From four wickets in an over, to another unbeaten century – here's how Pirates stormed through to Friday’s Disability Premier League (DPL) final against the Tridents.
Pirates (57/2) beat Black Cats (46/5) by 11 runs.
The morning’s rain-affected fixtures at Loughborough were reduced to five overs a side. Pirates, opting to bat first, posted 57 with their opener Brendon Parr staying true to form and top-scoring with 28*. The Black Cats top order fell quickly when Pirates captain Anthony Clapham took the ball, as he took four wickets in one over.
Tridents (32/3) beat Hawkes (31/8) by 7 wickets.
Another five-overs-a-side affair saw Tridents emerge victorious over previous title-holders Hawks. George Greenway top-scored with 16 from 12 balls as the rest of his side struggled to get more than 11 runs on the board between them. Trident’s Luke James (15) and Chris Edwards (7) saw their team to victory and one step closer to securing their spot in the final, seven wickets in hand.
Black Cats (162/4) beat Hawks (160/7) by 6 wickets.
The rain now clear, Hawks had a stronger start to their afternoon as England Men’s Physical Disability captain Callum Flynn reached a speedy 57 with four fours and four sixes. It was Black Cats' Gregor McKenzie who put a stop to the destruction as Flynn was caught out on the boundary, limiting the opposition to 160.
Continuing his ultimately match-winning performance, McKenzie opened the batting and reached a speedy 63 featuring seven fours and three magnificent sixes. Supported by the rest of his side, notably Joe Freestone’s 49* and Jonny Gale’s 17*, the Black Cats soared to victory with six wickets in hand.
Pirates (179/3) beat Tridents (119ao) by 60 runs.
Another win at the toss meant Pirates opened their afternoon fixture with a mighty 103* from top-scorer in the DPL this year, Brendon Parr - who was supported ably by his captain Anthony Clapham (52)
Tridents had little response until Ben Sutton was able to break the partnership in the final over of the innings.
Tridents' opening batters failed to settle in, and it was Joe Moss who starred in the second half of the fixture grabbing three wickets for just 14 runs from his three overs.
With help from Freddie Bridges (2-27) and Jal Charan (2-20), the Tridents bowling attack proved too strong, bowling their opposition out 60 runs short of the target.
Speaking on the Pirates terrific run in the competition so far, captain Anthony Clapham said: “Going into the final we are feeling good! Having been pretty dominant throughout the group stages we are heading into the last game in the best position possible both mentally and physically.
“What’s been great about this year is our whole squad has contributed in one way or another. Whether it’s Jordan Williams 40 off 20 balls vs the Hawks; Tom Meskell's superb death bowling skills; Alex Jervis' new-ball bowling or Jai Charan taking two unbelievable diving catches. Everybody has taken their chance when called upon, which will make selecting our final 11 extremely difficult.
“Although we’re in a good position, we know in T20 cricket anything can happen. It only takes one player to have a good day who can win you the game. Looking back at last year it was Callum Flynn who scored 80 out of the 130 in the final so sometimes it does just take one stand-out performer. Fingers crossed that’ll be us this year!
“I just want our focus to be on enjoying the day and doing what we’ve done best all summer, playing as a team.”