T20 Blast 2022 | South Group Round-up | July 1

Middlesex vs Somerset

Somerset strengthened their T20 Blast 2022 Quarterfinal chances with an away win against Middlesex at Lord’s. The Tom Abell-led side chased down the hosts 160-6 with 2 balls to spare in a final-over thriller. Captain Abell himself scored 36 while tail-ender Josh Davey provided a quickfire finishing touch to the run-chase.

Opening batter Tom Banton also stroked his way to 39 runs at the top of the order, despite losing his partner within the third over of the innings. Earlier, Somerset’s Ben Green took 3-38 in his four-over spell.

Brief scores:

Middlesex: 160-6 (20)

Chris Green 44*, Luke Hollman 41

Ben Green 3-38, Josh Davey 1-25

Somerset: 161-8 (19.4)

Tom Banton 39, Tom Abell 36

Jason Behrendorff 3-30, Max Harris 2-37

Somerset won by 2 wickets

Kent vs Surrey

South Group table-toppers Surrey pipped defending champions and wooden-spooners Kent Spitfires in their penultimate group match of the season. Batting first, the Kent batters slammed 191-5 on the board off the back of half-centuries from Jordan Cox and Alex Blake.

The Chris Jordan-led side later overhauled Kent’s total with more than an over to spare. Opener Jason Roy struck 58 while number 3 batsman Sam Curran clobbered 50 to anchor Surrey’s run-chase. Their latest win further solidifies their number one status on the South Group standings.

Brief scores:

Kent: 191-5 (20)

Jordan Cox 54, Alex Blake 50*

Jamie Overton 1-24, Sunil Narine 1-26

Surrey: 195-6 (18.3)

Jason Roy 58, Sam Curran 50

Qais Ahmad 3-28, George Linde 1-30

Surrey won by 4 wickets

Essex vs Sussex

Essex made full use of their home advantage to collect two crucial South Group points at the fag end of the 2022 T20 Blast group stage. Batting first, the Simon Harmer-led side scored 197-8 off 20 overs. Their innings was powered by opener Adam Rossington’s 95 and Tom Westley’s 30-ball 54 in the middle-order.

Despite reaching 130 around the 13-over mark, the Sussex batters faltered their way to a 28-run defeat. They scored only 38 runs off their final six overs, as Essex’ Daniel Sams and captain Harmer snared six wickets between them.

Brief scores:

Essex: 197-8 (20)

Adam Rossington 95, Tom Westley 54

Rashid Khan 3-30, Ravi Bopara 2-30

Sussex: 169-8 (20)

Ravi Bopara 47, Ali Orr 41

Simon Harmer 3-18, Daniel Sams 3-45

Essex won by 28 runs

Hampshire vs Gloucestershire

Hosts Hampshire won a low-scoring thriller against Jack Taylor’s Gloucestershire at Southampton. They scored just 140 on the board after batting first, with middle-order batter James Fuller top-scoring for the side with a 24-ball 45.

Later, the Hampshire bowlers restricted the visitors to just 125. Each of the hosts bowlers were among the wickets, with Brad Wheal and Liam Dawson being the pick-of-the-bowlers with two wickets each.



Brief scores:

Hampshire: 140-7 (20)

James Fuller 45, Joe Weatherley 32

Tom Smith 2-18, Benny Howell 2-29

Gloucestershire: 125 (19.4)

James Bracey 38, Glenn Phillips 18

Liam Dawson 2-16, Brad Wheal 2-22

Hampshire won by 15 runs