Junior Last Ball Thriller
The junior Stage 1 Warriors hosted Kingborough White at Ranelagh Oval on the last day of Spring. It was a classic finish with the scores locked at 164 apiece before the final ball was bowled.
Young Max Stevenson was captain, and the Warriors were sent in to bat. A steady start from debutant Michael Davis (15), was backed up by some quick running from Alex (23) and then big hitting from Connor (20) and Seb (29). The White Knights got themselves into the game with a hat-trick, and then kept the pressure on with run outs as the Warriors finished on 8-148.
Kingborough batted steadily and shared the runs around. Wickets were hard to come by before Anthoney (3-3) cleaned up the stumps three times in a single over. Jack (3-17) also bowled well, picking up key wickets at the death.
On the last ball with the scores tied, the Knights bench passed the word out to the middle to run no matter what.
The penultimate delivery beat the batter, and found its way into ‘keeper Felix’s gloves. The non-striker took off and charged down the wickets. Felix sprinted in and threw down the stumps as the batter slid his bat through… The Kingborough square leg umpire raised his finger – out by less than a foot!
That final wicket added +4 to the Warriors total, and resulted in a North Huon win 168-164.
The much improved White Knights deserved more – they played brilliantly and with excellent sportsmanship.
Felix was Warrior of the week for his solid keeping and ice-cold last ball execution. The junior Warriors finally hit the road next week, traveling all the way to the Huonville Bull Ring.