Scores, Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions - Vitality Blast 2023 May 29th - All Matches
©Cricket World / John Mallett
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Scores, Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions - Vitality Blast 2023 May 29th - All Matches
Here are all the Scores, Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions for all the matches played today in the Vitality Blast 2023.
Top Tournament Stats - Vitality Blast 2023
North Group
Scorecard - Birmingham Bears v Lancashire Lightning (Edgbaston, Birmingham)
Match Summary
Birmingham Bears vs Lancashire, North Group, Vitality Blast
Warwickshire 99/3 (14.2 ov)
Lancashire 98/10 (14.5 ov)
Result - Birmingham Bears won by 7 wickets
Birmingham Bears extended their 100 per cent start to the Vitality Blast and ended Lancashire Lightning’s with a commanding seven-wicket victory in front of a sun-soaked 11,243 crowd at Edgbaston.
After choosing to bat, Lightning tumbled all out for 98 after losing their last seven wickets for 36 runs in 35 balls. They were spun to destruction as Danny Briggs took four for 15, Dan Mousley three for 13 and Jake Lintott two for 24. Only Steven Croft (22, 13 balls) passed 20 for the visitors.
Lightning desperately needed to strike early when the Bears replied but openers Alex Davies (51 not out, 39 balls - his maiden Blast fifty for the Bears) and Rob Yates (30, 24 balls) added an untroubled 50 by the seventh over to set up a victory stroll. The Bears reached 99 for three with 34 balls to spare. With Phil Salt ruled out by a back spasm, Josh Bohannon came into the Lightning side to open the batting but perished fourth ball, bowled through a mow at Glenn Maxwell. Luke Wells, scorer of a match-winning 66 against Derbyshire Falcons on this ground nine days earlier, fell in the next over to a superb return catch, clutched centimetres from the ground, by Mousley.
Croft bashed 18 from four balls from Henry Brookes to get the innings going momentarily but the bowler gained his revenge when he was waiting at square leg to accept a catch when Croft lifted a sweep at Mousley. That was 62 for three and from that point the Lightning fell in a heap in the face of fine spin bowling backed up by brilliant fielding.
Mousley switched ends to bowl the dangerous Liam Livingstone first ball back. Chris Benjamin took a stinging slip catch to prevent Colin de Grandhomme damaging his former team. Mousley made a steepling catch at long off from Daryl Mitchell look simple and Rob Yates took a blinder at extra cover to oust Luke Wood.
Wood was the second of Briggs’ four victims as he plucked off the tail with three wickets in four balls and Lightning committed the heinous T20 crime of leaving 31 balls unused.
Faced with such a meagre target. Yates allowed himself the Blast luxury of a leave, first ball, and the Bears openers killed the game dead with a stand 50 of in 39 balls. Yates top-edged a sweep at Matt Parkinson to short fine leg and Maxwell’s home debut knock yielded only two from three balls before he missed an attempt to carve Hartley through the off side, but it was already game over.
Sam Hain reached the crease facing one of the less exerting equations he has faced over the years – 37 needed from 74 balls with eight wickets in hand. He was soon bowled by Wells’ third ball but Davies advanced smoothly to his 16th Blast half-century and the captain eased his side home to the jubilation of most in the big crowd, though you got the feeling a fair few of them would have swapped the cakewalk for a more gripping contest in perfect bank holiday weather.
Scorecard - Derbyshire Falcons v Northants Steelbacks (County Cricket Ground, Derby)
The Northants Steelbacks secured their first Vitality Blast win of the campaign with a six wicket win over the Derbyshire Falcons at Derby.
Saif Zaib with an unbeaten 37 from 22 balls eased the visitors home with two overs to spare after the Falcons had posted 151 for 6.
Wayne Madsen top scored with 57 from 46 balls, his third consecutive Blast 50, and shared a fifth wicket stand of 92 from 70 balls with Brooke Guest who made 49.
