Waringstown swept to the NCU Premiership title in convincing fashion, finishing 12 points clear at the summit after a season in which they were rarely knocked off course.

Greg Thompson’s side won 12 of their 14 league matches, losing only twice, to secure the club’s 33rd senior league championship and their second in three seasons.

South African professional Steve Stolk was the headline act with the bat. He amassed 1,042 runs at an average of 61.29 and a remarkable strike-rate of 181.53, hitting four centuries and 88 sixes.

His 155 against North Down helped Waringstown to 401 for five in a 217-run victory that took them to the brink of the title.

Morgan Topping also enjoyed an excellent season, scoring 907 runs at 69.77 with three hundreds, while Irish international James McCollum contributed 844 at 60.29, also reaching three figures three times.

Adam Dennison made 536 runs at 44.67, while Graham Hume again showed his all-round value with 487 runs at 60.88, including an unbeaten 126 against Lisburn.

The bowling figures were just as significant.

Captain Thompson led the way with 40 wickets at 17.52, including two five-wicket hauls, while Tom Mayes claimed 31 at 20.77. James Cameron-Dow took 22 wickets at 16.64, with Hume also finishing with 22.

Their title was sealed in emphatic fashion at Wallace Park. Sussex batter George Thomas, deputising after Stolk had returned to South Africa, struck 131 from 86 balls as Waringstown posted a club record 428 for five before Thompson and Cameron-Dow took four wickets apiece in a 248-run win over Lisburn.

There were frustrations in the cups. Pembroke ended their Irish Senior Cup challenge at the first hurdle, CSNI knocked them out of the Challenge Cup semi-final, while Lisburn won a close rain-affected T20 Cup final by seven runs.

That meant the Premiership became the clear centrepiece of their season. Over 14 matches, Waringstown found the greater consistency, with enough runs at the top and middle of the order and sufficient bowling options to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

The margin at the top of the table reflected that superiority across the campaign. In their 175th year, another league title was a fitting addition to one of Irish club cricket’s longest and most successful histories.

They will remain the team to beat in the NCU next season.

WARINGSTOWN BATTING

Top Run Aggregates
 
# Name Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s
1 S Stolk 20 20 3 1042 155 61.29 574 181.53 4 4 80 88
2 M Topping 22 17 4 907 128* 69.77 907 100.00 3 4 121 40
3 J McCollum 22 19 5 844 118 60.29 789 106.97 3 4 85 19
4 A Dennison 19 16 4 536 91 44.67 645 83.10 - 5 61 7
5 Graham Hume 21 14 6 487 126* 60.88 377 129.18 1 2 32 33
6 T Mayes 18 13 4 206 51* 22.89 150 137.33 - 1 13 13
7 G Thompson 22 14 6 155 36 19.38 180 86.11 - - 16 2
8 G Thomas 1 1 - 131 131 131.00 86 152.33 1 - 11 10
9 S Topping 3 3 1 86 54 43.00 115 74.78 - 1 11 -
10 M Halliday 21 8 1 57 19 8.14 63 90.48 - - 6 1
11 James Cameron-Dow 12 3 2 55 45* 55.00 62 88.71 - - 5 2
12 R Allen 17 5 1 17 12 4.25 30 56.67 - - 2 -
13 J Froggatt 16 2 1 11 6 11.00 5 220.00 - - 1 -
14 Zayyan Malik 4 2 1 7 7* 7.00 7 100.00 - - 1 -
15 J Mitchell 12 1 1 2 2* - 1 200.00 - - - -
16 M Waite 6 2 1 2 1* 2.00 15 13.33 - - - -
17 S Best 6 2 1 1 1* 1.00 4 25.00 - - - -
 

WARINGSTOWN BOWLING

Top Wicket Takers
 
# Name Mat Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5WI wds nbs
1 G Thompson 22 145.2 7 701 40 6-18 17.52 4.82 21.80 2 12 -
2 T Mayes 18 118.2 10 644 31 6-31 20.77 5.44 22.90 1 24 1
3 James Cameron-Dow 12 76.1 5 366 22 5-19 16.64 4.81 20.77 1 7 1
4 Graham Hume 21 121.5 17 497 22 6-20 22.59 4.08 33.23 1 16 -
5 R Allen 17 121.4 9 543 19 2-6 28.58 4.46 38.42 - 10 -
6 S Stolk 20 91 2 533 17 3-53 31.35 5.86 32.12 - 22 6
7 A Dennison 19 12.4 - 57 5 3-33 11.40 4.50 15.20 - 1 -
8 J Mitchell 12 32.2 2 151 5 2-50 30.20 4.67 38.80 - 2 -
9 J Froggatt 16 25 - 158 3 2-30 52.67 6.32 50.00 - 3 4
10 J McCollum 22 12 1 78 2 2-35 39.00 6.50 36.00 - 2 -
11 Zayyan Malik 4 11.1 1 87 2 1-29 43.50 7.79 33.50 - 8 2
12 S Best 6 5.1 - 26 1 1-10 26.00 5.03 31.00 - - -