A match-winning half-century from Aaron Jones with valuable contributions from Steven Taylor and Jahmar Hamilton eclipsed a resilient knock by Faraz Ali as Atlanta Fire beat defending Champions Chicago Kingsmen to win the 2025 Minor League Cricket Trophy at the iconic Church Street Park in Morrisville, NC.
Hamilton and Jones added 39 off just 23 balls for the fifth wicket helping Atlanta Fire chase the target of 156 in 19.1 overs to lift their first Title in Minor League Cricket. Jones played an anchoring role under pressure, after Atlanta lost Sagar Patel and later Steven Taylor at crucial junctures of the game. However, veteran all-rounder Shakib-al Hasan and Hamilton complemented Jones well to ensure the scoreboard didn’t stop and Fire remained on top of the required run-rate in their chase. Jones remained unbeaten on 61 off 48 smashing 4 sixes and 2 fours in the process.
Earlier, Kingsmen skipper Sayed Saad Ali opted to bat first in the ultimate contest of the tournament. Shakib-al Hasan’s dismissal of Rameez Raja off the very first delivery in the innings was definitely not what the Kingsmen had in their power-play plans to say the least as it put brakes on the scoring and they could only manage 25 in the first six overs.
With the Fire bowlers keeping it tight, the Kingsmen needed an anchor knock to help them post a respectable total at the end. The knock came from the opener Faraz Ali who kept the scoreboard ticking despite tidy overs from the Fire bowlers. He got good help from allrounder Hassan Khan who played a handy cameo of 23 off 19 complementing Ali well in a 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket off just 35 deliveries that helped Kingsmen post a competitive 155/5 on board in the allotted 20 overs. Faraz Ali fell 8 runs short of a wonderful century as he remained unbeaten on 92 off 60 deliveries.
This is Atlanta’s maiden Minor League Cricket Title after missing out in the 2022 Final against Seattle Thunderbolts.
Match Summary
Atlanta Fire vs Chicago Kingsmen
Atlanta Fire beat Chicago Kingmsen by 5 wickets
CHK: 155/5 in 20 overs ( Faraz Ali 92*, Hassan Khan 23; J Drysdale 40/2, Steven Taylor 16/1)
ATF: 159/5 in 19.1 overs (Aaron Jones 61*, Steven Taylor 20, Jahmar Hamilton 17; Zia ul Haq 20/2)
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