Chris Lynn and David Willey put on 64 from 50 balls and although Luis Reece removed them both, Zaib and Lewis McManus consigned the Falcons to a third North Group defeat.
Reece had earlier swept Josh Cobb for six in the first over but the Falcons lost momentum and both openers in the powerplay.
Haider Ali miscued a pull at Willey to mid off and Reece got a leading edge trying to whip Tom Taylor through midwicket.
The Falcons were 47 for 2 after six overs but they lost skipper Leus Du Plooy in the seventh when James Sales found some swing to clip his off stump.
When Anuj Dal missed a drive at Freddie Heldreich, the Falcons were in trouble but once again Madsen pulled them round with help from Guest.
He drove and pulled Heldreich for two sixes before dispatching Andrew Tye over the long on boundary.
Madsen should have been caught at mid on in the 15th over but Tye fumbled the chance and he took advantage by driving Willey back over his head to reach 50 off 42 balls.
The Steelbacks got rid of him in the penultimate over when he pulled Taylor to deep midwicket and Guest’s well paced innings ended in the final over when he lifted Tye into the hands of long on.
The Falcons had to take early wickets and Zaman Khan struck in the second over when Ricardo Vasconcelos pulled a long hop to short midwicket after only one run came from Mark Watts opening over.
Only three boundaries came from the first four overs and George Scrimshaw increased the pressure by conceding only four from the fifth.
Lynn pulled Zak Chappell for four but at the end of the powerplay, the Falcons disciplined bowling had restricted the Steelbacks to 29 for 1.
Lynn responded by pulling and driving Scrimshaw to the ropes before Willey pulled Reece for a big six over midwicket in the 10th over.
But when he tried to repeat the shot, he failed to clear deep midwicket and Reece struck again when Lynn edged a drive into his stumps leaving the Steelbacks on 71 for 3 at the halfway point of their innings.
Josh Cobb and Zaib got the innings back on track by adding 41 from 29 balls before Cobb pulled Khan to deep square leg where Dal held on at the second attempt.
With needed 32 from the last four overs, Lewis McManus drove Scrimshaw for six and Zaib settled any nerves by twice lifting Reece over the ropes in the 18th.
Steelbacks batter Saif Zaib said: "In the last couple of games we haven't gelled well as a team but our bowling performance here was outstanding and batting towards the end it was nice to get us over the line and get the first win on the board and hopefully we can take that momentum into the next few games.
"It was a good fielding performance, good bowling and we finished it off with the bat quite comfortably and as i said, it's nice to get over the line."
On recent criticism on social media, he said: "It is quite annoying and we haven't played very well as a team so it's nice to shut up a few haters I guess.I think there were quite a few people expecting us to lose again which is a bit of a shame but all we can do is perform the best we can and hopefully we can turn those haters into fans."
Derbyshire head of cricket Mickey Arthur said: It's not good enough, simple as that, we haven't put a performance together yet which is really disappointing.
"We haven't put a complete performance together, when we've batted well we haven't bowled well and vice-versa. Today 150, you're not defending that. As a bowling unit you've got to do everything 100 per cent right and we've got to be unbelievable in the field in order to get something out of the game.
"You just have to keep the guys believing and there are some very good players in that dressing room. You have to be brutally honest and tell them what the situation is because you can't sugar coat it but we've got to keep believing and make sure they get the job done.
"We are a very tight unit and a unit that works well together and you can't fault effort and work rate, the boys are putting it in massively so it just takes a spark, it needs somebody just to spark us into action."
Scorecard - Worcestershire Rapids v Leicestershire Foxes (New Road, Worcester)
WORCESTERSHIRE RAPIDS 183-7 ; LEICESTERSHIRE FOXES 150-9
Kashif Ali’s maiden half century in Vitality Blast cricket and the stranglehold of three spinners enabled Worcestershire to maintain their 100 per cent record with a 33 run success over Leicestershire Foxes at New Road.
