NORTHERN Knights are the T20 inter-provincial champions without having to take the field this weekend. After no play was possible in the opening two games of the Festival at Bready on Friday, more rain not only wiped out yesterday’s scheduled action but an early decision was taken to abandon today’s remaining two games with more rain heavy rain forecast overnight and the Magheramason ground already saturated.
It is only the Knights’ second success since the opening year of the revamped inter-provincials in 2013, when the NCU side were the first winners of the one-day competition.
Knights skipper Gary Wilson admitted it was an unsatisfactory way to win the title, but they did win all three matches at the first weekend festival in Pembroke in June – albeit they were the only three games played!
Today is the ninth complete washout across all three formats in this year’s rain-ruined inter-provincials – indeed there have been only seven days out of a scheduled 27 that have not been interrupted by the weather this summer.
But Wilson insists his team are worthy winners and is now targeting a clean sweep with two games left in the one-day competition – they host Leinster Lightning at Stormont on Tuesday and travel to Eglinton to face North West Warriors tomorrow week – and victory over the Warriors or 13 points from a drawn game against Warriors at Bready, starting on August 27, will give them the Championship title.
"There are not too many guys I would change in the Knights squad,” says Wilson. “We have a well balanced squad, finally starting to get the belief that we are the best side - and that’s not being cocky.
“We believe when we go out on the pitch we can beat any of the three teams and I think that’s starting to show the way we are playing.
“We obviously got out the right side of the (Championship) game in Stormont last week in the last over (when they earned a third bowling bonus point) and maybe last year or earlier this season I’m not sure we would have.
“It was too dark to bowl our pace bowlers but everyone was wanting to put their hand up, including Harry Tector who wanted to bowl that last over, believing we could take another wicket.”
Wilson also picked out Clontarf’s David Delany for special mention after his hostile six-over spell, one of the fastest of the summer.
“He showed he is a really exciting prospect and has bought well into the Northern Knights stuff,” the skipper added.
“In an ideal world we would pick young, hungry guys from the NCU who have come through the system in Belfast but they have got to be good enough.
“That’s the beauty of the guys coming in from other unions, they will lift the standard. But if you are good enough you will always get an opportunity, sooner rather than later.
“Early on, I spoke to Jonty (Knights coach, Simon Johnston) and I was passionate that we should pick on two criteria. One, you are a young Irish player we can see a future in developing for Irish cricket or, two, you make the competition better.
“So the likes of Greg Thompson, for example, had lost his place in the Ireland team but we felt he was going to enhance the inter-pro competition and we were happy to pick him for the Knights.
“(North Down professional) Ruhan Pretorius is going to enhance the competition when he plays so I don’t think we should be only picking players from a certain area.
“We know if we bring in players who buy into what we are doing then we’re happy enough and I’m pretty happy with our selection policy.”
Speaking on behalf of Cricket Ireland, new Cricket Operations Manager Olly Hodges said: “With many major fixtures coming up in the next few months for individual players between club finals and World Cup Qualifiers for the international side, the call has been made that it would be prudent not to risk the players in an unsafe environment to play.
“We would like to extend our thanks to everyone in the North West Cricket Union and at Bready Cricket Club, for their efforts in attempting to make play possible over the last two days. Unfortunately the weather has conspired against us."