LEINSTER LIGHTNING are on the verge of retaining their Hanley Energy T20 Interprovincial crown following an impressive 74-run win over the North West Warriors at Eglinton on Friday evening.
The visitors dominated pretty much throughout at the village venue after John Anderson won the toss and opted to bat first.
Dom Joyce (31) and Kenny Carroll (16) put on 52 for the first wicket before Simi Singh (30) kept the momentum going in the middle overs.
Wickets for Davy Scanlon (2-20), Ryan Macbeth (1-10) and Andy McBrine (1-42) kept the Warriors in with a shout however a late, decisive, push from Max Sorensen and George Dockrell left the home side chasing the game.
Sorensen smashed five sixes in a 16-ball 36 while Dockrell hit a four and two maximums in his seven-ball 20 not out as Leinster closed on 173 for 6. Jonny Robinson (3-22) bowled really well for McBrine’s men late on to ensure the damage wasn’t any worse.
The hosts’ reply started poorly with David Rankin out for 6 in the first over and Danza Hyatt dismissed for 5 in the second, although Ricky-Lee Dougherty rode his luck at the top of the order to give the Warriors something to cling on to.
Dougherty hit 6 fours on his way to 39 but once again the rest of the order offered little more than token resistance to a probing Lightning attack. Dockrell led the way with an impressive 3-12 from 4 overs with Eddie Richardson and Peter Chase both returning figures of 2-22.
Yaqoob Ali tidied up with 2-5 from his couple of overs as the reply limped to a close with only Dougherty, McBrine (16) and Scanlon (11 not out) reaching double figures in a total of 99 all out.
It was a disappointing effort from the home team if truth be told, especially as they were left with a full five overs of their 20 unused; however the southerners were simply much too strong.
Anderson’s team now have two cracks at James Shannon’s side to finish this format of the series with only one win required to clinch back-to-back titles.
HANLEY ENERGY T20 CUP
At Eglinton, North West Warriors lost to Leinster Lightning by 74 runs
Leinster Lightning 173-6 (20 overs, M Sorensen 36, D Joyce 31, S Singh 30, G Dockrell 20*, J Robinson 3-22, D Scanlon 2-20)
North West Warriors 99 all out (15 overs, RL Dougherty 39, G Dockrell 3-12, Y Ali 2-5, E Richardson 2-22, P Chase 2-22)