Vitality Blast 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions – All Matches – May 31st

Here are all the Vitality Blast 2024 – Live Cricket Streaming, Live Scores, Match Reports and Reactions for All Matches on May 31st 2024.

NORTH GROUP

Worcestershire vs Lancashire, North Group, Vitality Blast

Worcestershire Rapids are celebrating their first win of the season in the Vitality Blast after Tom Taylor’s last over six enabled them to defeat Lancashire Lightning by five wickets at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Club skipper Brett D’Oliveira’s half century laid the foundations for the Rapids triumph after they had been set a 170 target on a hybrid pitch.

Lancashire did well to recover from 13-3 thanks to a half century from captain Steven Croft.

But the Rapids own leader in D’Oliveira steered his side to within 22 runs of victory before Taylor finished the job.

It enabled Worcestershire to bounce back in style after yesterday’s mauling at the hands of Yorkshire at Headingley.

But Lancashire just failed to make it back to back wins after their home victory over Durham.

Both sides named unchanged line-ups with new Rapids vice-captain, Adam Hose, having recovered from a slight hamstring niggle.

The game got off to a dramatic start with Nathan Smith registering a double wicket maiden.

The third ball saw Josh Bohannon sky Smith to Finch at mid on and then the last delivery of the over saw George Bell nick through to keeper Gareth Roderick.

Luke Wells decided attack was the best form of defence as he leg-glanced Smith for four and then smote the New Zealander for a huge six over mid wicket.

But there was more joy for the home side as Tom Bruce drove at Tom Taylor and lost his middle stump.

Lightning keeper Matty Hurst was quickly into his stride and straight drove Taylor over the long on boundary.

The final over of the powerplay cost 21 runs with Hurst and Wells both achieving maximums.

But D’Oliveira broke the stand after adding 50 when Wells (34) attempted another big hit and found Smith at long on.

D’Oliveira and West Indies leg spinner Hayden Walsh bowled tightly during the middle overs.

Hurst pressed his foot on the accelerator in making 45 off 34 balls before he was lbw to Tom Taylor.

Then Lancashire captain Robert Croft, with a 31 ball half century, and Chris Green ensured Lancashire set a challenging target.

When Worcestershire launched their reply, Matthew Waite had a let-off on three off Tom Aspinwall with George Bell spilling the chance at deep backward square leg.

Worcestershire made a circumspect start, mindful no doubt of their collapse in the powerplay against Yorkshire yesterday evening.

But they moved into overdrive with Blatherwick and Aspinwall conceding a combined 31 runs in the fourth and fifth overs.

The opening stand was worth 55 before Waite was bowled to the final ball of the powerplay from former Worcestershire pace bowler Mitchell Stanley.

Josh Cobb perished at long off Steven Croft but new batter Adam Hose was quickly into overdrive with successive sixes off the same bowler.

He raced to 23 off nine balls before being bowled after aiming an expansive blow on the leg side.

Former Worcestershire loanee Luke Wood then produced a superb catch at long off to account for Ethan Brookes and D’Oliveira fell on the leg side boundary off Green.

But Taylor and Ed Pollock held their nerve to see Worcestershire home.

Worcestershire Club Captain, Brett D’Oliveira, said: “On Thursday we weren’t at the races but Twenty20 takes some adjusting to.

“With the schedule it is quite hard to go from four-day cricket straight into that. However, that’s not an excuse. We just weren’t good enough last night.

“Really pleasing to come back and get a win at home. Really good team performance, especially with that run chase.

“Matthew Waite was fantastic at the top in a new role for him and the class of Adam Hose to come in and have some influence and put some impetus into the game.

“Ethan Brookes hit his second or third ball for six and was exactly the type of cricket we were looking for. We managed that chase very well.

“We got off to a great start (with the ball) and Nathan has been a hell of a signing for us and is a great cricketer and has a hell of a future ahead of him.

“He gives his best everytime he is out on the field and he is great amongst the group as well.

“At the half-way mark we were pleased. We knew it would be a tricky chase.  

“We knew running hard was going to be key and trying to find those gaps and we managed to do that.”

Lancashire’s Luke Wells said: “My thoughts? Firstly disappointment obviously. Having said that, some of the positions we were in at times in the game, we arguably had no right to win that game.

“Obviously 0-2 and three for not much more, to be able to post a competitive score was a real good effort from everyone.

“We kept fighting with the ball, a different type of pitch to Old Trafford, a bit slower, and we adapted our lengths really well.

“We spoke about bowling a bit fuller. D’Oliveira played well, managed to stick around and played the anchor role.

“They had guys who came in and hit crucial boundaries at times. Even towards the end, two fantastic overs from Aspinwall and Woody kept us in the game.”

