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DUBLIN – The final three-day Inter-Provincial T20 Festival will take place in Pembroke Cricket Club this week, starting on Wednesday July 27 as Munster Reds look to add the Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy to the Inter-Provincial Cup they won at the beginning of July.
The Reds remain unbeaten in the competition, having won three matches and drawn against Leinster Lightning, with their remaining two games abandoned due to the weather. They currently sit on 21 points, which includes three precious bonus points.

Breathing down their necks in second place, just four points behind, are last year’s winners North West Warriors. Leinster Lightning are still in the mix on eleven points, while the Northern Knights are yet to get off the mark in the T20 Trophy.

North West Warriors have included Dhram Singh in their squad for the first time in place of the injured Conor Olphert. Singh scored back-to-back half centuries last week in the Future Series.

Leinster Lightning have called up Reuben Wilson to their squad, with the YMCA youngster having impressed in both this years’ ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup and in the Future Series. Returning to the Lightning squad is Tim Tector, while Jack Carty and David O’Halloran miss out.

Speaking ahead of the festival, Leinster Lightning head coach Nigel Jones said:

“This is our last set of fixtures for 2022 as a Leinster Lightning squad, it comes off the back of a fairly disruptive season unfortunately. That said, I can’t fault the attitude and commitment (when in our control) of my guys throughout… full credit to them.

“We have seen some very encouraging signs from our younger squad players across both the senior IP and Future Series competitions season. This week will provide another opportunity for some of them to grow another inch at this level.

“Off the back of some of these performances, the selectors have rewarded young Reuben Wilson with his selection for the first time into the Leinster Lightning squad – many congratulations to him and his family, we look forward to his involvement and supporting his game development further.

“As with every team, there are always areas to improve and opportunities to grasp – we’ve identified a few coming out of Festival One at North Down earlier in the season and also from our game against the Reds at Bready back in June. That’s an exciting challenge for us and one I know the lads are looking forward to driving forward with this week.”

The Northern Knights welcome back the big-hitting Irish International Paul Stirling after his time playing for the Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast. Also returning for the Knights are Ani Chore and Matthew Foster, in place of Max Burton, Josh Manley and Ben White.

Munster Reds have named an unchanged squad from the squad that was named for the last T20 Festival in Bready in June.

The Squads

Leinster Lightning: George Dockrell (capt), Lorcan Tucker, Andy Balbirnie, Greg Ford, Gavin Hoey, Josh Little, Séamus Lynch, Barry McCarthy, Mikey O’Reilly, Simi Singh, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Reuben Wilson.

North West Warriors: Andy McBrine (capt), Stephen Doheny, Shane Getkate, Graham Hume, Graham Kennedy, William McClintock, Nathan McGuire, Craig Young, Scott Macbeth, Ryan Macbeth, Trent McKeegan, Dhram Singh, Jared Wilson.

Northern Knights: Mark Adair (capt), Paul Stirling, James McCollum, Ruhan Pretorius, Neil Rock, John Matchett, Tom Mayes, Matthew Humphreys, Cian Robertson, Matthew Foster, Cade Carmichael, Morgan Topping, Ani Chore, Ross Adair.

Munster Reds: PJ Moor (capt), Tyrone Kane, Murray Commins, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, Kevin O’Brien, Matt Ford, Fionn Hand, David Delany, Liam McCarthy, Mike Frost, Alistair Frost, Cormac Hassett, Ben Kruger.

Where to watch

All matches in the 2022 Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy will be livestreamed on www.livestream.com/CricketIrelandLive and live-scored on our Match Centre.

Some fans in a number of Asian countries will be able to watch the Inter-Pros through the Fancode app. The livestream production will once again be provided by HBV Studios.

Inter-Provincial T20 Fixtures

• 27/07/2022 – Leinster Lightning v Munster Reds (start 11:00am)
• 27/07/2022 – Northern Knights v North West Warriors (start 3:30 pm*)
• 28/07/2022 – Munster Reds v Northern Knights (start 11:00am)
• 28/07/2022 – Leinster Lightning v North West Warriors (start 3:30 pm*)
• 29/07/2022 – North West Warriors v Munster Reds (start 11:00am)
• 29/07/2022 – Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights (start 3:30 pm*)

* Start time is dependent on additional 30 mins being used in morning match

Gerard Mulreaney
Munster Reds are in the top spot
No
Connaught