NCU Senior League

The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) Senior League is the provincial cricket league within the NCU jurisdiction in Ireland, which covers counties Antrim, Armagh, Down and south Tyrone of Northern Ireland. The league was formed in 1897 and is currently divided into four sections, namely the Premier League, Sections 1, 2 and 3. It is sponsored by Mercury Security & Facilities Management and marketed as the Mercury Premier League, Mercury Section 1, etc.

There are a total of 36 league members: 10 in the Premier League; 10 in Section 1; 8 in Section 2 and 8 in Section 3. There is promotion and relegation of one club between each division.

Teams play each other twice per season, once at home and once away, each season, with four points awarded for a win and two for a tie or for "no result". When two or more teams finish with the same number of points, the team with the best net run rate is placed highest. Matches consist of one innings per side, with a maximum of fifty, and a minimum of twenty overs bowled per innings.

Waringstown are the most successful side in the Premier League with 33 wins (6 shared). The current champions are Waringstown after winning the 2026 competition.

In 2020, the season was abridged due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Premier League was played as a single round of fixtures with the top four teams progressing to semi-finals and the champions declared after a final.

Members for 2026 season

As of 2026, the clubs in the NCU Senior League included:

Premier League Section 1 Section 2 Section 3
  • Amigos Belfast
  • Arches
  • Ards & Donaghadee
  • Belfast Superkings
  • Dundrum
  • Drumaness Superkings
  • NIMACC
  • Victoria

Source: Northern Cricket Union

List of champions

Season Champions
1897 North Down
1898 North Down
1899 North of Ireland
1900 North of Ireland
1901 Holywood
1902 North of Ireland
1903 North of Ireland
1904 North of Ireland
1905 North of Ireland
1906 North Down
1907 North of Ireland
1908 North of Ireland
1909 Holywood
1910 North Down
1911 Waringstown
1912 Holywood
1913 Banbridge
1914 Holywood
1919 North Down
1920 Cliftonville
1921 North Down
1922 Ulster
1923 North of Ireland
1924 Waringstown
1925 Waringstown
1926 Cliftonville
1927 North Down
1928 Armagh
1929 North Down
1930 North Down
1931 Armagh
1932 North Down
1933 Lisburn
1934 North Down
1935 Woodvale
1936 North Down
1937 Lisburn
1938 Cliftonville
1939 Armagh
1940 North of Ireland
1941 Lisburn
1942 Lisburn
1943 Woodvale
1944 Waringstown
1945 Cregagh
1946 North of Ireland
1947 Cregagh
1948 Woodvale
1949 Waringstown
1950 Lisburn
1951 Lisburn
1952 Lisburn
1953 Waringstown
1954 North of Ireland
1955 Woodvale
1956 Holywood
1957 North of Ireland
1958 Holywood and Woodvale (shared)
1959 Queen's University
1960 North of Ireland
1961 North of Ireland
1962 Instonians
1963 Lisburn and North of Ireland (shared)
1964 Lisburn
1965 North of Ireland
1966 Woodvale
1967 Waringstown
1968 Downpatrick
1969 Lisburn
1970 Muckamore and Waringstown (shared)
1971 North of Ireland and Waringstown (shared)
1972 Waringstown
1973 Waringstown
1974 Downpatrick
1975 Downpatrick
1976 Waringstown
1977 Waringstown
1978 Waringstown
1979 Waringstown
1980 Lisburn
1981 Waringstown
1982 Waringstown
1983 Downpatrick
1984 Waringstown
1985 Waringstown
1986 Downpatrick and North of Ireland (shared)
1987 North of Ireland
1988 Waringstown
1989 North of Ireland and Waringstown (shared)
1990 Lurgan and North of Ireland (shared)
1991 Waringstown
1992 Waringstown
1993 Lisburn
1994 Downpatrick
1995 Cliftonville
1996 Cliftonville and Lisburn (shared)
1997 Cliftonville
1998 Ballymena
1999 North Down
2000 Waringstown
2001 North Down
2002 North Down
2003 North Down
2004 Bangor
2005 North Down and Waringstown (shared)
2006 Waringstown
2007 North Down
2008 North Down
2009 Instonians and Waringstown (shared)
2010 North Down
2011 North Down[1]
2012 CIYMS[2]
2013 Instonians and Waringstown (shared)[3]
2014 Instonians[4]
2015 Waringstown[5]
2016 Instonians[6]
2017 Waringstown[7]
2018 CIYMS[8]
2019 CIYMS[9]
2020 North Down[10]
2021 Waringstown[11]
2022 Lisburn[12]
2023 Instonians[13]
2024 Waringstown[14]
2025 Instonians[15]
2026 Waringstown[16]

Performance by club

Summary of winners

Team Wins
Waringstown 33 (6 shared)
North Down 24 (1 shared)
North of Ireland 20 (5 shared)
Lisburn 14 (2 shared)
Cliftonville 6 (1 shared)
Downpatrick 6 (1 shared)
Holywood 6 (1 shared)
Woodvale 6 (1 shared)
Instonians 6 (2 shared)
Armagh 3
CIYMS 3
Cregagh 2
Ballymena 1
Banbridge 1
Bangor 1
Queen's University 1
Ulster 1
Lurgan 1 (shared)
Muckamore 1 (shared)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "North Down champions yet again". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Historic CIYMS crowned NCU Premier Champions, News-Letter, 10 September 2012
  3. ↑ News Letter, 2 September 2013
  4. ↑ News Letter, 15 September 2014
  5. ↑ Northern Cricket Union
  6. ↑ Northern Cricket Union
  7. ↑ Cricket Europe
  8. ↑ News Letter
  9. ↑ NCU
  10. ↑ News Letter
  11. ↑ Cricket Europe
  12. ↑ News Letter
  13. ↑ Belfast Telegraph
  14. ↑ https://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/cricket/graham-humes-half-century-helps-waringstown-secure-premier-league-title-glory-while-carrickfergus-are-relegated-4764386
  15. ↑ Cricket Europe
  16. ↑ Belfast Telegraph
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.