 not out at exactly a run a ball (14 fours, one six) when the home side won by five wickets in the 38th over. The only support he received was in a third wicket stand of 148 from Kian Hilton with the other five batters scoring just 18 between them although Tom Crothers’ crucial nine not out ensured no late drama. Woodvale were bowled out for exactly 200 in the 49th over, captain Ruhan Pretorius top scoring with 62, but it was always a struggle against tight bowling. Craig Young, Tyron Koen, Jaxon Dines and Erlank all going at less than four runs an over.

Chris Dougherty continued his impressive form as CI finally got their second win of the season, defeating Laurelvale by 70 runs in a game reduced to 39 overs after a delayed start and a further rain break. There was still time for Dougherty to score 80 not out, from 63 balls, with eight fours and three sixes and with Carson McCullough adding 47 from 38 (two fours, four sixes), CI finished on 253 for six. Laurelvale needed a similar innings in their reply but opener John Speers with 40 was their top scorer and they never threatened a first Premier League win, finishing on 193 for seven.

Half centuries from Cade Carmichael, Andrew White and captain Shane Dadswell laid the platform for Instonians’ crushing 180 runs victory over Lisburn at Wallace Park. Significant contributions from the lower order, George Craigan, Cian Robertson, David Agnew and Ben Rose then powered them to a total of 366 for eight as Lisburn’s limited bowling attack was brutally exposed. Dadswell top scored with 71 from 43 balls with three fours and six sixes and Craigan had four sixes in his 46 from just 29 balls. Neil Whitworth took four of the wickets but at an expensive cost. Jude Markham on debut for Lisburn hit three fours and a six in his 21 from 16 balls but they lost wickets at regular intervals and after the first wicket stand of 41, there was only one partnership of more than 20. David Agnew took four of the wickets, one of them thanks to a spectacular overhead catch from returning former skipper Nikolai Smith.

Half centuries from Mo Aahil and Kian Hilton eased North Down to an eight wickets victory at Laurelvale. After bowling out the home side for 113, a unbroken stand of 102 gave North Down the victory by the 22nd over. Aahil faced 59 balls for his 53 and hit three fours and two sixes and Hilton, fresh from top scoring for the North West Warriors during the week, finished 51 not out from 54 balls with six fours and two sixes. Adam Speers took both the wickets, including professional Mike Erlank for a five-ball duck. Syed Ali at No 8 top scored for Laurelvale with 40, getting them into three figures after they had slumped to 79 for eight. He hit Erlank for two sixes but only after the South African had held a stunning overhead one-handed catch to dismiss the unlucky Mark Thornberry. Craig Young was also back in action for his club and took two wickets in a seven-over opening spell but it was skipper Tyron Koen who did the early damage with two for nine in his first five overs. Harry Zimmermann also held a superb reflex catch before taking three wickets and Jacob McClure Dalzell proved too good for the tail.

Woodvale’s batting woes continued with another vastly below par total at Moylena. Bowled out for 116, with only Ross Bryans getting past 20, they lost by seven wickets in the 28th over. The win keeps Muckamore in second place, with a match in hand over leaders Waringstown. They could even afford Neil Brand to fail, caught and bowled by Ruhan Pretorius for six, as Sam Gordon stepped up to score 46, dismissed two runs short of the winning post. Woodvale’s innings got off to a disastrous start with Finn Restieaux out first ball and professional Ludwig Kaestner run out by Aditya Adey without scoring. Adey then two wickets for eight runs in his five overs and Neil Brand hurried the innings to a conclusion with three wickets.

Most exciting game of the day was at Belmont were Instonians held on to beat CI by nine runs on a slow pitch. The visitors, without captain Nikolai Smith who was playing for the Seconds, despite being put into bat made a good start reaching 97 for one, but Jacob Mulder ended the stand by trapping Sully Gould lbw for 30 and when Carson McCullough had Jack Dickson caught by Mulder for 38, Instonians collapsed from 99 from three to 159 all out in the space of 16 overs, McCullough finishing with four wickets. In contrast, CI had a nightmare start, losing their top five for 48 – captain for the day Shane Dadswell taking three of the wickets for just 11 runs in nine overs - with Paddy Beverland the only batter in double figures. It looked game over at 79 for seven but first Adam McCormick and then Mulder edged them closer but when the last pair came together Alex Armstrong and Ben Snell still needed 35. They had got the target down to 10 off 10 balls when Andrew White tempted Snell to lob one back to give Instonians the victory which keeps the defending champions just four points off the lead.

