2021 Inter-Provincial Trophy Explained

The 2021 Inter-Provincial Trophy was the ninth edition of the Inter-Provincial Trophy, a Twenty20 cricket competition that was played in Ireland in 2021.^[1] It was the fifth edition of the competition to be played with full Twenty20 status. The tournament was played as a series of three-day festivals between four teams.^{[2] [3]} On 25 March 2021, Cricket Ireland confirmed the fixtures for the tournament.^[4] On 9 April 2021, Cricket Ireland announced the revised fixtures for the tournament,^[5] with number of matches increased from 12 to 18.^[6] Leinster Lightning were the defending champions.^[7]

After the first round of matches, North West Warriors were leading the competition with two wins from their three games.^[8] Defending champions Leinster Lightning suffered two defeats from their three matches.^{[9] [10]} It was the first time that Leinster Lightning had lost back-to-back matches in the Inter-Provincial competition.^[11] In the second round of matches, Leinster Lightning won two of their three matches,^[12] putting them in second place behind North West Warriors.^[13] In the third and final round of matches, the first three games were all abandoned due to the weather.^{[14] [15]} In the last match of the tournament, North West Warriors beat Leinster Lightning by eight wickets to win their second title.^{[16] [17]}

Points table

Team[18]
North West Warriors	9	5	3	0	1	25
Northern Knights	9	4	3	0	2	21
Leinster Lightning	9	3	4	0	2	18
Munster Reds	9	3	5	0	1	15

Fixtures

Round one

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Round two

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Round three

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External links

• Series home at ESPN Cricinfo

Notes and References

1. Web site: No Irish first-class cricket in 2021 as board revamp domestic structure . ESPN Cricinfo . 12 February 2021.
2. Web site: New Inter-Provincial Series structure unveiled; new coaching hubs and emerging competition created . Cricket Ireland . 12 February 2021.
3. Web site: Inter-Provincial Series: Revamp to include Munster Reds joining 50-over Cup . BBC Sport . 12 February 2021.
4. Web site: Inter-Provincial Series 2021 fixture dates confirmed . Cricket Ireland . 26 March 2021.
5. Web site: Cricket Ireland revised Inter-Provincial Series 2021 fixture schedule released . Cricket World . 9 April 2021.
6. Web site: Revised Inter-Provincial Series 2021 fixture schedule released . Cricket Ireland . 9 April 2021.
7. Web site: Lightning beat Knights to clinch T20 Trophy . Cricket Europe . 4 September 2020 . 4 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201104143139/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2020/articles/000010/001090.shtml . dead .
8. Web site: Ben White spins Knights to victory, but the Warriors top the table after the first T20 Festival week . Cricket Ireland . 21 June 2021.
9. Web site: Knights and Munster bounce back . Cricket Europe . 21 June 2021 . 21 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210621200854/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000009/000920.shtml . dead .
10. Web site: Young guns down Leinster . Cricket Europe . 21 June 2021 . 23 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210623093808/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000009/000922.shtml . dead .
11. Web site: Ireland IP20: Two wins put North-West on top . Emerging Cricket . 23 June 2021.
12. Web site: Leinster Lightning return to form in win over Warriors, Knights beat Reds in high-scoring affair . Cricket Ireland . 28 June 2021.
13. Web site: Dockrell keeps Lightning in title contention . Cricket Europe . 28 June 2021 . 28 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210628104529/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000009/000960.shtml . dead .
14. Web site: T20 Trophy still up for grabs after first day washout . Cricket Europe . 19 September 2021 . 19 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210919212310/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000012/001270.shtml . dead .
15. Web site: Delany and Ford star as Munster beat Warriors . Cricket Europe . 19 September 2021 . 20 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210920161012/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000012/001276.shtml . dead .
16. Web site: Warriors beat Lightning to secure T20 Trophy . Cricket Europe . 19 September 2021 . 20 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210920203401/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2021/articles/000012/001278.shtml . dead .
17. Web site: Ireland domestic cricket continues before international action . Emerging Cricket . 24 September 2021.
18. Web site: Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Trophy 2021 . ESPN Cricinfo . 19 September 2021.