Kashif, the first product of the South Asian Cricket Association to sign a pro contract with a first class county, again demonstrated his potential with a sparkling 69 as Worcestershire recovered from 30-3.
Leicestershire reached 70-1 in the 10th over and looked to have laid the foundations for a worthy pursuit of a 184 target.
But Rapids Captain, Brett D’Oliveira, Michael Bracewell and Usama Mir all picked up two wickets apiece and bowled tightly with combined figures of 11-0-72-6.
It means the Rapids have won their opening three games while in contract the Foxes have been beaten in their opening trio of fixtures.
Mir has ended his brief and successful spell at New Road and will return to playing league cricket for Colwyn Bay.
But will be replaced by Mitchell Santner who flies in tomorrow after being part of the Chennai Super Kings IPL squad.
The Rapids got off to a shaky start after captain Brett D’Oliveira opted to bat.
Bracewell lasted only three balls before he was trapped lbw by a full length ball from Naseem Shah when working to leg.
D’Oliveira took a stride down the wicket in the next over from Wiaan Mulder and only succeeded in nicking through to keeper Harry Swindells
Jack Haynes immediately went on the offensive with four boundaries in Shah’s second over before was lbw deep in his crease to Mulder.
Kashif Ali mixed some wristy strokes with sheer power as he and in form Adam Hose set about rebuilding the innings.
They added 45 when Hose, who had top-scored in the wins over Northamptonshire Steelbacks and Yorkshire Vikings, tried to slice Callum Parkinson over the off side and fell to Colin Ackermann’s catch running back from cover.
A pull for six and a delightful cut to the ropes in the same over from Reehan Ahmed enabled Kashif to complete a 33 ball half century.
Shah’s return to the attack brought about Kashif’s downfall when he found the hands of deep backward square.
In the same over, Ed Pollock was run out first ball by Ackermann’s direct hit from mid on.
But Usama Mir profited from being dropped being he had scored to plunder an unbeaten 32 from 15 balls and Ben Cox struck a typically breezy 28 as Worcestershire recovered from their early troubles.
When Leicestershire batted, Bracewell struck an early blow when Sol Budinger clubbed a delivery straight to Hose at deep mid wicket.
But Nick Welch scored freely and crucially Leicestershire kept wickets in hand, losing only one in the powerplay.
D’Oliveira brought himself into the attack and made a double breakthrough in the space of four balls.
Welch was pouched at long on by Haynes and Ackermann was bowled via an inside edge and his pad.
Rishi Patel hurried to 42 but, having hit the previous two deliveries from Usama Mir for four, he gave his wicket away when charging down the pitch and being stumped.
The Pakistan leg spinner’s final over of his current spell at New Road also yielded a wicket when Arron Lilley was leg before aiming a blow over mid wicket.
Mulder and Rehan Ahmed fell cheaply to end Leicestershire’s last hopes and then Pat Brown wrapped up the tail as he showed more encouraging signs of returning to his best form.
Worcestershire batter Kashif Ali, who top-scored with 69, paid tribute to the contribute of Pakistan leg spinner Usama Mir who has played the opening three games as a replacement for Mitchell Santner.
He said: “Usama is a Pakistan superstar. The way he has played these three games has been really good and the boys loved having him here.
“It’s always handy having someone like him in the team whether it is with bat or ball.
“I know how much he wanted to play county cricket and he has made a big impact.
“The mindset for everyone is just to be positive, look to score boundaries but be sensible with it as well.
“The pitch was one of those wickets where you had to assess and pick your options and we succeeded.
“Knocks from Ben Cox and Usama (Mir) to get the team to 180 odd was really helpful.
“Three wins out of three is a great start and it gives you a lot of confidence for the up and coming games.
“For me, it was just one of those days where everything came off but everyone is playing their part.”
Foxes batter Nick Welch, who scored 37, said: “A tough pitch, tough to get in, hard to find the boundaries.
“We thought push them hard on the boundaries and run hard between the wickets and try and build up the momentum but we never really got it going today.
