Ireland Under 19 player Andrew Balbirnie showed his undoubted class as his Southern side beat their North West counterparts by 4 wickets in the opening clash of the Under 17 Interprovincial series at Strabane.

The game got under way slightly late after an overcast start, and Stephen Noone made early inroads dismissing Craig Averill and Gary Gillespie. Dean Mc Carter (37) and Ricky-Lee Dougherty (26) batted well, and a late flurry of boundaries from Nick Donnell (36), helped the North West to a respectable total of 161.

Balbirnie (3-12) troubled all the batsmen, while Noone (2-20) and Emmet Brannigan (2-31) also impressed.

In reply Adrian D'Arcy displayed a fine range of attacking strokeplay, before a mix up saw him run out for 45. Balbirnie also hit the ball very cleanly in his 47, before being bowled by left armer Kieran McDermott (2-10). It was left to Sean McAuley and Ryan Sheedy to see their side safely home, winning by 4 wickets.

At Strabane Park, Under 17 Interprovincial Series, Southern XI beat NW XI by 4 wickets.
 
North West
C Averill lbw Noone 9
D McCarter b Sheedy 37
G Gillespie b Noone 0
S Thompson c Fleming b Hopkins 16
RL Dougherty b Balbirnie 26
D Mehaffey c Hopkins b Brannigan 5
M Fleming c Fleming b Brannigan 5
N Donnell run out 36
K McDermott b Balbirnie 1
R Hill b Balbirnie 0
J Martin not out 0
Extras 21
Total 161 all out
 
S McAuley 6-0-16-0 S Noone 6-2-20-2 R Sheedy 5-0-23-1 R Hopkins 9-3-35-1 M O'Brien 4-0-16-0 E Brannigan 7-1-31-2 A Balbirnie 7-3-12-3
 
Southern XI
A D'Arcy run out 45
R Russell c Gillespie b Hill 13
M D'Arcy b McCarter 15
A Balbirnie b McDermott 47
R Hopkins c&b Donnell 5
S Fleming lbw McDermott 4
S McAuley not out 10
R Sheedy not out 10
Extras 13
Total 162 for 6
 
N Donnell 6-0-37-1 J Martin 5-1-24-0 S Thompson 3-0-10-0 C Averill 7-0-22-0 R Hill 5-0-26-1 D McCarter 4-1-14-1 D Mehaffey 3-0-8-0 K McDermott 5-0-10-2 M Fleming 3-0-4-0