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Fly Emirates in Final

Led by an impressive effort of 41 by opener Mohammad Iqbal, Fly Emirates posted a total of 138-5 in their 20 overs. Guest player Shahid Afridi once again impressed with the bat, finishing the innings on 23 not out.

The Cape Cobras openers Omphile Ramela and Derek Brand wasted no time in getting to work, coming out with guns blazing.

They put together a partnership of 108 runs before Brand was bowled by Yasin Sikandar for 69 (11 fours and 1 six) – the highest individual score of the tournament so far. Once his partner Ramela left the field not long after (bowled by Khurram Khan for 27 with the score on 115), the runs dried up.

The remainder of the batsmen could only add a further 14 runs to the score, thanks to some fine bowling from Fly Emirates.

A maiden in the 18^th over, bowled by Fly Emirates captain Nigel Fernandes, with 19 needed was what ultimately led to the demise of the Cobras team, who eventually lost out by 9 runs.

Had they managed to reach a total of 135 runs, the Cape Cobras would have progressed to the final on net run rate, but even that target was out of reach, giving Fly Emirates XI (a team made up of amateurs, apart from Afridi) plenty to celebrate.

“I was obviously happy with my performance but cricket is a team game and so this is very disappointing as it would have been nice to play in the final,” said Brand afterwards.

“To be honest, I have no idea what happened. We lost our way with taking singles and rotating the strike.

“The guys started going for big shots that probably weren’t on. We needed a run a ball but we couldn’t manage that. And Emirates bowled really well.

“They played very well. The two left arm spinners were the hardest to get away, apart from Shahid. But they stuck to their guns.

“They knew what their game plan was and they carried it through so well done to them,” added Brand. Fly Emirates will now face Sussex in the final of the tournament.

Earlier, The Sussex Sharks cemented their place in final with a comfortable 34-run victory over Surrey in the first match of the day.

Sussex got off to a speedy start after winning the toss and electing to bat, notching up 62 runs by the 10^th over. Joe Gatting smashed 33 off 28 balls before being caught by Tom Jewell off the bowling of an inspired Matthew Spriegel, who was instrumental in bringing about a premature end to the Sussex innings in 19 overs. Spriegel finished with figures of 4 for 12 off 3 overs.

With a target of 102 for victory it was only Surrey skipper Rory Hamilton Brown who had any great impact on the chase. He managed to put 27 runs on the board, including two fours and a six, before he was stumped by Sussex keeper Andrew Hodd, off William Beer. The wickets came thick and fast after that – Sussex’s Oliver Rayner doing much of the damage, taking an impressive 4 for 7, along with Beer who finished with 3 for 17. And ultimately Surrey fell well short, all out for 62 in the 16^th over.