Smith, Ponting denied American title after epic final

An Australian-heavy Washington Freedom outfit were beaten in a thriller at the former home of the baseball team that inspired Moneyball

Sunil Narine’s genius, and perhaps the Bay Area’s notorious winds, conspired to dent Steve Smith’s pioneering push to lead his American team to a second Major League Cricket title on Sunday (Saturday evening local time).

Playing at Oakland Coliseum, the former baseball stadium that birthed Moneyball, a Washington Freedom side stacked with Australians were confounded by Narine’s finger spin that delivered the Los Angeles Knight Riders their first MLC crown after a thrilling one-run win.

Smith and coach Ricky Ponting combined for the 2024 trophy for the Cricket NSW-aligned Washington team, but the pair of legendary batters were left ashen-faced after their side lost in an epic decider on the last ball, perhaps rueing leaving out Glenn Maxwell in a late selection twist.

The Freedom might have benefited from the late composure of Maxwell, admittedly averaging under 10 for the tournament, in a stuttering run chase that required veteran Obus Pienaar to hit his maiden T20 half-century to take the match into a final over.  

But USA quick Shadley van Schalkwyk, defending 14, clean bowled Pienaar after being hit for six first ball and then held his nerve again on the last delivery with Washington’s tail-enders only able to manage one run when three were needed for victory.

It came after player of the tournament Narine (one of four West Indians representing the Dwayne Bravo-coached LA side) had dismissed the Antipodean trio of Mitch Owen, Rachin Ravindra and then Smith all for single digits inside the Powerplay.

“We thought it was gettable,” sometime New York resident Smith said of the 164 made by LA after he inserted them at the toss. “I thought our guys pulled it back really well.

“But three wickets in the Powerplay always hurts. ‘Sunny’ (Narine) is obviously a world-class bowler and he was hard to get away.

“I’m proud of the way the boys fought. To get as close as we did hurts probably even more. But the guys showed great character and fight to get to where we got to.”

On the eve of the football World Cup’s own climax in New Jersey, it was an epic finale for the USA league’s biggest crowd (10,200) at the retro-fitted stadium – one that now faces an uncertain future amid its mooted A$179m (USD $125m) sale to a local sports and entertainment group.

Plagued by “sewage leaks, feral cats (and) possums” according to the San Francisco Herald, the Bay Area ballpark’s unusual dimensions made it the highest scoring venue in T20 history coming into the final (minimum 10 games, per CricViz).

Indeed, one of the Coliseum’s quirks undid Smith as the cool breeze blowing in off San Francisco Bay and the afternoon sun turned a routine high catch off Andre Fletcher into a nightmare for one of world cricket’s most reliable fielders.

It was not an unfamiliar sight; baseball outfielders equipped with gloves had occasionally looked equally confounded when winds took hold of fly balls before the Oakland Athletics – once ran by Billy Beane, the inspiration for the Moneyball book and film – ceased playing Major League games at the dilapidated venue in 2024.

Smith’s dropped catch allowed LA to post 54 off their Powerplay, a crucial head start on a deteriorating drop-in square hosting its fourth game in as many days. 

Thanks to two Nikhil Chaudhary wickets in three balls and a freak Ben Dwarshuis catch, the Freedom nonetheless restricted their opponents to the lowest score of the playoffs.

The famed problem-solving capabilities of Smith, returning to the venue where he scored his fastest ever century earlier this week, loomed large in his final match before resuming Test duties next month against Bangladesh in Darwin.

Yet Narine’s early breakthroughs, including bowling Smith for 8 from around the wicket, proved an insurmountable handicap as LA skipper Jason Holder gambled on using his spin wizard for three Powerplay overs.

A 65-run stand between Andries Gous and Chaudhary brought Washington back into calculations. Pienaar expertly tucked into LA’s lesser lights to clear the fence four times but van Schalkwyk trumped him in a clutch final over.