VICTORY OFF LAST BALL

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30937, 18 December 1965, Page 17

VICTORY OFF LAST BALL

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) CANBERRA. In an exciting finish, the M.C.C. captain, M. J. K. Smith, hit a four off the last ball of the day to give the touring team victory over a Prime Minister’s XI in a one-day match at Canberra yesterday.

He scored 51 runs in 21 minutes to pull off a two-wicket win. Smith cover-drove J. Burke’s last delivery, the ball barely managing to reach the fence before being gathered in by the West Indian, W. W Hall. The Prime Minister’s XI. led by R. Benaud, had declared with 288 for seven, and a draw seemed inevitable when Smith joined P H. Parfitt. At that stage the M.C.C. needed 78 runs for victory, with only 21 minutes’ play remaining. The pair attempted to hit boundaries off almost every ball, and when Parfitt went. Smith and B. R. Knight maintained the scoring rate. Knight was caught attempting a big hit, and the former test left-hander; Burke, was

given the last over and dismissed both J. T. Murray and I. J. Jones for duct" with successive balls. J. D. F. Larter snatched a single to give his captain the strike and with three balls remaining the M.C.C. needed four runs to win the match. Smith could do nothing with the first two but on the last ball he bounced down the pitch to crack a cover drive past Hall. Scores: P.M.’s XI 288/7 dec. (P. Sheahan 79, P. Burke 60, R. Benaud 45: Jones 2/21), M.C.C. 289/8 (G. Boycott 95 M. C. Cowdrey 52, Smith 51 not out).