Daniel Caplan produced a stunning rearguard innings to propel London Maccabi Vale 2nds into final of the Maccabi National Knockout Cup Final following a nervy London derby.
Caplan hit 61 to help his side record a three wicket win over MAL at Old Camdeniens with team-mate Andrew Greenwall Cohen scoring an unbeaten 41 as the pair recorded an unbroken stand of 86.
Chasing 154 for victory, Vale looked comfortable at 12 without loss before a shocking collapse saw them slump to 36-6.
At 68-7, it was Caplan who took the game away from MAL as his partnership with Greenwall Cohen gave captain Jonathan Lederman the perfect climax to a thrilling encounter.
"We lost concentration at the end of the MAL innings which left us chasing a bigger total than we would have liked on a difficult wicket,” said Lederman.
“We should never have got ourselves into the position we did chasing 154.
“Well done to Daniel and Andrew, they really got their heads down and concentrated hard, ignoring everything else going on around them.
“We now look forward to the final with Belmont and Edgware on September 5th."
With both sides missing several key players, due to holidays and other commitments, this was always likely to be a closely fought contest.
But MAL skipper Mark Landau was left to count the cost of his big-name players with several stars missing the game due to holiday.
“We had a weaker side out and so we were pretty pleased with the effort,” he said.
“Perhaps we just didn’t have the extra power to trouble them and that cost us but it was a very close game played in a great spirit.
“It was a green top and it was moving a lot and it swinging about a bit and we just didn’t have enough with the ball to do the damage.
“I think the final will be tight and it might be too hard to call.”
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