Vitality Blast news

In the South Group, Kent Spitfires have caught the eye so far this campaign with some excellent all-round performances.

But they fell to their 2nd defeat in 8 games and missed the chance to open up a lead on neighbours Sussex as Gloucestershire restricted them to just 125 runs for 8 wickets at Bristol.

Kent skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond did his best to try and anchor the innings with 62 runs from 56 balls, but the hosts (Gloucestershire) put on a fine bowling display with two wickets apiece for seamers David Payne, Andrew and Chris Liddle.

There was the hint of some wobble in Gloucestershire's reply at 96 for 5, but Benny Howell's 25* off just 14 balls got them home with a 6 and 7 balls to spare on 131 for 5.

Kent stay on 2nd position and level on points with Sussex, having played a game more. Gloucestershire sit outside the quarter-final places on net run-rate to Hampshire in 5th.
Somerset smash down Essex

There was a crushing victory by 114 runs for Somerset against Essex.

Chelmsford has now become synonymous with big T20 Blast totals due to its very short boundaries, but normally it is the home side that inflict more damage on the bowlers.
somerset vs essexsomerset vs essex

But not this time, as Somerset posted an imposing 224runs for 6 wickets, thanks to Babar Azam's 56 off 39 balls as well as Tom Abell's 45 from 25 and Eddie Byrom's 44 from 22 balls.

Some lusty hitting by Craig Overton in the final overs left Essex seamer Aaron Beard with the eye-watering figures of 0-55 off his 3 overs.

Essex showed a brief threat in response as Cameron Delport and Tom Westley set off at 10-an-over, but the Eagles sunk from 75 for 2 to 111 all out in the space of just 30 balls.

Roelof van der Merwe proved to be the chief destroyer with 5 wickets for 32 runs to secure a 3rd win in 7 games for Somerset, which leaves Essex in strife with just 2 wins from the same number of games.

Leicestershire Off-spinner, Ackermann (28), led the Foxes to a 55 run win which also boosted their quarter-final chances.

His figures surpassed the previous best of 6 wickets for just 5 runs in 22 balls by Somerset's Arul Suppiah against Glamorgan back in 2011.

Meanwhile, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire also bagged wins on Wednesday.

But the night truly belonged to Leicestershire's Ackermann, whose previous best figures in the format were 3 wickets for 21 runs.

He took 6 of his 7 wickets in 2 overs only as Birmingham lost their last eight wickets for mere 20 runs to be bowled out for 134, chasing 190 at Grace Road.

"It's quite hard to believe, I didn't know that the record was seven wickets," Ackermann said.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet and I think it's the first time it's turned here at Grace Road in 20 years, which is fantastic for the spinners. It was a great all-round performance from the team to set the game up for the bowlers."

Half-centuries from Harry Swindells (63 runs off 50 balls) and Lewis Hill (58 runs off 28) helped Leicestershire put up 189-6.

Birmingham's reply looked quite threatening when Adam Hose (34) and Sam Hain (61) added 91 for the 3rd wicket partnership. But when Adam fell to seamer Will Davis at 114-3, 28 balls later the game was all over.

Victory for Leicestershire lifted them to 4th position in the North Group and above Birmingham who are a point behind and with a game in hand in 6th.
Northamptonshire kept cool as they beat Durham by 21 Runs

Finally, two sides struggling for some consistency met at Northampton with 2-time winners Northamptonshire Steelbacks hoping some home wicket advantage would work in their favour once again.

And so it happened as the hosts battled to 145 for 6 thanks to Alex Wakeley's 47 not out and 37 from South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorious.

Durham could never get going in response as they stuttered to just 32 for 3 inside the powerplay overs.

Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Handscomb (63*) battled hard, but could not find a willing partnership as some miserly bowling pushed them hard.

Rob Keogh (3 wickets for 30) took the scalps, but Josh Cobb built the pressure with just 12 runs off his 4 wicketless overs to ensure Durham fell 21 runs short on 124 for 8.

AB de Villiers struck nine sixes as Middlesex outclassed Somerset to win by 35 runs in the Vitality Blast.

The South African was unbeaten on 88 runs off 35 balls, with spinner Nathan Sowter taking 4 wickets for 29 runs for the victors.
south african batsmen ab de villiers batting for middlesexsouth african batsmen ab de villiers batting for middlesex
The South African was unbeaten on 88 runs off 35 balls, with spinner Nathan Sowter taking 4 wickets for 29 runs for the victors

Elsewhere, Birmingham Bears were beaten by Sussex Sharks after being punished six penalty runs for a slow over-rate.

High-flying Kent beat Hampshire and Leicestershire defeated Worcestershire to move off the bottom of North Group.

De Villiers reached his half-century from just 24 deliveries and went on to score at an even quicker rate as Middlesex set a total of 215-4 from their 20 overs.

The 35-year-old passed 8,000 careers T20 runs, scoring just one four but hitting nine sixes in his innings and overshadowing Dawid Malan's knock of 56 runs off 37 balls in an innings where England's World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan fell for just 11 runs.

