2018 Inter-Provincial Championship

2018 Inter-Provincial Championship

Dates	1 May 2018 (2018-05-01) – 6 September 2018 (2018-09-06)
Administrator(s)	Cricket Ireland
Cricket format	First-class
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin
Champions	North West Warriors (1st title)
Participants	3
Matches	6
Most runs	William Porterfield (458)
Most wickets	David Scanlon (19)

The 2018 Inter-Provincial Championship was the sixth edition of the Inter-Provincial Championship, a first-class cricket competition played in Ireland. It was held from 1 May to 6 September 2018.[1] It was the second edition of the competition to be played with first-class status. Leinster Lightning were the defending champions.[2] The venue for the opening fixture, originally scheduled to take place at Oak Hill Cricket Club Ground, was moved to Pembroke Cricket Club, due to poor weather.[3]

Seventeen of Ireland's international players took part in the opening fixture of the tournament, ahead of Ireland's first Test match, which was played against Pakistan on 11 May 2018.[4][5]

North West Warriors won the tournament, following the conclusion of the fifth match of the competition.[6] They beat Northern Knights by 140 runs to give them an unassailable lead.[6] It was the first time that a side other than Leinster Lightning had won the tournament.[6]

Points table

Team[7]	Pld	W	L	D	Pts
North West Warriors	4	2	0	2	64
Leinster Lightning	4	1	0	3	49
Northern Knights	4	0	3	1	24

  Champions

Fixtures

1st match

1–3 May 2018 Scorecard

North West Warriors	v	Leinster Lightning (H)
509/9d (137 overs) Niall O'Brien 165 (294) George Dockrell 3/120 (29 overs)		286 (86 overs) Andrew Balbirnie 114* (238) Craig Young 3/49 (17 overs)
		227/7 (76 overs) (f/o) Jack Tector 53 (95) David Scanlon 2/39 (14 overs)

Match drawn Pembroke Cricket Club, Dublin Umpires: Paul Reynolds and Azam Baig

• Leinster Lightning won the toss and elected to field.
• Stuart Thompson (North West Warriors) scored his maiden first-class century.[8]
• Points: North West Warriors 11, Leinster Lightning 6.

2nd match

29–31 May 2018 Scorecard

Northern Knights	v	Leinster Lightning (H)
263 (87.3 overs) James McCollum 87 (190) Peter Chase 3/38 (11.3 overs)		268 (95.4 overs) John Anderson 66 (150) Harry Tector 3/28 (11 overs)
272/5d (62 overs) James McCollum 84 (134) Simi Singh 3/39 (12 overs)		268/5 (59 overs) John Anderson 123* (164) James Cameron-Dow 2/72 (22)

Leinster Lightning won by 5 wickets The Green, Comber Umpires: Jareth McCready and Azam Baig

• Northern Knights won the toss and elected to bat.
• Marc Ellison, Harry Tector, Neil Rock, James Cameron-Dow, James Magee (Northern Knights), Jarred Barnes (Leinster Lightning) all made their first-class debuts.
• Points: Leinster Lightning 23, Northern Knights 7.

3rd match

20–22 June 2018 Scorecard

North West Warriors (H)	v	Leinster Lightning
80 (39 overs) David Rankin 16 (41) Peter Chase 5/24 (11 overs)		273 (70.4 overs) George Dockrell 92 (126) David Scanlon 4/70 (18.4 overs)
460/9 (175 overs) William Porterfield 207 (442) Andrew Balbirnie 3/50 (23 overs)

Match drawn Bready Cricket Club Ground, Bready Umpires: Graeme McCrea and Steve Wood

• Leinster Lightning won the toss and elected to field.
• Graham Kennedy (North West Warriors), Stephen Doheny and Josh Little (Leinster Lightning) all made their first-class debuts.
• Points: Leinster Lightning 10, North West Warriors 7.

4th match

2–4 July 2018 Scorecard

Northern Knights	v	North West Warriors (H)
250 (81.3 overs) James McCollum 116 (230) Craig Young 3/62 (19 overs)		446 (128.1 overs) Andy McBrine 77 (178) James Cameron-Dow 5/101 (35 overs)
209 (87.5 overs) Christopher Dougherty 74 (181) Craig Young 5/60 (21.5 overs)		15/0 (1.3 overs) William Porterfield 4* (6)

North West Warriors won by 10 wickets The Green, Comber Umpires: Alan Neill and Philip Thompson

• Northern Knights won the toss and elected to bat first.
• Points: North West Warriors 24, Northern Knights 6.

5th match

17–19 July 2018 Scorecard

North West Warriors	v	Northern Knights (H)
226 (65.5 overs) Niall O'Brien 45 (64) James McCollum 5/32 (10 overs)		188 (62.2 overs) Marc Ellison 65 (136) David Scanlon 5/63 (17 overs)
303/7d (64 overs) William Porterfield 152 (174) Harry Tector 4/70 (18 overs)		201 (57.2 overs) James McCollum 48 (65) Andy McBrine 4/35 (16 overs)

North West Warriors won by 140 runs Bready Cricket Club Ground, Bready Umpires: Graeme McCrea and Michael Foster

• Northern Knights won the toss and elected to field.
• Aaron Wright and Matthew McCord (Northern Knights) both made their first-class debuts.
• Points: North West Warriors 22, Northern Knights 5.

6th match

4–6 September 2018 Scorecard

Northern Knights	v	Leinster Lightning (H)
440/9d (109.3 overs) James McCollum 93 (145) Simi Singh 3/75 (28 overs)		448/7 (125 overs) Jack Tector 87 (180) James Cameron-Dow 2/92 (30 overs)

Match drawn Malahide Cricket Club Ground, Malahide Umpires: Jonathan Kennedy and Paul Reynolds

• Northern Knights won the toss and elected to bat.

References

1. "Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Fixtures released for 2018". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
2. "Leinster Lightning win Three Day Inter-pro title for fifth straight year". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
3. "Venue change for first game of Inter-Provincial Championships". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
4. "Boyd Rankin hits Irish first-class circuit ahead of historic Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
5. "O'Brien brothers in good nick as Ireland get ready for Pakistan Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
6. "North West Warriors crowned 2018 Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Championship winners". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
7. "Points Table". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
8. "Thompson makes Test case with stunning unbeaten century". Belfast Telegraph. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.

External links

• Series home at ESPN Cricinfo