Photo Credit: Cricket Ireland
COMBER – Four Mark Adair wickets and a new highest Twenty20 score of 79* from James McCollum helped the Northern Knights to an eight–wicket Test Triangle Inter-Provincial Series victory over the North West Warriors at The Green, Comber on Tuesday.
Warriors captain Andy McBrine won the toss and elected to bat but it was the Knights that got off to the better start when Nathan McGuire (2) was caught behind off the bowling of Graeme McCarter in the second over.
That brought Ryan Hunter, making his first Inter-Provincial appearance of the season, to the crease and he steadied the ship alongside Irish international William Porterfield, who hit two consecutive sixes in the 5th over to bring his side up to 37/1.
Just when it looked like Porterfield (26), who scored 42 in the opening game against the same opposition, was starting to go through the gears, he mistimed a cover drive off Adair into the hands of Ruhan Pretorius.
Stuart Thompson (1) followed four balls later but the Warriors then put on a stand of 51 with Hunter (37) and McBrine (22) moving their team onto 90 before the latter became a third victim of Adair.
That started a collapse of sorts for the visitors with Hunter and David Rankin (5) also dismissed before the score had reached 100.
A further cluster of three wickets in the final seven balls meant the Warriors were bowled out for 115 with Adair ending with superb figures of 4-14.
The Knights start was almost a mirror image of their North West counterparts with Ross Adair hitting his first ball in Inter-Provincial cricket for four before he was dismissed by Craig Young.
James McCollum and Harry Tector took very little time getting accustomed to conditions, scoring freely with both clearing the rope in quick succession.
The pair had brought up their fifty partnership from 35 balls when Tector (22) was bowled by the off-spin of McBrine.
McCollum reached an impressive half-century from 39 balls with a straight drive for four off Boyd Rankin and the 25-year-old always looked in control, sharing a match-winning partnership of 62 with captain Gary Wilson (12*).
The Ireland international carried his bat through the innings, striking nine fours and two sixes and continuing his fine form in the 2020 campaign.
That secured victory for the Knights – a second over the Warriors in the span of 12 days – as they continued their unbeaten start to the season following two cancelled fixtures.
They will be back in action on Thursday at Pembroke against Leinster Lightning while the Warriors face a double-header at North County with Munster Reds.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Northern Knights v North West Warriors, Test Triangle Inter-Provincial Trophy, 1 September 2020, Comber
North West Warriors 115 (20 overs; R Hunter 37, W Porterfield 26; M Adair 4-14)
Northern Knights 119-2 (14.2 overs; J McCollum 79*; A McBrine 1-15)
Northern Knights won by 8 wickets
See full scorecard and highlights