Durham vs Warwickshire, North Group, Vitality Blast

A brilliant bowling performance from Birmingham Bears gave them a win in their Vitality Blast opener as they beat Durham by seven wickets at the Seat Unique Riverside.

Hasan Ali and Richard Gleeson led the attack with exceptional performances as the experienced seamers picked up five wickets between them and helped restrict the hosts to 101 all out.

The visitors led by Rob Yates and Sam Hain chased down the target with minimum fuss and won with plenty of time to spare.

It was a case of different day, same problems for Durham with this game coming hot on the heels of another poor batting performance at Lancashire on Thursday.

The North East side have scored just 176 runs in their two matches so far and will look to improve that when they face Leicestershire Foxes on Friday, while there’s a quick turnaround for the Bears as they host Derbyshire Falcons on Saturday.

Having been put into bat by the Bears, Durham got off to a flier with Alex Lees and Graham Clark scoring 25 from the first two overs. 

Clark’s positive start didn’t continue for much longer with Dan Mousley removing the opener for 14. 

Lees then followed his opening partner into the pavilion with the Durham skipper being stumped for 14 after coming down the pitch to Danny Briggs. 

Colin Ackermann then miscued the ball straight to backward point for one after being deceived by a slower ball from Pakistan international Ali.

Ollie Robinson then skied one from Ali straight to the man at the square leg boundary to depart for six.

The wickets kept on coming as Ben Raine clipped a George Garton ball into the air and it was met by a diving Yates who took a sublime catch.

Ashton Turner and Michael Jones did offer some brief resistance but the Australian was then bowled by the impressive Briggs for 17. 

Jake Lintott then got in on the act and bowled Durham’s Australian overseas signing Ben Dwarshuis for two.

At the other end Scottish international Jones stuck to the task alongside Matthew Potts, with the batsman hitting Ali for the first six of the night with a heave to the square-leg boundary.

Jones’ defiance ended on 29 as he smashed a Gleeson ball straight to the safe hands of Lintott, then the next ball saw the end of Nathan Sowter for a golden duck. 

The impeccable Ali then bowled Potts for seven, giving him figures of three for 20 and Durham were all out for 101.

The Bears’ reply almost got off to a bad start as Yates edged a Dwarshuis delivery but it escaped the diving Turner at slip.

Alex Davies then turned on the style as he ramped a Dwarshuis ball for six, the first of the Bears innings.

Yates chipped away at the target as he hit Callum Parkinson for three fours but the left arm spinner got his revenge and bowled the opener for 29. 

Davies was then run out for 13 as Raine hit the stumps while the Bears skipper was backing up and he was short of his ground.

Raine was in the thick of the action once again as he got Mousley LBW for eight to give the Bears a slight scare. 

Jacob Bethell was removed by Potts for 18, but Hain, who finished unbeaten on 27, anchored the chase and saw his side home comfortably.

Birmingham Bears bowler Danny Briggs said: 

“Taking wickets is always key. I think the deeper we went into the innings we knew it was a tricky wicket to bat on and we kept on taking wickets throughout which was good for us.”

“We’ve got a great squad actually and it’s good to get some wickets. We’ve got a lot of options with the bat and the ball, hopefully its a sign of things to come for us.”

“With Glees (Richard Gleeson) and Garts (George Garton coming in its bolstered our bowling line up and really helps us.”

 

Durham captain Alex Lees said: 

“We’re obviously gutted. We know we’ve put in two pretty underwhelming performances. We were so excited coming into this tournament, quite frankly its not been good enough.”

“I’m still very optimistic, we’ve got a good squad. We started amazing last year and won our early games and we didn’t even qualify.”

“When we get to next week we need to get something together and build some momentum going through the tournament.”

Nottinghamshire vs Northamptonshire, North Group, Vitality Blast

Northamptonshire Steelbacks 157-2 (13.2 overs) beat Notts Outlaws 154 (19.2 overs) by eight wickets

Skipper David Willey smashed seven sixes and seven fours in a 34-ball 79 as Northamptonshire Steelbacks made it two Vitality Blast wins from two with a crushing eight -wicket win over Notts Outlaws.

After bowling the Outlaws out for 154, the Steelbacks knocked off their target with a commanding 40 balls to spare, South African opener Matthew Breetzke hitting the winning boundary in a 30-ball unbeaten 51. Northamptonshire had never won at Trent Bridge in seven previous visits in the shortest  format.

The Outlaws had appeared set for a substantial score after building on a 63-run powerplay to be 104 for one after 10 overs, new skipper Joe Clarke and Outlaws debutant Jack Haynes having shared a 95-run partnership from 58 balls.

