JUST nine hours after Ireland were drawn in the same group as Zimbabwe at ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, a Zimbabwean with dreams of playing for Ireland produced the classiest innings on the first day of the RSA inter-provincial between the Northern Knights and the North West Warriors at Osborne Park.

Craig Ervine has struggled for runs in the Knights colours but, undoubtedly spurred on by the overnight World Cup draw in New Zealand, he scored 92 in a second wicket stand of 169 to put the NCU side in the dominant position in the three-day game.

Ervine, the former Zimbabwe Test player, has just recently relinquished any aspirations of playing again for the country of his birth and declared himself for Ireland. With National Coach Phil Simmons watching he could not have chosen a better stage to show his class.

The Lisburn batsman hit 14 fours and three sixes in his 143-ball stay, although he was grateful to Gareth Burns for spilling the simplest of chances when he was on 45. It proved an expensive life as the Warriors, still searching for their first win of the inter-provincial season, completed the first three hours with only the wicket of Nick Larkin to show for their efforts.

But, in the penultimate over before tea, Iftikhar Hussain made the breakthrough, having Ervine caught at slip and two overs into the evening session, Roy Silva - a late replacement for the injured Johnny Thompson - had Chris Dougherty caught at second slip for 75, after another solid innings (175 balls with 10 fours and two sixes) but again, frustratingly cut short with a century for the taking.

That wicket spurred the Warriors into a late comeback with Hussain getting James Shannon into a terrible tangle, Kamran Sajjid finding the edge of Andrew White's bat and Peter Connell returned to have Lee Nelson caught down the leg side as the North West side took four for 84 in the final session of 37 overs.

It also gave Connell something positive to take into day two after an angry day which saw him rage at the umpire after an lbw appeal was turned down - Charlie McElwee had to ask Warriors captain Niall McDonnell to have a word with his opening bowler - and then McDonnell and Connell had a disagreement over the taking of the second new ball, two overs before the close.

Connell won that argument but the Knights and Ervine won the day.