Associates clinch Evening League final

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16: The Associates scrambled to victory of the penultimate ball of a thrilling game to win the Evening League 20-20 final on Saturday.

Set a challenging 122 for victory by Fine Leg Byes they hit their target with just one ball and one wicket to spare.

Associates' skipper Damion Henderson won the toss and put the league champions, who lost just one match during the season, into bat.

A combination of tight, accurate bowling from the Associates' quartet and excellent fielding kept the Fine Leg Byes total in check.

Only a battling Ricky Waldron, who won batsmen of game, was able to establish any sort of a score in hot and humid conditions at Shelly Bay.

Brett Henshilwood picked up the award for the day's best bowler with a spell of three for 25.

Gary Knight was the cornerstone of the Associates' reply and his 31 crucial runs saw him named man of the match. 

He together with Brian Thomas, made sure their side was up with the asking rate at the 10-over point.

A flurry of wickets in the second half of the innings almost derailed the Associates' efforts and left them needing five runs off the last over.

Despite losing another wicket off the fourth ball Simon Jones and Richard Witkowski saw the Associates' over the finish line, with Witkowski diving full-length to make his ground for a scrambled single off the penultimate ball.

Skipper Henderson said: "Winning the final is a fantastic end to the season.

"The guys played extremely well against a very strong FLB team who only lost one game in the league.

"To restrict them to 121 was a great effort by the bowlers and fielders, particularly as the conditions were difficult after some heavy rain.

"We knew we had a good chance of chasing the runs.

"Losing Steve early on was a blow because he has batted so magnificently for us all season, but Gary and Bryan steadied the ship and got us half way there.

"Henry slowed down our run rate after the break and we started to lose wickets; we knew we needed a big scoring over - taking 20 runs off the 15th over put the momentum back in our favour. 

"The last over could have gone either way, thankfully Simon kept a cool head and saw us home together with a desperate dive from one of our veteran players, Dick.

"I would like to thank all the players who have contributed to a great season this year, everyone has played their part.

"Steve West and Natalie do a wonderful job organising and administering the competition - the cricket is enjoyable and continues to attract new players which reflects how well it is run.

"Finally a word of thanks to our sponsors Goslings for their continued support."