But Clarke fell for 48 and Haynes for 51 and the home side lost their last nine wickets for 50 in 9.2 overs.

Left-arm spinner Saif Zaib - only an occasional bowler in this format - took a T20 career-best three for 12 in three overs, with 6ft 7ins pace bowler George Scrimshaw claiming three for 16 from 14 balls.

Asked to bat first, the Outlaws lost Alex Hales in the second over, caught behind after making room to cut Raphy Weatherall, but raced to 63 for one in the opening six nonetheless, Clarke hammering two sixes and Haynes another amid a rush of boundaries.

The second-wicket pair had added 95 by the end of the 10th over before they were stopped in their tracks by left-arm spinner Saif Zaib - the seventh bowler used by David Willey - as Clarke was caught by off-side sweeper Ricardo Vasconcelos for 48 off 30 balls.

A brilliant piece of fielding by Willey from mid-off then ran out Will Young and when Tom Moores holed out to long on for nine the Outlaws had stumbled from 104 for one to 117 for four in three overs, with the scoring rate being dragged back for good measure by the slower bowlers.

The Northamptonshire fightback continued with Zaib striking twice in his second over as Haynes was caught at wide long on and Matt Montgomery was bowled sweeping.

Willey re-entered the attack to bowl Calvin Harrison off an inside edge before the unravelling continued thanks to two in two by George Scrimshaw as Lyndon James was out via a steepling catch and Dillon Pennington leg before. Scrimshaw wrapped things up by having Olly Stone caught behind as the Outlaws failed even to bat out the full 20 overs.

The early wicket of Vasconcelos, caught at slip as a scoop went badly wrong, lifted home spirits momentarily but they had fallen flat by the end of the powerplay, with the Steelbacks ahead at 68 for one after the sixth over saw Willey hammer his one-time Northamptonshire team-mate Stone for 4-4-6-4-4-1, before going 6-2-4 off leg-spinner Harrison’s first three deliveries to complete a 21-ball fifty.

Willey’s explosive innings continued with four more huge sixes off the first four balls of Harrison’s second over. The left-hander clearly had it in mind to go for a full set but his luck ran out next ball, which he mistimed just enough for it to drop into the hands of Lyndon James at long off.

Nonetheless, with opener Breetzke, who faced only 20 balls in the opening 10 overs, at last getting a look-in to clear the rope off Stone, the Steelbacks reached the halfway point needing just 35 more for victory.

As it was, it took them only another 20 balls to get the job done, Breetzke and Ravi Bopara picking up two more maximums each before the former lofted Montgomery’s off-spin through long off for the winning boundary, completing his maiden Outlaws half-century in the process

Steelbacks head coach John Sadler said:

“It is one hell of a victory that, to be honest. I thought we were superb from start to finish. The most pleasing part was that we were under pressure at the halfway stage in the first innings but we held our nerve.

“I thought Dave Willey captained brilliantly, making a couple of really shrewd bowling changes, including bringing Saif Zaib into the attack.

“Saif bowled magnificently, changing the course of the game, and Ravi was Bopara outstanding in that period, with his experience and skill. We have been working with Saif with a view to getting him up to speed for when Graeme White finishes and he is in that place now. He has worked really hard on his bowling and it is fantastic to see him get the rewards.

“And then when we batted, I thought the way that Matthew Breetzke and Willey played was outstanding. They just needed a little look at the pitch but when they got in and got going it was good to watch.

“Dave Willey is a matchwinner. I thought he was going to get six sixes in an over there and I’ve no problem with him going for it. He is a better player when he plays with full commitment. If you’ve got a feel for it and a bowler comes on that you like the look of, then keep going.

“We know how good he is and that when he gets in he hits the ball as clean and with as much power as anyone else in world cricket, and he’s shown that tonight.”

Outlaws batter Jack Haynes said:

“We started the night brilliantly to be in a strong position after 10 overs of our innings but it is a funny game, T20 cricket. Things can change very quickly.

“It was a good pitch where we felt that if we could get to 180 or 200 we’d be well in the game. We let a good position slip but credit to the Northants bowlers, they bowled well through the middle overs and put us away with the bat.

“They dragged the scoring rate back nicely. I thought Ravi Bopara bowled very well, he was difficult  to get away and we lost wickets at crucial times, myself included, which was frustrating.

“It was always going to be a difficult score to defend. They always come out swinging and it came off for them today. A couple of their lads played very well.

“We needed to take early wickets, we weren’t able to do that and David Willey had one of those nights when everything came off, every time he hit the ball it seemed to be flying over the boundary.

“It’s not the start we wanted but the games come around very quickly in this competition. We have another one tomorrow and we’ll focus on that.”

