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Interprovincial 3-Day Championship

May 30th 2017, will go down in the history books alongside some of the most important dates in Irish cricket. On this day the Northern Knights and the North West Warriors contested the maiden domestic First Class match at Eglinton Cricket Club.
The honour of bowling the first ball went to Craig Young and he set about collecting a few more records. First ball, first maiden and first wicket all went his way when he picked up a wicket with the last ball of his first over. The Bready seamer would finish with First Class best figures of five for 37 as the Knights were dismissed for 130.

Knights skipper James Shannon played a fine captain’s knock of 71 before his bowlers limited the Warriors innings lead to 37. Another Bready seamer, Davy Scanlon, took 5 for 29 in the Knights second innings but chasing 125 for victory, the rain won the day and the match ended in a draw.

The second red ball game of the season saw the Knights in action again, hosting the Leinster Lightning at Stormont. On this occasion it was a story of two centurions batting the game away from the Lightning.

Despite James McCollum’s unbeaten 119, the Knights had a 55 run 1st innings deficit. Any chance the Lightning had of pushing forward to victory was batted away by a superb 140 not out from James Shannon in the Knights’ second dig.

The third Championship saw the Warriors recover from 44-4 to post 235 all out against the Leinster Lightning at Oak Hill. Leinster’s reply was all about one man as Ed Joyce not only scored a wonderful 156, he also passed 18,000 runs in First Class cricket in the process. It was a wonderful innings from Joyce and when the Lightning had the Warriors three down overnight, still with a decent lead they looked favourites for victory.

It wasn’t to be however as a 4th wicket stand of 132 between Niall O’Brien (87) and Steve Lazars (62) held up the Lightning and eventually left them chasing 167 in a short burst on the final evening. The ask was too much and the game was drawn, but it was a thrilling Championship match right to the end.

On the afternoon Ireland were welcomed to Test playing status, it was right that two First Class teams were engaged in a match such as this.

Interprovincial 50-Over Cup

We’ve just passed the halfway point in the Interprovincial Cup competition. The Leinster Lightning opened the season with a comprehensive victory over the North West Warriors at The Hills Cricket Club on May 1st.

Kevin O’Brien top-scored with 75 runs, ably supported by Simi Singh’s 70 as the Lightning posted 286 from their 50 overs. In reply, Irosh Samarasooriya was the only man to pass 25 for the Warriors. His lone effort of 77 not enough to prevent the Warriors being bowled out for 181 in the 45th over.

The second fixture at Strabane CC on May 29th saw just 14.3 overs being bowled due to the inclement weather. The Northern Knights were 84/2 when the match against the North West Warriors was abandoned.

Similarly the Northern Knights second match against the Leinster Lightning was also washed out. On June 4th at CIYMS CC, Ed Joyce scored 116 of the Lightning’s 299 in their allotted 50 overs. However the rain swept through during the innings break and the match was abandoned.

On July 2nd the Leinster Lightning defeated a North West Warriors side depleted by injuries by 27 runs. An opening stand of 109 between Jack Tector (58) and Ed Joyce (49) proving the difference as the Warriors fell short of the Lightning’s 232 all out.

Interprovincial T20 Trophy

The Munster Reds have made their Interprovincial return in the T20 Trophy competition. A vibrant, competitive team playing out of Munster will provide extra depth and talent for Irish fans to see at close quarters.

The MCU players have been bolstered by players from the National Academy and from the LCU during the season and, were it not for poor light, may well have made a winning return to action. A 9-run defeat to the Northern Knights on DLS barely scratches the surface of an enthralling game of cricket, where momentum ebbed and flowed as much as the rain fell and abated.

In series three the Leinster Lightning posted a mammoth 247 against the Munster Reds with Simi Singh scoring 109 and Max Sorenson ending on 98 not out. Munster made 188/9 in reply, more than enough to have won many matches in the IP20 but unfortunately not enough on that occasion.

The fourth series of matches were strikingly different. Two low-scoring but gripping encounters were played out at Eglinton and Shaw’s Bridge. In the end it was the Lightning and Warriors who squeezed home by 8 and 25 runs respectively.

So after four rounds of matches it’s the Leinster Lightning who lead the way in the Trophy Table. They have picked up two bonus points along the way too and could well seal the first silverware of the season if they defeat the Warriors in Merrion CC on July 21st.

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