David Morton
NCU PRO
It’s the Northern Knights turn to host the next round of the Newstalk IPT20 competition on Sunday 13th July at the Green, Comber and there are 10,000 reasons that it will be a fun day out for all.
During the day there will be the opportunity for someone to go home £10,000 better off in one of the competitions that will be taking place.
The main business of the day will see the Northern Knights play Leinster Lightning at 11am and the North West Warriors at 3.30pm with a festival of youth cricket to entertain the spectators during the interval between matches, with teams from North Down, CSNI, CIYMS and Instonians taking part.
Looking forward to what will be a great family day out, NCU President, Billy Boyd said: “The emphasis of the day will be on an enjoyable family day out, but this will not negate the challenge of the Knights to repeat their success in the same competition last year. This form of the game has increased the attraction of cricket to a wider audience and our hope is that not only the people who spend their summers playing cricket at club and school level, will be joined by people who have watched the Big Bash, the I.P.L and the T20 Blast on TV will come to Comber on the 13th, support the 3 teams and in particular the Northern Knights, and experience the excitement of T20 cricket ‘up close’.”
Captain of the Northern Knights, Andrew White said: “Obviously the weather is key but this has the makings of a super day out for all the cricketing fraternity together with the general public. The Knights had a good record in the format last season and are unbeaten at Comber. If we can get all our disciplines together we will be very hard to beat.”
Alongside the cricket there will lots of other activities for the family. For the younger children there will be ice cream and candy floss, face painting and a bouncy castle. And for older children there will be cricket competitions and the Cricket Ireland cricket factory will be at the Green.
Photo right: Looking forward to the Knights double whammy and a great family day out are; Ian McAvoy, Vice Chair, Sport NI, Michelle McIlveen MLA, Billy Boyd, NCU President and Andrew White, Northern Knights Captain.
Ian McAvoy, Vice-Chair, Sport NI said: “Sport NI are pleased to be associated with such a prestigious event as the Inter provincial T20. Sport NI is the lead Sports Development Agency in Northern Ireland, realises the importance of this competition in not only developing talented players but also helping bridge the gap from club to international cricket. Sport NI is in no doubt that this competition will flourish and grow, and through the great work that Cricket Ireland is doing at all levels of the sport that more players of the calibre of Paul Stirling and William Porterfield will be identified and develop through the inter provincial series.”
The Northern Knights will be looking to stamp their authority on the IPT20 competition by winning their two matches at the Green following the first round at Bready.
Michelle McIlveen MLA, who has supported the Northern Cricket Union (NCU) in organising the event said: “As a local representative, I am delighted that North Down Cricket Club in Comber will once against host this prestigious inter-provincial tournament. Twenty20 cricket is a tremendous spectator sport and is sure to draw fantastic crowds to this excellent venue. I am looking forward to entertaining high-quality cricket being played by the three participating provinces.”
Attendees are recommended to bring their own seating.