| Inter-Provincial Cup | |
| Administrator: | Cricket Ireland |
| Cricket Format: | List A (from 2017 onwards) |
| First: | 2013 |
| Last: | 2024 |
| Tournament Format: | Double round-robin |
| Participants: | 4 (from 2021) 3 (from 2013 to 2020) |
| Champions: | Leinster Lightning (9th title) |
| Most Successful: | Leinster Lightning (9 titles) |
| Most Runs: | Kevin O'Brien (1,071) |
| Most Wickets: | George Dockrell (53) |
| Website: | Cricket Ireland |
The Inter-Provincial Cup is a limited-overs cricket tournament in Ireland between the four leading cricketing provinces of Ireland.
The tournament was held for the first time in 2013 across venues in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Up to and including the 2016 tournament, the matches were not given List A status. However, at an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in October 2016, List A status was awarded to all future matches.[1] [2]
The Ireland cricket team enjoyed increasing success at the international level in the late 2000's and into the 2010's which boosted the popularity of the game in the country. They had earned the reputation of a giant killer after upsetting teams like Pakistan and Bangladesh (2007 Cricket World Cup), and England (2011 Cricket World Cup). Their good performances in major international tournaments meant that Cricket Ireland openly started bidding for Test match status to the International Cricket Council.[3]
Nevertheless, one of the main stumbling road blocks for Ireland from getting to play the pinnacle of the game was a lack of a first-class cricket infrastructure at home, among other things. As early as August 2011, Cricket Ireland announced plans of a domestic first-class tournament.[4] In January 2012, Cricket Ireland announced the ambitious 'Vision 2020' plan which announced the establishment of a first-class structure by 2015 and achievement of Test status by 2020. It also began work on a cricket academy to find talented players across the country and improving grass-roots cricket in the country.
For the first time professional contacts, with central, A, B, and C levels were established. Plans for Test status were established partly to stem the flow of their star cricketers moving away to England in hope of playing Test cricket such as Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan and Boyd Rankin.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
According to Richard Holdsworth in an interview with Setanta Sports, Cricket Ireland were pleased with the strategic progress that had been made as of November 2012.[11] In December 2012, Ireland got a $1.5m boost as increased funding from the ICC to establish elite domestic competitions in the country.[12]
The tournament is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away.
Points are scored as follows:
According to Richard Holdsworth's interview to Setanta Sports, three teams would initially participate in the tournament, Leinster cricket team, Northern cricket team and North West cricket team as Munster and Connacht were considered still quite far away from fielding a competitive team for provincial tournaments. They were also given a separate limited overs names much similar to the systems in England and Australia, i.e., like Nottinghamshire Outlaws and South Australia Redbacks. In this case, the names are Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and North West Warriors.[13] [14]
From the 2021 season Munster Reds joined the Inter Provincial Cup having previously only competed in the Twenty20 Inter-Provincial Trophy[15]
| width=175 | Team | width=175 | First season | width=175 | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster Lightning | 2013 | 9 | |||
| Northern Knights | 2013 | 2 | |||
| North West Warriors | 2013 | 0 | |||
| Munster Reds | 2021 | 1 |
| Season | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNP | |||||
| Munster Reds | |||||
| Northern Knights | |||||
| North West Warriors | |||||
| 2024 | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Munster Reds | North West Warriors |
(All records correct to end of 2023 season)
| Runs | Innings | Player | Team | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1071 | 32 | Lightning/Reds | 46.57 | ||
| 1041 | 26 | Andrew Balbirnie | Leinster Lightning | 45.26 | |
| 972 | 25 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 69.43 | |
| 867 | 36 | Andy McBrine | North West Warriors | 25.50 | |
| 814 | 26 | Lorcan Tucker | Leinster Lightning | 37.00 |
| Runs | Innings | Player | Team | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 364 | 5 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 2021 | |
| 352 | 6 | Murray Commins | Munster Reds | 2021 | |
| 350 | 4 | Andrew Balbirnie | Leinster Lightning | 2019 | |
| 317 | 5 | Luke Georgeson | Northern Knights | 2021 | |
| 258 | 5 | William Porterfield | North West Warriors | 2021 |
| Wickets | Matches | Player | Team | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 36 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 21.51 | |
| 50 | 42 | Tyrone Kane | Lightning/Reds | 22.70 | |
| 42 | 37 | Simi Singh | Leinster Lightning | 24.40 | |
| 38 | 27 | Craig Young | North West Warriors | 26.39 | |
| 37 | 38 | Andy McBrine | North West Warriors | 30.59 |
| Wickets | Average | Player | Team | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 12.58 | Barry McCarthy | Leinster Lightning | 2021 | |
| 15 | 16.46 | Liam McCarthy | Munster Reds | 2023 | |
| 15 | 19.86 | Theo van Woerkom | Northern Knights | 2023 | |
| 13 | 17.15 | Josh Manley | Munster Reds | 2021 | |
| 12 | 15.75 | Mike Frost | Munster Reds | 2022 |