Short’s century goes to waste as Freedom march to another MLC final

Washington Freedom are heading to the MLC final for the 3rd year in a row, despite a brilliant 121* from Short.

Short smashed an unbeaten 121 and carried his team’s innings. But it wasn’t enough to get over the line. Freedom get the job done Washington Freedom held their nerve and won the match, booking their spot in yet another MLC final. This is three straight MLC finals for Washington Freedom. They remain the team to beat in the league. A masterclass from Short went in vain. Washington Freedom’s consistency sees them through to another shot at the MLC title.

Unicorns came very close to chasing down the massive target as they needed 22 from the last over, which Short began with a six and a four against Mitchell Owen. But with 12 to get from four, Owen fought back with a couple of yorkers and conceded only four runs off his last four balls to seal the game.

In a high-scoring knockout in Oakland, Washington Freedom posted a strong total despite losing early wickets. 469 runs came in just 40 overs.

Explosive powerplay

Owen 42 off 19 and Steven Smith 43 off 20 put on 83 in the powerplay. But both fell within six balls of each other. Gous takes over Andries Gous 73 off 40 steadied and accelerated the innings. He hit 8 fours and 3 sixes and anchored the middle overs. Gous added brisk 50+ stands with Rachin Ravindra and Nikhil Chaudhary. Glenn Maxwell made 13 off 10 in between.

In response, Short walked in at No. 3 for Unicorns to single-handedly keep them in contention. He struck 11 fours and eight sixes, but kept losing wickets around him. With five overs to go and 79 runs still needed, Short and No. 8 Xavier Bartlett gave Freedom a scare by taking 17, 14 and 19 runs over the next three overs that brought it down to 29 to get from 12, but Saurabh Netravalkar conceded just seven runs in the 19th over to stall Unicorns' momentum.

Washington Freedom 238 for 6 (Gous 73, Smith 43, Owen 42, Bartlett 3-36) beat San Francisco Unicorns 231 for 6 (Short 121*, Dwarshuis 2-44) by seven runs