T20 Blast 2018, Day 35: Round-up

The league stage of the Vitality T20 Blast has finally come to an end. The top four teams from each group will now clash against each other in the quarterfinals which begins on 23 August. From the North group, Worcestershire, Durham, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire have made it to the knockouts. It is Somerset, Sussex, Kent and Gloucestershire who got through in the South group.

A total of eight games were played on the last day of the league stages. However, the encounter between Durham and Derbyshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Worcestershire’s skipper Moeen Ali hit a brilliant century in the game against Warwickshire. Here is how things progressed on the day:

Sussex vs Middlesex – South Group

Sussex played this game in the absence of their ace-spinner Rashid Khan. However, rest of their bowlers made it up for his absence as they registered a 31-run win in their final league game. After being put into bat first, the Sussex opener went all guns blazing at the Middlesex bowlers. While Philip Salt scored 66 off just 25 balls, skipper Luke Wright scored 74 off 48. These two were well supported by Laurie Evans, who played the anchor with 36 runs off 27 balls as the team put up a mammoth 215 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets.

Although Middlesex got off to a dream start in the chase, losing 4 wickets in two overs in the middle hurt them. Their opener Paul Stirling (58 off 29 balls) and J Simpson (62 off 29 balls) got the team off to a flyer. They were 123/1 after 8.4 overs and it should have been an easy chase for them. However, they lost a flurry of wickets in the middle overs as they were bundled out for 184 runs. Although Sussex won the game, the absence of Rashid Khan in the bowling lineup was clearly felt.

Brief Scores:

Sussex: 215/5 in 20 overs (Luke Wright 74, Philip Salt 66, James Fuller 3/51)

Middlesex: 184/10 in 19.4 overs (J Simpson 62, Paul Stirling 58, Danny Brigs 2/22)

Result: Sussex won by 31 runs

Warwickshire vs Worcestershire – North Group

Worcestershire was put into bat first by Warwickshire. Worcestershire’s skipper Moeen Ali was unbelievable with the bat and carried the burden of his team almost single-handedly. He scored 115 off 56 balls before he was stumped out in the 17th over of the game. His opening partner Joe Clarke scored 32 off 25 balls. J Poysden picked a 3-wicket haul in the innings as Worcestershire scored 209 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

In the chase, Ian Bell got out early after scoring 19 off 13 balls. Although Ed Pollock (36 off 18 balls) and Adam Hose (45 off 29 balls) got off to good starts, they couldn’t really capitalise. The team only managed to get 194 runs in 20 overs and fell short by 15 runs. Wayne Parnell picked three wickets in the innings.

Brief Scores:

Worcestershire: 209/5 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 115, Joe Clarke 32, J Poysden 3/41)

Warwickshire: 194/7 in 20 overs (Adam Hose 45, Ed Pollock 36, Wayne Parnell 3/47)

Result: Worcestershire won by 15 runs

Here is how things progressed in the other games:

Essex vs Kent – South Group

Essex: 201/6 in 20 overs (A Wheater 40, V Chopra 37, C Haggett 2/26)

Kent: 203/5 in 19.5 overs (D Bell-Drummond 80, Joe Denly 45, Ravi Bopara 1/22)

Result: Kent won by 5 wickets

Yorkshire vs Nottinghamshire – North Group

Yorkshire: 163/6 in 20 overs (David Willey 51, Kane Williamson 44, H Gurney 1/16)

Nottinghamshire: 169/2 in 19 overs (Alex Hales 71*, Tom Moores 43*, Adam Lyth 1/23)

Result: Nottinghamshire won by 8 wickets

Glamorgan vs Surrey – South Group

Glamorgan: 183/8 in 20 overs (D Lloyd 39, Kiran Carlson 35, Tom Curran 3/30)

Surrey: 60/0 in 5 overs (Aaron Finch 44*, Rory Burns 14*, Colin Ingram 0/9)

Result: Surrey won by 24 runs (DLS Method)

Hampshire vs Gloucestershire – South Group

Gloucestershire: 144/8 in 20 overs (Klinger 43, Ryan Higgins 31, C Wood 4/16)

Hampshire: 147/4 in 16.5 overs (J Vince 48*, Rossouw 42, David Payne 2/34)

Result: Hampshire won by 6 wickets

Leicestershire vs Northamptonshire – North Group

Leicestershire: 148/7 in 20 overs (Harry Dearden 61, A Javid 20, L Procter 2/20)

Northamptonshire: 154/6 in 20 overs (Duckett 37, J Cobb 30, Dieter Klein 2/23)

Result: Northamptonshire won by 4 wickets

Durham vs Derbyshire – North Group

[Match abandoned without a ball being bowled]

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