Leicestershire vs Yorkshire, North Group, Vitality Blast

Leicestershire Foxes launched their Vitality Blast season in spectacular style with a thumping seven-wicket win over Yorkshire Vikings at the Uptonsteel County Ground in Leicester.

Vikings had themselves started the season strongly with an eight-wicket win over Worcestershire Rapids the previous evening but were brought crashing back to earth in the East Midlands. They totalled a below par 151 for seven, captain Shan Masood’s 45 (32 balls) standing out amid a bitty team effort which was heavily damaged by Josh Hull’s fiery three for 28.

The moderate target soon appeared minuscule after Foxes openers and Sol Budinger (50, 22) and Rishi Patel (30, 18) smashed six sixes and six fours in the first five overs. Their stand of 79 in 36 balls turned the chase into a cruise as the Foxes galloped to 155 for three from 14.1 overs. 

After the Foxes chose to bowl, Hull deployed his Size 15s to excellent effect in a first over which cost just one run and brought the wicket of Dawid Malan, whose off-stump was trimmed by a lovely ball. Ian Holland’s opening over also went for just a single in a sedate start by the Vikings.

Former Yorkshire all-rounder Ben Mike struck first ball when he took a return catch from a spliced slog by Adam Lyth. That brought Joe Root to the crease for the 659^th time in senior cricket and it isn’t a knock he will remember – three from nine balls before lifting Holland to long on.

Masood and Donovan Ferreira (26, 18) added 50 in 35 balls before Hull came back on to dismiss both in his first five balls. Ferreira gloved an attempted pull high to wicketkeeper Ben Cox and Masood top-edged a return catch. Both wickets owed something to the batters being surprised by pace in a highly impressive spell by the 6ft 7in left-armer.

When Hull added a smart catch at short fine leg to dismiss Dom Bess off Scott Currie, the Vikings were 116 for seven. Jordan Thompson (25 not out, 18) smote Mike for successive sixes but Vikings’ bowlers were left with a tall task on a good batting pitch.

They were hit by an immediate onslaught from Patel and Budinger who thrashed 50 from the first 22 balls. Patel lifted Dan Moriarty for successive sixes before the fourth over, from Thompson, went for 30 including three sixes for Budinger.

Both openers perished in five balls went Patel skied Bess to long on and Budinger sliced Jafer Chohan to backward point but they had left their side needing a comfy 67 from 80 balls. Louis Kimber (26, 14) and Wiaan Milder (28 not out, 17) kept the momentum high with vibrant cameos and Foxes skipper Peter Handscomb was able to watch contently from the non-strikers end as the Foxes cruised home.

Foxes batter Sol Budinger said:

"That felt pretty good. It's a good way to start the campaign for sure.

"We worked on things in the winter, to pull back the layers and start with the basics and we couldn't have started any better but now we have got another game tomorrow and we have got to back it up.

"We didn't really have a plan when we went out to bat. I think me and Rishi are at our best when we just react. We just went out there and watched the ball and kept it simple. It was really nice to get a fifty but, as I say, now we have got to back it up."

Vikings captain Shan Masood said:

"Yesterday we were very clinical with the ball and the bat and in the field. Today we were not  really clinical.

"We did have the worst of the conditions. They bowled when the pitch was damp and they bowled well and got every ounce of help out of the conditions so credit to them for that. They put us under pressure.

"Maybe we could have been smarter in terms of preserving wickets and having our top six or seven batting out the 20 overs. Me and Donovan got a nice little partnership going but Hull came back on and you have to give him credit, it was good bowling and changed the match with two wickets in that over.

"It looked a decent score but when it is a score like that the other team can afford to go out all guns blazing. If they had spooned two in the air it's a different game."  

SOUTH GROUP

Glamorgan vs Surrey, South Group, Vitality Blast

An explosive innings of 76 from Jamie Smith set up a 19 run victory for Surrey in their Vitality T20 Blast match against Glamorgan. His runs saw Surrey reach 200 for eight from their 20 overs, a target that was too much for Glamorgan to chase. 

The Glamorgan bowlers struggled to keep the Surrey scoring in check outside of the PowerPlay as Smith was well supported by the rest of a long batting line up. 

Surrey’s bowling attack took early wickets before making it very difficult for the Glamorgan middle order to keep up with the rate. Runs for Marnus Labuschagne and Colin Ingram kept the margin of defeat to a minimum, but they could not score quickly enough to put pressure on this Surrey attack. 

Ingram made 50 and Labuschagne scored 58 but it wasn’t enough to secure victory as Surrey made it two from two in this year’s Blast. 

