Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions – Quarter Finals – 16th August

Here are the Metro Bank One Day Cup 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions for  Quarter Finals on 16th August.

Quarter Finals – 16th August

Leicestershire Foxes vs Hampshire, 1st Quarter Final, Grace Road, Leicester

Holders Leicestershire Foxes advanced one step closer to retaining their Metro Bank One-Day Cup crown, defeating Hampshire by three wickets with just one ball to spare in the quarter-final at the Uptonsteel County Ground in a thrilling repeat of last year’s final.  They now face a trip to Taunton to play Somerset in the semi-finals on Sunday.

Hampshire skipper Nick Gubbins made a superb 136, backed up by Liam Dawson’s 50 with 18-year-old Dominic Kelly hitting 39 from just 20 balls to post 290 for eight from 50 overs after Tom Scriven (three for 61) and Chris Wright (two for 49) had led the Leicestershire bowlers in keeping the total below 300 on an excellent batting wicket.

In reply, Leicestershire’s star duo of Australian Peter Handscomb (74) and India’s Ajinkya Rahane (70) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 128 - their third 100-plus partnership of the competition.

Once those two were both back in the pavilion, Hampshire, for whom John Turner took four for 44, will have fancied themselves to avenge their defeat in last season’s Trent Bridge finale - yet though they fought until the end, the task proved just beyond them after seventh-wicket pair Liam Trevaskis (60 off 55 balls ) and Ben Cox (45 off 50), had added 94 in 82 balls with Trevaskis hitting two sixes and four fours.

Leicestershire had chosen to bowl first against a Hampshire side who pipped Derbyshire to third place in Group A on net run-rate.

With Ian Holland not permitted to face his parent club, it was Scriven who made the first breakthrough in the 12th over as Fletcha Middleton was pinned in front as he swung across the line.

Gubbins dominated a 50-run second-wicket stand that ended when Tom Prest was caught at midwicket off left-arm spinner Trevaskis. Louis Kimber’s off-spin then bowled Ben Brown middle stump.

A seventh four took Gubbins to 53 from 64 balls, and at 144 for three from 30 after Liam Dawson had slog-swept Trevaskis for the day’s first six, Hampshire threatened to post in excess of 300. Gubbins moved to his first century of this season’s competition from 120 balls, including 11 fours.

An aggressive Dawson hammered Scriven for his second maximum, but just as Gubbins began to follow suit with pulls for six off Trevaskis and Wright, the latter changed the picture somewhat with two wickets in three balls, bowling Gubbins off an inside edge and uprooting new batter Toby Albert’s middle stump.

Dawson, having just completed a run-a-ball fifty, chipped a full toss back into the hands of bowler Walker, three wickets having gone for 18 runs in 23 balls.

Kelly’s four fours and two sixes in 19 balls restored some momentum before he mistimed the next as Scriven claimed his third wicket with the help of Trevaskis at mid-off in the final over, having also had Felix Organ caught at short third.

Leicestershire’s chances of chasing down 291 to keep their title defence suffered some early damage as Turner - back from his Hundred stint with Trent Rockets - had surprise opener Roman Walker and Lewis Hill caught behind, bowling Sol Budinger in between to leave the Foxes 30 for three.

Yet for the next 19 overs, Rahane and Handscomb exploited perfect batting conditions, Rahane as elegant as he was effective, Handscomb destructively efficient.

Hampshire seemingly had no answer to the quality and experience seemingly swinging the match in Leicestershire’s favour but that changed as Handscomb, having hit eight fours and two sixes, paid the price for his first mistake as Kelly steadied himself under a miscued pull coming out of the sun and gave the returning Turner a fourth wicket.

When Brad Wheal followed up by bowling Kimber, Leicestershire were 167 for five, needing a further 124 that suddenly seemed a much taller order, even with Rahane still there, which was not for much longer as the Indian’s timing let him down and he picked out Albert at deep square to give Wheal his second wicket.

At 188 for six, the Foxes’ defence was in serious jeopardy, with 101 still needed, yet although Cox had an escape on 31 when he was dropped on the midwicket boundary - denying Turner a fifth wicket - he and the bold Trevaskis kept their nerve to leave the target just nine runs away from 12 balls when Cox was out, Fletcha Middleton atoning for his earlier error.

