Salford Blue Jays CC have entered the Manchester League of the World Wide Cricket Franchise, Last Man Stands, and will compete in the Manchester leg of the tournament from next month. This will be in addition to continuing to compete on Sundays in the Greater Manchester Amateur Cricket League.
The format of Last Man Stands is a traditional T20 game with a few key differences. Entertainment is key in the batting department in the eight-a-side game. One feature is for a team to be entirely 'out', every batsman must be legitimately out. Therefore, there is a situation where the last batsman will bat alone and thus be the Last Man Standing.
Further rules to heighten the entertainment are the introduction of enforced aggressive fields and the tempting bonus of gaining 12 runs if the last ball of the innings is hit for a 6.
Salford’s T20 captain Ross Bloomberg commented: "This is a wonderful opportunity to squeeze in a fun, midweek evening of cricket.
"With games lasting a little over two hours in this format, we can offer the opportunity to play to players who may feel they haven’t got time to play Sunday cricket on a regular basis."
Salford have been taking intensive net sessions since the New Year to prepare for the season and the added midweek tournament commitments.
Ross said: "We feel we can be competitive in both the Sunday and midweek leagues. We have some really powerful players who are looking in good form so far."
It is hoped that star batters such as Josh Henry, Daniel Bourke and Kaushal Keraminiyage can contribute heavily in the runs column, adding to the experience of Josh Dansky and club chairman Jonny Wineberg.
The first midweek game is due to take place on April 26.
Salford train on Wednesday at 9pm. Anyone who is interested in joining should email salfordbluejays@gmail.com for details on what is ensured to be an exciting season for the Blue Jays.
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