Last-ball woe for Originals men as Rockets clinch see-saw thriller
Richard Sellers/PA Wire
This is what the Hundred was supposed to be about – evenly matched sides playing a closely-fought game to a thrilling conclusion.
A lively crowd at Emirates Old Trafford certainly lapped it up, right until the final ball.
Manchester Originals needed two to win, one to tie with Trent Rockets, but Max Holden’s weak pull off Jordan Thompson only found the hands of Sam Hain at backward square leg.
It was an outcome that had seemed unthinkable until the final stages.
Paul Walter’s long levers had whacked three of his 15 balls for six. Even when he became Rashid Khan’s 600th T20 victim, the equation of 28 from 22 balls – with six wickets in hand – was still in the hosts’ favour.
Imad Wasim then bamboozled both Jamie Overton and Tom Hartley in the space of three balls to induce a few jitters.
Still, when Sikandar Raza found an orthodox pull for six followed by an outrageous improvised flick for four off Sam Cook, six from the last five seemed gettable – even more so when Raza and Holden scampered a pair of twos off the first two balls.
With two needed from three, they could have got them in singles. But some truths are older than cricket, let alone the Hundred, and pressure makes strange things happen.
A swing and a miss was followed by a desperate attempt at a single to mid-wicket; Raza was well short, and Holden had to try to win it on his own.
For Originals debutant Matty Hurst, it was a frustrating experience.
“It’s been bittersweet, it’s not sunk in yet,” he said. “It was great to get out there but the result is the main thing.
“They had no right to win that game, we almost had it in the bag – but it didn’t come through in the end.”
Leigh’s Hurst was one of two victims of Cook’s first over, along with captain Phil Salt. But chasing a below-par 145, Holden played the anchor role as first Wayne Madsen and then Walter played spanker.
Madsen reverse-swept Rashid for two fours, then was rewarded with a death-glare send-off on becoming the Afghan’s victim number 599.
The presence of a genuine great of the modern game, in a tournament which has lacked a bit of stardust, was welcome, and Rashid gleefully played pantomime villain for the crowd.
Hurst is looking forward to future chances to establish himself in the side, and believes they have the quality to go deep in the competition.
He added: “The aim is to come back on Wednesday at Southampton and beat Southern Brave.
“We’ve got the team to go all the way, but in these close games you’ve got to get over the line.”
There was plenty of encouragement for the Originals in the first half, even in the continued absence of Jos Buttler.
Tom Banton made a fluent 45 off 22 balls, but nobody else got going thanks to the Originals’ attack – in particular Hartley, who took 3/25.
After Jamie Overton and Walter made a mess of a steepler from Rovman Powell, the Ormskirk man had Hain caught off an ill-judged reverse sweep the very next ball.
Both fielders redeemed themselves as Hartley made it three wickets in six balls across two spells – Walter with a decisive call under another high one to remove Powell, Overton with a fine forward dive to hold Imad Wasim.
Rashid ruined his figures with a six off his last ball – the only boundary he conceded. But this was still Hartley at his best, in full control of his pace and length, and outthinking some of the smartest cookies on the circuit.
