Let us take a look at the highlights of Vitality T20 Blast 2021 matches that took place on 16 July.
Hampshire v Essex, Southampton
Hampshire 171/8 in 20 overs (Vince 63; S Cook 3-34) beat Essex 153 in 19.2 overs (Lawrence 60; Wheal 2-21) by 18 runs. Player of the Match: James Vince.
James Vince continued his excellent form from his maiden ODI century against Pakistan to help Hampshire to an 18-run win over Essex, at Southampton. Vince’s 46-ball 63 guided Hampshire reach 171/8 after they opted to bat. Sam Cook was the pick of the Essex bowlers, with 3-34.
In reply, Hampshire’s Dan Lawrence and Tom Westley put on 80 for the second wicket to keep the chase in control. But they lost their last nine wickets for 68 runs before being bowled out for 153 in 19.2 overs.
Glamorgan v Somerset, Cardiff
Somerset 181/5 in 20 overs (Conway 70*; Walker 3-15) beat Glamorgan 107 in 17.4 overs (Douthwaite 25; Goldsworthy 3-14) by 74 runs. Player of the Match: Devon Conway.
Somerset booked their place in the quarter-final with a 74-run win over Glamorgan, in Cardiff. Earlier, Devon Conway (70* in 52) batted full 20 overs to help Somerset reach 181/5. Roman Walker returned excellent figures of 4-0-15-3.
Apart from Daniel Douthwaite (25 in 16), no Glamorgan batter scored in excess of 20. They were bowled out for just 107 in 17.4 overs. Lewis Goldsworthy and Roelof van der Merwe picked up three wickets each, while Jack Leach had two to his name.
Gloucestershire v Surrey, Cheltenham
Gloucestershire 177/9 in 20 overs (Phillips 48; Atkinson 4-37) lost to Surrey 178/3 in 18.2 overs (Smith 60; Howell 1-26) by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Gareth Batty.
Surrey beat Gloucestershire by seven wickets in their T20 Blast fixture at Cheltenham. After being invited to bat, Glenn Phillips’ 26-ball 48 helped Gloucestershire post 177/9. Benny Howell (30) and Miles Hammond (25) also chipped in with useful contributions. Gus Atkinson did the most damage for Surrey, with 4-37.
However, fifties from Jamie Smith (60) and Laurie Evans (58) guided Surrey to see the chase off by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare. Josh Shaw, Ryan Higgins and Benny Howell claimed a wicket each.
Middlesex v Kent, Lord’s
Kent 157/8 in 20 overs (Finch 47; Cullen 4-33) beat Middlesex 80 in 16.3 overs (Mujeeb 13; Hooper 3-24) by 77 runs. Player of the Match: Elliot Hooper.
Elliot Hooper returned 3-24 on debut to help Kent beat Middlesex by 77 runs at Lord’s. Earlier, Harry Finch’s 47 and Heino Kuhn’s 42 took Kent to finish a moderate total of 157/8 after they opted to bat. Blake Cullen had 4-33 and Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-36.
Hooper, alongside Safyaan Sharif (2-10), Harry Podmore (2-12), Matthew Quinn (2-13), then bundle Middlesex out for just 80 in 16.3 overs. It was Middlesex’s lowest ever total in the tournament.
Lancashire v Durham, Old Trafford
Lancashire 199/5 in 20 overs (Allen 66; Borthwick 2-30) beat Durham 193/5 in 20 overs (Dickson 53; Hartley 2-35) by 6 runs. Player of the Match: Finn Allen.
Lancashire beat Durham by 6 runs in a high-scoring thriller at Old Trafford. Fifties from Finn Allen (66) and Alex Davies (56) helped Lancashire finish with 199/5 after they opted to bat. Keaton Jennings also made 43 off 33. Scott Borthwick and Matty Potts took two wickets each.
Responding to that, David Bedingham (50 off 24) and Graham Clark (37 off 23) got Durham off to a rousing start. The pair hit 78 runs in the Powerplay. But it was not enough in the end as they fell 6 runs short to the target.
Warwickshire v Worcestershire, Edgbaston
Warwickshire 169/5 in 20 overs (Hain 83*; Pennington 2-11) beat Worcestershire 152/6 in 20 overs (Libby 36; Briggs 2-18) by 17 runs. Player of the Match: Sam Hain.
Warwickshire kept their hopes of qualification alive with a 17-run win over Worcestershire at Edgbaston. Choosing to bat, Warwickshire made 169/5, thanks to Sam Hain's unbeaten 53-ball 83. He and Carlos Brathwaite (52) added an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 106.
In reply, Jake Libby top-scored with 36 off 34, but failed to accelerate against Danny Briggs (2-18) and Craig Miles (2-27). They closed on 152/6.
Leicestershire v Nottinghamshire, Grace Road
Nottinghamshire 173 in 19.2 overs (Clarke 57; Naveen 3-33) lost to Leicestershire 177/8 in 19.4 overs (Inglis 42; Mullaney 3-33) by 2 wickets with 2 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Arron Lilley.
Nottinghamshire suffered their second defeat of the season against Leicestershire, at Grace Road. Naveen-ul-Haq (3-33) and Colin Ackermann (3-35) ran through Notts to bowl them out for 173 in 19.2 overs. Joe Clarke top-scored with 27-ball 57.
Coming to chase, Josh Inglis (42 in 19) and Arron Lilley (42 in 23) got Leicestershire off to a blistering start. But wickets kept falling at regular intervals after their departure. They needed 6 runs off the final over, and Naveen (8* in 2) hit back-to-back fours to take his side past the finishing line with two balls to spare.
Hampshire v Sussex, Southampton
Sussex 183/6 in 20 overs (Bopara 62; Dawson 2-15) lost to Hampshire 184/4 in 19.2 overs (Vince 102*; Beer 2-20) by 6 wickets with 4 balls to spare. Player of the Match: James Vince.
After hitting 46-ball 63 against Essex, Vince now got a 59-ball 102 against Sussex on the same day, to help Hampshire register their fourth successive win.
Riding on a 102-run stand between Luke Wright (54) and Ravi Bopara (62) and cameos from Delray Rawlins (22 in 11) and Rashid Khan (26 in 13), Sussex posted 183/6 after opting to bat.
But Vince and D’Arcy Short (36) added 120 off 73 for the opening wicket to keep the chase under control. Joe Weatherley remained unbeaten after hitting a quickfire 12-ball 24 to guide Hampshire reach the target with four balls to spare.
Northamptonshire vs Derbyshire, Northampton
The match between Northampton and Derbyshire was cancelled due to a lack of available players in Derbyshire camp after a sudden rise of Covid-19 cases.