John Anderson led from the front as Leinster Lightning totally dominated Day 1 of their Inter-provincial Championship clash with the Northern Knights at Stormont. The Lightning skipper was unbeaten on 135 when rain forced an early end to proceedings with the holders on 306 for 3 after 90 overs.
Both sides had named debutants in their starting XI - the Knights introducing Instonians’ Nathan Smith while the visitors handed a first appearance to former Hampshire player Sean Terry; coincidentally named in the Ireland A squad earlier in the day.
Anderson opted to bat first on winning the toss and his side were given a decent platform as Terry and Dom Joyce put on 66 before the former was caught by Gary Kidd off the bowling of Graeme McCarter having made 32 (5 fours). Terry had survived a couple of half-chances before that, however his dismissal brought the skipper to the middle and he was to prove an altogether different proposition.
For the next 33 overs the bowlers toiled unsuccessfully as Joyce and Anderson added a further 107 before the Merrion man played on to Nikolai Smith for an excellent 71 (10 fours).
While the Knights rued the occasional missed chance there were to be no slip-ups from Anderson who batted beautifully throughout. He brought his century up in 161 balls with a couple off Shane Getkate and that chanceless 135 at stumps contained 18 fours- an innings of genuine quality.
At the other end, Simi Singh (20) was trapped lbw by Gary Kidd to give the Knights their only other success of the day while Andrew Poynter (19 not out) was there with his captain when the rain came.
While the weather forecast for the rest of the week isn’t ideal it still looks like the home side has a real job on their hands to get much from this contest even at this early stage. Their bowling attack struggled for large parts although Nikolai Smith (1-23 from 16 overs) was comfortably the pick of those used.
Lightning will look to move the game forward to make up for the lost time so entertainment is pretty much guaranteed in the morning session if they opt for further quick runs. The Knights find themselves in a difficult situation and it will be a stern test of their resolve and character if they are to salvage anyhting from the contest.
Hanley Energy Inter-Provincial Championship
At Stormont, Day 1 of 3
Leinster Lightning 306-3 (90 overs; J Anderson 135*, D Joyce 71, S Terry 32, S Singh 20, A Poynter 19*) v Northern Knights