Start the Falcon!

Cricket from out of this world was the tagline for the new-look inter-planetary t20 competition and some of the cricket played was well worth its place in a galaxy far, far away. The tournament has been re-jigged over the years with the first three editions not going down very well with several purists.

This time, things were different and in the end it was the Endor Rebels who won the title after chasing down 185 to beat Galactic Empire in a thrilling final. The Rebels seemed to have an answer to everything thrown at them. Han Solo rarely failed but when he did, someone would always step up to the plate. This was perhaps most notable in the semi final where Chewbacca bludgeoned his way to 79 off just 27 balls. It was a brutal onslaught that saw him hit 32 off one over!

The Rebels were largely thankful to Han Solo, who’s 718 runs came at a swashbuckling strike rate of 174.37 and included a breathtaking 133 off 61 balls against the Tatooine Bounty Hunters. He missed out by inches on becoming the first player to hit a ball into the Mighty Sarlaac. Not bad for an ex-smuggler! The Rebels were also well led by Admiral Ackbar who set several clever traps to dismiss key opposition batsmen throughout the tournament. The brother/sister opening bowlers of Luke and Leia Skywalker bowled to these traps on their way to an impressive 47 wickets between them.

Solo’s old foe Boba Fett had a solid year behind the stumps for the Bounty Hunters, however, team owner Jabba the Hutt was not impressed with his soft dismissal in the semi final and threw him into the Great Pit of Carkoon. Rumours have been going around that he may still play in next year’s competition.

Galactic Empire should be rather satisfied with getting to the final. Before Alderaan, set to be led by Bail Organa, pulled out for unknown reasons (the Emperor is rumoured to have had something to do with it) they didn’t have a berth in the tournament. Darth Vader did little to repress the notion he’s too “old school” for the short format. His innings’ were usually characterised by a solid back foot punch through the covers. His runs did come at a strike rate over 140, although only 27 of his 495 runs came through the leg side.

The Jedi Knights were a major disappointment. Crushed by the Empire in their first home game, things didn’t improve and they went on to lose all of their remaining games. “Improve on this next season we must” was the verdict of coach Yoda. The Knights particularly suffered when Obi Wan Kenobi was banned from bowling his doosra amidst claims he was using a Jedi mind trick in his delivery stride. He was never seen again after the away game against the Galactic Empire.