T20 Blast 2022 | Sam Curran's onslaught, Labuschagne's misfiring highlight entertaining evening

Leicestershire Foxes vs Birmingham Bears

Birmingham Bears, under Carlos Brathwaite, took on Leicestershire Foxes in a home game, with 2 North Group points on the line. Colin Ackermann's Foxes won the toss and put on 152-9 on the board. Opening batsman Scott Steel charted a steely 72 at the top of the order.

The total turned out to be enough, albeit just by 5 runs. Alex Davies recorded 43 while West Indies international and Bears' skipper Brathwaite (19-ball 28*) played a fighting hand till the end.

Brief scores:

Leicestershire Foxes 152-9 (20)

Scott Steel 72 (51), Ben Mike 34 (17)

Jake Lintott 4-27, Danny Briggs 2-25

Birmingham Bears 147-9 (20)

Alex Davies 43 (31), Carlos Brathwaite 28* (19)

Ben Mike 3-30, Rehan Ahmed 3-36

Result: Leicestershire Foxes won by 5 runs

Surrey vs Hampshire Hawks

Meanwhile, at the iconic Oval, a star-studded Surrey took on Liam Dawson's Hampshire Hawks in a South Group fixture. Batting first, the Chris Jordan-led side whipped the Hawks on their way to 228-4 from their 20 overs.

Opener Will Jacks clobbered a 36-ball 64, while international all-rounders Sam Curran and Sunil Narine piled on the pain with 38-ball 69 and 23-ball 52, respectively. Kieron Pollard faced the final seven deliveries to score 12* while Laurie Evans smacked a 15-ball 25*.

The Hampshire Hawks fell way short of their target, folding out for just 156 in pursuit of a mountainous chase. Remarkably, Curran, who bombarded the Hawks with a quickfire 69, also claimed a five-fer with the ball.

Brief scores:

Surrey 228-4 (20)

Sam Curran 69 (38), Will Jacks 64 (36)

Liam Dawson 3-34, Chris Wood 1-46

Hampshire Hawks 156 (18.5)

James Fuller 43 (34), Ben McDermott 29 (12)

Sam Curran 5-30, Reece Topley 2-40

Result: Surrey won by 72 runs

Essex Eagles vs Glamorgan

In Cardiff's Sophia Gardens, the Essex Eagles took on Glamorgan in another South Group match. Under David Lloyd, Glamorgan won the toss, chose to field and steamrolled the Eagles for just 113-9 in their 20 overs. The Michael's of the team, namely Hogan and Neser, claimed critical 3-fers to break the back of the Eagles' batting order.

Glamorgan later chased down the modest total with more than three overs to spare. Star attraction Marnus Labuschagne failed to get going beyond 18, but the likes of Sam Northeast, Chris Cooke, and Dan Douthwaite made sure the chase never got out of their grasp.

Brief scores:

Essex Eagles 113-9 (20)

Matt Critchley 38 (26), Tom Westley 23* (20)

Michael Neser 3-13, Michael Hogan 3-21

Glamorgan 114-4 (16.5)

Sam Northeast 44 (44), Marnus Labuschagne 18 (18)

Matt Critchley 1-17, Daniel Sams 1-25

Result: Glamorgan won by 6 wickets