It was a fight to the death as the Central Stags and Canterbury Kings took the 2021 Dream11 Super Smash Elimination Final down to the last two balls of the last over in a remarkable game.

With the scores tied and the words "Super Over" on everyone's lips, Doug Bracewell bowled to Matt Henry, then lunged to his left as Matt Henry pushed for a quick single.

The ball brushed Bracewell's outstretched palm, a chance - and then gone, as the Kings ran through for their first Grand Final appearance in almost a decade.

It had already been a final over full of drama with Bracewell fighting hard to keep the Stags' dream alive. The Kings' Cam Fletcher - on the cusp of his T20 career best with 72 off just 42 balls - had been run out by a millimetre after his partner had slipped over at the other end.

The Kings' hearts would have been in their mouths as Henry Shipley strode out to join Henry - himself fresh at the crease after their kingpin Daryl Mitchell had been caught off Blair Tickner near the end of the 19th.

Thriller? 100 per cent, with Stags supporters hoping desperately for the side to get through to their fourth Grand Final in three years.

Captain Tom Bruce had won the toss and batted on an overcast morning, but the team that had been all over the Kings all season lost three early wickets inside the first six overs, including Ross Taylor for a two-ball duck as his Outer Oval hoodoo continued.

An Ed Nuttall bouncer had had one of this year's league;'s best batsmen, George Worker walking back in just the second over after he squirted a catch to Chad Bowes at point.

Will Young found himself needing to steady the ship early while the red and black tails were up and wagging.

Young would be the key to the Stags posting a defendable tally with a smashing maiden T20 century.

His maiden T20 century - 101 off just 47 balls, peppered with 10 sixes - classy sixes - and just one boundary for good measure, was an outstanding performance, under pressure to hold up his team. Coincidentally his previous best had been 96 at this same Outer Oval.

He dominated the Stags' scorecard, stringing together middling partnerships with the rest of order before he was finally run out off the last ball of the innings: textbook work.

It was just the sixth T20 century in the Stags' history, but even a total of 180 for seven at this ground is no guarantee of the desired result, and what difference 10 or 20 more runs from the rest of his team might have made.

TOM BRUCE GAVE YOUNG SUPPORT | PHOTOSPORT

The Kings bowled well. Dependable Henry opened tightly, then spinners Todd Astle and Cole McConchie did their job after coming on in the seventh.

The Kings' player of the summer, Daryl Mitchell had just picked up two wickets in three balls, Taylor and Dane Cleaver both caught as they put the squeeze on.

Young was patient, and picked his sixes - putting Nuttall back over his head for a 24-ball 50, en route to his hundred raised off Mitchell's last over.

The Stags then made an even better start with the ball themselves, with a tight runout of Bowes by Tom Bruce coming off Doug Bracewell's opening over, then Blair Tickner striking in his first over, Tickner sitting on 7/1 after his first two-over spell.

 

However, Tickner would also split the webbing in his fingers while fielding, and when he returned for the 15th he had lost his fine line, blowing out for 14 runs and then, 18 off the 19th as Fletcher belted him for two crucial sixes to ease the Kings' equation in a close chase.

It was a gutting finish for the league's top wicket-taker of the season, but Mitchell and Fletcher were meanwhile calmy doing the business with a 132-run stand for the fifth wicket - a national and Canterbury record that transformed the chase and changed which way the game was headed.

Solid this summer, the Stags all had their moments, Ajaz Patel having struck with just his second delivery to remove Leo Carter for a golden duck.

McConchie went cheaply to Joey Field, who ended the game retaining his rank as the Super Smash's best catcher, with 12 from 11 games in his first season.

But their were also horror moments, just not Taylor's day as he dropped a Mitchell sitter on the first ball of the 19th over, when 23 runs were still needed. Taylor redeemed himself just four balls later, but a further 12 runs had meanwhile rubbed salt in the wound, and gave the Kings the boost they needed in the charge to finish line.

So it was a close second for the Stags, who finish the season with the bronze while the Kings will look to go on to their first title since 2005/06. But Young was just - magnificent.

 

SCORES

2020/21 STATCHAT

JOEY FIELD - 12 CATCHES, #1 IN THE LEAGUE

TOM BRUCE - 7 CATCHES, #4 IN THE LEAGUE

GEORGE WORKER - 424 RUNS, #2 IN THE LEAGUE

WILL YOUNG - 297 RUNS, #5 IN THE LEAGUE

GEORGE WORKER - 106 HIGH SCORE, #1 IN THE LEAGUE

WILL YOUNG - 101 HIGH SCORE, #3 IN THE LEAGUE

JOSH CLARKSON - 280 RUNS, #9 IN THE LEAGUE

BLAIR TICKNER - 17 WICKETS, #1 IN THE LEAGUE

JOEY FIELD, DOUG BRACEWELL - 10 WICKETS, =#6 IN THE LEAGUE

WILL YOUNG - 21 SIXES, #2 IN THE LEAGUE

GEORGE WORKER - 16 SIXES, #4 IN THE LEAGUE

JOSH CLARKSON - 14 SIXES, =#5 IN THE LEAGUE

DOUG BRACEWELL - 13 SIXES, #6 IN THE LEAGUE

ROSS TAYLOR - 11 SIXES, #7 IN THE LEAGUE

DOUG BRACEWELL - 181.30 SR BATTING, #4 IN THE LEAGUE

WILL YOUNG - 174.70 SR, #5 IN THE LEAGUE

ROSS TAYLOR - 164.47 SR, #8 IN THE LEAGUE

CHRISTIAN LEOPARD - ECONOMY RATE 4.00, #1 IN THE LEAGUE (1 OVER)

CHRISTIAN LEOPARD - BOWLING AVERAGE 2.00, #1 IN THE LEAGUE (1 OVER, 2 WICKETS)

JAYDEN LENNOX ECONOMY RATE 5.46, #2 IN THE LEAGUE

JAYDEN LENNOX BOWLING AVERAGE 13.66, #6 IN THE LEAGUE

Article added: Thursday 11 February 2021