Only 32 overs were possible in the big game at Shaw’s Bridge but Shane Dadswell provided enough entertainment for the whole day, hitting a superb 105 not out from 59 balls with six fours and eight sixes in Instonians’ 248 for three. Skipper Nikolai Smith shared a third wicket a stand of 101 before was lbw for 56 from 55 balls against a Waringstown attack missing Tom Mayes, Graham Hume, James Mitchell and Ross Allen.

Cliftonville Academy were relieved the rain abandoned their game at The Castle Grounds as they wait for their first league of the season. CIYMS has reduced them to 112 for seven with Mark Best and Alex Armstrong taking two wickets each.

There was disappointment for Templepatrick when rain forced their game at Stormont to be abandoned after they had set themselves up for their first win. They needed just 23.5 overs to bowl out Civil Service North for 93 with Charles Swart and Michael Stewart each taking three wickets.

The first Premier League game to be called off was at Ballygomartin Road. Woodvale welcomed back professional Ludwig Keastner for his first game of his second spell at the club. He made 26 and Finn Restieaux was 23 not out when the rain arrived with the home side on 104 for 4 after 28.4 overs.

Forty overs were possible at The Green, more than any other Premier League game, but it wasn’t quite enough for Jason van der Merwe to reach a century. He was stranded on 97 not out when the rain arrived. He faced 87 balls and hit 13 fours and a six in Muckamore’s 213 for five.

Waringstown moved within one win of table toppers Lisburn and Instonians with a seven wickets victory over Woodvale in their postponed opening day game at Ballygomartin Road. Tom Mayes claimed the huge wicket of Ruhan Pretorius with the last ball of the first over and despite 44 from captain Harry Warke, Woodvale were all out for only 125 in their 20 overs. Sam Topping was also out to the sixth ball of the Waringstown innings but a second wicket stand of 118 between Morgan Topping (60 not out) and James McCollum (57) made light of the chase and Topping won the match with a six in the 14th over.

Lisburn made it four wins out of four to stay top of the table (with Instonians) after a comfortable 119 runs success at the Castle Grounds. Faiz Fazal (67) and Neil Whitworth (56) were top scorers in their innings of 275 which Cliftonville Academy never threatened. Francis Collins made a patient 57 but Ross Adair had him caught in his first over and he had four wickets for five runs from 3.2 overs when they were bowled out for 156. Ryan Macbeth also took four wickets (for 41).

Marc Ellison continued his fine start to the season with a century in Civil Service North’s 112 runs victory over North Down. Ellison hit 107 in his side’s 240 – Mickey Copeland, Tyron Koen and Mo Aahil took three wickets each – but Koen’s 30 not out was the visitors’ only significant resistance as Harry Dyer finished with 3-27.

The gulf between the Premier League champions and last year's Section One winners was there for all to see as Waringstown eased to a nine wickets victory at The Cloughan. Adam Dennison scored 113 not out from 92 balls as Waringstown reached their target in 25.2 overs. Captain Greg Thompson took five wickets as Templepatrick were bowled out for 172 with Patrick Tice top scoring with 52.

Instonians broke the record for the highest ever score in the Premier League* despite being bowled out in the last over. They made 458 with professional Shane Dadswell hitting an astonishing 182 from just 74 balls (11 fours, 18 sixes) to leave another whirlwind knock from Neil Rock (80 off 39) in the shade. Cade Carmichael’s 73 was his third consecutive half-century against Woodvale at Shaw’s Bridge. George Craigan also hit 56 off 35 at the end. But Ruhan Pretorius was never going to give up without a fight and he replied with 163 (nine fours, 14 sixes) but when he was out with the total on 320 after 40 overs, Woodvale lost their last four wickets for four runs. ***Instonians total is a record in the Premier League beating Woodvale's 422/6 v Derriaghy in June 2023 at Ballygomartin Road.***

A record Premier League third wicket stand of 252 between Jake Egan and professional Hermann Rolfes ensured CIYMS followed up their victory over Waringstown with a crushing 142 runs success over Muckamore. Egan scored 120 (nine fours, three sixes) and Rolfes 142 (17 fours, 2 sixes) as CI posted 327-4. Jason van der Merwe top scored for Muckamore with 45 and Neil Gill was 40 not out when they were bowled out for 185.

