No play possible at the second attempt.

No play possible at the second attempt.

Fox Lodge stayed in the Premiership title race with a seven-wicket win over defending champions Brigade. Brigade were bowled out for 138, with Andy Britton making 41 and Scott Macbeth 29. Adam Walker led the Fox Lodge attack with 4 for 35, while Levi Kerr took 3 for 16 and Swarnim Jha 2 for 18. Charlie Simpson struck 45 and Brian Allen 35 in a 75-run opening stand before Alastair Doherty finished unbeaten on 31. Fox Lodge reached 141 for 3 in 35.3 overs, leaving Brigade’s title defence in serious trouble at the halfway stage.

The game was abandoned in the 18th over after the umpire was struck on the head by a throw from the outfield.

Fox Lodge completed a perfect weekend by following their cup semi-final success with a hard-earned four-wicket league victory over Bready. The hosts recovered impressively from 137 for 7 to post 224 for 9, thanks largely to an outstanding unbeaten 66 from David Scanlon. The all-rounder struck seven fours and three sixes in a 51-ball rescue act, while Kyle Magee (33), David Rankin (29) and Kenzie Hall (27) all made useful contributions. Aaron Heywood and Levi Kerr claimed two wickets apiece for the hosts. Fox Lodge paced their chase expertly, with the in-form Jason Milligan once again leading the way. Milligan made 80 from 111 deliveries, hitting seven fours and three sixes, and shared a 60-run stand with Gayan Maneeshan, who contributed a fluent 50 from 55 balls. He then added a decisive 82 for the fifth wicket with Craig Doherty, whose aggressive 51 included six fours and two sixes. Milligan fell with just six needed but there was to be no late twist as Fox Lodge stay third in the slipstream behind leaders Newbuildings and Strabane.

Fox Lodge claimed their third league win of the season with a comfortable eight-wicket success over St Johnston. The visitors were dismissed for 128 in 43.4 overs, with Subhan Shirzad and David Barnard both making 22. Jonny Robinson starred with the ball, taking 4-14, while Jason Milligan and Adam Walker claimed two wickets each. Fox Lodge's reply was rarely troubled despite the early loss of Charlie Simpson. Ali Doherty made 33 sharing a decisive 89-run second-wicket stand with the prolific Gayan Maneeshan. The Sri Lankan opener produced a sparkling unbeaten 69 from just 55 balls, striking 11 fours and two sixes. Milligan added 15 not out as Fox Lodge reached 132-2 just before halfway. St Johnston remain in search of their first league victory in the bottom reaches of the table.

Strabane tightened their grip at the top of the Premiership table with a convincing nine-wicket victory over Fox Lodge in the Tyrone derby at Ballymagorry. The home side, missing holidaying skipper Johnny Robinson who is currently in Greece, were bowled out for just 113 in 31.3 overs after Strabane’s disciplined attack kept the pressure on throughout. Fox Lodge struggled to build partnerships, although Travis Nicholl provided some resistance with a counter-attacking 37. Nicholl cleared the ropes four times in an entertaining knock that briefly threatened to shift momentum, but he received little support from the rest of the batting line-up. Muhammad Mohsin led the Strabane bowling effort with impressive figures of 3-17, while Ryan Gallagher also struck key blows with 3-23. Vadivel Murthy chipped in with 2-49 as the visitors maintained control from start to finish. Strabane’s reply suffered an early setback when skipper Kevin Gallagher departed for a single, giving Fox Lodge a glimmer of hope. However, that was as good as it got for the hosts as Rhys Logue and Aaron Gillespie took command with a superb unbroken century partnership for the second wicket. Logue finished unbeaten on 57, striking three fours and four sixes in an aggressive innings, while Gillespie played the perfect supporting role with 42 not out from an innings containing six boundaries and a six. Their stand guided Strabane to 114-1 in just 23.1 overs and secured a maximum points win that keeps them firmly on top of the table.

Fox Lodge made it two wins from two with a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Coleraine at Ballymagorry after Levi Kerr’s five-wicket haul set up the chase. Coleraine’s innings never recovered from the nightmare start of losing professional Louren Steenkamp first ball to teenager Swarnim Jha. The South African had struck an unbeaten century on Saturday, but cricket proved a great leveller as he departed for a golden duck. Experienced campaigner David Cooke battled hard for 35, while Patrick Carson added 23 and Jacob Logan-Wilson chipped in with 22, but Fox Lodge kept taking wickets at regular intervals. Kerr was the standout performer with superb figures of 5-41, while Aaron Heywood claimed 2-10 and Swarnim Jha picked up 2-30 as Coleraine were dismissed for 121 in 30.5 overs. Fox Lodge suffered a couple of early setbacks in reply with Ali Doherty and Charlie Simpson falling cheaply, but there was never any real alarm thanks to an excellent third-wicket stand of 75 between Gayan Maneeshan and Jason Milligan. Maneeshan dominated the scoring with a fluent 54 from just 42 balls, striking 10 fours and a six, while Milligan finished unbeaten on 37 with five fours and a maximum. Brian Allen added a run-a-ball 16 not out as Fox Lodge eased to 122-3 in 18.4 overs.

Fox Lodge continued their strong form with a 29-run DLS victory over Newbuildings in a rain-affected 32-over contest. The Foxies built their innings around a superb third-wicket partnership of 119 in just 16 overs between Sri Lankan professional Gayan Maneeshan and Jason Milligan. Maneeshan’s prolific early-season form showed no sign of slowing as he hammered 87 from 70 balls, striking 12 fours and three sixes. Milligan provided excellent support with a powerful 53 that included four boundaries and three maximums, while Charlie Simpson laid the early foundations with 33 featuring five fours. Skipper Ross Hunter picked up two wickets for the hosts. Set a revised target of 214, Newbuildings collapsed to 92-7 despite an explosive 28-ball 49 from Peat Salmon before he was removed by Johnny “Bap” Robinson. Ross Dougherty battled gamely with an unbeaten 78 and shared a half-century stand with Josh Wilson, but the required rate proved beyond them. Levi Kerr claimed three wickets, while teenager Swarnim Jha took two in Fox Lodge’s comfortable win.