Tector and Balbirnie star as Lightning fight back

It was all eyes on the Northern Knights overnight as their declaration seemed to be nearing. However, the Knights opted to keep batting during the morning, presumably to try allow Mark Adair to push for his hundred.

Adair did so, trying to up the rate in the process as he swatted a Richardson short ball over the long square-leg boundary for six. His terrific knock of 91 ended in a slightly anticlimactic way, as he dobbed a soft return catch to a Little short ball.

That had left the Knights on 440-9, a total deemed enough for captain, James Shannon, who immediately ushered his team in. The idea must have been to take early wickets with the new ball and Nathan Smith and Mark Adair tried to provide that breakthrough.

They started in a disciplined manner and early going was tricky for the opening pair of Doheny and Jack Tector. Nathan Smith bowled with good enthusiasm and it was good to see him back fit after what has been a thoroughly frustrating injury.

In the seventh over, Tector flashed at one and got a thick edge through a vacant fourth slip region. The next over, Doheny flashed a similar drive along the ground in the same area. These boundaries broke the shackles and Doheny and Tector both began to look very solid and in command at the crease. Neither seemingly troubled by the introduction of spin at both ends, from Cameron-Dow at first, and followed by Kidd.

In fact, it was a small spell from Getkate just before the interval which caused the most problems. His probing line and length brought a few appeals but nothing of substance to the Knights effort. Lightning lunched on 89-0, with Doheny on 41 and Tector on 36, both seemingly at ease with the flat batting conditions.

Early on in the afternoon session, the same service resumed as Tector and Doheny tried to press on. The Knights bowling was tight but struggled to create chances in optimum batting conditions.

The opening pair brought up their hundred partnership in the 30th over. A few overs later, Doheny brought up a maiden first-class fifty off 114 balls. However, the breakthrough came a over later when a well flighted Kidd off-break took the edge and was well caught low at first slip by Dougherty.

Tector brought up his fifty soon after off 114 balls also. Tector was joined by Andrew Balbirnie, who was in sparkling form for Ireland last week. However, Balbirnie gifted an opportunity to point when on five, but the chance was put down.

Balbirnie made the Knights attack pay, driving stylishly down the ground before driving through the covers a few overs later. While Balbirnie’s early boundaries gave way to careful accumulation, Tector found the fence in consecutive overs, firstly cutting away and then driving wide of mid-on.

However, the afternoon action made for pretty turgid viewing, with the pitch doing no favours for the Knights attack. It was Tector who ended up getting himself out after scoring a very stylish 87, he drove loosely off Getkate and found the hands of Cameron-Dow at extra cover to break the partnership.

This only brought John Anderson to the crease and he immediately recorded back-to-back boundaries of his own, pulling through mid-wicket before driving effortlessly through the covers. Leinster took tea on 199-2, with Balbirnie on a patient 29 not out.

The tea break was of no assistant to at this stage, a pretty weary Knights attack. They were also without the services of Harry Tector who has tweaked his hip in the field. Balbirnie and Anderson kicked on after the interval, Anderson was the more proactive of the pair, pulling and sweeping at will off the spinners.

Balbirnie continued to accumulate and brought up his fifty off 110 balls which included seven fours. There were brief moments of turn for both Kidd and Cameron-Dow during the day and the later capitalized on this to remove Anderson with a small nick to Rock behind the stumps for 35.

This was the opportunity that the Knights required, with a new batsman at the crease and the new ball to be taken. It was took four overs later with no further breakthroughs. Despite Smith and Adair’s efforts, the new ball seemed to merely be a magnet to the middle of Simi Singh’s bat.

He crunched three fours through the covers in the space of two overs to move quickly into the 20s. He then swivelled on a hook for 4 more off Adair. However, Adair had the last laugh as he got the new ball to talk and catch Singh’s edge for 26, well caught by Shannon at second slip.

Not for the first time in the day, the Knights could never get a clump of wickets together and once again struggled till the close. Dockrell looked in relative control and Balbirnie continued to tick along in a very economical fashion, closing on 16 and 81 respectively.

The Lightning finished up on 320-4 and the Knights never really threatened to make any further inroads. Unfortunately as the way this format works, the chances of a result seem unlikely in this three-day contest.

One couldn’t fault the effort from the Knights attack today but it lacked potency and of course that crucial chance off Balbirnie went down. They will need early wickets tomorrow morning to make a potential result out of this match.