Let us take a look at the highlights of Vitality Blast 2021 matches that took place on 2 July.
Kent v Surrey, Canterbury
Kent 191/4 in 20 overs (Cox 61*; Jacks 1-12) beat Surrey 180/6 in 20 overs (Jacks 87; Milne 4-38) by 11 runs. Player of the Match: Will Jacks.
Adam Milne (4-38) took a hat-trick in the final over to help Kent beat Surrey by 11 runs at Canterbury. With 18 runs to defend in the final over, Milne dismissed Ollie Pope (15), Kyle Jamieson and Laurie Evans (57 in 42 balls) with the last three balls of the game to restrict Surrey to 180/6.
Earlier, Jordan Cox (61* in 28) and Jack Leaning (50 in 40) helped Kent pile 191/4 after opting to bat.
Despite being on the losing side, Will Jacks was adjudged Player of the Match for his valiant 54-ball 87, which included 15 fours and a six, and his spell of 2-0-12-1.
Somerset v Middlesex, Taunton
Somerset 152 in 18.1 overs (Conway 45; Cullen 4-32) beat Middlesex 114/6 in 16 overs (Sowter 37*; Overton 3-28) by 5 runs (DLS Method). Player of the Match: Blake Cullen.
Middlesex’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages officially ended after a five-run defeat against Somerset in a rain-interrupted contest.
After being asked to bat, Somerset were bowled out for 152 in 18.1 overs, with Devon Conway top-scoring 26-ball 45. Blake Cullen claimed 4-32, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-49 and Steven Finn 2-16.
Coming to defend, Craig Overton (3-28) reduced Middlesex to 55/5. Nathan Sowter (37* in 24) kept Middlesex in the game before persistent rain came into play. They finished on 114/6 in 16 overs, five short of the DLS target.
Glamorgan vs Sussex, Cardiff
Sussex 201/8 in 20 overs (Wright 77; Douthwaite 3-28) beat Glamorgan 168 in 18.4 overs (Lloyd 51; Lenham 4-26) by 33 runs. Player of the Match: Archie Lenham.
Archie Lenham, 16, returned a career-best of 4-26 to help Sussex beat Glamorgan by 33 runs in Cardiff. Luke Wright (77 in 41) and Philip Salt (63 in 35) first forged a 144-run opening stand to help Sussex reach 201/8. Roman Walker (3-44) and Daniel Douthwaite (3-28) picked up three wickets each.
In reply, David Lloyd (51 in 29) and Douthwaite (35 in 18) did not get much support as Glamorgan were bowled out for 168 in 18.4 overs. Ravi Bopara got 2-32 and David Wiese 2-19.
Hampshire v Gloucestershire, Southampton
Hampshire 176/6 in 20 overs (Prest 59*; Shaw 2-29) beat Gloucestershire 166/5 in 20 overs (Phillips 57; Wood 2-31) by 10 runs. Player of the Match: Tom Prest.
Hampshire recorded their second win of the season, against Gloucestershire by a 10-run margin. This was their first home win in the tournament since 2019.
After opting to bat, Tom Prest remained unbeaten at 59 to take Hampshire to 176/6. He was ably supported by Joe Weatherley (30 in 24) and James Fuller (38 in 24).
In reply, Glenn Philipps (57 in 42) and Chris Dent (42 in 36) shared 82 but could not able to take Gloucestershire past the finishing line. They closed on 166/5.
Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, Edgbaston
Nottinghamshire 177/9 in 20 overs (Patel 41; Lintott 3-28) beat Warwickshire 63 in 13.4 overs (Yates 24; Ball 4-11) by 114 runs. Player of the Match: Samit Patel.
Nottinghamshire outmuscled Warwickshire by 114 runs at Edgbaston. This was Notts’ biggest margin of victory in the tournament’s history, surpassing their 92-run win against Lancashire in 2005.
After being put in, Samit Patel top-scored with 41 to help Notts post a challenging 177/9. Jacob Lintott (3-28) and Will Rhodes (3-40) claimed three wickets each.
Led by Jake Ball (2.1-0-11-4) and Calvin Harrison (4-1-17-4), the Notts bowlers then bowled out Warwickshire for 63 in just 13.4 overs. Robert Yates (24) was the only Warwickshire batter who scored in excess of 10.
Yorkshire v Lancashire, Headingley
Yorkshire 180/4 in 20 overs (Brook 91*; Wells 1-16) beat Lancashire 171/8 in 20 overs (Jones 61*; Ferguson 4-24) by 9 runs. Player of the Match: Harry Brook.
Lockie Ferguson (4-24) did the hat-trick in Yorkshire’s win over Lancashire at Headingley. Earlier, Harry Brook’s career-best 91 not out had guided Yorkshire to 180/4. Brook added 77 for the third wicket alongside Adam Lyth (51 in 40).
Coming to chase, Rob Jones remained unbeaten at 61 but failed to accelerate as Lancashire finished at 171/8. Ferguson removed Luke Wells, Luke Wood and Tom Hartley in the final three balls of the match, just like Milne on the same evening.
Durham v Leicestershire, Chester-le-Street
Durham 115/4 in 15.1 overs (Clark 40; Naveen-ul-Haq 2-14) lost to Leicestershire 88/2 in 8.2 overs (Inglis 35*; Stokes 1-15) by 8 wickets with 4 balls to spare (DLS Method). Player of the Match: Colin Ackermann.
Leicestershire beat Durham by eight wickets in a rain-affected contest at Chester-le-Street. Graham Clark (40 in 33) and Sean Dickson (35* in 29) had taken Durham to 115/4 in 15.1 overs before rain interrupted the game.
The revised target was 88 for Leicestershire in nine overs. Josh Inglis did not show any mercy on the Durham bowlers. He smashed four fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 17-ball 35 to guide his side reach the target with four balls to spare.
Derbyshire v Worcestershire, Derby
Worcestershire 167/6 in 20 overs (D’Oliveira 43; Dernbach 3-23) beat Derbyshire 153/8 in 20 overs (Wood 46; Morris 3-21) by 14 runs. Player of the Match: Brett D’Oliveira.
Daryl Mitchell became the first Worcestershire player to pick up 100 T20 scalps in their 14-run win over Derbyshire.
Earlier, Jade Dernbach took 3-23 on his tournament debut to restrict Worcestershire to 167/6. By hitting six fours, Brett D’Oliveira top-scored for Worcestershire but ended up falling to Matthew Critchley (2-20).
Luis Reece (39 in 27) and Thomas Wood (46 in 35) tried their best, but Derbyshire fell 14 runs short of Worcestershire’s total. Charlie Morris led the Worcestershire bowling attack, with 3-21 in three overs.