MLC: Mitchell Owen shines as Washington Freedom beat San Francisco Unicorns by 12 runs

Dallas [US] June 29 (ANI): Mitchell Owen might be second on the run-scorers leaderboard behind Finn Allen, but it was his match-altering five-wicket haul that stunned the formidable San Francisco Unicorns, who collapsed dramatically from 97/2 to ending up on 157/9, suffering in their first loss in the third season of the Cognizant Major League Cricket (MLC) against Washington Freedom.

As Unicorns' skipper Matthew Short continued his dream run-flow, smashing his fourth consecutive half-century at Grand Prairie, Maxwell brought Owen in the 11th over, hoping to restrict the assault, the MLC said on its website.

Owen, using his pace variation, did not disappoint as he got the important wicket, tempting the in-form Short to heave it into the air, ultimately landing in Jack Edwards' safe hands.

Short's prize wicket opened a line of opportunity for the Freedom, whose target of 170 seemed below par in contrast to the recent run-heavy totals at Grand Prairie.

Owen followed through on his successful first bout with a double-wicket second over, accounting for Hassan Khan and Romario Shepherd off successive deliveries to tilt the odds heavily in Freedom's favour.

After Ian Holland sent the only remaining set batter, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, back to the dressing room, Owen came back with another double-strike over to complete a match-changing five-wicket haul -- the third for any bowler in MLC history.

While Washington Freedom secured the Playoffs spot courtesy of Owen's heroics with the ball, it couldn't have been further from probable at the first hour of the match.

Xavier Bartlett's spellbinding opening bout dealt heavy blows to the Freedom, sending their top three back to the hut with only 13 runs on the board by the third over. Haris Rauf added one more -- the cherished wicket of Glenn Maxwell -- to his tally at the top of the bowling leaderboard, leaving Freedom in tatters at 30/4 in the fifth over.

With the top order gone, Glenn Phillips and Jack Edwards had a lot of time at their disposal to assess the pitch and rebuild the innings.

Their match-saving alliance yielded crucial 71 runs before Bartlett returned to account for Edwards in his final over. Phillips' 58 off 39 was aided by quick cameos from Obus Pienaar (30* off 12) and Mukhtar Ahmed (17* off 9) in the end, as Washington Freedom ended on a relatively sub-par but respectable total of 169/6.

Mitchell Owen, whose turnaround spell propelled his team to the Playoffs, was declared the Player of the Match.

Concluding a successful stint at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, both teams will head to Broward County Stadium, Florida, where San Francisco Unicorns face Seattle Orcas on Tuesday, while Washington Freedom will be head-to-head against Texas Super Kings on Wednesday in their 8th game.

Match Summary: Washington Freedom beat San Francisco Unicorns by 12 runs

WSF: 169/6 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 58, Jack Edwards 42, Obus Pienaar 30*; Xavier Bartlett 32/4, Romario Shepherd 28/1)

SFU: 157/9 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 67, Jahmar Hamilton 31*, Sanjay Krishnamurthi 24; Mitchell Owen 17/5, Ian Holland 23/1, Amila Aponso 23/1). (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)