Bangor continued their perfect start to the Section One campaign with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Derriaghy in a rain-reduced 28-over contest at Upritchard Park on Saturday. After a delayed start, Derriaghy posted 150-7 from their allotted overs. Half-century partnerships provided the backbone of the innings, with Ross Bailey (26) and Matt Scoble (27) adding useful runs for the second wicket before Jonathan Bell top-scored with 34 as he and Craig Lewis (26) then shared another important stand for the fourth wicket. Chris Pyper (2-23) and Brodie Harrison (2-29) were Bangor’s most successful bowlers. Bangor’s chase was built on a solid platform from Sam McMillan, whose 29 included three boundaries. The hosts then took complete control through an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 94 between Harrison and Mark Hutchinson. Harrison continued his remarkable form - 423 runs at 105.60 - with a blistering 64 not out from just 34 balls, striking three fours and five sixes, while Hutchinson finished unbeaten on 41 as Bangor reached 151-2 in 22.5 overs to make it four wins from four and sit proudly at the top of Section One.

Armagh claimed their second win of the season with an impressive eight-wicket DLS victory over Donacloney Mill in a rain-affected contest at The Mall. After a delayed start and multiple reductions in overs, Donacloney Mill posted 147-8 from 38 overs. Opener Shane Warren struck six fours in a fluent 33, while overseas player Lachy Aitken continued his excellent season with a top score of 34, taking his tally beyond 400 runs for the campaign. Aaron Wright starred with the ball, returning outstanding figures of 4-23, while Luan Liebenberg claimed 2-28. Set a revised target of 108 from 23 overs, Armagh suffered early setbacks as Sam Wilson and Jamie Rogers departed cheaply. However, Wright and Michael Villiers took complete control, sharing an unbroken third-wicket stand of 88. Wright finished unbeaten on 47 and Villiers 39 not out, each striking six boundaries, as Armagh completed the win in the 20th over.

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.