The South group of the NatWest T20 Blast witnessed plenty of runs and wins for Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Essex and Kent despite the best efforts of Dan Christian at Canterbury.
There was little to cheer for Kevin Pietersen on his Surrey return as he made only five as his side lost to Essex at The Oval. Pietersen fell to former England team-mate Ravi Bopara (2-24) after Tymal Mills had claimed the wicket of Hashim Amla on his return from injury. Jason Roy (57 off 44 balls) and captain Gary Wilson (45 off 38 balls) then added 51 for the third-wicket as Surrey ended on 151 for six.
Essex’s run chase was then a relatively straightforward affair as Jeese Ryder got them off to a positive start with 31 off 16 balls, and Tom Westley (44 off 34 balls) and Ryan ten Doeschate (43 not out off 32 balls) finished the job in the 19th over.
A brilliant unbeaten 96 off 59 balls from Jim Allenby was just good enough to see off a knock of 94 off 59 balls from Peter Trego as Glamorgan held on to beat Somerset by seven runs at Taunton. Glamorgan racked up 176 for three thanks to an opening stand of 92 between Allenby and Jacques Rudolph (40 off 36 balls).
Somerset’s hopes were then dealt a major setback almost immediately as Graham Wagg dispensed with Marcus Trescothick and Craig Kieswetter in his first two overs. However, Trego and Alviro Petersen hit 60 in quick time before the South African was caught off Andrew Salter for 34 off 21 balls. James Hildreth then partnered Trego but was caught off the final ball of the match going for the six that would have earnt them a tie.
Irish seamer Graeme McCarter took three wickets in the final over to end with five for 35 as Gloucestershire narrowly beat Sussex by four runs at Hove. Sussex were left needing 10 after Rory Hamilton-Brown had hit 49 off just 32 deliveries and Will Beer smashed 37 off 17 from number nine. Beer, though, was one of McCarter’s final over victims as the Sharks were all out for 185.
Ian Cockbain had earlier starred with a career-best 84 off 51 balls as the Gladiators racked up 189 for six after being asked to bat. Yasir Arafat (3-38) and Steffan Piolet (2-39) were the picks of the Sussex bowlers.
A Kent side that lost to Hampshire at Southampton on Thursday evening bounced back with an impressive batting performance against a still-winless Middlesex. Sam Northeast and Alex Blake both made fifties as Kent amassed 208 for four from their 20 overs. Toby Roland-Jones and James Harris each went wicket-less and conceded more than 50 runs from their four overs.
A superb 129 off just 57 balls from Australian all-rounder Dan Christian then almost single-handedly kept the Panthers in the match. The next best score was just 14 as David Griffiths took four for 22, Adam Riley two for 23 and Doug Bollinger three for 40. Ultimately, though, the lack of support for Christian told and they were bowled out for 192.
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.011 | 843/97.2 | 765/100.0 |
| Kent | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.781 | 657/73.0 | 600/73.0 |
| Essex | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.129 | 676/77.2 | 666/77.2 |
| Glamorgan | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.114 | 705/80.0 | 693/79.4 |
| Surrey | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.181 | 616/78.4 | 603/78.5 |
| Sussex | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.090 | 822/100.0 | 831/100.0 |
| Gloucestershire | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.189 | 555/77.3 | 588/80.0 |
| Somerset | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.616 | 606/73.0 | 651/73.0 |
| Middlesex | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.036 | 866/120.0 | 949/115.0 |
Daniel Grummitt
He worked for CricketWorld.com for almost three years, leading their county and domestic cricket coverage and contributing to a book about the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, before joining the hugely ambitious World Cricket Badger early in 2014.
The first Test that he remembers watching was on Channel 4 - back before the ECB marginalised potential future fans by selling the TV rights to Sky Sports - when England beat Pakistan by an innings and nine runs at Lord’s.
Besides a passion for domestic cricket, he also has an unexplainable interest in all things Zimbabwe cricket!
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