Glamorgan started brightly with the ball against a hugely powerful Surrey top order. Jamie McIlroy claimed the first wicket when Dan Lawrence skied a ball to Marnus Labuschagne for 13. When Timm van der Gugten got a ball to seam back into Jason Roy to bowl him for 11 and Surrey were 30 for two and Glamorgan had the upper hand. 

The home team took further control in the next over when Dan Douthwaite dismissed Surrey captain Ollie Pope for a duck when the Surrey batter edged the ball through to wicket keeper Chris Cooke. Surrey managed just 43 for three from their PowerPlay overs and were in need a recovery. 

That is exactly what they got thanks to a hugely powerful innings from Smith that was aided by some sloppy fielding from Glamorgan. Smith was put down on 20 by Colin Ingram off the bowling of Mason Crane, a drop that would prove very costly. Smith raced to fifty from just 26 balls as he took to the Glamorgan spinners once the PowerPlay was done. 

Lawrie Evans was given a life on 23 when Douthwaite misjudged a chance at long off that bounced over him for four runs, but he was dismissed off the next ball he faced when he was caught off the next ball to give Tom Bevan his first wicket of the season. 

There were two further chances put down, albeit one of a no ball, as Sean Abbott guided his team to a very competitive total with 24 not out from 14 balls. 

The Start of the Glamorgan innings had an almost identical look to Surrey’s effort with both teams making near identical scores in the PowerPlay for the loss of three wickets. The very strong Surrey seam attack claimed early wickets to peg back Glamorgan with Gus Atkinson dismissing Eddie Byrom, caught at mid off for 10. 

Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson was dismissed in the next over when he got a thick edge that was well caught at third by Cameron Steel. When Sam Northeast attempted to launch a ball over the ring off the bowling of Jordan Clark he got height but not distance and was caught at mid on by Johnson to leave Glamorgan 30 for three. 

An Ingram and Labuschagne partnership of 99 meant the wickets stopped falling but they struggled to score quickly enough to stop the required run rate reaching nearly 14 an over by the halfway stage of the Glamorgan innings. 

Both Ingram and Labuschagne fell just after their past fifty, with Ingram’s run out due to a mix up between the pair signally the end of Glamorgan’s challenge in this match. Some late runs from Chris Cooke briefly reignited the home crowd’s hopes but he was left too much to do with 28 needed off the last over. 

Jordan Clark, who took 2 for 27 for Surrey, said: 

The boys have got off to a good start, quite pleasing performances. Quite a few things to take away from today and yesterday but can’t really ask for anything more than two wins really. We have to take it game by game, focus on us and be as positive as possible. 

The important thing is they fell short. Maybe a little bits and bobs to tidy up towards the end. It was quite dewy towards the end, some misfields and whatnot but good to get over the line. 

[Jamie Smith] is in some unbelievable form, his game is just going up and up. An absolute superstar and he is great to have in your team. 

Colin Ingram, who scored 50 for Glamorgan, said: 

We dropped a few catches and maybe gave them 20 odd too many I suppose. It was a bit of a rusty performance, and we will have to bounce back pretty quickly. 

They bowled pretty well and the ball stood up out of the surface this evening and they had a bit of extra pace which made it quite tricky. Marnus and I decided we were going quite early but we seemed to miss a few, edge a few, by the time the wicket got really good and skidded on we were chasing 15 over. 

It was great to see Chris Cooke come in and hit them out the ground from ball one, he is in great form, a few of us have spent some time in the middle, so we are probably going to have to bounce back pretty quickly. 

 

Somerset vs Essex, South Group, Vitality Blast

Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory staged a whirlwind stand of 60 in 30 balls as Somerset launched the defence of their Vitality T20 Blast title with a thrilling four-wicket victory over Essex at the Cooper Associates Ground.

Abell top-scored with 55 from 36 balls and Gregory smashed 44 from 22 deliveries as Somerset reached their target of 194 with five balls to spare in a repeat of last year's final. Tom Banton, Will Smeed and Sean Dickson also made useful contributions in front of the Sky TV cameras to give a sell-out crowd an evening to remember under the Taunton floodlights.

Playing against his former county, Dean Elgar top-scored with 77 from 51 balls on his return to the West Country, accruing 8 fours and 2 sixes and sharing in stands of 67 and 58 with Adam Rossington and Jordan Cox for the first and third wickets respectively as Essex posted 193-6. Rossington contributed 32 and Cox 30, while Gregory returned figures of 3-42 off four overs in what was an excellent individual performance with bat and ball.

It was the perfect start for the defending champions, who have now won their last nine matches in the short format, while Essex have work to do after losing their opening two matches. 

