North West Warriors will face defending champions Munster Reds in Cork the opening game of this year’s inter-provincial 50-over Cup competition, while Northern Knights will begin their campaign away to Leinster Lightning the following day.

Cricket Ireland are due to release the full schedule today but the proposed fixture list was only awaiting final confirmation from the provincial unions yesterday.

The IP50 has been divided into two blocks with the first six games taking place in the space of 11 days in May  and the final six in August and September with a break for the three T20 internationals against India and the Irish Cup final.

The NCU will host this year’s club showpiece decider so will not stage a T20 festival with the games this year taking place in Cork, Bready and Pembroke, with the first and last taking place in midweek.

The opening game of the IP50 takes place the day after Ireland’s last World Cup Super League game against Bangladesh in Chelmsford, so Warriors are almost certain to be without their captain, Andy McBrine.

Unless they win all three games against Bangladesh, the Ireland players will head to Zimbabwe in June for four weeks for the World Cup qualifying tournament from June 18-July 9 and on their return the T20 squad will be off to Scotland for those World Cup qualifiers from July 20-28. In between the players will prepare for that the previous weekend at the festival in Bready.
Full fixture list: IP50 - May 15: Munster Reds v North West Warriors (Mardkye). May 16: Leinster Lightning v Northern Knights (Pembroke); May 18: Lightning v Reds (Pembroke); May 22: Knights v Reds (Stormont); May 23: Warriors v Lightning (Bready); May 25: Warriors v Knights (Bready).

August 14: Lightning v Warriors (Milverton); Aug 15: Reds v Knights (Mardyke), Aug 17: Reds v Lightning (Mardyke); September 4: Warriors v Reds (Bready), Sept 5: Knights v Lightning (Stormont); Sept 7: Knights v Warriors (Stormont).

IP20 Festivals: June 6-8 (Mardyke); July 14-16 (Bready); August 1-3 (Pembroke).