Wickets tumble on first day of Inter-Provincial clash at Eglinton

An amazing 23 wickets tumbled on a bowler dominated first day of the Newstalk Inter-Provincial Championship clash between the North West Warriors and Northern Knights at Eglinton. While the pitch offered some assistance to the bowlers, it was nowhere near the minefield suggested by the scorecard. Too many batsmen demonstrated a lack of patience or the application necessary in the longer format of the game.

Having been put in to bat by Knights skipper Andrew White, the Warriors lost openers David Rankin and Scott Campbell with just a single on the board. 17 year-old Gary McClintock helped rejuvenate the innings with a top score of 57 from 92 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes) mixing solid defence with regular lusty blows. He shared stands of 43 with Ernest Kemm (16), and 41 with Stuart Thompson (14) as the Warriors looked to be heading for a total in excess of 200 as they reached 85 for 3.

The dismissal of Thompson, bowled by the impressive Andrew White (3-31), sparked a remarkable passage of play, which saw the hosts lose their last seven wickets for 52 runs. White's fellow spinners James Cameron-Dow (3-49) and Zac Rushe (2-33) also bowled excellently as the Warriors were  dismissed for just 137.

The Knights however found the going equally as tough, as Craig Young and Stuart Thompson trapped openers Johnny Terrett and Nick Larkin lbw. James Shannon, Andrew White and James McCollum all went cheaply, and the Knights were reeling at 57 for 5. Chris Dougherty was his usual solid self as he top scored with 37, adding 39 for the 6th wicket with Shane Getkate (16). His dismissal by Warriors captain Andrew McBrine saw another flurry of wickets, with the last five falling for just 23 runs, as the Knights ended on 119 all out.

Craig Young (2-6), Ross Allen (2-7) and Stuart Thompson (2-13) were the most success of the highly impressive Warriors batting.

With an hour remaining in the day, you sensed there would be further twists and turns before the stumps were pulled and that's exactly how it played out. Having reached 28 for 0 without too many scares - extending their lead to 46 - the Warriors lost three wickets in the space of 17 balls to end the day on 38 for 3. David Rankin (15) was bowled by a beauty from Andrew White, and then Cameron-Dow had Gary McClintock (6) caught at bat-pad, and night-watchman Ross Allen was palpably lbw just three balls later.

An intriguing second day's play is in prospect - on the basis of today's evidence, it's highly doubtful there will be a third - unless there is a remarked improvement in the batting of both sides.

NEWSTALK INTER-PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP (Eglinton) - DAY ONE CLOSE OF PLAY SUMMARY SCORES
NORTH WEST WARRIORS  137 (46 overs, G McClintock 57, A White 3-31, J Cameron-Dow 3-49,  Z Rushe 2-33) and
                                              38-3 (16 overs, J Cameron-Dow 2-21)
NORTHERN KNIGHTS  119 (50.5 overs, C Dougherty 37, C Young 2-6, R Allen 2-7, S Thompson 2-13)
NORTH WEST WARRIORS lead by 56 runs

Newstalk Inter-Provincial Championship