Australian seam--bowling all-rounder Xavier Bartlett showed everyone that he can bat and rather decisively as he literally won a game on his own with his comparatively lesser-known skill in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC). After being powered by the top order in the first two games, the San Francisco Unicorns required the middle-order to put their hand up in a tricky 183-run chase against the MI New York, late Sunday night at the Oakland Coliseum.
At 108/6, having lost both the set batters Hassan Khan and Tim Seifert in quick succession, the Unicorns were in deep trouble and needed a special knock from someone and Bartlett provided that. The tall Aussie speedster, who made a difference with the ball earlier with the big wicket of Nicholas Pooran, smashed five sixes in his 25-ball blitz to take his side over the line in a thriller, rendering the New York outfit the second close loss.
Bartlett became the first player in MLC history to score a half-century batting at Number 8. While Saber Zakhil of Belgium holds the record for the highest individual score in T20 cricket at No 8, Bartlett, with a knock of 59* off just 25, found himself at No 12 on the list of batters with the highest strike rate in an innings in T20 cricket, scoring fifty or more. Bartlett smashing at 236, joined the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Andre Russell, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rashid Khan and Chris Jordan, who all played at a strike rate of in excess of 230 while smashing a half-century at No 8.
Seifert with a 33 at the top and Hassan Khan with a 17-ball 43 provided impetus to the innings but losing wickets regularly didn't help the Unicorns' cause. However, Bartlett and the likes of Corey Anderson and Haris Rauf with cameos helped the Unicorns get over the line and extended their reign at the top of the table. With this knock, Bartlett might have also shown his IPL franchise Punjab Kings, that he has more to him than just being a pacer in the powerplay.
The Unicorns will hope to continue their run in Dallas in a few days and MINY, on the other hand, will be searching for their first win as they take on the Seattle Orcas in their final encounter in Oakland.