Determined to make a better fist of batting first following defeat to Gloucestershire at Bristol in their opening fixture 24 hours earlier, Essex made a reassuringly solid start on this occasion, Rossington and Elgar staging a stand of 67 in 7.3 overs.

With big shoes to fill after replacing Matt Henry as overseas pace spearhead, Australian Riley Meredith at least managed to keep things tight during three overs from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End that cost 16 runs. But Craig Overton proved significantly more expensive at the other end, the former England bowler conceding 5 fours and a six in going for 32 in three overs as the visitors raised 56 without loss from the powerplay, big-hitting Rossington proving especially destructive.

Having already harvested 5 fours, Rossington greeted Roelof van der Merwe with a towering six hit straight back over the spinner's head, only to then lose his off stump to Gregory in the act of swinging in the next over. His swashbuckling innings of 32, made from 24 balls, at least afforded the visitors a platform from which to launch.

Michael Pepper came and went quickly, attempting to reverse sweep van der Merwe and offering a straightforward catch to Ben Green at short third man with the score on 74 in the ninth. If home supporters sensed an opportunity to turn the tide, they were quickly disabused of the idea as Cox went on the attack, lifting Jake Ball over deep backward point for a maximum and then pulling the next ball for four as the eleventh over yielded 14 runs to propel Essex into three figures.

Setting himself to bat through, the redoubtable Elgar found acceleration at the right time to go to 50 via 35 balls, reaching that landmark courtesy of his fifth four, a flowing off drive at the expense of Green. Somerset needed a break and it arrived in the fifteenth over, Cox miscuing to extra cover off the bowling of Gregory and departing for a 23-ball 30. He and Elgar had added 58 in 5.5 overs and set the stage for the big-hitting Paul Walter, who announced himself with a brace of fours and a six in the same Gregory over.

Back came the home side, Ball bowling Walter for 18 and Green making a mess of Daniel Sams' stumps to partially redress the balance. But Elgar was not finished, the veteran South African campaigner plundering 15 runs off the eighteenth to spoil Green's figures on his way to a superb 77, and only succumbing to Gregory in the final over.

Somerset required a flying start and Tom Banton displayed aggressive intent by driving Aaron Beard over long-on for six and then collecting sumptuous cover-driven fours at the expense of Sams and Ben Allison. Not wanting to appear tardy in comparison, Will Smeed pulled Allison to the boundary and then mustered a brace of sixes in plundering 20 from Walter's first over to bring a packed audience to life. 

Beard afforded Essex some relief, having Banton held at mid-wicket for a 14-ball 21 with the score on 49 in the fifth, but Smeed continued to trade in boundaries, smiting Sams for two successive maximums.  His mercurial innings came to an abrupt halt when he drove the very next ball to cover and departed for a 16-ball 39, having mustered 3 fours and a quartet of sixes as the home side reached 64-2 at the end of the powerplay.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell to Critchley in the next over, brilliantly caught by the diving Simon Harmer at mid-off, as Essex deployed spin at both ends in an attempt to apply pressure. Somerset reached halfway on 90-3, requiring a further 104 runs at 10.4 an over.

Dickson brought up three figures with a straight-driven six off Critchley, while Abell found the boundary often enough to keep the chase on track during the middle overs. Abell smashed 2 fours and a six off the thirteenth, sent down by Luc Benkenstein, to bring up the 50 partnership in 36 balls. But Beard returned to have Dickson caught in the deep for a 19-ball 26 as an enthralling contest took another twist. 

New batsman Gregory injected immediate excitement, pulling Allison for a huge six, at which point the home side required a further 54 runs from 30 balls. Crucially, the fifth wicket pair were able to keep the rate at around ten an over, Abell going to 50 via 31 balls with his first six.

Somerset needed a big over and Gregory provided it by smashing three sixes off the seventeenth, bowled by Critchley, to bring the rate under a run a ball for the first time. Abell contributed 5 fours and a six before being caught at the wicket off the bowling of Walter, while Gregory mustered 4 sixes and a brace of fours to put the outcome beyond doubt as Somerset's renowned batting line-up came good at the death. 

Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory said: "We didn't have a huge amount of preparation for this competition after seven rounds of County Championship cricket, so it was good to get off the mark with a win. I was happy to be chasing 194 at the halfway stage. We've played a lot of cricket here and we know that 11 or 12 an over is very much achievable at Taunton. Tom Abell played beautifully to set things up for us and I was able to play a cameo around him. Fortunately, we had a couple of big overs towards the end and managed to get over the line pretty comfortably in the end. It was a brilliant wicket and the guys did a very good job to stop Essex scoring more than they did. I thought Riley Meredith bowled well on his debut with plenty of pace and some intelligence, too. He's quite a prospect and we'll have to be careful in how we go about managing him. We have a big game coming up against Surrey next and will have to up our game. But we have enough matchwinners in the team to know that, if two or three of them come off, we'll be there or thereabouts. We have guys with a lot of experience and a lot of power, and we know we are a fantastic T20 team."

