Let us take a look at the highlights of Vitality Blast 2021 matches that took place on 27 June.
Worcestershire v Leicestershire, New Road
Leicestershire 156/7 in 20 overs (Hill 39; Pennington 2-20) lost to Worcestershire 157/3 in 19.1 overs (D’Oliveira 69; Parkinson 1-20) by 7 wickets with 5 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Brett D’Oliveira.
Worcestershire resumed their winning habit and kept their quarter-final hopes alive after beating Leicestershire by seven wickets at New Road. Worcestershire had reduced to 59/5 from 34/0 after Ben Cox asked them to bat first.
Lewis Hill (59 off 33) and Louis Kimber (23 off 17) added 60 for the sixth wicket before they closed on 156/7. Ben Dwarshuis (2-23) and Dillon Pennington (2-20) claimed two wickets each.
In reply, Riki Wessels (46 off 34) and Brett D’Oliveira (69 off 53) forged a 103-run opening stand in 74 balls before the former fell to Callum Parkinson (1-20). Cox (11*) then ensured Worcestershire victory with five balls to spare.
Middlesex v Glamorgan, Radlett
Glamorgan 170/8 in 20 overs (Douthwaite 53; Mitchell 3-37) lost to Middlesex 171/3 in 17.4 overs (Eskinazi 91*; Douthwaite 2-27) by 7 wickets with 14 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Stephen Eskinazi.
Stephen Eskinazi’s unbeaten 56-ball 91 helped Middlesex to secure their second win of the tournament by beating Glamorgan by seven wickets. Glamorgan lost Colin Ingram for nought after opting to bat first. In the absence of Marnus Labuschagne, they slumped to 76/6 in 11.4 overs.
Daniel Douthwaite (53 off 31) and James Weighell (51 off 26) then steadied the ship with an 88-run stand for the seventh wicket to take Glamorgan to 170/8. Daryl Mitchell returned 3-37 and Steven Finn 2-44.
Despite Joe Cracknell’s (13) early departure, Eskinazi ran through Glamorgan bowlers before Mitchell’s quickfire 13-ball 32 came into play. In the end, they reached the target with 14 balls in hand.
Sussex v Surrey, Hove
Surrey 175/7 in 20 overs (Smith 57; Mills 3-21) vs Sussex 43/1 (Wright 20*; Jamie Overton 1-6). No result.
Rain frustrated Sussex at Hove. They were 43/1 in 4.5 overs, ahead on DLS, and needed just one more ball to get a result. However, persistent rain shattered their hopes as no play was possible after that.
Earlier, Jamie Smith’s maiden T20 fifty (57 off 43) and Jamie Overton’s 14-ball 28 guided Surrey to post 175/7 after being put in. Tymal Mills (3-21) picked up three wickets, while David Wiese (2-30) had two to his name.