Holders RBAI are safely through to the last four of the Schools Cup after a seven-wicket win over Strabane Academy.

In the NCU Women’s Premiership, Holywood remain unbeaten after a 65-run DLS victory against CSNI at Seapark, while Waringstown were 174-run victors at Muckamore.

Carrickfergus and Donacloney Mill remain unbeaten at the head of the table with DLS wins as they squeezed in enough overs to obtain results on a day when the other three fixtures were not completed.

Only 32 overs were bowled at Shaw’s Bridge on Saturday and there was no result in the big game of the day between Instonians and Waringstown but there was more entertainment than in games that last the full 100 overs.

THERE was real drama at The Cloughan as Templepatrick and Woodvale shared the spoils in a thrilling tie.

There are few shrewder brains in the NCU Premier League than Cliftonville Academy captain Matty McCord.

In the NCU Women’s Premiership, Holywood top the table after they won by 55 runs at North Down in a high scoring game.

HOLDERS Lisburn made it two wins from two in the latest round of group matches in the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup, beating Muckamore by six wickets at Wallace Park.

The records continue to tumble at Shaw’s Bridge this season. Just two weeks after Neil Rock hit the highest 20-over score in the NCU, Instonians scored 458, the highest ever total in the Premier League.

There were victories on Sunday for Waringstown, Holywood and CSNI.

Carrick and Laurevale top Section One of the NCU after both won again.

Instonians make the highest total while CIYMS duo break third wicket partnership record in a run-filled day in the NCU Premiership.

Tom Mayes is keen to make up for lost time after missing most of the 2024 season through injury, watching from the sidelines as Waringstown clinched the Premiership.

Belfast High School will face Campbell College for a quarter-final place in the Schools Cup after a convincing first-round win over Carrick Grammar School.

ROSS ADAIR returned to haunt his old club CIYMS with a blistering century to get Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup holders Lisburn off to a winning start at Belmont.

When Cade Carmichael arrived in Ireland from his native South Africa four years ago, he had no hesitation in announcing that his goal was to play international cricket for Ireland. It can be safely said that he is well on his way.

A first win of the season for CIYMS and a first loss for defending champions Waringstown after an unexpected finale at The Lawn.

Lisburn won off the last ball, Instonians also left it late, while there were also victories for CIYMS, Muckamore and Woodvale.

Last month Ross Adair had been playing in the vast Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for Ireland Wolves. Eight days on, he was in the wide open spaces of The Cloughan playing for Lisburn in Templepatrick’s historic first ever home game in the NCU Premier League.

There were ten wickets wins for Holywood and Waringstown, while CSNI beat Muckamore by 52 runs.

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.

It was welcome to the big time for Templepatrick and although their game against Muckamore ended in a defeat, captain Ross Bryans was happy enough with how their first game in the Premier League went. But he knows even tougher challenges lie ahead.

Atish Varape and Alex Haggan were the stars for Carrickfergus as they beat Armagh by seven wickets in their Section One league opener, played on a T20 basis after Saturday's original fixture was postponed.

Lisburn, one of the title favourites for the NCU Premier League, made a winning start yesterday but only after a thrilling end to their game against CIYMS.

Templepatrick are ready 'to give it a go" in their first ever season in the Premier League. Promoted as champions after 10 years in Section One the Ballyclare-based club are excited for what they describe as their next challenge.

Ian Callender previews the start of the 2025 NCU Premiership season which is set to be another incredibly competitive campaign.

There's not much change at Armagh who enjoyed a successful season in 2024, with 11 wins in Section One earning them second place behind champions Templepatrick.

The defending champions once again set the benchmark for other NCU clubs and no doubt will be among the challengers for all the major honours in what has become an incredibly tough Premiership.

Last season was a solid campaign or Donacloney Mill, who buoyed by an exceptional campaign from their overseas professional Atish Varape, competed on all fronts.

Last season was a mid-table campaign for Derriaghy winning and losing nine games apiece in Section One. There were no highs as in the National Cup campaign of the year before, but they seem to have a settled squad as skipper Ross Bailey outlines.

