Inter-Provincial Cup

The Inter-Provincial Cup is a limited-overs cricket tournament in Ireland between the four leading cricketing provinces of Ireland.

The tournament was held for the first time in 2013 across venues in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Up to and including the 2016 tournament, the matches were not given List A status. However, at an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in October 2016, List A status was awarded to all future matches.^[1][2]

History

Background

The Ireland cricket team enjoyed increasing success at the international level in the late 2000s and into the 2010s which boosted the popularity of the game in the country. They had earned the reputation of a giant killer after upsetting teams like Pakistan and Bangladesh (2007 Cricket World Cup), and England (2011 Cricket World Cup). Their good performances in major international tournaments meant that Cricket Ireland openly started bidding for Test match status to the International Cricket Council.^[3]

Nevertheless, one of the main stumbling road blocks for Ireland from getting to play the pinnacle of the game was a lack of a first-class cricket infrastructure at home, among other things. As early as August 2011, Cricket Ireland announced plans of a domestic first-class tournament.^[4] In January 2012, Cricket Ireland announced the ambitious 'Vision 2020' plan which announced the establishment of a first-class structure by 2015 and achievement of Test status by 2020. It also began work on a cricket academy to find talented players across the country and improving grass-roots cricket in the country.

For the first time professional contacts, with central, A, B, and C levels were established. Plans for Test status were established partly to stem the flow of their star cricketers moving away to England in hope of playing Test cricket such as Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan and Boyd Rankin.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

According to Richard Holdsworth in an interview with Setanta Sports, Cricket Ireland were pleased with the strategic progress that had been made as of November 2012.^[11] In December 2012, Ireland got a $1.5m boost as increased funding from the ICC to establish elite domestic competitions in the country.^[12]

Format

The tournament is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing each other twice, once at home and once away.

Points summary

Points are scored as follows:

• Win – 4 points
• Tie or no result – 2 points
• Loss – 0 points
• Bonus point – 1 point awarded to a team winning a match with a run rate equal to 1.25 times that of the losing team

Teams

According to Richard Holdsworth's interview to Setanta Sports, three teams would initially participate in the tournament, Leinster cricket team, Northern cricket team and North West cricket team as Munster and Connacht were considered still quite far away from fielding a competitive team for provincial tournaments. They were also given a separate limited overs names much similar to the systems in England and Australia, i.e., like Nottinghamshire Outlaws and South Australia Redbacks. In this case, the names are Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and North West Warriors.^[13][14]

From the 2021 season, Munster Reds joined the Inter Provincial Cup having previously only competed in the Twenty20 Inter-Provincial Trophy^[15] In March 2026, it was announced that Munster Reds will not feature in the 2026 edition following a comprehensive review of the Inter-Provincial competition in late 2025.^[16]

Competition placings

2013 to present

DNP - Did Not Participate

All-time records

(All records correct to end of 2023 season)

Team records

Highest innings totals

Lowest completed innings totals

Most career runs

Highest individual scores

Most runs scored in a season

Most career wickets

Best bowling in an innings

Most wickets in a season

Highest partnerships for each wicket

See also

• Cricket in Ireland
• History of cricket
• Inter-Provincial Championship
• Inter-Provincial Trophy

References

1. ^ "Ireland domestic competition awarded first-class status". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
2. ^ "Ireland's Inter-Provincial Championship awarded first-class status". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
3. ^ ICC to consider Ireland's bid for Test status^{[dead link]} ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2013
4. ^ Ireland plan first-class structure ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
5. ^ Ireland unveil Test cricket vision Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine CricketEurope4.net. Retrieved 9 March 2013
6. ^ CI reveals ambitious plans aimed at receiving Test status Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
7. ^ Ireland map out path to Tests ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
8. ^ Ireland's Boyd Rankin retires to play Test cricket for England Archived 10 April 2013 at archive.today Cricket Country. Retrieved 9 March 2013
9. ^ Ireland calls for Test status to 'halt exodus' ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
10. ^ Rankin retires, Holdsworth calls for Test status Archived 12 April 2013 at archive.today irelandcricketwebbly.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013
11. ^ Cricket Ireland happy with progress of strategic plan Archived 9 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Setanta Sports. Retrieved 9 March 2013
12. ^ Ireland receive $1.5 m boost from ICC ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2013
13. ^ North-West announce shortlist for name Archived 8 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
14. ^ NCU confirm team name for 2013 Interpros Archived 8 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 March 2013
15. ^ "Inter-Provincial Series Revamp to include Munster Reds joining 50-over Cup – BBC Sport". 12 February 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
16. ^ "Interpro fixtures released". Cricket Europe. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
17. ^ "Highest Innings Scores". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
18. ^ "Lowest Completed Innings Scores". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
19. ^ "Top Run Aggregates". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
20. ^ "Top Run Scores". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
21. ^ "Top Wicket Takers". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
22. ^ "Best Bowling in an Innings". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
23. ^ "Partnerships by Wicket". irishcricketarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.

External links

• [31]-official website