On this day: New South Wales win the first-ever Champions League T20
Cricket is known to give many fond memories for the fans to cherish. One such memory was made on this day all the way back in 2009, when the Australian T20 team, the New South Wales Blues, was crowned the champions of the now-defunct T20 tournament, the Champions League T20.
New South Wales started their campaign that season on a solid note and looked to be in great touch right from the start. They played against the Diamond Eagles from South Africa in their first match, which they won by a margin of 53 runs. Another comfortable win followed in the match against the Sussex Sharks from England, where the New South Wales Blues won by 35 runs. They finished the group stage, placed at the top of Group B, with two wins to their name in 2 matches and a net run rate of 2.200.
Following that, the team progressed into the league stage and were placed in League A. They played their first match against Trinidad and Tobago. T&T cruised past the NSW Blues, winning the match with four wickets in their hand. But, the team made a strong comeback in the very next game, in which they defeated the English team, the Somerset Sabres, by six wickets. The NSW Blues finished that stage, placed at the second spot, and went into the semis.
A tough challenge awaited them in the Semi-finals, where they were pitted against the Victoria Bushrangers, a team that had done equally well in the past. But, in the end, the NSW Blues managed a comfortable win and progressed through to the finals.
The Memorable Day for NSW
In the Finals, they found themselves playing against Trinidad and Tobago, a team that had already defeated them in the Group stage. The NSW Blues seemed to have come in with a solid grit in their minds, as they literally cruised past the Trinidad and Tobago team to a victory. Owing to Brett Lee’s heroics with the bat, the NSW Blues, who were batting first, set a total of 159 for the T&T to chase.
Stuart Clark ripped the T&T batting order apart in the second innings, taking three wickets in 3.5 overs while giving away just 21 runs. T&T’s inning ended with the team being able to post only 118 runs on the board in 15.5 overs. And, the New South Wales Blues won the match and the tournament. Brett Lee won the Man of the Match and also the Player of the Series award.
The New South Wales Blues got their name etched into the record books. They had become the Champions of the Champions and were crowned the winners of the inaugural season of the Champions League T20.