 

Essex seamer Aaron Beard said: "We played a lot better than against Gloucestershire, but still didn't score enough runs. Taunton is one of the highest-scoring grounds in world T20 cricket and we knew we needed to get at least 200. In the end, we were about 20 short, which was disappointing. We made things happen in the field and I thought we made a good game of it for a while. But it only takes one or two overs to go against you to change a game completely these days, and that's what happened. Lewis Gregory and Tom Abell played well at the death and just took the game away from us. We kept things quite tight and stuck to our bowling plans through the middle overs, but that's when you need to take wickets and we didn't quite do that enough. We'll try and stay positive, keep playing entertaining cricket and do our best to put it right in the next match. It's a long campaign and we know what we have to do to get over the line. We have to learn from our mistakes, so we can entertain and win instead of entertain and lose"

Sussex vs Gloucestershire, South Group, Vitality Blast

Sussex Sharks scrambled a bye off the final ball of the game to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to a successful start with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Hove.

Chasing 168, the final over began with Sussex needing ten to win but Fynn Hudson-Prentice, whose 47 appeared to have taken them to the brink of victory, was caught behind to give Matt Taylor his third wicket. With eight needed off three deliveries, Jack Carson swung a six onto the pavilion roof and then scrambled a single to leave Nathan McAndrew facing the final ball.

McAndrew failed to make contact, but James Bracey missed his shy at the stumps and Sussex, who only won once at the 1st Central County Ground in last year’s tournament, had completed a breathless triumph.

Gloucestershire will feel it was a game they should have won, in particular the Taylor brothers Jack and Matt. Skipper Jack got them up to what looked to be a competitive total of 167 for 8 on a hybrid pitch offering decent pace and carry with 52, then Matt became the third bowler in the match on a hat-trick when Ollie Carter failed to control a short ball and Charlesworth dived full length to his right at short third to brilliantly cling one-handed onto Tom Alsop’s full-blooded cut shot.

When James Coles was bowled making room to manoeuvre David Payne through the off side and debutant Daniel Hughes played around a straight one from left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, Sussex were 53 for 4 in the eighth over and up against it, but John Simpson joined Hudson-Prentice to add 56 off 37 balls and get the chase back on course.

Simpson made 36 off 19 before pulling a ball from Marchant de Lange to mid-wicket, but Lamb and Hudson-Prentice maintained the momentum with 47 off 32 to take Sussex to within 13 of victory with two overs remaining. There was another twist when Ajeet Singh Dale deceived Lamb with a slower ball and conceded just three runs to set up a thrilling final over but Sussex got over the line.

Jack Taylor clearly benefited from a move up to five as he made his third fifty in the format before becoming one of three victims in the final over for Sussex’s new skipper Tymal Mills, who finished with 4 for 25.

Taylor came in halfway through the innings and took the initiative after McAndrew had picked up two wickets with successive balls in the 14th over to leave Gloucestershire on 111 for 5.

He helped plunder 19 off the penultimate over, swinging Lamb over mid-wicket and out of the ground for his third six before Mills showed all his experience at the end of the innings, conceding just three runs and removing Taylor to a catch at deep square leg and foxing van Buuren and Matt Taylor with his slower ball. It was to prove a crucial contribution. 

Gloucestershire had been in good shape when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft added 59 but it was a good night for Carson, who was making his T20 debut and took two wickets in his only over to remove Hammond and Bracey.

Bancroft looked untroubled until a searing yorker from Australian compatriot McAndrew spectacularly split his leg stump in two, but Jack Taylor helped wrest back the initiative by adding 64 off 35 balls with Ben Charlesworth and his sibling maintained Gloucestershire’s momentum before Sussex fought back.

Sussex’s Fynn Hudson-Prentice said, “It was an unbelievable game. Last-ball finishes are always fun and it’s even better when you get over the line. Both teams had periods when they were on top on a pitch was a bit two-paced. We lost three wickets in the powerplay but having Simmo (John Simpson) with all his experience in the middle helped and the plan then was to take it as deep as we could without losing too many wickets. Simmo and Lamby (Danny Lamb) got the run rate down to a manageable level then Jack Carson hit that six to get us over the line.

“I don’t think we did that much wrong all game. These sort of games are the ones to play in and I was thankful for the opportunity to bat a bit higher at five, because I felt I could add a bit more in that position. I have batted there for Derbyshire and it went okay. For me it’s a big change from last year batting three or four places higher and hopefully there is more to come.

