North West Warriors and Leinster Lighting win Twenty20 inter-pros
- Published
Stephen Doheny of North West Warriors in action against Knights bowler Harry Tector
North West Warriors and Leinster Lightning beat Northern Knights and Munster Reds respectively in their Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Trophy games.
Knights made 134-9 but the Warriors made light work of the run chase, reaching their target off 11.1 overs.
Player-of-the-match Stephen Doheny scored 54 off 27 balls and Shane Getkate 36 from 13 balls.
In Friday's earlier match Leinster Lightning cruised to a seven-wicket victory over the Munster Reds.
All fours teams return tomorrow with Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights in the morning, and Munster Reds v North West Warriors in the afternoon.
The Knights struggled early despite a sparkling 48 from 37 balls from opener James McCollum.
After an initial opening stand of 41 by McCollum and Luke Georgeson, five wickets fell for 35 runs as the North West Warriors bowlers wrestled back control of the match.
Graham Hume grabbed two wickets, but it was the spinners Graham Kennedy (2-21) and Ross Allen (1-15) that caused the most trouble at times.
A late flourish by Graeme McCarter (15) and Ben White (8) added 22 for the last wicket off two overs, but the Knights 134-9 never looked enough on a pitch that was playing true for the batters.
The Warriors batters - given the licence to express themselves by head coach Gary Wilson - comfortable reached their target through a combination of power hitting and a dynamic shot selection.
William Porterfield (15) and Nathan McGuire (14) made solid contributions and - for the second match in a row - William McClintock brought up the winning runs with a six.
Lightning ease to victory
Lightning duo George Dockrell and Lorcan Tucker celebrate victory over the Munster Reds
The Leinster Lightning got the Inter-Provincial Festival weekend off to the best possible start as they cruised to a seven-wicket victory over the Munster Reds.
Having restricted the Reds to 148-7 off their allocation, Simi Singh smashed 44 off 23 balls before George Dockrell (48*) and Lorcan Tucker (28*) saw the side home with 29 balls to spare.
David O'Halloran's 2-20 led the Lightning bowling as he took the opening wicket of PJ Moor and returned later to remove the dangerous Greg Ford.
In between, Josh Little (2-21) was once again threatening with every delivery, and while Barry McCarthy (2-34) was a little expensive, in taking out Murray Commins (51) and Fionn Hand (1) at the death he prevented the Reds building momentum and adding 15 to 20 more runs to their score.
In reply, Kevin O'Brien, on the day he announced his ODI retirement, was bowled in the second over by Aaron Cawley as Singh got Lightning up and running before being dismissed at the end of the sixth over.
Dockrell, who hit six boundaries and swatted a six over long-off, should have made a 30-ball half-century while hitting the winning run, however he completed the single needed for victory before the ball reached the point boundary and had to settle for an unbeaten 48.