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by defeating the mighty Waringstown and North Down in their opening games!
That may not sit easy with the Big Two in NCU cricket but everybody is getting bored with their monopoly of the major trophies and while Instonians always had the potential to cause an upset, it was hardly expected that they would beat both giants in their first two games and establish themselves as serious contenders for league honours .
Few people outside Shaw's Bridge still expect them to go all the way but success breeds success and barely two years ago Bangor started their season with a bang and the Seasiders were still at the top of the league table when it came to September.
Not so for Bangor this season, but it's early days yet, and there's likely to be a lot more interest in the NCU top section now that Instonians have got an edge on their rivals.
If the Belfast club goes all the way it will be a fairytale season as you have to a long way back to the early Sixties to find their glory years and their last major success. Guided and cajoled by the inimitable Dixon Rose of Irish cricket and Irish hockey fame, their talented Sixties team included those Shane Park legends big Tom McCormick, Bobby and Leslie Matier, Brian "Brandy' Anderson, Duncan McKibben, Billy Thompson, and Dixon's longsuffering brother Carson, a brilliant stumper in his heyday. There's also plenty of brilliance in the current team but so often in the past Instonians have flattered to deceive and understandably skipper John Stevenson is not looking much farther than the next match. His measured approach sounds very similar to Bangor skipper Chris Yeates two years ago and maybe, just maybe, the time has arrived for modern Instonians to get the monkey off their back and bring some major silverware back to the club.
They're certainly off to a great start!
