// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Inter-Provincial Cup say? "I'm a trophy to cup with.
 | |
| Countries |  Ireland and  Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket Ireland |
| Format | List A (from 2017 onwards) |
| First edition | 2013 |
| Latest edition | 2026 |
| Tournament format | Double round-robin |
| Number of teams | 3 |
| Current champion | Leinster Lightning (11th title) |
| Most successful | Leinster Lightning (11 titles) |
| Most runs | Andrew Balbirnie (1,682) |
| Most wickets | George Dockrell (62) |
| Website | Cricket Ireland |
The Inter-Provincial Cup is a limited-overs cricket tournament in Ireland between the three leading cricketing provinces on the island.
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]
History
[edit]Background
[edit]The Ireland cricket team enjoyed increasing success at the international level in the late 2000s and into the 2010s 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]
Format
[edit]The tournament is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away.
Points summary
[edit]Points are scored as follows:
- Win – 4 points
- Tie or no result – 2 points
- Loss – 0 points
- Bonus point – 1 point awarded to a team winning a match with a run rate equal to 1.25 times that of the losing team
Teams
[edit]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] In March 2026, it was announced that Munster Reds will not feature in the 2026 edition following a comprehensive review of the Inter-Provincial competition in late 2025.[16]
| Team | First season | Last season | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster Lightning | 2013 | 2026 | 11 |
| Northern Knights | 2013 | 2026 | 2 |
| North West Warriors | 2013 | 2026 | 0 |
| Munster Reds | 2021 | 2025 | 1 |
Competition placings
[edit]2013 to present
[edit]DNP - Did Not Participate
All-time records
[edit](All records correct to end of 2026 season)
Team records
[edit]| Score | Team | Opps | Venue | Date | Sc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 446/6 | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | Sydney Parade | 23 Jul 2026 | |
| 425/7 | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | The Vineyard | 14 Aug 2023 | |
| 418/8 | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Sydney Parade | 07 Jul 2026 | |
| 414/9 | Northern Knights | Leinster Lightning | Sydney Parade | 07 Jul 2026 | |
| 353/9 | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Stormont | 5 Sep 2023 |
| Score[19] | Team | Opps | Venue | Date | Sc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 ao | Munster Reds | North West Warriors | Mardyke | 19 May 2022 | |
| 105 ao | North West Warriors | Northern Knights | Stormont | 4 May 2015 | |
| 119 ao | Munster Reds | Leinster Lightning | Mardyke | 8 Aug 2024 | |
| 120 ao | North West Warriors | Northern Knights | Lodge Road | 26 May 2014 | |
| 123 ao | North West Warriors | Leinster Lightning | The Village | 1 Jun 2013 | |
| 123 ao | Northern Knights | North West Warriors | Bready | 12 May 2022 |
Individual records – batting
[edit]| Runs | Innings | Player | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1682 | 37 | Andrew Balbirnie | Lightning/Warriors | 54.25 |
| 1408 | 37 | Stephen Doheny | Lightning/Warriors/Reds | 39.11 |
| 1387 | 52 | Andy McBrine | North West Warriors | 28.89 |
| 1327 | 39 | Lorcan Tucker | Leinster Lightning | 41.46 |
| 1183 | 35 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 59.15 |
| Score | Player | For | Opps | Venue | Date | Sc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152 | PJ Moor | Munster Reds | Leinster Lightning | Sydney Parade | 10 May 2022 | |
| 143* | Chris De Freitas | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | Oak Hill | 15 May 2025 | |
| 136 | Simi Singh | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | New Strabane Park | 30 May 2016 | |
| 133 | Lorcan Tucker | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | The Vineyard | 14 Aug 2023 | |
| 131 | Suliman Safi | North West Warriors | Munster Reds | Woodvale Road | 20 Aug 2025 |
Most runs scored in a season
[edit]| Runs | Innings | Player | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 445 | 6 | Andrew Balbirnie | Leinster Lightning | 2025 |
| 428 | 5 | Cade Carmichael | Northern Knights | 2025 |
| 409 | 5 | Stephen Doheny | Leinster Lightning | 2026 |
| 364 | 5 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 2021 |
| 352 | 5 | Suliman Safi | Munster Reds | 2025 |
| 352 | 6 | Murray Commins | Munster Reds | 2021 |
Individual records – bowling
[edit]| Wickets | Matches | Player | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 50 | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | 22.69 |
| 54 | 54 | Andy McBrine | North West Warriors | 30.48 |
| 50 | 42 | Tyrone Kane | Lightning/Reds | 22.70 |
| 47 | 37 | Craig Young | North West Warriors | 28.23 |
| 46 | 27 | Gavin Hoey | Leinster Lightning | 24.13 |