There haven't been many personnel changes at the Memorial Ground with Jamie Read coming in, and only Nik Ravikkrishnan not playing in 2025 due to work commitments,  but the club are expecting him to return for 2026.

Woodvale were certainly very competitive in 2024 and pushed eventual champions Waringstown all the way in the Premiership title race, as well as reaching the semi-finals of both the T20 and the Challenge Cups.

The new chief executive of the Northern Cricket Union knows he won’t have a Test match this summer to oversee but after the success of  last’s year’s inaugural five-day game in Northern Ireland, he can’t wait for the next one.

It's been a busy close season at Belmont with four players saying adios, replaced by four saying hola.

It was an exciting 2024 for Bangor who not only gained promotion to Section One, but also collected a T20 trophy for good measure.

It was a relatively disappointing 2024 for North Down who never came close to capturing silverware, and they will be hoping for better fortunes under new captain Tyron Koen.

Waringstown legend Lee Nelson has confirmed his retirement from senior cricket.

Downpatrick Cricket Club is gearing up for an exciting and competitive season as they step into the Northern Cricket Union Senior League Section 1 following their promotion last year.

Lurgan enjoyed an excellent campaign on their return to Section One in 2024, and almost made the top flight as they pushed eventual champions Templepatrick all the way in the promotion race.

It's shaping up to be a memorable year for Laurelvale both on and off the field, as club captain David Sinton explains.

There was disappointment for Carrickfergus last year with their relegation from the top flight but a new season brings fresh hope and the chance for a reset and a promotion push back to the top echelons of NCU cricket.

Their only change to the squad sees Shane Dadswell back in the country at Shaw's Bridge and skipper Nikolai Smith is enthusiastic about their fortunes in 2025.

Cliftonville Academy have been building steadily over the past few years and could be on the cusp of a special year if all goes their way.

It mightn't have been the season that CSNI hoped for in 2024, but their recent signing of Sean Davey as overseas professional offsets the fact that Luke Georgeson won't be back as hoped.

Lisburn enjoyed T20 success as they captured the All-Ireland and NCU trophies in the format. The signing of Ross Adair will make them an even more frightening prospect in the shortest format.

It was a historic 2024 campaign for Muckamore and new captain Sathish Suresh is hoping for more glory at Moylena as the new season dawns.

The NCU have confirmed the appointment of Callum Atkinson as their CEO.

Holywood have announced their overseas players for the upcoming 2025 season.

Ian Butler is joining Islamabad United for the 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League as their Bowling Coach.

Laurelvale are celebrating their 150th Anniversary with a gala dinner at Portadown R.F.C Saturday 12th April, with any and all welcome.

Muckamore have confirmed the signings of Allen Coulter and Sam Gordon.

Newly promoted Templepatrick have a change of professional with Sri Lankan Sandun Weerakkody a replacement for original choice Wesley Marshall.

Woodvale have announced the signings of Ashwin Shetty from Carrickfergus and Irish passport holding New Zealander Finn Restieaux.

Holders Muckamore have been drawn against Waringstown in the tie of the round, while there's another mouth-watering clash as beaten finalists Lisburn take on CIYMS in another all-Premier fixture.

It appears that Luke Georgeson will once be plying his trade at Stormont during the 2025 season.

The Grasshoppers finished their five-match tour with an 88-run win over Claremont.

Saturday saw the Grasshoppers lose a nail-biting thriller against Groot Drakenstein by just one wicket despite the best efforts of former Ireland A international Neil Gill.

Michael Waite scores a half century but it's in vain as Western Province chase 191 to win by seven wickets,

The Grasshoppers made it two wins from two over the weekend with a hard-fought 22-run win over Somerset West.

A brilliant 118 from Neil Whitworth ensured a convincing 180-run win for the Grasshoppers on the first match of their South African tour against Elgin.

18 boys from the NCU area will be heading to India for ten days to experience the tour of a lifetime next month.

Allen Coulter is calling time on his career at CIYMS.