Northern Knights is a first-class inter-provincial cricket team in Ireland.
The team participates in the Inter-Provincial Championship, Interprovincial One-Day Trophy & Interprovincial Twenty20 Cup.
The team represents the Northern Cricket Union of Ireland, which in turn covers most of eastern and southern Ulster and parts of western Ulster.
History
In 2013, Cricket Ireland formed a three-day Championship, 50 over Cup and 20 over Trophy featuring teams from Leinster, the North and the North West. The NCU team would be known as the Northern Knights. On 8 April, they announced Eugene Moleon as their coach and Gavin Rogers as his assistant coach.
The Knights lifted their first trophy, the Inter-Provincial Cup, in that debut season. A surprise final day victory by the North West Warriors over Leinster Lightning ensured the Knights won the title by a single point.
Up to and including the 2016 Inter-Provincial Championship, the matches were not given first-class status. However, at an International Cricket Council meeting in October 2016, first-class status was awarded to all future matches.
In January 2016, Simon Johnston, then head of Waringstown Cricket Club, was appointed head coach of the team, replacing Eugene Moleon.
In would be 2019 before the Knights silverware drought came to an end. The team won 3 of their 6 Inter-Provincial Trophy games in a rain-affected season which was enough for captain Gary Wilson to lift the trophy.
Following Wilson's retirement, Harry Tector took over captaincy duties for the 2021 season. He was succeeded by Mark Adair in 2022.
2023 was the most successful year in the team's history as they completed a List A and T20 double.
Honours
Inter-Provincial Cup - (List A) - 2 titles Winners: 2013, 2023
Inter-Provincial Trophy - (T20) - 1 title Winners: 2023
Current squad denotes players with international caps. denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Club Notes Batters Ross Adair Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Lisburn Captain; Ireland central contract Cade Carmichael Right-handed Right-arm medium Instonians Ireland central contract Shane Dadswell Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Instonians James McCollum Right-handed Right-arm medium Waringstown Paul Stirling Right-handed Right-arm off break — Ireland central contract Charles Swart * — Right-handed — C.I.Y.M.S. Morgan Topping Right-handed Right-arm off break Waringstown All-rounders Mark Adair Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Lisburn Ireland central contract Adam Leckey Right-handed Right-arm medium CSNI Jordan Neill Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast CSNI Wicket-keepers Kian Hilton Right-handed — North Down Sam Topping Left-handed — Waringstown Bowlers Harry Dyer Right-handed Right-arm off break CSNI Matthew Foster Left-handed Right-arm fast-medium Waringstown Matthew Humphreys Right-handed Slow left arm orthodox Instonians Ireland central contract Thomas Mayes Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast North Down Ireland retainer contract Carson McCullough Right-handed Slow left arm orthodox C.I.Y.M.S. Cian Robertson Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Instonians Reuben Wilson Right-handed Right-arm medium Clontarf Ireland education contract
Grounds
References
External links The Northern Cricket Union official website Cricket Ireland profile of Northern Knights