“Wickets just kept falling at regular intervals and made it tough. One of those days, but we will get it right.
“I put my hand up, I could have taken a bit more responsibility because if you are the guy who gets in, you’ve got to be selfish and greedy and get a big score for your team but I didn’t come off today.
“We just haven’t clicked as a team, especially in the batting. There have been one or two guys here and there but we just haven’t come together as a unit yet.
“But in this tournament it’s all about momentum, so string a couple of scores together, build that confidence and then I think we’ll come right.”
Scorecard - Durham v Notts Outlaws (Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street)
Durham 168 for six vs Notts Outlaws 171 for five - Outlaws won by five wickets
Alex Hales scored an unbeaten 65 to guide Nottinghamshire Outlaws back to winning ways in the Vitality Blast, defeating Durham by five wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
The England opener was in dominant form for the Outlaws bouncing back from a duck against the Lancashire Lightning in his last outing. Hales was aggressive at the start of his knock to put his team ahead of the rate before playing the anchor role, allowing team-mates Tom Moores and Shaheen Afridi to blast Notts over the line with four balls to spare.
Earlier in the day, Ollie Robinson scored his second T20 fifty in two days to top score for the hosts in their innings of 168. But, Durham were made to rue a costly end to their innings after scoring only nine from their final two overs, which played a significant role in their first defeat in the competition this season.
After losing the toss, Durham's Graham Clark looked to build on his century in their opener match and found his range in the third over, clattering Afridi for a six and boundary into the leg-side from successive deliveries before just lifting an off-drive over the head Matthew Carter at mid-off to hand the home side impetus.
Conor McKerr halted Clark's onslaught for 29 as the opener picked out Mullaney. But, Michael Jones kept Durham's strong start alive after surviving an edge past Tom Moores from his first ball. The Scotland international scored five boundaries in a quick-fire 26 from 12 balls, but Mullaney produced a gem to bowl Jones and then prised out Alex Lees for 13.
Durham required a response to stem the tide. Turner and Robinson produced a vital stand under pressure worth 57 for the fourth wicket. The two players complemented each other well with the guile of Robinson and the power of Turner providing the foundation of the Durham innings.
Turner attempted to push the run rate on but presented Mullaney with his third wicket when Hales took a good low catch at long-off. Robinson pressed on and continued to defy the Nottinghamshire attack, dispatching Afridi for two boundaries to record his second Blast fifty on the bounce following his career-best effort against Yorkshire.
Afridi had his revenge to bowl Robinson before he and McKerr bottled up the home side in the final two overs, which cost just nine runs, to restrict Durham to a total of 168 from their 20 overs.
Joe Clarke began the Outlaws' reply with a blistering start, scoring three boundaries and a six. But, Liam Trevaskis displayed great reactions to palm up a powerful drive to remove the opener caught and bowled. Hales answered back for the visitors, smashing 25 off one over from De Leede, including two towering sixes into the leg-side.
Ben Raine and Nathan Sowter made inroads into the Nottinghamshire line-up, but Lyndon James offered a useful cameo to take the pressure on Hales to keep the visitors ahead of the required rate before he fell for 20 to Turner.
Amid the fall of wickets, Hales altered his approach from aggressor to game manager, reaching his half-century from 33 balls for the 72nd time in T20 cricket. His innings allowed Moores to find his range against Trevaskis, smashing 16 off the 14th over to edge Notts closer to their victory target.
Moores became Raine's second victim of the game for 32, but there was to be no late drama as Afridi smashed two sixes off De Leede and then Trevaskis in the final over to secure the win for the visitors.
South Group
Scorecard - Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood)
Gloucestershire (181-9) beat Middlesex (179-6) by two runs
Matt Taylor successfully defended seven from the final over as Gloucestershire claimed their first win of this season’s Vitality Blast with a narrow success against Middlesex at Merchant Taylor’s School.
