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March Sixes

The best was saved to last. The final sixes tournament played at Happy Valley on March 26^th provided enough thrills and last ball finishes to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Four evenly matched sides, Lions, Fellows, Himalayans and WSBA squared up to each other in a mini league with two points for each win.

Fellows took on Lions in the first game. Loins batting first scored 55. Fellows kept up with them right to the last ball, falling just one run short.

Himalayans eased past the WSBA total of 37 in the second game with almost two overs to spare, but faltered against Fellows in the third game. Loosing opening bat, Amit, on the first delivery, and a couple of run outs later managed 43 all out, fives balls short of their five overs Fellows overtook their total after four overs.

Lions restricted WSBA to 37 in the fourth game, a total that they overtook with ease after only three overs.

Lions went in favourites in the fifth game against the Himalayans, but two pieces of outstanding fielding, throwing the wickets down with long throws from the boundary, saw Lions top batsmen run out . After five overs they were left with an uncharacteristically low score of 43. Even so ,it went down to the last over, with Himalayans overtaking that total with just one ball to spare.

With two wins apiece for Lions and Himalayans, Fellows with a higher run rate only had to win the fifth game to secure the title.

WSBA, defeated twice were determined to take something out of the day. To Fellows dismay, they posted their highest total of the competition, 55, in their five overs. Fellows opening pair kept up with the rate up to the third over, but were stymied by the Khans crafty off spin in the fourth. Behind in the fifth needing twelve off the last three balls, they fell three runs short.

This took the tournament to a play off between Himalayans and Lions, this time with Himalayans the favourites. Looking untroubled, scoring a steady ten runs per over, Himalayans reached 56 in five overs, loosing only one wicket.

But Lions Manju choose this game to find form. Hitting violent sixes and brutal fours he laid waste to the Himalayan bowling ,finishing off the innings with a mighty six, winning the title for the Lions with one ball to spare.

Once again teams met at Happy Valley to play the second winter sixes tournament. Himalayans, WSBA and a new team from Nicosia, Friends made up pool A and Sri Lanka A, Lions and Fellows played against each other in pool B.

Lions roared again to win Pool B winning both their games comfortably, while Friends steamed into the lead in Pool A, making the highest run total on the way, 110 in five overs against WSBA.

WSBA 45, Himalayans 47 ( after 4.1 overs). Friends 110 WSBA 38. Friends 77 Himalayans 49.

Sri Lanka A 52, Lions 53 (after 4.4 overs) Fellows 50, Sri Lanka A 51 after 4.2 overs. Fellows 52, Lions 54 after 2.4 overs.

Second place Sri Lankans from pool B took on Friends, and second place in pool A, Himalayans, played Lions in the semi finals. Both games went to form with Friends defeating Sri Lanka A 79 runs to 49 after five overs, Lions overtook the Himalayan total of 43 in 5.2 overs. So the final between last months runners up Lions and the fledgling Friends was set to be played in the long shadows of the falling sun.

Friends batted first. Up to now they had hardly required the services of no 4 and 5 bats as the opening pair Zahid and Rashid had usually done the job for them. The final looked like going the same way with the pair scoring 18 in the first over. But Rashid out in the second over soon followed by the left hand Zahid in the third from a stunning diving catch by Lions Sampath on the square leg boundary meant that the others now had to to do some work. Arif and Kashif doubled the score from 31 to 62 in the next 2 overs without any further loss of wickets.

In previous games opening pair, Sampath and Manju, had done for Lions what Rashid and Zahid had done for Friends. In fact neither had yet lost their wickets. Not this time however. Both were out in the first over in an explosive display of fast bowling from Arif. Despite Lions best efforts they could not regain the initiative, making 40 in five overs, loosing two more wickets.