Lee powers NSW to CLT20 title

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: October 24, 2009

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Hyderabad: “Cometh the hour, Cometh the man!” Brett Lee came to the party when the New South Wales Blues needed him the most, putting in an outstanding all-round performance and guiding the Blues to the title of the inaugural Champions League T20 champions with a convincing 41-run victory over the Caribbean team of Trinidad and Tobago and with it hitting the jackpot of US$ 2.5 million for his club.

In the title showdown featuring top two teams of the tournament, it was a battle between the Caribbean flair and Australian professionalism and in the end, NSW had the last laugh with Brett Lee as their star performer. But a 41-run victory margin doesn’t mean that it was a one-sided match. In fact T&T dominated the proceedings, initially reducing NSW to 83 for 6, before Lee’s fighting innings lifted his side to a competitive total. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, jolting T&T’s chase with two early wickets.

The match was won and lost in ten overs — the last five of the NSW innings and the first five of T&T’s — and it was Lee who imposed himself on the game-breaking moments.

Put into bat, NSW never really got going, with Ravi Rampaul (3/20) and Dwayne Bravo (2/27) polishing the top order before some poor shot selections did the middle order in. David Warner and Phil Hughes have been key to New South Wales’ success in the tournament so far but the left-handed opening pair, for once, gave in to the big match pressure.

Rampaul cleaned up Hughes (3) with the first delivery of his second over and then Bravo, with the help of a flying Dave Mohammad, cut short Warner’s (19) stay just when the burly left-hander had started looking his menacing self.

Simon Katich (16) decided to punish Bravo, hitting him for two sixes — one miscued shot soared over long-on ropes and another effortless pull cleared fine leg — in the same over before the pacer returned to settle the score. Three balls later, Moises Henriques (4) joined his captain in the pavilion, holing out in the deep off Kieron Pollard, and NSW were clearly in a hole at 49 for four.

Dave Mohammad removed Ben Rohrer (16) with his first delivery and Rampaul returned to disturb Daniel Smith’s timbers in the next over before Lee joined Smith in the middle.

At 83 for 6 in the 12th over, NSW found a messiah in Brett Lee, whose 31-ball 48 along with Steven Smith’s 33, guided the Blues past the 150 runs mark. Lee seemed unstoppable, hitting the Caribbean bowlers all around the park in his knock of 48 which included one boundary and five huge sixes. Steven Smith gave Lee able support scoring 33 off 26 balls as the two lower order batsmen added 49 off just 37 balls before Smith was undone by Sherwin Ganga.

NSW ended with a competitive total of 159 for 9 off their 20 overs, with Ravi Rampaul being the pick of the bowlers for T&T, finishing with figures of 3 for 20 off 4 overs.

After his batting heroics, Lee (2/10) was in the thick of action again, claiming two quick wickets to reduce T&T to 21 for three in the first 14 balls of the innings. Lee’s second delivery saw the stumps of Wiliam Perkins (0) being rattled and the fastest bowler in the world returned to catch Lendl Simmons off his own bowling in the next over.

In between, Adrian Barath hit Steve Smith’s first three balls for successive fours, following it with a six before returning caught behind off the last delivery. The crisis deepened for the T&T as Dwayne Bravo (17), captain Darren Ganga (19) and Denesh Ramadin (16) fell when the team needed them the most.

Throughout this tournament, Pollard has batted like Lance Klusener did in the 1999 World Cup. No target seemed out of reach for him. In the league game against the same opposition, he had come in with the game almost lost and smashed a 18-ball 54 to win the game for his team. Just like Klusener, he showed tremendous composure — starting his innings calmly, dealing in singles, before he unleashed his own brand of razzmatazz. He hit Bollinger for a huge six off a free hit and then went after Nathan Hauritz. But he went for one big shot too many off Hauritz, as this time he couldn’t clear the boundary, and who else but Lee, at long-on took a brilliant catch. With Pollard’s exit, Trinidad’s dream run came to a crushing halt, and they had to settle for second prize – US$ 1.3 million.

T&T was eventually bowled out for 118 in the 16th over. Brett Lee finished with figures of 2 for 10, with Stuart Clarke picking up 3 for 21.

It was a perfect advertisement for the T20 version of the game with the match being a see-saw battle having several big moments — the nervy collapse of both top orders, Ravi Rampaul’s astute seam bowling, Steven Smith’s sensible support act and the threat posed by Kieron Pollard — but the one that had the biggest impact was Lee’s all-round contribution.

The Champions League Twenty20 promised to change the face of club cricket when it was announced. And now, when the inaugural edition is finished, we can say for sure that everything that they claimed was right! It was a terrific tournament where the best of cricketers competed to the fullest of their abilities. Never did one get the feeling that it wasn’t an international tournament. Brace yourself people, this is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this wonderful game.

Brief Scores:

New South Wales 159 for 9 (Lee 48, Rampaul 3-20) beat Trinidad & Tobago 118 (Clark 3-21, Lee 2-10) by 41 runs

Man of the Match: Brett Lee

Man of the Series: Brett Lee

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