Faiz Fazal hit the last two balls of the match to give Lisburn a remarkable one wicket victory over Civil Service North. When Matthew Foster dismissed Adam Kennedy at the start of the 48th over, Lisburn, chasing 257 for victory, were 227 for nine. Last man Callum Atkinson took a single off his second ball and Fazal did the rest, facing all 15 balls and finishing on 145 not out. It looked like Foster was going to be the CSN hero when he bowled three 'dot' balls to Fazal to start the final over, but the Indian professional then sprung into life, taking a two off the fourth ball and then clearing the boundary from the final two balls. James Hunter scored 51 but Matthew Humphreys was third top score with 17. Marc Ellison scored 88 in the visitors' 256 for six with Harry Dyer putting them in a strong position with 53 not out. But Fazal had the final say as Lisburn made it three wins out of three to stay top of the table.

Muckamore took the last three Cliftonville Academy wickets for two runs to claim a 20 runs victory at Moylena. The home side were held up by an eighth wicket partnership of 86 between John Glass and Adam Kelso but professional Randeera Ranasinge bowled Kelso for 36 and next ball captain Sathish Suresh wrecked the stumps of Glass. He took the final wicket four balls later. Jason van der Merwe top scored for Muckamore with 64 in their total of 245 for eight.

Instonians won a thriller at The Green by two wickets, with one ball to spare. Needing nine off the last over, Cian Robertson scored them all, off Josh Corbett, a single from the fifth ball leaving him on 62 not out. James Lambert had given him good support in an eighth wicket stand of 32 after Andrew White had been bowled by Corbett for 46. Top scorer in the match was North Down wicket-keeper Kian Hilton with 69, while Craig Young followed up his 40 on Saturday with 39 as North Down finished on 224 for eight.

Woodvale produced a memorable chase to deny Templepatrick their first Premier League win, in a game of three centuries. The newcomers’ temporary professional Neil Brand scored the first, 144 off 107 balls with 18 fours and three sixes, in his side’s total of 313 for six, but Woodvale had a ‘sub pro’ of their own in South African Eddie Moore and he hit an undefeated 128 off 112 balls (five fours, nine sixes) and Ruhan Pretorius made 132 off 110 balls (14 fours and six sixes), his 10th century for Woodvale. The two shared a third wicket stand of 234, with Pretorius caught just nine runs short of the winning post. Finn Restieaux won the match with a six.

CIYMS recorded their first win of the season with a superb comeback win to defeat champions Waringstown at The Lawn. The visitors were second favourites at halfway having been bowled out for 187 in the 41st over as Tom Mayes, after his stunning century on Saturday, showed off his strongest suit with a six-wicket haul. Only Chris Dougherty, with 61, provided any resistance. Waringstown were still on course for a comfortable victory at 119-4 until captain Greg Thompson and Adam Dennison (54) were dismissed within four balls either side of the drinks break. This time Mayes couldn’t repeat his heroics with the bat, caught down the leg side from Hermann Rolfes’ final ball and Jacob Mulder also took a wicket with his final delivery, his fifth of the innings. When James Mitchell hit Alex Armstrong straight to mid-off, Ross Allen was left stranded on 23 not out and CI had won by 12 runs.

North Down completed an impressive chase to record their second win, with a three wickets success at Belmont. Professional Mickey Copleland was 87 not out when Peter Davison won the match with 20 balls to spare. Set 220, the home side were favourites when North Down lost their sixth wicket in the 30th over but Craig Young (40) shared a seventh wicket stand of 82 with Copeland and the South African saw his new side home. A fifth wicket stand of 78 between Hermann Rolfes (77) and Carson McCullough with a personal best 80 (five fours and four sixes) dominated the CI innings as they finished on 219 for nine.

