Captain Jackson Blair has clobbered a most irresistible century to steer Longford to its fifth straight TCL T20 title.
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While the Tigers have been left reeling for eight months from Hadspen ending their three-year Premier League reign, Blair's last-over 100 off 63 balls ensured his side got a measure of revenge for that first final loss since 2014-15.
It didn't quite match rival Thanuka Dabare's vivid 104 from 47 balls that locked up the Chieftains a first 40-over premiership after eight years, but the theatre of it probably exceeded that of the masterful Sri Lankan's knock.
Blair compiled 66 runs in only 12 balls of boundaries including nine sixes alone.
He also kept an acute eye on the electronic scoreboard at University Oval, counting right down to the third-last delivery before raising his bat for the first time at senior level.
"It just made it even more nerve-wracking," Blair said.
"It was actually a lot of relief to get some runs for the side though. Over the past couple of days, I have been a bit worried about an injury."
The 23-year-old cut up his hand leading into the clash, requiring three stitches that did not affect his batting grip.
Bringing up the milestone aided Longford to rack up a staggering 1-202 total.
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Greater Northern Raiders and Westbury import Jake Williams saved the best of his four TCL T20 games for the decider with 58 off 39 balls after Yeshan Wickramarachchi opened up with 34 off 21.
Both Dabare (19) and Dilan Jayalath (0) in response fell in consecutive deliveries and Hadspen could have been sinking to 3-19 after a dropped catch from Liam Reynolds's first ball denied Nasrullah Khan a hat-trick.
That didn't exactly stop the boundaries flowing every over as Beau Hills smashed a quickfire 31 that had the side defending more than 10 runs per over on the back foot.
"We got a little bit worried there throughout stages of their innings because they were tracking pretty well with the run rate," Blair said.
"It was a good job for our bowlers to pin them back and take those crucial wickets. So just to get those two Sri Lankans, who are a key part of their side, out pretty cheaply was really relieving."
Hadspen had slipped to 8-105, but resolute tailenders Campbell Fraser (45) and Nick Price (24) kept pressing ahead to finish with an unbroken 71-run stand amid a 27-run loss to Longford.
The match that totalled 376 runs was in stark contrast to two weeks earlier when the Tigers were bundled out for 83, but restricted the Chieftains to just 69 that altogether lasted nearly 37 overs.
The Premier League sides clash again on December 21.
"The feeling of being on the verge of five in a row really got us striving for it," Blair said. "To get it done is a relief and now we can focus on the 40-over stuff and regain that cup off Hadspen."
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