Crunch time for Lisburn

Tomorrow (Saturday) they travel to North Down, hoping for a change of fortune against the home side. Having lost twice already this term to the hosts, both defeats being of a comprehensive nature, skipper Greg Thompson knows that his charges will need to bring their A game to the table in order to reverse the form.

"We played badly both times against North Down, though on the first day of the season we were under-prepared and missing several key players, including our professional Yasas Tillakaratne, whereas North Down had had five pre-season games and their pro was here.

"In the cup match, the toss was critical on a great strip, and their target of 290+ was always going to cause us problems. But this is a new day, and a new game, and since those games we have put together a fine run and are in much better form going into this game, so we must back ourselves to push them. It wont be easy, but I am confident we will do ourselves justice."

Things don't get an awful lot easier for Thompson's men the next day as they go on their travels once more, this time to Shaws Bridge to take on defending champions Instonians. This will be the first time this year Lisburn have played Instonians in the league and their record against them is fairly good.

Thompson said: "Instonians are defending joint champions but we have already claimed the scalp of one, so there is no reason why we can't complete the double. They are a formidable outfit with what looks like a very strong top order, but if our bowlers can get into them early, we stand a good chance of upsetting the odds in this game too."

A win in either or both games would cement Lisburn's position atop the Ulster Bank Premier League, and the action kicks off at noon on both days. The Seconds enjoy Wallace Park again, taking on North Down at noon, while the Thirds join the Firsts at Comber for a fixture against the same opponents.