A superb individual performance by Jared Wilson was not enough to take his Cliftonville Academy side to victory, falling nine runs short in a thrilling match at the Castle Grounds that saw 625 runs. Wilson took 5-59, including the last four wickets for six runs, as Instonians finished on 317-9. Rob McKinley hit 88 and Neil Rock, after his record-breaking 173 on Friday night, hit another six sixes before he was dismissed immediately after reaching his 50. The home side looked down and out at halfway in the reply, on 125 for four, but Abhishek Raut hit 103 and Wilson 93 off 60 balls (five fours and nine sixes) to leave them needing 38 off 38 balls with four wickets left. Even when James Magee dismissed Wilson after being hit for three sixes in the over, Cliftonville Academy captain Matty McCord maintained the charge with a run-a-ball 24. But he could not beat the experience of Andrew White who took two wickets in the 49th over and 12 runs off the last proved too much.

Civil Service North romped to a nine wickets victory after bowling out Woodvale for just 91. The bowling attack mauled by Neil Rock less than 24 hours earlier, bounced back in style with James West finishing with figures of 7.2-5-6-4. Ruhan Pretorius provided the only Woodvale resistance with 36. West, opening the batting then hit 41 not out as CSN won with more than 33 overs to spare.

Lisburn made it two wins out of two with an eight wickets victory in Templepatrick's first ever Premier League home game. The hosts put up a respectable 190 for nine, batting out the 50 overs despite skipper Ross Bryans being eighth man out for 60 in the 39th over. Ryan Macbeth, who took three wickets in an impressive opening spell took the ninth wicket to finish with four for 32. The target proved no problem for the visitors with Ross Adair, on his Lisburn debut, making 93 from 71 balls with 13 fours and four sixes. Faiz Fazal then scored an undefeated half-century before Neil Whitworth hit the winning boundary in the 32nd over.

A career best 137 not out from Tom Mayes rescued Waringstown from 61 for six and lead them to a comfortable 142 runs victory. Mayes, who faced 88 balls and hit seven fours and 11 sixes, shared a seventh wicket stand of 180 with professional Daniel van der Merwe who scored 76, with seven fours and three sixes. Waringstown finished on 294 for eight and Mayes then took two early wickets to reduce Muckamore to 30 for three. Their fourth wicket stand of 43, however, was the only one over 20 as they were bowled out for 152 in 36 overs.

Neil Rock smashed 16 sixes and 11 fours in a blistering 173 frim 64 balls as Instonians beat CSNI by 92 runs in their rearranged Premiership T20 game. 'Pebbles' brutal assault on the beleaguered CSNI attack took the Shaw's Bridge side to a mammoth 257 for 6, with Shane Dadswell chipping in with 21 in what was essentially a one-man show. That was always going to be too many to chase, and two wickets apiece for Andy White and James Magee reduced them to 69 for 6. Stuart Thompson's undefeated 78 from 46 balls (6 fours, 3 sixes) as he and Paddy Beverland (28) added 70 in seven overs to finish on 165 for 7. As a footnote, Rock's 173 is the third highest individual score for the club, and not surprisingly their highest T20 score. Andrew White's 177 in the Irish Cup still holds the record.

Captain Tyron Koen and new professional Mickey Copeland eased North Down to a seven wickets victory over Cliftonville Academy. In a match delayed until 1.50pm and reduced to 37 overs, the visitors were bowled out for 99 with Copeland taking 4-17 in 6.2 overs. The South African then showed off his all-round talent with an unbeaten 35 in an unbroken partnership of 48 with new signing Koen who won the match with a six.

Templepatrick’s first ever match in the Premier League ended in defeat at Moylena. Batting first, the new boys were restricted to 126 for seven in a match reduced by a rain interruption to 28 overs. Neil Brand, playing as a temporary professional, and opener Jack Smyth both scored 30. Muckamore’s target was upgraded to 152 but 47 not out from Mark Gleghorne saw them home with five balls to spare. New professional Randeera Ranasinge, batting at No 7, hit 26 off 18 balls.

Lisburn were the first Premier League winners of the new season but only after a thrilling finish in a low-scoring game at Wallace Park. CIYMS were bowled out for 103 with new signing Jake Egan’s 44 the only significant contribution as NCU chief executive Callum Atkinson had the best bowling figures of 3-33. Lisburn were 102 for five in reply but, remarkably, lost four wickets for one run before Ryan McBeth and last man Atkinson scrambled the winning single.