Birmingham Bears recorded the highest total ever made in English domestic T20 cricket as they amassed 261-2 against Notts; Essex make 244-7 as they beat Sussex by 11 runs to set aggregate runs record; Hampshire bash 221 in win over Kent; Sunil Narine shines as Surrey ease past Middlesex
Saturday 18 June 2022 09:36, UK
A round-up of Friday's Vitality Blast action as Birmingham Bears made the highest total ever in the competition, while there was also runs aplenty elsewhere with Essex and Hampshire piling up the runs.
Birmingham Bears recorded the highest total ever made in English domestic T20 cricket as they amassed 261-2 against Nottinghamshire en route to a 55-run win over the Outlaws in their Vitality Blast North Group clash at Trent Bridge.
Just seven better scores have ever been made in all world T20 cricket and one of those was by the Czech Republic over Turkey as Birmingham trio Sam Hain (112 not out), Adam Hose (88no) and Rob Yates (53) tore into the Nottinghamshire attack.
The Bears' unbeaten stand of 174 in just 70 balls between Hain - with his maiden hundred at this level - and Hose was the best for the third wicket in this country, beating Hose's own 171 with Ian Bell four years ago.
Joe Clarke smashed 86 from 45 balls in riposte to take the Outlaws to 150-2, with 112 needed at 14.6 per over, but he fell at long-off and the rest crashed in 36 balls.
Josh Cobb led from the front as Northamptonshire made light of missing Chris Lynn through injury to thrash group leaders Lancashire by seven wickets at Wantage Road.
Lynn was ruled with a calf strain, but Cobb, dropped on nought, made 57 off 32 balls including four sixes as the hosts chased down a target of 154 with 22 balls to spare.
Ben Curran provided great support with 50 of his own against a Lancashire side without Liam Livingstone, away on England duty.
The visitors clearly missed him as despite skipper Dane Vilas' 38 and an explosive 31 from Tim David, they could only muster 153-7. Graeme White and Ben Sanderson both returned 2-28, while Tom Taylor took 1-21.
Adam Lyth's blistering half-century helped Yorkshire Vikings to a comfortable 65-run victory over Durham at Chester-le-Street.
The left-hander blasted 81 from 46 balls and received good support from Finn Allen and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who both made 48, as Yorkshire made 201-5 after opting to bat, despite Harry Brook's first-ball duck.
Scott Borthwick limited the damage with figures of 3-34, but the chase was always going to be an uphill challenge and Durham were unable to time the ball off the square in the same manner as the visitors amid tight bowling.
Michael Jones (34) and Ollie Robinson (44) were the only players to find their range without threatening to chase down the total as the hosts finished well short on 136-8.
Leicestershire ended a run of four consecutive home defeats with an eight-wicket win over bottom-of-the-table Worcestershire.
Ben Mike (3-20), Naveen-ul-Haq (3-22) and Callum Parkinson (3-28) shared the wickets as the Rapids were restricted to 116-9 after electing to bat first, Kashif Ali's 24 in his fourth appearance a modest top score.
It was a total the Rapids, without Moeen Ali and with Ben Cox ruled out by illness, were never likely to be able to defend and the Foxes cruised home with almost eight overs to spare, with Arron Lilley smashing 11 fours and a six in an unbeaten 68 from 38 balls. His unbroken third-wicket stand of 101 with Nick Welch (41) came off just 59 balls.
Sunil Narine shone with bat and ball as Surrey beat Middlesex by seven wickets to maintain their unbeaten record at the top of the Vitality Blast's South Group.
West Indies all-rounder Narine hit four sixes in his 29-ball 51 not out as Surrey made it seven wins from eight Blast matches, plus a no result against Glamorgan.
Ollie Pope finished unbeaten on 37 as Surrey cruised to 158-3 in 15.1 overs in reply to Middlesex's 155-8.
Narine and Surrey captain Chris Jordan both took 2-27 from their four-over allocation, with Luke Hollman top-scoring for the visitors with 31.
Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams thrashed his maiden Vitality Blast half-century against Sussex to guide Essex to their highest total in the tournament and a third win in four games.
Sams hammered 71 from just 24 deliveries, including six sixes and as many fours, as Essex racked up 244-7 at Chelmsford after being put in to bat.
Mohammad Rizwan blazed 66 from 32 to keep the Sharks' hopes alive before former Essex star Ravi Bopara bludgeoned a valiant 51 from 26.
But it was not enough as he perished to Sams in the final over and Sussex fell just short on 233-6 - the match aggregate of 477 setting a Blast record.
James Vince demolished Kent Spitfires with a superb century as Hampshire Hawks eased to a fifth straight victory.
Hawks skipper Vince recorded his third T20 century with exactly 100 in 54 balls as he combined with Tom Prest - who impressed with his second format fifty - for a 128-run stand for the second wicket.
With Ross Whiteley's six-ball 23, the hosts bashed their third-highest T20 score of 221-3 - something the Spitfires never looked like chasing, eventually falling 54 runs short
Rapid half-centuries from Rilee Rossouw and Lewis Gregory paved the way for Somerset to clinch a Vitality Blast double over arch-rivals Gloucestershire with a seven-run win at Taunton.
The hosts recovered from a slow start to run up 184-6, Rossouw striking 54 off 45 balls, with three sixes and five fours, while Gregory hammered 60 from 36 deliveries, clearing the ropes five times.
Mohammad Amir (2-25) and Benny Howell (2-31) were the pick of bowlers for Gloucestershire, who made a promising start in reply, but were eventually restricted to 177-8.
Ryan Higgins hit 43 and Benny Howell 42, but the visitors lost their way in mid-innings. Peter Siddle claimed 3-30 and Roelof van der Merwe 1-31.
