Leinster Lightning are the 2014 Newstalk Inter-Provincial Championship winners after their rain affected game with Northern Knights petered out into an inevitable tame draw at Waringstown. With more than half of the match lost to rain there was never likely to be any other outcome.

Craig Ervine continued on from Tuesday afternoon and scored a quite brilliant 131 from 176 balls (15 fours, 1 six) sharing a fourth wicket partnership of 192 with Knights skipper Andrew White.

White - Ireland's most capped player - is renowned as a specialist in the longer form of the game, and once again showed his batting prowess, making an unbeaten 87 from 146 balls (10 fours) before declaring at lunch with the Knights on 312 for 4.

2014 @NewstalkFM Inter-Provincial Championship winners! pic.twitter.com/9N0rffRA9e

— Leinster Lightning (@LCU_Lightning) August 14, 2014

As the Lightning only needed a draw to retain their title there was no prospect of John Mooney agreeing to two forfeited innings and giving the Knights a sporting chance of retaining their hopes of taking the championship to the final match between the Knights and North-West Warriors at the end of the month.

Leinster were quite happy to bat out the rest of the day as the bat continued to dominate the ball on the benign track.

Fintan McAllister fell for 28, but half centuries for Kenny Carroll (77) and Ben Ackland (54), who added 84 together for the second wicket, saw Lightning advance to 205 for 3, before John Mooney's declaration saw the game called off as a draw at 5:20pm.

Lightning are back in action on Saturday when they face NW Warriors in the 50 over competition. Play at Strabane gets under way at 10:45am and admission is free.

NEWSTALK INTER-PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

At Waringstown, Day 3 close

NORTHERN KNIGHTS 312-4 (78 overs, C Ervine 131, A White 87*, N Larkin 30, M Sorensen 2-60)

LEINSTER LIGHTNING 205-3 dec. (55.1 overs, K Carroll 77, B Ackland 54, J Anderson 30*, F McAllister 28)

Northern Knights (8pts) drew with Leinster Lightning (6pts).