...and give Leinster Lightning a winning start to the new RSA Interprovincial Series.
Cricket Ireland could not have wished for a better start to the tournament as this was a thriller in every sense in front of a big crowd and under sunny skies. Matt Dwyer and the Hills boys produced a good pitch and a wonderful cricket ambience fit for the occasion. All the ingredients were there and the northern underdogs played superbly and seemed to have the match firmly within their grasp until the last few overs when big Kev went on the rampage. Some people may feel the NCU team lost their way in the final stages, but that would be unfair to O’Brien who won the game through his belligerence and aggression. Understandably he gave a couple of hard chances, but an innings of this calibre is high-risk and he deserved his good fortune. The Northern Knights may have been shell-shocked by the experience, but they played magnificently to get so close to a shock result, so there is plenty to build on for the rest of the campaign.
O’Brien’s undefeated 111 came off 87 balls and included nine fours and four sixes. Skipper Andrew White used all his experience in the face of the onslaught and bowled himself, Nigel Jones and Eugene Moleon at the death, but each was savaged by the big-hitting Railway Union all-rounder. Perhaps David Simpson could have been used given his excellent bowling earlier, but on this form O’Brien would have destroyed any attack. Now we know what the England bowlers felt like in that unforgettable performance in the 2011 World Cup in India!
Leinster Lightning won this match on the back of a magnificent individual performance by their skipper, but overall they will concede that did not play as well as the Northern Knights. Results are everything in competitive sport and the Leinster team will be relieved to salvage the points from the jaws of defeat, but there were plenty of positive returns from the Knights. Critics may point to bowling changes and batting order decisions, but overall Whitey did a good job as skipper and led from the front. This was simply a case of one exceptional performance and we all know that when Kevin O’Brien is in the zone he is the most destructive batsman in Irish cricket. He has done it at the highest level and when it happens you have to take it on the chin and move forward.
The Northern Knights will live to fight another day on this performance and big Kevin has every reason to savour his day in the sun at the Hills yesterday.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
