CIYMS captain Nigel Jones says that his side have their sights set on going far in every competition this summer.

Ahead of the season's opening weekend, Jones said: "We've got a pretty good squad together again this year and we'll be looking to push deep in all the competitions. "Over the last few years, we've worked on a game-by-game motto and it has tended to work pretty well for us. Once the season gets underway, we'll be looking to put some silverware in the trophy cabinet."

In 2020, CIYMS won the Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup and were beaten semi-finalists in the Robinson Services Cup.

Looking to build on last year's strong performance, Jones said: "We've got to make sure that our standards don't drop and we maintain what we've been doing over the last couple of years."We try and play the best cricket that we can and with the odd new face coming in, it's about getting them settled pretty quickly."

Over the winter, the Belmont outfit added Murray Commins and Graham Kennedy to their side. Jones is excited about what they can bring to the table. "We've got to really exciting players," said Jones. "I worked with Graham during my time as a coach at Irish under-age level. He's a nice kid, a quiet fella and goes about his work – he's a gifted cricketer and is working on bowling some spin, so we'll get him working with James Cameron Dow. With the bat, he can be a little unorthodox at times, but he's a very elegant batsman. Murray is an exciting cricketer too – we know what he's capable of and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on." 

CIYMS start the defence of their Lagan Valley Steels T20 Cup title tomorrow as they welcome Woodvale to Belmont.

Ahead of the season opener, Jones said: "We had a good look at them last year – what they had in their team and what they offered. We also have knowledge on James (Hall) and Ruhan (Pretorius) and what they can do.  It certainly won't be an easy game and we'll have to make sure that we're on top of our game. We'll be looking to dominate early and put pressure on their guys; if we do that then hopefully we'll come out on the right side." 
---