COMBER – Paul Stirling slammed a 21-ball half-century to guide the Northern Knights to a 5-wicket win over table-toppers Leinster Lightning in the Inter-Provincial Cup match at North Down Cricket Club on Sunday.

Man of the Match Stirling’s quickfire 64 off 26 balls set the tone for Northern Knights to ease past the defending Champions. Although the Knights total was only 71 when Stirling eventually nicked off to Josh Little, the damage was already done as the Knights chase was only 6 overs down, which left a very gettable run rate required for win on a track that got friendlier to the batsmen as the day progressed. Stirling’s innings consisted of 5 sixes and 8 fours – his excellence with the pull shot was on display for the fans, as all of his maximums and four of his fours were pull shots behind square or square of the wicket.

Jeremy Lawlor with his unbeaten 80 played the anchor role in the remainder of the run chase, and looked in total control from then on. The Welsh-born's 138-run partnership with Luke Georgeson (58) for the fourth wicket ensured the Northern side's smooth run chase. Mark Adair also contributed 25* off 23 balls at the end to seal the game.

The Lightning bowlers bowled well, but in the end could not contain the run rate as the Knights sailed to a comfortable five-wicket victory.

Earlier, the Knights skipper Harry Tector had won the toss and elected to bowl first. The hosts immediately dismissed Lightning Kevin O’Brien on the first delivery of the inning and shortly after got rid of Jack Tector (4) to leave the Lightning with a disappointing start at 11-2 in the second over.

The Irish captain, Andrew Balbirnie then walked at the crease and played a brilliant innings of 126 off 151 balls, hitting shots all around the park and stitching his innings with experience and guile.

Balbirnie contributed in two partnerships that first anchored the innings, and then paced the team's run rate so that a score of around 250 looked attainable. He first shared a 54-run third-wicket partnership with Lorcan Tucker (14), followed by a 120-run stand with George Dockrell.

Dockrell was once again impressive with the bat, hitting 58 off 83 balls, featuring six boundaries. He has now smashed 51*, 100* and 58 in his three IP50 innings in 2021.

Barry McCarthy played a fine cameo at the end with his unbeaten 20 off 7 balls, as Leinster Lightning finished their innings on 243-7 from 50 overs.

For the Knights, Georgeson was impressive with the ball with his 3-44 whereas Matthew Foster took a lively 1-34 and Ben White carried on to his good performance in the last game for the Ireland Wolves with figures of 1-38 from his 10 over spell.

The Knights will play North West Warriors at Stormont on Tuesday, while the Lightning will next face Munster Reds at Pembroke on Thursday.

MATCH SUMMARY

Northern Knights v Leinster Lightning, Inter-Provincial Cup, Comber, 16 May 2021

Lightning 243-7 (50 overs; A Balbirnie 126, G Dockrell 58; L Georgeson 3-44)

Knights 244-5 (43.5 overs; J Lawlor 80*, P Stirling 64, L Georgeson 58; B McCarthy 3-64)

Knights won by 5 wickets