A towering partnership of 215 unbeaten for the fourth wicket between Morgan Topping and Graham Hume condemned Lisburn to their first league defeat of the season as Waringstown swept to a 170 runs victory at The Lawn. Coming together in the 27th over, with the score on 139 for three, the pair batted through the rest of the innings, Hume finishing on 126 from just 75 balls with eight fours and nine sixes, while Topping brought up his century in the last over from 103 balls with nine fours and two sixes. Lisburn then crashed to 70 for five with two wickets each for Steve Stolk and Tom Mayes and Ross Allen and Greg Thompson finished the job with only Nigel Jones delaying the inevitable, his 77 from 79 balls including six fours and four sixes.

Shane Dadswell ensured Instonians’ title defence remains on track with a one-man display in the champions six wickets win over Muckamore at Moylena. After bowling out the home side for 107 – Dadswell three for 25 – the South African professional hit 94 of the Instonians reply as he wrapped up victory in the 13th over. A superb opening spell by Muckamore captain Neil Gill claimed the wickets of Sully Gould, first ball, Jack Dickson and Andrew White, second ball, as the visitors slumped to nine for four. But Dadswell virtually single-handedly took them to victory – Nikolai Smith was 10 not out- when his 10th six, to go with five other boundaries, won the match. It was opposite number Neil Brand who carried the Muckamore innings with 43 (four fours and a six) but he faced only 32 of the 80 balls when he was in the middle as wickets fell around him. Indeed Muckamore were 56 for eight and it needed the last pair of Gill (18 not out) and Luka Bates (16) to get them into three into three figures with a last wicket stand of 32.

Waringstown joined Lisburn at the top of the Premier League table with a huge victory over defending champions Instonians at The Lawn. James McCollum proved to be the match-winner with his 118, more than twice as many as the next best batter in the match. The Ireland Test player faced 129 balls but hit only five fours and four sixes as he built his crucial innings. Coming to the middle after Ross Allen, replacing the holidaying Adam Dennison at the top of the order, was out in the fourth over he stayed until the start of the 47th over, when he gave Andrew White his third wicket. Tom Mayes, with whom he had added 73 for the sixth wicket, was there until the end, hitting a vital 51 not out from 35 balls with two fours and three sixes. Neil Rock started in a hurry, with six fours and a six in his 38 from 27 balls but he played one rash stroke too many and skied a return catch to Steve Stolk. The Waringstown professional then forced Cade Carmichael to play on, just after bringing up his half-century and when Shane Dadswell was run out by Stolk in the next over, Instonians were struggling on 157 for five. But Instonians, as befitting the champions, bat deep and despite Greg Thompson taking the next three wickets, Cian Robertson (32) and George Craigan (20) got the visitors within 20 runs before Stolk had Craigan caught in the deep to complete victory. Next Saturday, Lisburn visit The Lawn.

An understrength Woodvale team were still too strong for Laurelvale as they completed victory by 113 runs. Harry Warke led the way for the visitors with 73 from 62 balls (12 fours one six) but when he was third out in the 22nd over with the total on 143, Woodvale lost their way and the next five wickets fell for 42 runs. But Ross Copeland then took centre stage and with Evan Carlisle and Matthew Peak put on 91 for the last two wickets, Copeland the last man out for 52, having hit four fours and two sixes. Babar Khan got Laurelvale off to a good start with 42 from 44 balls and captain Davy Sinton then provided good resistance in a 65-ball stay. But Carlisle ripped through the middle/lower order to finish with five for 33 and the basement side, still waiting for their first Premier League win, were bowled out in 41 overs.