In reply Tom Abell (41), Tom Banton (41), and James Hildreth (28) all scored freely but were unable to push on as Sowter bowled brilliantly to help bowl Somerset out for 180 runs and secure a 35-run victory.

Bowlers will be pleased De Villiers is only available for Middlesex's next group game but he could return for the knockout stages if they qualify, which looks hopeful with his side up to third in South Group.
Gloucestershire pay penalty in a close defeat

There was a bizarre finish at Bristol as Sussex Sharks were handed six penalty runs before the final over of their run-chase as a result of Gloucestershire's slow over-rate.

That meant the visitors required eight runs instead than 14 from the last over, with Delray Rawlins hitting consecutive boundaries to take Sussex sharks past the winning line with two balls to spare.

Gloucestershire skipper Michael Klinger was fuming with the umpires' decision but it was an apt end for Rawlins, who was not out on 35 runs from only 17 deliveries as Sussex reached the target to triumph by three wickets despite being without Jofra Archer and Tymal Mills.

Ian Cockbain struck an unbeaten 61 runs from 49 balls for the hosts, who recovered from 14-2 to make 159-6, while Danny Briggs became the leading wicket-taker in English domestic T20 history - overtaking Sussex team-mate Yasir Arafat with the dismissal of James Bracey, his 157th victim in the format.
South leaders Kent march on... just

Adam Milne took 3 wickets for 21 runs and batted Kent to a four-wicket triumph over Hampshire for their sixth win from seven group games.

They achieved their target of 136 runs with one delivery to spare as Hampshire paid the price for being all out four balls short of their 20 overs.

James Vince top-scored for Hampshire, although his 44 took 47 balls, with the faster-scoring Chris Morris, Rilee Rossouw and James Fuller unable to stay at the crease for long enough to cause damage.

After Heino Kuhn (41 runs) was caught off the first ball of the final over, Kent required 10 runs from five balls to win but Milne's partner Grant Stewart retired hurt after pulling his hamstring running a quick two.

However, Milne scored 12 runs from his four-ball cameo to take them over the line and maintain a two-point lead over Sussex.
Yorkshire stumble to tie, Leicestershire bowlers impress

Yorkshire was 131-1 in reply to the Birmingham Bears' 177-4 and looking set for second Vitality Blast win of the season, but the middle-order failed to press home the advantage.

Top scorer Tom Kohler-Cadmore (76) needed two runs off the last delivery for victory but could only find mid-off for a single as the hosts matched their opponents' total.

Bears opener Dom Sibley hit 64 runs from 43 balls after a delayed start at Headingley because of rain, with the tie meaning just two points is separating third-placed Notts and Leicestershire, who sit eighth in the North Group.

Meanwhile, it was a day for bowlers at New Road as Gavin Griffiths (3-23) and Will Davis (3-24) finished with career-best figures to give Leicestershire a 33-run victory at holders Worcestershire.

The Foxes set the hosts a modest-looking 152, Wayne Parnell taking 4-25 for the Pears on his 200th T20 appearance and Colin Ackermann top-scoring with 37.

But David, Griffiths and Callum Parkinson dominated the Worcestershire batsman, with only Ben Cox (30) scoring more than 17 runs as Leicestershire bowled their opponents out for 119 to retain their slim hopes of a quarter-final spot.

Sussex Sharks moved to the top of the Vitality Blast South Group with a nine-wicket thrashing of winless Glamorgan.

A target of 147 runs proved a stroll in the park for the unbeaten home side in just 13.5 overs.

Openers Luke Wright (56 off 35) and Phil Salt (78 runs off 42 balls) smashed 130 runs in just 12 overs to delight the Hove crowd.

Sussex's bowlers chipped away at regular intervals to restrict Glamorgan to a total of 146-9, Reece Topley claiming 3 wickets for 20 runs.

The consistent David Lloyd made 50 runs off 37 deliveries but no-one else reached 20 as a series of batsmen holed out on the boundary against a consistent attack.

The Salt-Wright stand was the highest T20 partnership for Sussex against Glamorgan, who have never won at the County Ground in the short format.

Sussex next host Middlesex on Friday, 9 August, when Glamorgan entertain Essex desperately hoping for an upturn in their lackluster batting efforts.

Sussex batsman Phil Salt said, "We're playing some good cr0icket at the moment and making it look easy, the boys are getting into good habits and we've got the momentum in the competition now."

"You're always going to get flurries of runs in chases like that. it's not easy to defend that sort of total and I thought I paced my innings quite well, going aggressive early on, then back down the gears and back up again.

"We are that much better as a team than last year and I think that comes from playing alongside each other since the personnel isn't massively different apart from one or two quality players."

Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Glamorgan coach Matthew Maynard said, "It was the same as it's been all year, we were probably 40 (runs) short on that wicket, we didn't get any sizeable partnerships with only Lloyd getting in despite a bit of rhythm between (Colin) Ingram and (Kiran) Carlson.

"It's not happening for us but it won't stop us trying to put it right for the rest of the competition.

"They talk about the game being played in the top two inches; it's about trying to remain calm while you're going for the boundaries, and when it's not coming off (for batsmen) you tend to try a bit too hard."