T20
POS TEAM W L D NRR
1 Eastern Miners 8 3 0 1,137 Final (home)
2 Aubury Maroons 8 3 0 0,332 Final (away)
3 Linieux Lieutenants 7 4 0 1,465
4 Penstead Pirates 7 4 0 0,881
5 Idyllwild Antlers 6 5 0 0,941
6 Burnet Rubies 6 5 0 0,044
7 Norille Chevron Vert 5 6 0 0,955
8 Willowbourne Zenith 5 6 0 -1,807
9 Mayara Marauders 4 7 0 0,370
10 Mawrystwyth Mustangs 4 7 0 -2,432
11 Greencaster Bears 3 8 0 -0,71
12 Greencaster Heralds 3 8 0 -1,347
Losses to the Zenith, the Bears, and the Chevron Vert (ranked 8, 11, 7) didn't stop the Eastern Miners from reaching their second ever final. That's three bad losses in a season of some amazing wins over the other high flyers, en route to the second best net run rate of the season (that's an 'innovation' for the league this year!). In fact, their loss to the Zenith featured one of just three 200+ run scores - 206 for Zenith. The other ones were a 210 for the Antlers over the Mustangs (a 'win by 95 runs', amazingly enough), and Lieutenants 230 over the Mustangs. It then shouldn't surprise you that the Mustangs have the worst NRR in the competition by a country mile. Second are the Maroons, also clocking in at 8 wins. Their three losses came at the hands of the Pirates, Miners (the final preview), and the... Mustangs. It turns out you can't write the story of the season without mentioning the team in 10th a handful of times.
T20 Final
Eastern Miners 196/4 (20 overs)
Aubury Maroons 138/5 (20 overs)
A partnership for 95 runs by Risewell and White for the Miners starts a wonderful night for the plagued city they're from, White keeping the run rate up and forcing some shots that the Maroons didn't see coming, while Risewell picked his shots and strung together boundaries. It obviously worked, as they get so close to the fourth 200+ score of the season - and then it was up to the bowlers to match their achievements. And they did: Lachlan Harvey, jack-of-all-trades as far as formats go, takes three wickets while Souchon and Lever do their best to limit runs. Lyness sets the Maroons' highest score of the day at 62 runs, but his teammates can't get much done to get close to that amazing target - and so, the Eastern Miners win their first T20 title!
List-A
POS TEAM W L D NRR
1 Greencaster 8 2 0 0,736 Final (home)
2 Leeshire 7 3 0 0,718 Final (away)
3 West Surbourneshire 7 3 0 0,204
4 East Surbourneshire 3 7 0 -0,159
5 Mawryshire 3 7 0 -0,702
6 Willowbourne 2 8 0 -0,771
Greencaster deliver with 8 wins to seize a berth in the final, as the home team. They are followed by Leeshire, who have the same record as West Surbourneshire but have gotten there with a superior NRR - and that paints a crystal clear picture with three good teams and three teams that haven't been able to get anywhere. Greencaster's two losses are the home and away fixtures against West Surbourneshire - it's a good thing they aren't in the final. Leeshire make the final despite two losses to Greencaster... and one to 6th place Willowbourne.
The largest target was set by... East Surbourneshire! In one of their three wins - the one at Mawryshire, to be exact - they scored 383 runs, a tremendous score! Commins scores a century in that, after Weller and Shapter set a very respectable opening stand of 138.
List-A Final
Greencaster 255/5 (50 overs)
Leeshire 259/6 (48.3 overs)
Our finalists compete in a very even final, interesting until the final five overs, at which point it's clear that Leeshire have too many wickets in hand and enough overs left to topple Greencaster's target. Man of the match is arguably the winner's Dherengun, with 72 runs, though Greencaster's Enright took three wickets to make the final somewhat competitive.
First Class
POS TEAM RESULTS IW LEAD BONUS TOTAL
1 West Surbourneshire 72 18 0 25,4 115,4
2 East Surbourneshire 84 0 0 20,9 104,9
3 Leeshire 72 9 0 11,4 92,4
4 Willowbourne 48 9 0 18,7 75,7
5 Mawryshire 48 9 0 13,8 70,8
6 Greencaster 36 0 0 16,8 52,8
The Surbourneshires have done very well, with West Surbourneshire winning the trophy, leaving East Surbourneshire with the 'almost' title. Leeshire shows up but comes just short by about a win, Willowbourne and Mawryshire have tried valiantly, but that's it. Greencaster... well, let's say they didn't exactly show up at their predicted level.
If only East Surbourneshire could've held on to an innings or 10 wicket win, or turned two draws into wins, they could've been the winners. The bonus points are divided quite qually, with Willowbourne only extending their lead over Mawryshire with them.
On that topic, a short heads-up on the handing out of bonus points: In the first innings (of each team), the following are handed out:
- for the bowling team, if the team has taken all 10 wickets (avoided a declaration) and dismissed all 10 batsmen in under 80 overs, that team is awarded 0.06 (recurring), or 1/15 points for each over under 80.
- for the batting team, they are awarded 0.01 point for every run over 250 they scored, rounded to a single decimal (0.05 turns into 0.1, 0.14 turns to 0.1 as well).
The final matchday, in the end, barely had any consequences for the table: East Surbourneshire drew, and West Surbourneshire failed to take advantage by losing to Leeshire - who in turn were on an island. Willowbourne and Mawryshire both draw. Greencaster had nothing to play for anyway. The actual title was handed out on the 8th round, where West Surbourneshire beat Willowbourne handsomely, and East Surbourneshire narrowly lost to Greencaster. At this point, if you lose to them, you don't deserve the title, I suppose.
The standout performers for West Surbourneshire were batsman Dallas Welsh, who should see an invitation to the national team in his immediate future. Herschel Marsden, captain and bowler, has finally gotten his region over the hump for a title - which was expected, only in List A, not in First Class, and this legitimises his call for best cricketer of his generation - if not all time. The international fame was there, but could he do it on an overcast night in Llandy? The youngsters haven't yet showed up in full for the West, but they should soon. Meanwhile, the East Surbourneshire stars were all about youth: all-rounder Maitland, batsman Commins, opener Shapter, and his colleague opener Weller - all under 25. Lachlan Harvey was the captain for the region at 32 - the oldest regular 'starter' for the East. For Greencaster, only questions remain: "How could this happen?" "What's next for the veterans, Baldry and Wheelwright?". Mawryshire, unfortunately, couldn't launch their renaissance just yet, but likely will soon.