Tim Southee's Vancouver Knights win inaugural T20 comp in Canada

Northland and Black Caps fast bowler Tim Southee in action for the Vancouver Knights as they won the final of the inaugural Global T20 Canada tournament yesterday.

It was a ground-breaking event and although he didn't take a wicket in the final, Northland and Black Caps fast bowler Tim Southee has seen his Vancouver Knights take out the final of the Global T20 Canada cricket tournament.

The Knights, captained by West Indies great Chris Gayle, beat the West Indies B side in the final of the competition yesterday morning (NZ time) by seven wickets.

Saad Bin Zafar hit an unbeaten 79 to help the Knights clinch the inaugural title

Vancouver reached 148-3 with 15 balls to spare in reply to West Indies B's 145 all out in 17.4 overs

Southee finished the match with a handy 0 for 17 from his overs with some tight bowling, giving away only two fours and one 6. While he didn't take any wickets in the final, his contribution throughout the tournament has been crucial, with some valuable wickets taken at key times.

Northland and Black Caps fast bowler Tim Southee in action for the Vancouver Knights as they won the final of the inaugural Global T20 Canada tournament yesterday.

Zafar plundered eight boundaries and three sixes in his match-winning 48-ball innings. Zafar and Rassie van der Dussen came together with Vancouver in trouble at 22-3, and with Gayle already back in the pavilion for just 2.

Zafar and van der Dussen advanced Vancouver to 100-3 in 13.1 overs with the run-rate down to one-a-ball, and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 126. Van der Dussen hit the winning boundary to finish 44 not out off 41 balls.

Zafar hit 14 runs — a six and two fours — off the last three balls of the 11th over by Sherfane Rutherford — and a further two boundaries against Derval Green (2-20) in the next over as the run chase began to look comfortable.

Earlier, West Indies B struggled with the bat after losing the toss in the last game of the six-team competition. Allrounder Fabian Allen provided the only serious resistance with a 23-ball 41, including three fours and three sixes.

Jamaica-born Sheldon Cottrell took 4-29 for Vancouver and leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed 3-24.

The tournament in Canada bought together some of the most exciting players in the T20 format, the quickest version of international cricket.

The drawcards included Australians Steve Smith and David Warner, who are serving 12-month bans from international cricket imposed by their national association for their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March.

There were six teams competing - Vancouver and Toronto, with Cricket West Indies B, Edmonton Royals, Montreal Tigers and Winnipeg Hawks.