Derriaghy captain Curtis Moorhead confident his squad can mix it in the Premier League

​The Queensway outfit were promoted to the top-flight after convincingly winning the Section One title in 2022, only losing three of 18 matches.

Trying to maintain Premier League status after making the move up is a notoriously tough task, but with the likes of Jamie Magowan, Sam Gordan and Craig Lewis in their ranks – all of whom have previous experience playing in the league – alongside the recruitment of overseas professional Patrick Kruger, Moorhead believes they can buck the trend.

"We have a good few players in our team who have proved themselves in the Premier League,” he said. “With Patrick coming in as our professional he could win games for us single-handedly, as could a lot of guys on our team.

"We have a lot of game winners and I have no doubt that there are days where we will get beaten and it won't be that close, but I also feel we're going to win games that aren't close either because we have game winners and boys that can hit you 70/80 runs in half as many balls.

"The split will work in our favour too. We would love to be in the top-half but the chances are we will be battling in the bottom-half but at least you're playing the teams around you.

"Our home games in the first-half of the season have worked in our favour I think. Things are all falling into place for us and we're very excited. We have a very strong local side.

"We didn't want to bring a load of players in just to try and stay up because you don't know what will happen the year after.

"We wanted to go with the team that got us here and it gives the boys who aren't used to that standard a bit of experience and then hopefully they can adapt even more to it.

"Jamie is the best homegrown wicketkeeper in the NCU and Sam has a proven record in the Premier League - last time he played in it he averaged 35 or 40.”

One of the best moves Derriaghy made during the winter was to appoint Marc Ellison as coach, with the former New Zealand U19 captain and current CSNI star able to help them prepare with his vast experience.

They are in a rather unique position as Saturday’s opening match is against Ellison and his Stormont teammates.

"He was keen to get coaching and I think he likes the challenge of trying to help us stay up,” added Moorhead. “He has been fantastic, both in and out of training.

"It's very easy for me or anyone else to talk to him and ask questions.

"He is always there for support and he has the knowledge of the Premier League and it's a mental thing for us guys.

"We're trying to get over the difference in standard and he has bridged that gap for us. He is a fantastic coach and a really nice person as well.

"It's going to be something special (playing against him)! CSNI is his club and he's coaching us so we're excited for it as well and what will be will be."