| Bowling | Player | Team | Opps | Venue | Date | Sc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/22 | Scott MacBeth | North West Warriors | Munster Reds | Bready | 5 Sep 2024 | |
| 6/26 | Gavin Hoey | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Stormont | 5 Sep 2023 | |
| 6/39 | Barry McCarthy | Leinster Lightning | Munster Reds | Sydney Parade | 22 May 2021 | |
| 6/42 | Tyrone Kane | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | Stormont | 20 Aug 2019 | |
| 5/16 | Liam McCarthy | Munster Reds | North West Warriors | Bready | 4 Sep 2023 |
Most wickets in a season
[edit]| Wickets | Average | Player | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 12.23 | Gavin Hoey | Leinster Lightning | 2024 |
| 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 |
Partnership records
[edit]| Wicket | P/Ship | Player 1 | Player 2 | Team | Opps | Venue | Date | Sc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 235 | Stephen Doheny | Tim Tector | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | Sydney Parade | 23 Jul 2026 | |
| 2nd | 240 | Andy McBrine | Stephen Doheny | North West Warriors | Northern Knights | Stormont | 2 Jun 2022 | |
| 3rd | 212 | Lorcan Tucker | Harry Tector | Leinster Lightning | Munster Reds | Oak Hill | 7 May 2025 | |
| 4th | 157 | Tyrone Kane | PJ Moor | Munster Reds | Leinster Lightning | Sydney Parade | 18 May 2023 | |
| 5th | 187 | Andrew Balbirnie | Kevin O'Brien | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | The Vineyard | 3 May 2014 | |
| 6th | 121 | Scott MacBeth | Graham Hume | North West Warriors | Munster Reds | Bready | 5 Sep 2024 | |
| 7th | 215* | Simi Singh | George Dockrell | Leinster Lightning | Northern Knights | The Vineyard | 4 Jun 2018 | |
| 8th | 103 | Tyrone Kane | Lorcan Tucker | Leinster Lightning | North West Warriors | Observatory Lane | 9 Sep 2018 | |
| 9th | 72 | Shane Getkate | Jacob Mulder | Northern Knights | Leinster Lightning | Observatory Lane | 31 Jul 2016 | |
| 10th | 69 | Craig Young | Andrew Britton | North West Warriors | Northern Knights | La Manga | 24 Apr 2019 |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Ireland domestic competition awarded first-class status". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ↑ "Ireland's Inter-Provincial Championship awarded first-class status". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ↑ ICC to consider Ireland's bid for Test status[permanent dead link] ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland plan first-class structure ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland unveil Test cricket vision Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine CricketEurope4.net. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ CI reveals ambitious plans aimed at receiving Test status Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland map out path to Tests ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland's Boyd Rankin retires to play Test cricket for England Deprecated link archived 10 April 2013 at archive.today Cricket Country. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland calls for Test status to 'halt exodus' ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Rankin retires, Holdsworth calls for Test status Deprecated link archived 12 April 2013 at archive.today irelandcricketwebbly.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Cricket Ireland happy with progress of strategic plan Archived 9 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Setanta Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ Ireland receive $1.5 m boost from ICC ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ North-West announce shortlist for name Archived 8 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ NCU confirm team name for 2013 Interpros Archived 8 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
- ↑ "Inter-Provincial Series Revamp to include Munster Reds joining 50-over Cup – BBC Sport". 12 February 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ↑ "Interpro fixtures released". Cricket Europe. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Highest Innings Scores". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Lowest Completed Innings Scores". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Lowest Completed Innings Scores". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ↑ "Top Run Aggregates". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Top Run Scores". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Top Wicket Takers". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Best Bowling in an Innings". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Partnerships by Wicket". www.cricketeuropearchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
External links
[edit]| National teams | |
|---|---|
| Provincial bodies | |
| Interprovincial teams | |
| Interprovincials | |
| Leagues | |
| Cups | |
| Grounds | |
| Lists | |
| Other | |
