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The Last Man Stands (LMS) T20 cricket competition has returned to Port Macquarie for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and regional manager Alex Vallentine says "it's great to have it back".
"Now that the weather has eased, we are really enjoying the competition and seeing it grow in the community," he said.
LMS is a two hour, eight-a-side, T20 cricket game for all abilities. It is played in cricket grounds globally and is the world's largest and widest-reaching amateur cricket league.
Founded in 2005, the competition reaches more than 180,000 players with franchise operations established around the world.
LMS was first played in Port Macquarie in 2017, with the competition growing in popularity throughout the years.
After a two-year pause, Vallentine has been keen to get the competition running again in Port Macquarie.
"It was just starting to really hit its straps here and then COVID-19 killed it, so it's great to have it back," he said.
"We really want to use this first season as a platform where we can grow in numbers for our 12-week season post Christmas and for our winter competition."
The competition is currently midway through their 10-round season, with Port Greens sitting on top of the table with 32 points, followed by Wild Aces (20), LLC (16), and Willow Warriors (12).
"Now that we are a few weeks in, everyone is back into the swing of things and they're really loving this fast format of the game," Vallentine said.
As the four teams prepare to battle it out for a spot in the grand final in the backend of the season, Vallentine hopes the competition will provide a good platform for the teams to grow in numbers after Christmas.
"The next competition will start mid-January and from there we are really looking to build in team numbers and grow when we head into a winter competition."
"The beauty of this cricket format is that it only gets bigger during the winter competition because all the club level cricketers become available after their summer season wraps up."
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