Barry McCarthy will not be involved in the one-day international series against New Zealand, starting on Sunday, but he underlined Ireland’s current batting depth with maiden century for Leinster Lightning in yesterday’s inter-provincial against Northern Knights.

McCarthy, from No 9, hit 110 from just 59 balls with four fours and 10 towering sixes as Lightning as 112 runs came off the last nine overs. Their total of 315 for nine is the third highest in the competition's history.

However, with Neil Rock – another not currently in either of Ireland’s white-ball squads - replying with 81 from 58 balls (nine fours, four sixes) and Instonians’ Cade Carmichael hitting 43 off 35 on his competition debut, Knights needed 83 from the last 15 overs with six wickets standing.

But McCarthy returned to dismiss both batsmen in the space of 10 balls and from 245 for six they collapsed to 261 all out to give Lightning a comfortable 54 runs victory.

George Dockrell, barely used these days as an Ireland bowler, took the last three wickets to finish with his second five-wicket haul of the season, while slow left armer, in his first game for Lightning claimed the big wickets of Ruhan Pretorius and Ross Adair, the latter ending Knights’ hopes of a close finish.

Lightning were also without Harry Tector, resting a sore wrist before Sunday’s ODI and his brother Jack was replaced as opener by Cormac McLaughlin-Gavin who scored the other half-century of the game before he was dismissed by Lisburn’s Matthew Humphreys who was the pick of the Knights bowlers.

Meanwhile, after Ireland’s near-miss against India last Tuesday, the selectors have, unsurprisingly, named an unchanged squad for the three-match T20 series against New Zealand at Stormont on July 18, 20 and 22.