Northern Knights (cricket team)
Provincial cricket team on the island of Ireland
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Northern Knights is a first-class inter-provincial cricket team in Ireland.
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| |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Mark Adair |
| Coach | Simon Johnston |
| Owner | Northern Cricket Union of Ireland |
| Team information | |
| Colors | Navy and Red |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Home ground | Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast |
| Capacity | 7,000 |
| History | |
| Inter-Provincial Championship wins | 0 |
| Interprovincial One-Day Trophy wins | 2 |
| Interprovincial Twenty20 Cup wins | 1 |
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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3][4]
In January 2016, Simon Johnston, then head of Waringstown Cricket Club, was appointed head coach of the team, replacing Eugene Moleon.[5]
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.[6]
Following Wilson's retirement, Harry Tector took over captaincy duties for the 2021 season.[7] He was succeeded by Mark Adair in 2022.[8]
2023 was the most successful year in the team's history as they completed a List A and T20 double.[9]
Honours
- Inter-Provincial Cup - (List A) - 2 titles
- Inter-Provincial Trophy - (T20) - 1 title
- Winners: 2023
Current squad
- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
- *denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
| Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| Paul Stirling |  Ireland | 3 September 1990 | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | North Down | |
| James McCollum | Ireland | 1 August 1995 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | Waringstown | Vice-captain |
| Ross Adair | Ireland |
21 April 1994 | Right-handed | Slow left arm orthodox | CIYMS | |
| Morgan Topping | Ireland | 25 March 1999 | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | Waringstown | |
| Cade Carmichael |  South Africa* |
3 August 2002 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | Instonians | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Mark Adair | Ireland | 27 March 1996 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | CIYMS | Captain |
| Jordan Neill | Ireland |
3 March 2006 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | CSNI | |
| Ruhan Pretorious | South Africa* | 2 March 1991 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | Woodvale | |
| Adam Leckey | Ireland |
25 September 2006 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | CSNI | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| Neil Rock | Ireland | 24 September 2000 | Left-handed | - | Rush | |
| Ben Calitz |  Canada | 6 July 2002 | Left-handed | - | CIYMS | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| Tom Mayes | South Africa* | 4 January 2001 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | North Down | |
| Matthew Foster | Ireland | 15 January 2000 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | CSNI | |
| Matthew Humphreys | Ireland |
28 September 2002 | Right-handed | Slow left arm orthodox | Lisburn | |
| Harry Dyer | Ireland |
15 March 2006 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | CSNI | |
| Adam Kennedy | Ireland | 22 October 2003 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | CIYMS | |
| Cian Robertson | Ireland |
19 September 2002 | Right-handed | Slow left arm orthodox | Instonians | |
| Source:[10] | ||||||