All eight remaining Division 2 sides in the Billy Henderson Properties league were able to take full advantage of the glorious weekend weather and a full set of fixtures went ahead on Saturday with few surprises.

Creevedonnell and Ardmore are sure to be among the favourites for the single promotion spot come September and both started their campaigns with big wins. The former took advantage of a badly weakened Burndennett side to inflict a crushing defeat with former Irish International bowler Gary Neely doing most of the damage.

Neely returned the stunning figures of 8 for 16 as the visitors were shot out for just 48 runs and although losing the wicket of Ells McGarrigle for 19 in their reply, Creevedonnell cruised to the win in just 7 overs.

Stephen Scroggie’s side will fancy their chances this season and although they will certainly face much tougher challenges than this over the summer they went about their business in convincing fashion.

Ardmore faced a trickier opening day task as they welcomed a strong looking Nedd side to the Green. Kyle Morrow with 46 and Alex Steele with 42 got the Kings Lane team off to a really solid start and at 70 for 1 a decent total looked on the cards.

The hosts’ bowling has a really compact look about it again this season however and the introduction of Lee Brolly with 4 for 18 and Ciaran McDermott (4 for 32) changed the complexion of the game.

The Nedd struggled to cope with that pair as the middle and lower order failed to fire and from a reasonably strong position they folded somewhat to just 112 all out.

Vinny O’Hara’s side rarely gives up that easily however and they were soon among the hosts’ batsmen. Gareth Burns did best with the ball taking 3 for 26 but an unbeaten 38 from Gerard McAuley and 31 from Paul McDowell was enough to see Ardmore home with 5 wickets to spare.

Killyclooney entertained Drummond in the re-arranged game and this one turned into a real thriller before the visitors collected the points. Gordon Cooke’s side batted first and former Ballyspallen skipper Clive Rodgers led the charge on his debut with a superb century.

Rodgers blasted 8 sixes and 10 fours in his 108 and with Cooke chipping in with a valuable 61, Drummond posted a daunting 255 all out in just 38 overs. Richard McMorris with 5 for 31 bowled really well for the hosts and got good support from Mark Snodgrass and Sammy McElhatton who shared the other 5 wickets.

Killyclooney, with Graeme McCarter having joined the exodus before the new season started, seem in no mood to roll over and they set about the reply with plenty of heart.

James Colhoun hit 5 sixes and 9 fours on his way to 80 and Mark Gordon’s 59 was equally entertaining. Just when they seemed set to cause an upset however the hosts were undone by a timely spell of bowling from Stevie Moore, the Drummond stalwart returning figures of 5 for 32. Skipper Cooke added a couple of wickets and in the end the home side were just 13 runs adrift.

Promotion favourites St Johnston signalled their intent to look for another go at the top flight when they proved too strong for Sion Mills at the Boathole.

The Donegal men batted first and Sachin Dixit top scored with 86 while new recruit Naveed Chaudrey added 75 and Alan MacBeth 48 in a total of 288 for 5.

To their credit, Sion gave it a go with a half century from Andy Lucas and 31 from Lee Finlay helping them to a respectable 179 all out. James Robinson marked his return to senior cricket with figures of 3 for 15 whilst David and Stuart Lapsley each picked up a couple of wickets in a convincing win for the Saints.

It is cup action all the way for Division 2 sides this weekend as the preliminary round of the Northern Bank senior cup takes centre stage.

Burndennett will need to find more reserves if they are to make home advantage count against The Nedd although with an away trip to Limavady awaiting the winners they may find discretion the better part of valour in any case. Incidentally, the second round game takes place the following Sunday, 15 May at the Hunter Grounds so no league action now for three weeks for one of these sides.

The other two cup games this coming weekend are much more difficult to call- Drummond hosting St Johnston for the right to travel to Coleraine in Round 2 and Ardmore and Creevedonnell clashing with the prize for the winners a trip to Eglinton.

The Saints will start favourites in the first of those and it was clear from the mood around the Boathole that they are determined to put 2010 behind them and enjoy their cricket again this season. There is plenty of talent available to Andrew Fleming and he will no doubt feel they have a point to prove and although Gordon Cooke is putting a good side together the visitors will be a tough nut to crack.

Ardmore and Creevedonnell is traditionally entertaining and with both looking to make an impression on the title race this summer they will be keen for a moral victory here.

The Creevies have traded well in the winter and with Neely now joining the likes of skipper Scroggie, Nick Cooke, Richard Philson and the McGarrigle’s they too will be hard to beat.

The hosts though are nobody’s mugs and it will have encouraged them no end to see Ciaran McDermott and Lee Brolly in great fettle at the weekend. Adrian Murphy is of course a big game player and he remains capable of winning matches on his own.

Home advantage can’t be underestimated either so this looks like much more of a test for the visitors than the one they were posed at the weekend.