WARRIORS SPOIL LIGHTNING TREBLE PARTY

They kept us hanging on until the final Interprovincial match of the season but when it came, the North West Warriors' first ever win proved to be thoroughly worth the wait. Leinster Lightning- so dominant in all forms of the game since May were the visitors to Strabane Park on Saturday with Kevin O'Brien's outfit needing the points to complete a clean sweep of all three titles. The southerners have been top dogs all summer and most observers thought this would be a formality, however Lighting were second best on the day, and very much so, to a hungry looking Warriors pack.

There was no Johnny Thompson, Scott Campbell or Ricky-Lee Dougherty in the home camp with Niall McDonnell, Iftikhar Hussain and Ross Allen coming in while the visitors were minus the injured John Mooney. O'Brien had no hesitation in fielding first on winning the toss- an early morning start and potentially slow track uppermost in both captains' minds. David Barr, finally rewarded for his patience with a starting place and Jason Milligan opened the innings for the Warriors but with just 20 on the board the latter fell to a superb catch from Barry McCarthy.

His partner followed soon after but despite making just 12, Barr did a decent job in seeing off the new ball. Brian Allen and former skipper McDonnell batting at four then took the hosts to 58 before the former fell to McCarthy for a tidy 26 that included 4 fours. Stuart Thompson then mistimed one from the same bowler to leave the Warriors in trouble at 69 for 4 before McDonnell and skipper Andy McBrine led a revival. The Coleraine man, a runaway winner of the domestic batting averages has struggled for runs in the blue and green this summer but he looked in good touch here as he made 41 before finding Poynter on the sweep going for a big hit.

McBrine appeared to be in the mood as well before he too fired one right down the throat of Poynter for 25 as the Warriors reached 128 for 6. That brought Iftikhar Hussain and Andrew Riddles together in the middle and these two set about giving the innings some much needed impetus. Riddles has been brilliant for the North West men this season and the Ardmore man was to have the first part of a huge say in proceedings as he and Hussain bossed the next ten overs.

That partnership ended prematurely when "Ifti" hurt himself in a scramble to avoid a run out and was forced to retire having made 38. His partner and David Rankin took the score to 210 before Riddles was caught by the sub fielder Peter Chase for exactly the same score. Rankin, batting at number 9 having been ill during the morning added a valuable 18 not out that allowed the Warriors to close on a really competitive 230 for 8 from their 50 overs.

Leinster openers Ben Ackland and Albert van der Merwe started brightly in the reply as the home side's bowlers struggled for their line a touch early on. They had moved the board on to 36 from 7 overs before Ackland played all around one from Stuart Thompson and was out for 16, made up of 4 fours. His partner had lobbed a few in the air before that but survived, however he went for a big shot off Iftikhar Hussain soon after and only managed to find the safe hands of David Barr.

John Anderson and Andrew Poynter then put the visitors back on top with a solid if unspectacular partnership but both were to fall in quick succession as Andrew Riddles opened the game up. The same bowler then did for McCarthy for just 4 and when Eddie Richardson was run out in the next over, Lightning were on the ropes at 105 for 6. They still had their main weapon intact though- skipper O'Brien well known to all for his value in situations like this. The problem here for the Irish International was that there were few partners left, and of those, Andrew Balbirnie was struggling with a hamstring strain.

Undeterred, O'Brien coaxed Max Sorensen to stay with him and a few lofty blows later the reply had moved on to 147 however the day was to belong to that man Riddles. The all-rounder sent one down to the Lightning skipper that just stayed a fraction low and Kevin got nothing on it but pad. He looked aghast as the finger went up but Roly Black's decision looked absolutely spot on albeit the press area had the benefit of video analysis.

The Warriors knew then that the game was theirs and they coasted to a 71-run in their own time. The win ended the Leinster side's dream of that clean sweep of trophies but few would begrudge the North West side their moment after a long, hard summer. Coach Bobby Rao embraced all his players at the end of the game and paid tribute to their fighting spirit and will to win. He had watched them put through the wringer several times this summer but he knew they had to learn together and that they would be better for the experience.

Rao had insisted from the start of the season that this was very much a learning curve but that his side was more than capable of a surprise or two in their first year. They may have made him wait until the final bell but when they delivered on his promise they did so in no uncertain terms. The value of the win is lost on no-one either- the Warriors now go into their winter sessions looking forward to a season that they can now build upon.

Andrew Riddles was superb for them on Saturday but this was, to a man, a team win. It was the perfect end to a difficult season and in fitting style the sun, and indeed the England ODI skipper were at Strabane Park to share the moment.

Sunday's play-off between Bready and St Johnston notwithstanding then that wraps up the cricket season for another year. The final Divisional trophy was handed out on Saturday morning as Newbuildings picked up the Qualifying 1 championship having edged out Donemana and Fox Lodge to claim their second cup of a productive summer. They, and we, look forward to doing it all again next April.