Having won the title last week there was little at stake for Leinster Lightning in today’s final game of the Newstalk 106-108FM Inter-provincial Trophy at Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines.
In what was in all truth a lack lustre match Lightning defeated the holders Northern Knights by two wickets.
Put into bat the Knights lost two wickets within the first five overs and could not get any real momentum into their innings. Only skipper Andrew White with 44 and young Adam Dennison who scored 35 stayed long enough to cause the home bowlers any real concerns.
Both sides were without several key players which allowed Tyrone Kane to open the bowling and he made the most of his opportunity by taking 4 wickets for 31 runs. Leg spinner Yacoob Ali who made his Inter-pro debut last week chipped in with three wickets included two in successive balls in the fifteenth over to reduce the visitors to 60 for 5.
However the White/Dennison partnership added 79 and Lightning eventually ended up with a respectable 192 all out.
However by the sixth over of the reply the target of 193 looked a long way away as Knights reduced Lightning to 12 for 3 as Stephen Bunting with 2 wickets and Neil Gill with the third ripped out the top order. Any further danger to Lightning was prevented by an excellent stand of 118 between their captain John Mooney and John Anderson. Mooney made an aggressive 60 which contained 5 fours and 2 enormous sixes one of which was a reverse sweep that soared over the fence.
Anderson went on to make 80 with 10 fours and one maximum. A late flurry of wickets brought some belated excitement to the match but 20 not out from Barry McCarthy saw the new champion’s home.
The trophy was presented to John Mooney by Cricket Ireland President Joe Doherty.
Man of the Series was Andrew Balbirnie who scored 206 runs in the series which included an unbeaten 103 in the opening game in May against North-West Warriors.
NORTHERN KNIGHTS 192 ALL OUT (47.5 Overs, A White 44, A Dennison 35, T Kane 4-31, Yacoob Ali 3-32)
LEINSTER LIGHTNING 194-8 (43.5 Overs, J Anderson 80, J Mooney 60, N Gill 3-35, S Bunting 2-30)
LEINSTER LIGHTNING WIN BY 2 WICKETS
Image: Newstalk's Odran Flynn presents the Man of the Series award to Andrew Balbirnie
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