Fox Lodge continued their excellent start to the season with contrasting victories at the weekend, as Marco Marais hit 17 sixes in a century as they won at Killyclooney, while the Ballymagorry side held their nerve to beat Glendermott by 10 runs the following day.

The return of Marais to Fox Lodge has galvanized Aaron Heywood’s charges and the South African is glad to have hit the ground running.

“It has certainly been good to contribute in the way I did,” said Marais. “I'm here to enjoy my cricket and have fun. In this game as a batter you will fail more than do well so just enjoy the ride when you get going.

“The season so far has gone well as we have had a great start. There is still a long way to go, although it seems this might be the season of "upsets" if you look at past results, which I think is good as there won't be as much comfort from teams as there might have been in previous years.”

It’s been noted that the 2022 version of Marais is much more mature and settled than the 2016 version. What has changed in that time?

“Back home playing first-class cricket with Easter Cape, being captain of my team has given me more responsibility. I think playing at that level is also a really good learning curve. I have been playing ten years at that level so you can’t help but pick things up along the way. You sum up situations quickly and try to work out what you can and can't do in certain situations, which I suppose comes with age and just playing a lot. But in saying that I still keep it simple - see ball hit ball!"

As for captain Aaron Heywood, how did he feel about a quarter-final cup clash against cup kingpins Donemana next month?

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the pick of the draw as far as I’m concerned. It’s a local derby and we really wanted a home draw. If we want to show our worth, then what better way than against Donemana? This is exactly the kind of game I want to play in, and myself and the rest of the lads will be relishing.

“We are playing with great confidence at the minute, having shown that with two contrasting victories. Credit to Killyclooney and especially Alan Colhoun with how they played, clawing their way back into the contest. However the chase couldn’t have gone much better thanks to that double hundred partnership between Marco and Jason Milligan.

“I was really pleased with the fight and application we showed in the win at Glendermott. We displayed our all-round strength and depth. It’s always good to come out on the right side of close games, and we will take that momentum into what is going to be a tough challenge at home to The Hills in the Irish Cup.”