William Buttleman played a measured innings before Samuel Cook claimed a four-for to guide Essex to an 8-wicket victory over Surrey on Wednesday, 21 June. Heavy rain delayed the proceedings, and the match was later reduced to a 17-overs-a side.
Essex won the toss and put Surrey in to bat, and were vindicated early as both openers, Hashim Amla and Will Jacks, departed inside two overs. Amla was dismissed on the first ball of the match by Aron Nijjar.
Surrey kept losing wickets frequently. Jamie Smith made 20 off 12, while Ben Geddes made 28 before becoming Nijjar’s second victim. Jordan Clark’s 30 was the highest score of the match.
Samuel Cook was the pick of the bowlers, returning impressive figures of 3.4-0-15-4. Lijjar and Dan Lawrence picked two wickets each.
In reply, Essex hardly broke into stride. William Buttleman and Adam Wheater provided them with sturdy start, adding 67 runs for the opening wicket. Buttleman walked back unbeaten on 56 to see his team past the target with nine balls to spare.
Score: Surrey 118 in 16.4 overs (Clark 30; Cook 4-15) lost to Essex 119/2 in 15.3 overs (Buttleman 56; Moriarty 1-27) by eight wickets by DLS method. Player of the Match: Samuel Cook