Lisburn moved to the top of the Premier League after hanging on to beat Civil Service North by four runs at Stormont. The hosts were on course to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Lisburn when Harry Dyer and Stuart Thompson were together. They had put on 98 for the sixth wicket and needed just 30 from the last 23 balls when Callum Atkinson dismissed the CSN captain. Next over, Ben Walsh claimed the crucial wicket of Dyer with 20 still needed from 16 balls but now only three wickets left. Walsh bowled Finn Lutton with the last ball of the 48th over and Jon Hinrichsen had Ollie Dyer caught behind three balls later. Last man Matthew Kennedy joined Andrew Cowden and with the help of a wide in the last over, Cowden had the chance to win it with a six from Walsh’s final ball. He could manage only a single. Jake Collingwood had earlier led the recovery after CSN slumped to 57 for four, scoring 58 in a stand of 96 with Dyer. The Lisburn total of 280-8 was dominated by a fourth wicket stand of 159 between Nigel Jones (67) and captain Neil Whitworth who continued his prolific start to the season with 92 (11 fours and a six). He was distraught when he steered Lutton straight to his opposite number at backward point and the pace bowler then had Hinrichsen caught behind next ball. He couldn’t go for his hat-trick, however; they were his final two balls of his 10th over. James Hunter, however, hit 30 off 27 balls and it proved enough – just.

Civil Service North swept to a five wickets victory in another low scoring game at The Green, reaching their target of 115 inside 20 overs. After James West dominated the opening partnership with Marc Ellison, Ashwin Hebbar stayed to the finish, with an unbeaten 42 from 33 balls. Adam Leckey was the early destroyer for the visitors as the in-form North Down top order collapsed to 42 for four and although captain Tyron Koen and Harry Zimmermann added 54 for the fifth wicket, the last six wickets fell for 18 runs.

Neil Brand powered Muckamore to a nine wicket victory at Moylena, hitting an unbeaten 74 from 41 balls, with seven fours and six sixes. The CI bowlers were helpless to contain him as the home side reached their target of 133 in just 16 overs. Marko Bates also reached his 50 in a first wicket stand of 130 but couldn’t quite see the job through. Brand and Aditya Adey each took three wickets as CI were bowled out in the 39th over, with only three CI batters getting into the 20s. Their last six wickets fell for 22 runs.

Shane Dadswell played what is sure to be one of the innings of the season but ended up on the losing side as Woodvale inflicted the first league defeat on defending champions Instonians. Dadswell was last man out for 137 – second top score was 17 – as he showed that class batsmen can play on any surface. Woodvale won a huge toss on an soft, uncovered pitch, and Instonians slumped to 139 for nine with Ashwin Shetty taking four of the wickets. But Dadswell had already taken control and with No 11 Freddy Pearson, promoted from the Seconds, added another 70 for the last wicket. Pearson faced eight balls, without scoring! Dadswell finished with 13 sixes and just three fours. With the pitch drying out all the time under the sun, Woodvale found it much easier to bat and lost only two wickets in the chase. Finn Restieaux, opening the batting, hit 62 (six fours and three sixes) and Ludwig Kaestner finished the job in style with 91 not out, from 78 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes.

It looked like another quick finish at Wallace Park when Lisburn, needing 188 for victory, brought up the 100 in the 12th over with all 10 wickets in hand. But they needed another 20 overs to get over the line as Cliftonville Academy produced their best bowling performance of the season, taking seven wickets. CA skipper Matthew McCord dominated the visitors’ innings with 79 from 63 balls (nine fours and four sixes) and Anwar Khan provided late resistance with 42 in a last wicket stand of 46 , the second highest partnership of the innings. Lisburn were still awithout both Adair brothers and Ben Calitz, but Johnny Waite again stepped up and hit 67 from 41 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. When McCord made the breakthrough, young Callum Lowe was promoted to No 3 but there was to be no procession to victory. Alfie Wylie took three of the wickets and it needed a patient 36 not out from James Hunter and No 9 Ewan Wilson to hit the winning boundary.

Laurelvale felt the full force of Steve Stolk’s bat at The Lawn, the Waringstown professional hurrying his side to an emphatic nine wickets victory with more than 41 overs to spare. After bowling out the visitors for 91, Stolk hit 85 not out from just 35 balls, an innings which included six fours and eight sixes. After the early loss of Sam Topping, the 20 year-old South African shared a second wicket stand of 85 in 33 balls with Adam Dennison who faced just five of them. Adnan Malik scored 40 for Laurelvale but after he was fourth out, the last six wickets fell for 13 runs, Waringstown captain Greg Thompson finishing with six for 18 from nine 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.