Inter-Provincial Cup
The Inter-Provincial Cup is a limited-overs cricket tournament in Ireland between the three leading cricketing provinces of Ireland. The tournament was held for the first time in 2013 across venues in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Matches in the competition do not have List A status.
History
Background
The Ireland cricket team have had huge success recently on the international level which has boosted the popularity of the game in the country. They had earned the reputation of a giant killer after upsetting teams like Pakistan and Bangladesh (2007 Cricket World Cup), and England (2011 Cricket World Cup). Their good performances in major international tournaments meant that Cricket Ireland openly started bidding for Test match status to the International Cricket Council.[1] Nevertheless, one of the main stumbling road blocks for Ireland from getting to play the pinnacle of the game was a lack of a first-class cricket infrastructure at home, among other things. As early as August 2011, Cricket Ireland announced plans of a domestic first-class tournament.[2] In January 2012, Cricket Ireland announced the ambitious 'Vision 2020' plan which announced the establishment of a first-class structure by 2015 and achievement of Test status by 2020. It also began work on a cricket academy to find talented players across the country and improving grass-roots cricket in the country. For the first time professional contacts, with central, A, B, and C were established. Plans for Test status were established partly to stem the flow of their star cricketers moving away to England in hope of playing Test cricket such as Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan and Boyd Rankin.[3][4][5][6][7][8] According to Richard Holdsworth in an interview with Setanta Sports, CI are pleased with the strategic progress that had been made as of November 2012.[9] In December 2012, Ireland got a $1.5m boost as increased funding from the ICC to establish elite domestic competitions in the country.[10]
Format
The tournament is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away.
Points Summary
Points are scored as follows:
- Win - 4 points
- Tie or No Result - 2 points
- Loss - 0 points
- Bonus Point - 1 point awarded to a team winning a match with a Run Rate equal to 1.25 times that of the losing team
Teams
According to Richard Holdsworth's interview to Setanta Sports, three teams would initially participate in the tournament, Leinster cricket team, Northern cricket team and North-West cricket team as Munster and Connacht were considered still quite far away from fielding a competitive team for provincial tournaments. They were also given a separate limited overs names much similar to the systems in England and Australia, i.e, like Nottinghamshire Outlaws and South Australia Redbacks. In this case, the names are Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and North-West Warriors.[11][12]
Competition placings
2013 to Present
All-Time Records
(Correct to end of 2014 Season)
Team Records
Highest Innings Totals
| Score | Team | Opps | Venue | Date |
| 285/4 (50) | North-West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | The Hills CC | 3 May 2014 |
| 272/6 (50) | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | Malahide CC | 1 Jun 2013 |
| 260/8 (50) | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | The Hills CC | 6 May 2013 |
| 259/7 (50) | Northern Knights | Leinster Lightning | The Hills CC | 6 May 2013 |
| 254/7 (38) | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | The Hills CC | 3 May 2014 |
| 254/9 (50) | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Waringstown CC | 14 Sep 2014 |
|
Lowest Completed Innings Totals
| Score | Team | Opps | Venue | Date |
| 120 ao | North-West Warriors | Northern Knights | Coleraine CC | 26 May 2014 |
| 123 ao | North-West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | Malahide CC | 1 Jun 2013 |
|
Most Career Runs
Highest Individual Scores
| Score | Player | For | Opps | Venue | Date |
| 124* | Andrew Poynter | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Waringstown CC | 14 Sep 2013 |
| 111* | Kevin O'Brien | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | The Hills CC | 6 May 2013 |
| 103* | Andrew Balbirnie | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | The Hills CC | 3 May 2014 |
|
Most Runs Scored in a Season
Most Career Wickets
Best Bowling in an Innings
| Bowling | Player | Team | Opps | Venue | Date |
| 10-1-31-4 | Andrew Riddles | North-West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | Strabane CC | 21 Sep 2013 |
| 10-0-31-4 | Tyrone Kane | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Leinster CC | 20 Sep 2014 |
|
Most Wickets in a Season
Highest Partnerships for each wicket
| Wicket | P/Ship | Player 1 | Player 2 | Team | Opps | Venue | Date |
| 1st | 118 | Ben Ackland | John Anderson | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | Malahide CC | 1 Jun 2013 |
| 2nd | 80 | Jason Milligan | Niall McDonnell | North-West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | The Hills CC | 3 May 2014 |
| 3rd | 59 | Nick Larkin | James Shannon | Northern Knights | Leinster Lightning | Waringstown CC | 10 Aug 2013 |
| 4th | 118 | John Anderson | John Mooney | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Leinster CC | 20 Sep 2014 |
| 5th | 187 | Andrew Balbirnie | Kevin O'Brien | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | The Hills CC | 3 May 2014 |
| 6th | 79 | Andrew White | Adam Dennison | Northern Knights | Leinster Lightning | Leinster CC | 20 Sep 2014 |
| 7th | 82 | Iftikhar Hussain/David Rankin | Andrew Riddles | North-West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | Strabane CC | 21 Sep 2013 |
| 8th | 91 | Jonathan Thompson | Ricky-Lee Dougherty | North-West Warriors | Northern Knights | North Down CC | 15 Jul 2013 |
| 9th | 71* | Kevin O'Brien | Fintan McAllister | Leinster Lightning | North-West Warriors | The Hills CC | 6 May 2013 |
| 10th | 31* | Andrew Poynter | Yaqoob Ali | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Waringstown CC | 14 Sep 2014 |
|
Seasons
See also
References and notes
- ↑ ICC to consider Ireland's bid for Test status ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland plan first-class structure ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland unveil Test cricket vision CricketEurope4.net. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ CI reveals ambitious plans aimed at receiving Test status Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland map out path to Tests ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland's Boyd Rankin retires to play Test cricket for England Cricket Country. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland calls for Test status to 'halt exodus' ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Rankin retires, Holdsworth calls for Test status irelandcricketwebbly.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Cricket Ireland happy with progress of strategic plan Setanta Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland receive $1.5 m boost from ICC ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ North-West announce shortlist for name Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ NCU confirm team name for 2013 Interpros Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
External links
–
|
|---|
| | Governing body | |
|---|
| | National teams | |
|---|
| | Provincial bodies | |
|---|
| | Interprovincials | |
|---|
| | Leagues | |
|---|
| | Cups | |
|---|
| | Grounds | |
|---|
| | Player lists | |
|---|
|
Ireland
2014 Inter-Provincial Cup