Nikolai Smith delighted to have 'phenomenal' Ollie Metcalfe back in the fold at Instonians

Ollie Metcalfe has returned to Instonians this season. PIC: Desmond Loughery/Pacemaker Press

Metcalfe didn’t feature at all last season as Inst won the Premier League title due to university commitments at Durham, but has already made an important contribution this term, striking 64 as the Shaw’s Bridge outfit convincingly defeated Eglinton in the Irish Senior Cup last weekend.

He’s also playing Inter-Provincial cricket for the Munster Reds and scored 49 against Leinster Lightning in Dublin earlier this month.

With Rob McKinley contributing a century in the victory over Eglinton and captain Smith a brisk 89, Metcalfe’s presence further bolsters a top-order that’s capable of dominating attacks.

"He was in Durham last season and is in his final year now but wanted to come back and play in the Inter-Pro’s,” said Smith ahead of this weekend’s league double-header against Muckamore and CSNI. “He has came back a different player and person and been fantastic.

"He has quietly taken on a leadership role and came back more mature and wanting to be involved. The way he is batting is absolutely phenomenal and hopefully that continues because he has been fantastic.

"He's a very talented player and everybody knows what he's capable of...his time away has really helped him.

"Being in that cricketing environment where you're always around high-level players – you're also on your own away from home and have to look after yourself. All those factors have worked together to make him a better person and cricketer which is great."

Instonians’ defence of their Premier League title has got off to a slow start, losing to North Down on the opening day, which was followed up by defeat to Cliftonville Academy in a rearranged Twenty20 fixture.

With so much time left to correct their form, Smith isn’t concerned by early losses, but would like to create momentum heading into a busy stretch.

"The league is very strong and it's already shown in the first couple of weeks that anybody is capable of beating anybody,” he added. “Every team is really strong and you have to put together your best performances.

"We haven't done that yet, but it's important to get off the mark...we're looking to win both games. It would be great to get some momentum going, but it's not the end of the world if we don't at this stage because it's only the start of the season.

"It's a long season and to win the league and cups you have to play good cricket over a sustained period of time. We lost two games last year and won the league so nobody is down and out at the moment. To get two wins would be great to bring that momentum back."

Instonians were drawn against CSNI in the Irish Senior Cup second round while there’s another all-NCU clash with Muckamore travelling to CIYMS.

Six-time champions Waringstown host Pembroke in what is a repeat of the 2019 final and North Down face a trip to either Cork County or Balbriggan with all matches set to take place on June 9.

In the National Cup, Laurelvale face a home encounter with Ballyspallen, Templepatrick travel to Fox Lodge and defending champions Derriaghy are on the road to The Nedd.