Last Man Stands: Cairns’ growing sport

By Brad Sinclair

LAST Man Stands (LMS) is a two-hour, eight-a-side, T-20 cricket game for all abilities.

LMS started in South Africa and now has franchises worldwide. Founded in 2005, over 180,000 cricketers are playing globally.

LMS is played all year round, and in Cairns, Jaime Newfield heads up the franchise that plays out of Walker Park in Edmonton each Sunday.

Newfield said winter is the most popular season for the ever-growing sport.

“Winter has got steady growth; our first season, we started off with seven teams, then 10, and last winter saw 12 teams participate,” he said.

“I’m hoping we can have 16 teams this year, and the goal is to eventually have a Premier League and a second division.”

There are currently 300 players registered in Cairns, and the numbers keep increasing; however, many locals may not know the difference between LMS and T-20 Grade cricket.

“Overs consist of five balls rather than the traditional six; the rules are designed to ensure the game is fast-paced and exciting,” Newfield said.

“All eight players get to bat; hence the name Last Man Stands.

“The last man batting can only score two, four or six off any ball but may score 12 runs off the last ball of an inning if he clears the rope.”

The Cairns LMS franchise has now been running for two and a half years and has seen challenging times due to COVID; however, it has seen a steady recovery amassing 350 games.

The LMS website stores and displays all team and individual player profiles with their full career history. Every player receives an around-the-world batting, bowling and all-rounder ranking.

Every game is live-scored, and with the introduction of the new broadcast app in 2021, many games are live-streamed.

Regional, national, and global LMS events and tournaments are regular dates in the schedule, allowing teams and players to meet and participate.

This is where the technology and the online world of rankings meet the real world as those who qualify come together to compete in events such as the NQ Cup in early September, the Australian Championships, Super Series and World Cup.

Even with the popularity of the sport, Newfield said LMS had not been as well received by the Australian cricket authorities.

“Well, put it this way, England Cricket Board invest and promote us, New Zealand Cricket Board do the same, but Cricket Australia isn’t that interested,” he said.

One thing is for certain, Jaime Newfield is incredibly passionate about the concept and will continue to ensure the game in Cairns stays alive.

The magic of LMS is that it is a game for everyone, whether it be the aging cricketer that cannot devote the time to grade cricket any longer or the social guy that wants a bit of fun on a Sunday; one of the many reasons why Newfield loves the game.

When the games in Cairns are wrapped up on a Sunday afternoon, and the last ball has been bowled, Jaime Newfield is the last man standing.