British Army win Inter Services T20 with blistering counterattack to stun Royal Navy at Lord's
The British Army men's cricketers have won the Inter Services T20 championships in spectacular style as the competition went down to the wire at Lord's.
After the Royal Navy beat the RAF at Arundel in game one, defeat to the Royal Air Force by 33 runs in the second match left the Army needing to pull off a sensational victory to stand a chance of holding aloft the trophy based on net run rate.
Having won the toss, Navy skipper Finlay Marks opted to bat on a sun-drenched Home of Cricket in early season, and his men posted 144-4 in their 20 overs.
Starting strongly, they motored to 39 off the first five overs, before Sam Hewitt, struggling with his timing, was bowled by debutant Shevin George on 10 to leave the Navy 42-1 one ball shy of the end of the powerplay.
Former Navy captain Ben Johnston and Noah McLennan, in just his second match, steadied the ship before Johnston was out LBW for 46 to leave the score 86-2 after 12.4 overs.
The Army kept pegging their opponents back, and Edward Butler was dismissed for just 4, stumped by Sam Blackburn off the bowling of Denson Narayan with the score 95-3 after 15.4 overs.
The Army did not let the Senior Service exploit the short boundary, and they sat on 115-3 with two overs to spare.
Captain, Marine Finlay Marks pulled it back for his side, hitting 25 off 18 balls as the Navy finished 144 for 4.
Statisticians and scorers were hard at work at the interval, calculating the permutations for each team to emerge victorious at the end.
The Navy merely needed to defend their target, the Army needed to knock off the 144 runs in 14.1 runs or fewer, and the RAF needed the Army to win, but after the 14.1-over mark.
The Army quickly signalled their barnstorming intent, with the experienced Denzel James slamming 25 from the first over, including three sixes and a four.
James' innings continued in the same vein as his first over as he shovelled a six from his hips to reach 30, before he succumbed 10 short of a half-century – 40 from just 21 balls with the score on 77-2.
Despite the wicket, the Army did not lose their momentum, with Ollie Cross striking a maximum on his opening ball at the crease.
The Army stuttered halfway through their innings, as Major Ben Ringrose was run out for 3, Stavone Gabriel followed shortly after and Corporal Denson Narayan did not score, putting their chase in serious jeopardy at 96-6 off 10.4 overs.
Continuing his fine debut, George, who bowled well with 1 – 20, helped the Army roar back into contention as they scored at a rate of 10 runs an over.
The all-rounder struck six after six into the Grandstand, with 40 runs from just 14 balls, including the winning runs to spark jubilant celebrations from the Army, who secured victory with six overs spare on St George's Day.
RAF beat Army
The Royal Air Force, punctured by a 15-run defeat to the Royal Navy in Arundel in game one, earlier in the week, were much sharper in the field and showed real intent with the bat.
In bright sunshine after lunch at Lord’s, with a considerable crowd in the stands, Army skipper Liam Fletcher won the toss and inserted the light blues.
Jake Benson’s offspin undid RAF opener Sam Moorby, who chipped it back for a caught-and-bowled, making 3 with the score on 14-1 after 1.5 overs.
It brought RAF captain Adam Fisher to the crease, joining fellow star batsman Tom Shorthouse, and they put on 115 together in 12.3 overs, before Shorthouse was bowled off the left-arm spin of experienced campaigner Ross Dearden, scoring 51 from 47 balls and the score on 129-2 after 14.2 overs.
Fisher, leading from the front, went on to make 88 from 49 balls – a knock that included 8 fours and 3 sixes.
The RAF posted 188-6 in their 20 overs, and immediately put the pressure on the Army batsmen, who laboured their way to 29-2 by the end of the powerplay, with Jon Hawk and Tom Shorthouse seeing off Denzel James and Keddy Lesporis respectively.
Soon after, they were 37-3, but captain Liam Fletcher (with 37 from 33 balls) and middle-order batsman Ben Ringrose (40 from 30), as well as a cameo 25 not out from Oliver Cross, rallied to try and reach the RAF's target.
With the ball and in the field, however, the RAF kept a stranglehold on the red shirts, particularly through spin, with Jack Fuller finishing with figures of 3 for 28 off his four overs and Tom Shorthouse with 2 for 25 from his 4, and the light blues won by 33 runs.
Royal Navy beat RAF at Arundel
The Royal Navy men's cricketers put themselves in a strong position for the Inter Services Championship title with a 15-run victory over defending champions, the Royal Air Force, in the first game in Arundel.
Former skipper Ben Johnston led the way with 83 from 47 balls, to propel his side to 152-4, before the Navy bowlers restricted the Air Force to 137-9.
Click here for the match report.
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