The left-armer conceded just four, with former Gloucestershire all-rounder Ryan Higgins needing three off the final ball and attempting a paddle shot that led to him being run out for 24.
Middlesex, who remain winless in the tournament, had looked set to break their duck after skipper Stephen Eskinazi struck a half-century and Higgins and Luke Hollman shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 55 from 30 balls.
But they fell just short of the Gloucestershire total of 181 for nine, centred around Miles Hammond’s knock of 59 from 42.
Asked to bat after losing the toss, Gloucestershire began briskly with Grant Roelofsen taking 18 from Tom Helm’s second over, but the opener’s knock of 34 from 19 came to a tame end when he patted Higgins’ half-volley to mid-off.
Higgins, playing against his former county for the first time since his return to Middlesex, was expensive overall – as was his dropped catch at long-on when Hammond, with just nine to his name, took on Hollman.
The left-hander capitalised on that let-off, launching successive Blake Cullen deliveries over the fence and driving Hollman over the top for six more as he passed his half-century before chopping Cullen to point.
Joe Cracknell pouched the catch, his third of the innings – and a routine one by comparison with the second, when he raced from deep midwicket to long on and dived for a spectacular one-handed grab that removed visiting skipper Jack Taylor.
Cullen also claimed the wicket of the big-hitting Marchant de Lange to finish with three for 38, while Martin Andersson took two for 30 as Graeme van Buuren’s unbeaten 28 from 19 nudged Gloucestershire above 180.
Middlesex kept up with the required run-rate of nine at the start of their pursuit, with Cracknell sweeping Tom Smith’s first delivery to the boundary and bisecting the leg-side fielders perfectly to collect four more off David Payne.
He and Eskinazi scored freely as they accumulated a partnership of 78 from 48 but Cracknell, having reverse-swept Smith for four, was lbw for 42 from 28 attempting to repeat the shot later in the over.
Eskinazi began to impose himself on the Gloucestershire spinners, pumping van Buuren over long-on for two sixes, but Ollie Price boosted the visitors’ prospects with a single over of off-breaks that accounted for both Max Holden and Pieter Malan.
De Lange backed up Price’s double strike in the next over, firing one through Eskinazi’s defences to take out his middle stump, but Hollman and Higgins stopped the rot with their spirited counter-attack.
Hollman took two fours off Matt Taylor in quick succession and thumped Payne back down the ground for another to reach 39 from 19 before he was bowled by Price, who recorded his best T20 figures of three for 21.
Middlesex captain STEPHEN ESKINAZI said:
“I think we probably played almost the perfect T20 game, especially an outground T20 game, up until 12 balls to go. When you’re four down, with two of your most senior players at the crease, 12 off 12 – you probably win that game 999 times out of a thousand.
“It stings for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, not with people as senior as that at the crease and I don’t think the guys need me to tell them how much it hurts the team. It’s going to be a tough one to bounce back from.
“I think the first two games you do (focus on the positives). Here you can absolutely highlight the capitulation, the brain fade. I can imagine as a supporter, when you keep getting beat and everyone says ‘there’s a positive’ it starts to lose its value.
“I could have understood if it was two young guys but with two of our most senior players, I was extremely disappointed and I’m sure they are too. We know how hard it is in this competition to win games and we’re absolutely not a team that can afford to do what we did today.”
Gloucestershire seamer MATT TAYLOR, who bowled the final over, said:
“We always tell ourselves to keep believing. We felt we maybe got slightly under par but we had the belief at halfway we could defend it.
“All the guys chipped in and bowled really well. The boys who bowled towards the end managed to keep us right in it – Payney, de Lange, Ollie Price – and to finish it off in that way was really pleasing.
“I probably went for the most runs early on. I didn’t quite get it right but it was nice to come back at the end and get a second go.
“It was definitely a big game, we all knew that – in T20 cricket you can sometimes start slowly and then get on a roll. That’s what we’ll be looking to do know and hopefully we can take that momentum forward.”
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