Ben Gardner

You’ve got one of the best players to have ever played the game, and you’ve had him on toast there.”
Much like the four-ball stretch to which it refers, Sam Billings’ summary of Saqib Mahmood to Kieron Pollard in the Hundred final is sharp, to the point, and inarguable. This was the passage in which the destination of the trophy was decided, and for skill and thrill, it was worthy of the occasion.
Four off the first ball of Mahmood’s penultimate set had reduced the equation to 49 needed off 29, with seven wickets in hand: in the balance, if not with Southern Brave slight favour...