“It’s massive to win the first game. It gives you belief and energy and the boys are riding high with another game to come in Cardiff on Sunday.”

Gloucestershire’s Jack Taylor said, “I think we put a good game together and played the better cricket. We gave it a real good crack and played some good stuff. We were going to bowl first and they perhaps had the better of the conditions because with the dew it got easier to bat on but we got a good score. We were happy at halfway and took some early wickets but couldn’t quite get over the line, and a few dropped catches also hurt us.

“I’ve taken the responsibility to target the middle overs with the bat so it was nice to contribute and overall I’m pretty happy with us. After two games I think we’re ticking at 60% so there is more to come definitely.”

Middlesex vs Kent, South Group, Vitality Blast

Matt Parkinson claimed a hat-trick as Kent thrashed Middlesex by 98 runs at Chelmsford to open their 2024 Vitality Blast campaign with a win.

Parkinson, who made the move from ;Lancashire over the winter, shone for his newly adopted county, claiming the scalps of Jack Davies, Tom Helm and Henry Brookes in his third over on route to figures of 4-25.

It meant the hosts, playing the first of two home games at Chelmsford in this campaign were hustled out for 107 to fall way short of their victory target of 206.

Earlier, Joe Denly was the mainstay of Kent’s 205=8 with 56 in 33 balls complete with two sixes and seven fours. Daniel Bell-Drummond another man to be the scourge of Middlesex in the recent past provided good support with 38. Luke Hollman returned 3-27 and Blake Cullen 3-47 in his first match of the season.

Bell-Drummond and England opener Zak Crawley made an explosive start, each striking Cullen for huge sixes in the third over as they posted a 50-stand within 23 balls.

It took a super catch running back at mid-wicket by Leus Du-Plooy to end Crawley’s effort on 26, but Bell-Drummond continued the assault, pummelling Henry Brookes back over his head for six before being dropped by Joe Cracknell in the deep.

The miss wasn’t costly as Tom Helm pulled off a ‘Worldy’ in the next over diving full length at deep mid-on to send Bell-Drummond on his way for 38. It was the first of two in two balls for the impressive Hollman as Sam Billing suffered a first-ball duck. Hollman would snaffle a third when Tawanda Muyeye struck him straight to Cracknell to leave Kent 79-3.

Denly was though in no mood to see a collapse and played the innings of substance, striking the ball powerfully straight and employing the scoop to good effect in a well-paced effort. He was one of three late wickets for Cullen but nevertheless the target of 205 looked daunting.

Middlesex promoted Du Plooy to opener, but the move backfired as he fell for 11 bowled by Grant Stewart.

Ryan Higgins’ stay was brutal yet brief, one huge six followed by a mishit which ballooned to mid-off, Beyers Swanepoel the bowler to profit and skipper Stephen Eskinazi also holed out on the fence to give Stewart a second wicket.

Eyes were now on Max Holden who made 121 in the same fixture last season. There would though be no repeat as he drilled one straight to Crawley on the boundary at mid-off from the spin of Marcus O’Riordan and at 49-4 the hosts were in a mess.

Joe Cracknell down at an unfamiliar position of six rather than at the top of the order came and went bowled by Parkinson.

Davies blossomed briefly but then came Parkinson’s party piece to hasten the end of the rout.

 

Kent spinner Matt Parkinson said who took 4-25 said: "It's my first professional hat-trick. It was fun and it is obviously nice to take wickets. It's been a fairly tough start to the season, so I've earnt those wickets I think. 

"The first six overs we bowled fantastic. I thought the seamers were all fantastic. To have that start in the first six overs made mine and 'Ray's' (O' Riordan) job that much easier. 

"It was a fantastic performance. Zak and Deebs (Bell-Drummond) are absolute guns and so for those two to get 70 in the first six was brilliant.

At one stage it looked like we weren't going to get 200 but the way 'Denners (Joe Denly) played was fantastic." 

 

Middlesex head coach Richard Johnson said: "It was a disappointing evening. It looked a very rusty performance from us. We have tried over the last two years to play this attacking brand of cricket which we are working hard towards but sometimes when you you are chasing 200 on a decent pitch and you lose a couple of early ones our policy is to keep going. Sometimes in that situation you get bowled out where other times you get to that total. It's not something we are going to stress about or worry about. It's an under par performance and the first game in a 14 game series.

On juggling the batting order he added: "My thinking is Leus (Du Plooy) is a world-class player. He opened the batting in the winter, it's a position he wants to play and we want to give him a go up there. We think 'Crackers (Joe Cracknell) can adapt lower down. We are stacking that top order where hopefully one of them stays in and goes big." 

 

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