North Field (St George’s won toss): St George’s beat Cleveland County by six wickets

St George’s captain Onias Bascome struck a 36-ball unbeaten 64 runs to guide his team to a last-over triumph over Cleveland County in the Athene T20 Knockout Cup.

Bascome, who walked in to bat at No 4 when St George’s were struggling at 38 for three after 8.1 overs in their pursuit of 144, hit four fours and the same number of sixes. His 96-run fourth-wicket partnership with Jonté Smith (40) turned the match around for the East Enders.

“I always had the confidence that we could win it,’’ Bascome said. “We just knew we had to put our heads down and bat.

“We stuck to our game plan and we didn't fall apart. A couple of ups and downs on the field, but we learn to stick together, fight for one another and keep pushing.”

Having lost pinch-hitter Zeko Burgess for a golden duck in the first over, with Macai Simmons and Nzari Paynter also departing early, St George's were in all sorts of trouble.

At the halfway stage in their run chase, Clay Smith’s side were down and appeared out of contention. They were on 49 for three, with 95 required from 60 balls.

Bascome and Smith struck some lusty blows against a Cleveland attack that had all along kept things tight to bring down the required run-rate. They went after Treadwell Gibbons Jr and Allan Douglas Jr, with the two giving away 15 runs each in consecutive overs.

While Smith departed in the 17.4 overs with just ten needed off 12 balls, the captain was able to steer the ship over the line with five balls to spare.

Bascome, who also picked up the award for most runs in the knockout competition, reflected on their run chase.

“Sometimes you've got to play the game smart, you don’t have to go for it from the first ball,’’ the St George’s captain said.

“It’s good to just nudge the ball around, get the singles knowing that you can capitalise in the end.

“As a team, we struggled a bit when it came to the league. We were missing quite a few players through injury and some going away.

“It was unfortunate that we lost to Bailey’s Bay by three runs in that league game with a weakened team. It’s good to come back and fight hard to win this knockout.”

Smith, who was the MVP for the knockout competition and took the most wickets, shared how it was batting with the captain.

“Onias makes it easy to bat with him,’’ the all-rounder said. “He knows no matter what the score is, he has the capability to cut it down and make it a much easier run chase.

“The whole time we were out there calculating ball by ball how many runs we needed an over. Fortunately, we were doing well and executing what we needed to do.

“While it might have seemed easy in the end, it was difficult chasing 95 runs in ten overs, so we are proud to do it.”

The all-rounder had a great weekend, as he scored 61 runs and picked up six wickets.

“It’s a great feeling to get these accolades,” he said. “I haven’t typically been known as a T20 player over these last few years, mainly because I tend to take my time.

“It’s something that I've been working on with my dad to improve, and I’m glad the hard work paid off.”

Clevie Wade, the Cleveland coach, whose side posted 143 thanks to Dion Stovell’s 53 off 49 balls, bemoaned their bowling in the final overs.

“Our death bowling let us down,’’ Wade said. “We weren't hitting our lines and lengths, and bowling to our field properly.

“Onias is a great captain, he batted well to put them on top. They just plugged away and came out victorious.

“I just felt that the last few overs we gave away too many boundaries. At one point they needed ten runs an over which is gettable on such a big field.

“If you’re not bowling your lines and lengths, you get punished. That’s exactly what happened with us.

“I’m very disappointed the way we just slipped off. That’s what cricket’s about, you've to stick to your bowling plans until the end.

“I felt if we had picked one of those wickets at the right time, we would have been into their tail-end.

“Overall, I think we had a pretty decent season. It wasn't as good as last season, but we survived in the 50 overs, and we also survived in the T20.

“We came fourth in the 50 overs and third in the T20, and got to the final. It’s good for the community to get to these cup finals; Cleveland have come a long way.”

Meanwhile, Charles Trott stood out with 62 runs for Willow Cuts to overcome Flatts by 50 runs in the First Division final. Cuts posted 148 for six, and Flatts could only manage 98 for four, with Reggie Baker having fun in the middle to end unbeaten on 45 off 58 balls.