Let us take a look at the highlights of Vitality Blast 2021 matches that took place on 25 June.
Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire, Derby
Nottinghamshire 137/9 in 20 overs (Clarke 36; McKiernan 3-9) tied with Derbyshire 137/9 in 20 overs (Reece 51; Harrison 2-9). Player of the Match: Matthew Critchley.
Derbyshire failed to score 10 runs from the final 14 balls to secure a win against Nottinghamshire at Derby. The contest ended in a tie, which was enough for Notts to climb the top of the North Group.
Coming to bat, Notts struggled to reach 137/9. Joe Clarke top-scored with a 16-ball 36, while Matthew Carter (15*) and Jake Ball (18* off 11) added an unbeaten 27-run stand for the eighth wicket. Matt McKiernan returned impressive figures of 3-9 in two overs.
Riding on Luis Reece’s 30-ball 51, Derbyshire raced to 68/0 in the eighth over. But Mattie McKiernan, Logan van Beek and Conor McKerr all fell first ball before they matched Notts total on the final ball of the match.
Leicestershire v Yorkshire, Grace Road
Leicestershire 207/3 in 20 overs (Arron Lilley 99*; Root 1-33) beat Yorkshire 173 in 19.5 overs (Gary Ballance 34; Callum Parkinson 4-35) by 34 runs. Player of the Match: Arron Lilley.
Arron Lilley’s career-best 99 not out helped Leicestershire beat Yorkshire by 34 runs at the Grace Road. Lilley and Colin Ackermann (40 off 22) guided Leicestershire to pile 207/3 after opting to bat first.
Coming to chase, Joe Root, who returned 1-33 in three overs, fell for run-a-ball 15 as Yorkshire slumped to 137/8 in 16.4 overs. Dom Bess’s 14-ball 24 helped them post a reasonable total before bowing out for 173 in 19.5 overs.
Sussex v Gloucestershire, Hove
Gloucestershire 162/5 in 20 overs (Philipps 94*; Mills 3-20) beat Sussex 135 in 19.5 overs (Wright 33; Howell 4-15) by 27 runs. Player of the Match: Glenn Philips.
Sussex lost their unbeaten streak on Ollie Robinson’s return to senior cricket against Gloucestershire at Hove. In-form Glenn Phillips hit an unbeaten 94 in back-to-back encounters to help Gloucestershire reach 162/5. Tymal Mills was the pick of the Sussex bowlers with 3-20, while Robinson returned 1-38 in four overs.
Benny Howell (4-15) then tore Sussex apart before bowling them out for 135 in 19.5 overs. They were struggling at 78/8 at one stage but Robinson (31 off 19) and Mills (27 off 16) then added 42 runs for the ninth wicket to take Sussex to a respective total.
Northamptonshire v Lancashire, Northampton
Lancashire 130/7 in 20 overs (Croft 35*; Parnell 2-28) lost to Northamptonshire 131/3 in 18.2 overs (Vasconcelos 41; Wood 1-21) by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Mohammad Nabi.
Northamptonshire registered their second win of the tournament by beating Lancashire by seven wickets.
After opting to bat first, Steven Croft (35* off 37) top-scored in Lancashire’s 130/7. Wayne Parnell returned 2-29, while Ben Sanderson (1-25), Graeme White (1-25) and Brandon Glover (1-21) took a wicket each.
In reply, Ricardo Vasconcelos (41) led from the front before Mohammad Nabi (27* off 19) Rob Keogh (25* off 24) ensured the victory with 10 balls to spare.
Somerset v Hampshire, Taunton
Somerset 172/9 in 20 overs (Banton 77; Currie 4-31) beat Hampshire 165/8 in 20 overs (De Grandhomme 66; Gregory 3-46) by 7 runs. Player of the Match: Tom Banton.
Collin de Grandhomme took 2-41 and smashed 34-ball 66 on his Hampshire debut but ended up on to a losing side against Somerset. Tom Banton (77 off 37) and Will Smeed (63* off 44) guided Somerset to post 172/9. Scott Currie returned 4-31, while Mason Crane (2-32) claimed two wickets.
De Grandhomme hit 10 fours and two sixes in his innings to take Hampshire on a driver’s seat, with 35 needed off the final five overs. Lewis Gregory (3-46) then brought a brilliant death bowling before Hampshire fell short on 165/8.
Worcestershire v Durham, New Road
Durham 178/8 in 20 overs (Bedingham 44; Morris 3-37) lost to Worcestershire 181/2 in 19.3 overs (Libby 78*; Potts 2-41) by 8 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Jake Libby.
Worcestershire recorded their first win in five games by beating Durham by eight wickets. Earlier, David Bedingham’s 26-ball 44 had helped Durham reach 178/8, while Charlie Morris returned his career-best 3-37.
In reply, Brett D’Oliveira (67 off 49) and Jake Libby (78* off 55) forged a 145-run stand for the second wicket before Ben Cox hit the winning run with three balls remaining.
Surrey v Middlesex, The Oval
Middlesex 174/7 in 20 overs (Eskinazi 64; Atkinson 4-36) lost to Surrey 175/5 in 19 overs (Pope 52*; Sowter 2-16) by 5 wickets with 6 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Ollie Pope.
Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 52 steered Surrey to a five-wicket win over Middlesex at The Oval. Stevie Eskinazi (64 off 51) had notched up his maiden T20 fifty before falling to Gus Atkinson, who returned a career-best of 4-36. Daryl Mitchell (58 off 36) then took Middlesex to 174/7.
Will Jacks (47 from 26), Pope and Jamie Overton (24* off 10) then ran through Middlesex bowlers before they reached the target with an over to spare.
Essex v Kent, Chelmsford
Kent 167/9 in 20 overs (Bell-Drummond 50; Simon Harmer 4-26) beat Essex 31/4 in 5 overs (Lawrence 19*; Milnes 2-15) by 28 runs (DLS Method). Player of the Match: Daniel Bell-Drummond.
Kent remained at top of the South Group following a 28-run win over Essex in a rain-affected contest at Chelmsford. Daniel Bell-Drummond (50) and Zak Crawley (43) put on an 89 run-opening stand before Darren Stevens hit a quickfire 28 to take Kent to 167/9. Simon Harmer returned 4-26.
Essex were left reeling at 31/4 in five overs before the rain came into play. After that, no play was possible as umpires declared Kent the winner on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.