Kelly had the responsibility for bowling the last over, with five still needed, the youngster not helping himself with a no-ball for overstepping, yet it still went to the penultimate ball before Scriven hit the winning run.

Leicestershire Foxes’ Liam Trevaskis said:

“At halfway, we felt that restricting them to anything under 300 would put us in with a chance, so the bowlers deserve credit for that.

“We were 30 for three at the start of our innings but Handscomb and Rahane are world-class players who turn up when it matters. They were brilliant. That’s why you sign overseas players.

“Myself and Ben, we just assessed how the pitch was playing and got ourselves going. With the boundary in on the Milligan Road side, and the ball coming on to the bat nicely, we felt that with wickets in hand we could even be needing sevens or eights in the last few overs and we’d be comfortable.

“We’re back on the bus to Somerset tomorrow and hopefully we can come away with another result and be back in the final. There is so much belief in this side that we can do it again.”

Hampshire head coach Adi Burrell said:

“We just couldn’t quite get over the line but I said to the players that there is no disgrace because we put in a really good fight.

“Gubbins and Dawson played well but we felt we were maybe 20 runs short with our score on a really good pitch and with a small playing area it was going to be difficult to defend, especially against players like Rahane and Handscomb, who both average just about 40 in ODIs. They put us 50 runs ahead of where we were at the same time in our innings.

“Yet we did feel that when both of those players were out the game had swung back in our favour, and then we got Kimber out and it felt like that the pressure of a quarter-final might weigh against them, with about 103 still needed.

“But Trevaskis played a tremendous knock, which I didn’t see coming, with no disrespect to him. And Cox steadied the ship for him and basically saw it home. Good luck to Leicestershire, who I’m sure will put up a good fight in the semi-final.”

Warwickshire vs Worcestershire, 2nd Quarter Final, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Warwickshire will visit Glamorgan in the Metro Bank One Day semi-finals on Sunday after a dazzling maiden List A century from Kai Smith powered them to four-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were in deep trouble when, chasing 286, they hit 77 for five, but Smith, whose previous List A best was 44, smashed an unbeaten 130 from 104 balls. A sixth-wicket stand of 181 in 163 balls between Smith and Will Rhodes (75, 107) saw the Bears to 288 for six with six balls to spare.

It was devastating turnaround for injury-ravaged Worcestershire who had totalled 286 for nine thanks to a stylish century from Jake Libby. Already the national leading run-scorer in this year’s Metro Bank One Day Cup, the captain struck 112 from 115 balls to build on a platform set by Ed Pollock’s 54 (64 balls).

Early wickets then put Worcestershire in command but 19-year-old Smith played with freedom, fluency and not a trace of nerves to book his side a semi-final in south Wales on Sunday.

Warwickshire batter Kai Smith said:

"It was a very long road to start with but I love batting with Rhodesy and going out there to bat with him we just looked to enjoy ourselves and take it step by step, five overs, ten overs and then you find yourself closer to that target.

"The nerves were definitely there but it is just a case of turning them into excitement. I try to go out there and enjoy every bit of it and luckily today I found myself in the zone and I just tried to keep batting and keep pushing and luckily we were able to get over the line.

"I always try to play my game and play with intent and not hold back and today was one of those where I just had to keep batting as long as I could. Today was truly special. In other games I have gone in in different situations so it was nice to have a bit of a different challenge today and see how I could approach that and luckily it went well."

Worcestershire coach Alan Richardson said:

"It was a really good game. We just wanted to perform well and give ourselves a chance to win a game of cricket and we did that. It was a good game and two sides played some really good cricket.

"Jake Libby was superb again. He has been outstanding all through the competition and has not just showed his batting skills but has also led the team really well.

"It was a strong total but we just came up against an exceptional performance from Kai Smith. Without that we would have won. For Kai to do that and Will Rhodes to play as exceptionally as he did alongside him, deserves to win a game of cricket.

"I am disappointed with the result but not by the performance. I am proud of the lads. I don't think we could have done much more with the ball."

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