WARRIORS CLAIM T20 INTERPROVINCIAL TITLE

A week may be a long time in politics but generally speaking, wholesale change usually requies an awful lot longer.

Despite that however there is little doubt that when the first of this season's three Interprovincial trophies was being handed out on Sunday, few would have anticipated that it would be Andy McBrine who would be giving the acceptance speech.

There is no secret that the North West Warriors were off the pace in the first year of the Interprovincial series, but little doubt either that they had an opportunity that the other two Unions probably lacked.

Logistically the North West as a region doesn't atract as many quality players from outside the BT47 area and numerically it is by far the smalles,t but while those two factors are always going to make it an uphill struggle, combined they also make it their biggest asset.

With the occasional exception of the permitted two overseas professionals ffor the three-day games, the North West squad is made up entirely of lads who have been playing together since they finished primary school.

From the outset, selectors decided not to go down the route of picking the more experienced players in the region, preferring instead to build from the bottom up. That was always going to make the first season an almighty struggle, but Bobby Rao knew that if they came through that, and worked hard together over the winter, things would get better and long before Sunday he has been proven correct.

Sure it may have been an anti-climatic end to the series with the two games down for decision washed away in the Dublin rain this weekend but having beaten the other two earlier in the summer already, there was no doubting that this was a fully merited triumph.

The icing on the cake was provided by David Rankin picking up the "Player of the Tournament" award – the Bready man and his batting partner Stuart Thompson the only two players from the three Unions to post over 100 runs, with Rankin making nearly 160 at an average of 53.

Speaking on their return to the North West Rao cut a proud figure but refused to take any of the credit himself. "No-one knows how hard these boys have worked over the winter and the time and effort they have put in. We are competing against two Unions who can choose from a panel of International standard players but we are now ready to hold our own. I knew last season that we had been found a bit short but that with the proper attitude and application that this squad could turn it around.

"Our captain, Andy McBrine just turned 21 this season and the average age of the squad is the lowest of any of the Unions. They are gaining experience and with that they are becoming more confident and the difference between this season and last season is astonishing.

"We have received great backing from the right people in the North West too, including Andrew Fleming and Peter McCartney who have given the green light for the setting up of the new Warriors Academy. We need young lads to continue to come through the ranks and that Academy will develop the next generation of North West cricketer.

"This is a fantastic day for everybody in the North West but it is only the start. We need to bring this attitude, belief and form into the other formats of the game and we need to target the other competitions now, especially the three-dayers. We are still learning how to play in the longer format of the game, how to keep our concentration for the full duration and how to bat session by session. It will come however- this young side will only get stronger if they keep working hard and the rewards will come.

"I am also delighted for David Rankin who was rightly named Player of the Tournament. David is his own biggest critic when he isn't playing well but there was no better batsman in the country during this tournament. We just want to enjoy this win for now but we will be back in the nets on Wednesday evening as we still have much work to do".

The Head Coach is absolutely spot on that a lot of work still requires to be done but now that they have a tournament win under their belt this side can grow in confidence. Competing in the three-day format is the absolute goal but even there the improvement in such a short space of time has been palpable with McBrine's men only losing out in the final session on two occasions this summer.

Despite the air of gloom last year when the North West side failed to win any of their T20 games, Bobby Rao insisted then that his team would prove people wrong as the three-year term progressed. His quiet smile when he brought the trophy into Bready Cricket Club on Sunday night was the smile of a thousand words.