European Cricket Series Gothenburg witnessed another historic milestone with the second-ever Golden Ball finish on Tuesday.
European Cricket Series Gothenburg witnessed another historic milestone with the second-ever Golden Ball finish on Tuesday.
Making their bow in the competition, Jönköping CA progressed to a challenging 90 against unbeaten Seaside - in damp conditions certainly not worthy of a trip to the beach.
In reply, Seaside skipper Umair Chaudary led the way with 44 off 27 as the weather continued to show its ugly side. Needing nine to win from the final three balls, Zahoor Sabir looked to have turned the tide in Seaside’s favour with successive boundaries. However, with the scores tied, Sabir was adjudged lbw to a Muhammad Tanveer full toss on the final ball of the innings.
The European Cricket Series Golden Ball regulation means that in the event of a tie with scores level, the batting side stays at the crease and has to score two or more runs to force a win.
Amid great scenes of jubilation, Usman Sarwar scampered two runs for Seaside to seal the Golden Ball victory after a fielder slipped to the ground and misfielded at mid-wicket in the increasingly wet outfield.
The brainchild behind the new European Cricket Series Golden Ball is European Cricket League commentator and presenter Vinny Sandhu aka “Mr Maximo.” In March, we witnessed the historic first-ever Golden Ball Finish at the European Cricket Series Alicante.
“There was absolute mayhem at the ground, as the Golden Ball was hit in the direction of the outfielder. If the fielder was able to prevent the batsmen running two then his team would be victorious, but he wasn’t able to gather the ball cleanly and the batting team scampered to a very memorable victory,” said Vinny.
“I can’t even imagine the butterflies in the batsman and bowler’s stomachs in the seconds before the Golden Ball was delivered. Most importantly, the fact that so many games have been last ball finishes recently shows how even some of these teams are. It’s really gripping viewing watching the twists and turns in the final overs of a chase!”
