The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) is delighted to announce fixtures for the 2021 Lagan Valley Steels T20 competitions.  

These competitions will see club cricket get underway in the NCU on Saturday May 8th.  

The Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup will see the eight Robinson Premier League clubs go head-to-head in the Twenty20 format. Each club play each other once in a round-robin format, with the top four clubs in the league phase progressing to the semi-finals.  

The opening round of matches will see defending champions CIYMS take on Woodvale at Belmont. Elsewhere, North Down – who were beaten finalists last year – travel to Carrickfergus, Instonians host CSNI and Waringstown will entertain Lisburn at The Lawn. The winners of this competition will progress to the All-Ireland T20 Cup where they will represent the NCU against the champions of the respective Leinster, Munster and North West competitions.  

Meanwhile, the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Trophy will see the nine clubs from Robinson Services Section 1 play each other in a knock-out tournament. Clubs from Robinson Services Section 2 and 3 will compete in the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Shield and Lagan Valley Steels T20 Bowl respectively – these competitions will follow the same format as the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup.  

In addition to this, Lagan Valley Steels are supporting a new competition – the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Plate. This will give leading second XIs the chance to play competitive cricket in-line with their senior sides.  

Speaking of the announcement, NCU General Manager Angela Platt said: "We are delighted to announce the first block of fixtures for the 2021 season.  

"After discussions with our own clubs and guidance from Sport Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities, we were able to develop this season schedule and help our clubs adhere to Covid-19 regulations.  

"We are pleased to have Lagan Valley Steels on board again for 2021. We would like to thank them for their continued support during these difficult times – without them we wouldn't be able to hold these competitions."  

Tommy Anderson, Managing Director of Lagan Valley Steels added: "Lagan Valley Steels are pleased to sponsor the NCU's domestic T20 competitions for the 2021 season.