The Owaka Bandits are the South Otago premier T20 champions for the season.
The Bandits beat the Waihola Swans by six wickets at the Cosmic Bullring in Balclutha on Saturday in the main event of a successful Max’s Big Bash For Cash, which raised funds for 13-year-old Max Lindsay as he battles a rare form of cancer.
Owaka won the toss and asked Waihola to bat on a lightning-fast outfield, but it looked a poor call as Rowan Craw and Marc Kohey put on 73 for the Swans.
Kohey was dismissed for 43 off the bowling of Will Clark, and Craw and skipper Dylan Bungard added another 20 before Craw was caught off the bowling of Sam Bastin for 37.
Owaka took the pace off the ball through the middle stages of the innings and forced Waihola to try to muscle their way to the boundary, which worked a treat.
Some late hitting by Shannon Young (26 not out) took Waihola through to 145 for four from their 20 overs, a score some felt was 40 runs short given their extremely positive start.
Bastin was the pick of Owaka’s bowlers with three for 21 off four overs.
In reply, after an entertaining 20 minutes spent looking for a lost new ball, Owaka started in almost identical fashion; opening batters Jeremy Gray and Gordon Edwards put on 68 for the first wicket inside 11 overs.
Edwards raced to 40 before being caught on the long-on boundary by a jubilant Bungard.
Gray, in his 250th game for Owaka, brought up his half-century and was dismissed shortly after for 59, caught behind off the bowling of leading wicket-taker Kellan Crowie.
Owaka skipper Quentin Gare struck a nice cameo of 22 before being stumped off the bowling of Crowie.
The match came down to Owaka requiring 13 runs from the final two overs with Danny Simmonds and Bastin at the crease.
The two experienced campaigners saw their side home with five balls to spare, and the crowd of more than 200 stood to applaud what had been a fantastic spectacle.
Waihola looked to be in control of the second innings before a couple of expensive overs through the middle saw the match change in Owaka’s favour.
Extras proved to be crucial in creating momentum for the batting side and taking the foot off the throat for the bowling side.
Both sides fielded well and threw themselves around on what was a very impressive outfield.
The Owaka Bandits add the T20 trophy to their cupboard alongside last season’s 40-over trophy; their defence of that will kick into gear next weekend, with a couple of rounds scheduled to be played before the Christmas break.
— Francis Parker
