For those that don’t know, I play Last Man Stands cricket for a team named Team Xtreme and this past Sunday was the finals day after another epic season. Last Man Stands is a 20 over game of cricket played with 8 a side. Team Xtreme were the defending champions and as we had topped the league throughout the season, we were awarded the “easier” semi-final. And easier was an understatement on the day. Facing Jolly Brothers my team mates bowled the challengers out for a paltry 68 largely thanks to Allen “Spit in your Face” Otto’s 2-for-7 off 3 overs, Haulrich “Horlicks” Kuschke’s 2-for-9 from four overs and Tim “Skipper” Hills 2-19 from his 3 overs. I will admit that I took a blindingly brilliantly easy catch in the innings, but I’m not in the team for bowling ability.
We chased the score down with the ease of passing matric these days and chased the score down in 11 overs. Jaco “Bouch” Steynberg’s 18 and Skippers 26 led the way and Janus “AB” de Villiers (20*) and myself (1*) took the team home.
The second semi final produced one of the great games in LMS history as Benoni Raiders absolutely blitzed the Green Mambas thanks to an incredible 65 not out off 27 balls from Victor de Beer. The target that they set of 176 always seemed like it would be comfortable to defend, but in the blistering sun Kyle Parsons, Sandon Minnie, Graeme Lennox and Richard Barley did their best and ended up just 9 runs short in scoring 167. A great game played in great spirits.
So onto the final, a repeat of the previous seasons final, Benoni Raiders vs. Team Xtreme. Raiders were given the chance to bat and in the sweltering heat made merry with some very ordinary bowling from Xtreme. After half centuries from Ian Lubbe and Albert Freeme, Raiders looked set for a score of 190+. A great containing job done by AB, Horlicks and Gert “Swinger” Howes pulled it back and left Xtreme chasing a tough 160 for victory.
Our innings got off to a bad start when Bouch was dismissed for a duck, but AB and Skipper each got to 50’s bringing Swinger and myself to the wicket needing 60 off 7 overs. And so we went on our merry way. I was hitting singles as Swinger was swinging things to all corners of the park, it was quite simple, my job was to get Gert on strike. In the 16th over something happened that ultimately would change the course of the game, a huge pull from Swinger was dropped on the boundary by the Raiders and let us scamper through for the run. We stuck about and were left needing 25 off 2 overs (10 balls). The second last over went for a single, another single, a four, a single and a four leaving 14 to win off the last 5 balls. I would love to say I was the one that took the team home, but it was Gert that led the way with a six off each of the first two balls. To add drama to the equation, Gert was dismissed the next ball and Horlicks came in to hit the winning runs with a ball to spare after a spectacular 40 off 18. It was Horlicks who also hit the winning runs in the previous final, a much easier chase. I finished unbeaten on 16 having played a small role in making sure Swinger was swinging!
So after another successful season, Xtreme sit atop the perch as champions and are now ranked 9th in South Africa. Our captain Tim Hills won bowler of the year for the second season running and we ended with Tim, AB and Vinnie “Iceman” Gomes in the dream team for the season. Our keeper Bouch would also have been in touching distance of keeper of the season after a fine season. Its been a privilege gents, here’s to another great one.
Last Man Stands is a great way of getting involved in outdoor cricket again. A game takes about two hours and all the stats are captured online. If you are interested in challenging Xtreme or just in watching greatness contact Owen at 084 022 4901 or at benoni@lastmanstands.net or check out http://www.lastmandstands.com
All pictures taken by Carianne Fairburn
Congras Team Xtreme. You guys have become a force to reckon!!!!!!!!!