THE GLORIOUS game of cricket has produced countless remarkable finishes for more than 100 years, but what unfolded at Kensington Oval in the wee hours of this morning has never ever been seen before.It was almost unbelievable – a match of unforgettable drama with plenty of twists and turns.Barbados won against Combined Campuses and Colleges in an extraordinary finish to their Caribbean Twenty20 contest that failed to produce a winner after two attempts and had to be decided by the team that struck the most sixes.In a match in which fortunes repeatedly shifted back and forth, the scores were tied after the initial 20 overs from either side – 180.Under tournament rules, it required a one-eliminator over, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, and that also yielded another tie in the most dramatic circumstances.Combined Campuses and Colleges appeared to be the overwhelming favourites with Barbados requiring seven runs from the last ball from fast bowler Gilford Moore.It was struck with plenty of power by Dwayne Smith but headed straight into the hands of Romel Currency just inside the deep backward square-leg boundary. Currency accepted the catch but couldn’t keep his balance and stumbled over the ropes.Initially there were celebrations among the Combined Campuses and Colleges players, but Currency, conscious of what he had done, stooped to the ground in disbelief before television replays confirmed it was a six.It meant that both teams had scored 16 from the Super Over that was supposed to decide the match and there was uncertainty over the outcome for the second time in 15 minutes before a check of the rules revealed that the team with the most sixes from the entire contest would be the winner.Barbados, by virtue of striking ten sixes, against Combined Campuses and College’s eight, were declared winners at 12:15 a.m.It was more than $10 worth of entertainment for a fair-sized crowd of 3 500 that would have enjoyed the compelling exchanges under the lights.For the Super Over, Barbados used pacer Kemar Roach, whose second ball was hooked over backward square by Floyd Reifer to set Combined Campuses and Colleges on the way.Barbados lost Dale Richards to the first ball of their response with a catch at long-on, but Smith raised hopes with a six over long-leg from the fourth ball before the final act.What transpired at the end made what took place earlier look like a distant memory.But it was only a few minutes earlier that we had another piece of drama at the end of Combined Campuses and College’s run chase of a challenging target of 181.It came down to the final over from left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn from which nine runs were needed. The momentum in a sixth-wicket partnership of 60 off 31 balls between Ryan Wiggins and Floyd Reifer appeared to give Combined Campuses and Colleges the advantage, but Benn kept things tight by limiting the batsmen to just four runs from five balls.Six were needed from the final ball that Reifer hit down to mid-wicket where Jonathan Carter, one of Barbados’ best fielders on the night, was unable to prevent a boundary despite a desperate dive.When Combined Campuses and Colleges started the last five overs needing to score at 12 an over to win, Barbados appeared to have the match wrapped up.It was due to a mean spell of off spin from debutant all-rounder Ashley Nurse, who stopped a devastating onslaught in which the opponents were threatening to make light work of a challenging target.Asked to score at nine runs an over, Combined Campuses and Colleges stunned Barbados with an assault at the start, galloping to 80 from 7.5 overs of bold hitting that was orchestrated by opener Miles Bascombe.Bascombe bludgeoned 48 off 29 balls with three sixes and five fours, and was especially severe on Smith who was lashed for 31 runs from two overs.It was clear that Barbados were in need of someone to apply the brakes, and Nurse responded to the challenge by hardly delivering a bad ball in four successive overs that yielded only 19 runs and included two wickets.Earlier, Barbados’ total of 180 for six was built around opener Kirk Edwards’ measured 45 off 36 balls and Carlo Morris’ belligerent unbeaten 42 off 21 balls at the death. It appeared to pave the way for a winning total.Barbados won in the end, but no one would have predicted how it finished.
