IT really isn't a fair contest when a team can send someone as talented as Lorcan Tucker in at No.8 to win the Inter-provincial Cup.

The Ireland Under-19 batsman came to the middle for Leinster Lighting with Northern Knights scenting victory to keep their title hopes alive, having reduced Lightning to 161 for six in the 35th over, still 87 short of victory.

But with 13 balls to spare, Tucker had scored 51 not out from just 47 balls with seven fours and a six, dominating the unbroken seventh-wicket stand with Ireland international Sean Terry, who finished 85 not out.

On this evidence, Tucker is guaranteed a big future at the highest level. He certainly struck the Knights bowlers into submission although it was surprising that James Shannon did not try something different to get that vital seventh wicket, choosing to ignore his club captain Nikolai Smith and Waringstown leg spinner Greg Thompson.

It must be said that Knights were fortunate to even reach 246 when they batted first, after winning the toss, because after gifting Lightning three of the first five wickets to catches on the boundary, the home team gave them all back with Shane Getkate dropped three times on his way to an otherwise fluent 87, from 86 balls, two days after his 64 in the cup final for CSN.

He and Jacob Mulder, at No.10, were mainly responsible for rescuing Knights from 106 for six, and leave only nine balls of their innings unused.

But on a turning pitch, Mulder couldn't follow his batting heroics with the ball (1-57) and Lee Nelson also went at more than five runs an over. In contrast, George Dockrell ad Yaqoob Ali shared seven wickets.