Knight's measured unbeaten 143 included 11 fours and a six from 183 balls. The innings was interrupted for 3.5 hours by rain and when play closed at 8pm Ireland were 16 for no wicket off 11 overs, needing a further 287 for victory today.

Brian Lara's brittle form continued in a brief meeting with a 22-year-old university graduate from Carrick Fergus. Off-spinner Kyle McCallen, who recently completed a sports administration degree at the University of Ulster, bowled the West Indies captain with his 15th ball in a spell of two for 45.

It was Lara's third duck in his last four innings.

Day 2

Warwickshire, five times finalists in the last nine seasons, were given a brief scare before wrapping up a 41-run win over Ireland at Edgbaston.

There was just a chance of an upset when 19-year-old Ed Joyce guided the part-timers into a challenging position, needing 139 from the last 20 overs with eight wickets standing.

But the opportunity quickly disappeared when Joyce (73) was swept up in a batch of three wickets in 21 balls from spinners Neil Smith and Ashley Giles.

Warwickshire eventually defended their imposing score off 302 for five with some comfort, restricting Ireland to 261 for eight.