T20 Blast 2018, Day 16: Round-up

There were seven games played on the sixteenth day of the T20 Blast. Also, there were a few rain interruptions and hence the games had to be shortened. Most of the games that they played on the day were one-sided encounters. Out of the seven games, one game yielded no result.

Lancashire is currently on the top of the points table in the North group. The team has won 5 out of the 7 games it played and has 10 points as of now. In the South group, it is Gloucestershire which tops the points table with 4 wins in 6 games. They lost one game while the other game didn’t yield any result. Here is how things proceeded on the day 16 of the league:

Northamptonshire vs Worcestershire – North Group

This game was an absolute delight to watch and has witnessed one of the best T20 knocks ever from the willow of Martin Guptill. Worcestershire opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Northamptonshire got to 187 for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs and it was truly a struggle for them to get there. On a deck that was a delight to bat on, the Northamptonshire team put a below-par total. None of their batsmen capitalised on the starts they’ve got. Richard Levi with 39 runs was the highest scorer in the innings. Patrick Brown picked 3 wickets.

What happened in the second innings was just unbelievable. Martin Guptill set the stage on fire with a 35-ball 100. He smashed 7 sixes and 12 fours in his innings. With the help of his partner Joe Clarke, he took the team off to a flyer. Worcestershire chased the target down in just 13.1 overs. Although Guptill got out after scoring 102 off 37, Clarke and Travis Head ensured that they didn’t lose any wickets further. While Clarke was unbeaten on 61 off 33, Head scored 20 off 9 balls.

Brief Scores:

NOR: 187/9 in 20 overs (Richard Levi 39, Steven Crook 33, Patrick Brown 3/31)

WORCS: 189/1 in 13.1 overs (Martin Guptill 102, Joe Clarke 61*, Richard Gleeson 1/37)

Surrey vs Somerset – South Group

This game was reduced to 10 overs per side due to rain. Surrey won the toss and opted to bowl first. Somerset was down to 46/5 in 6 overs in an attempt to go hard with the bat. It didn’t really seem as if they would post a big total. However, a 50 off 23 balls from their skipper Lewis Gregory ensured that they got to 99 for the loss of 6 wickets in 10 overs. But, that total was definitely below par and it wasn’t that easy to defend it.

Just as expected, they failed to defend the target as it took Surrey only 6.4 overs to chase it down. While Jason Roy scored 28 off 11 balls, his partner Aaron Finch was unbeaten on 43 which came off 21 balls. Also, Maddinson who came in at the fall of Roy’s wicket went hard as he scored 15 off just 8 balls. Roelof van de Merwe with one wicket was the only wicket-taker.

Brief Scores:

SOM: 99/6 in 10 overs (Lewis Gregory 50*, Johann Myburgh 16, Tom Curran 2/16)

SUR: 102/1 in 6.1 overs (Aaron Finch 43*, Jason Roy 28, Roelof van der Merwe 1/26)

Here is how the other games proceeded in the T20 Blast:

Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan – South Group

GLOUCS: 197/6 in 20 overs (M Klinger 77*, M Hammond 34, R Smith 2/25)

GLAM: 167/9 in 20 overs (Colin Ingram 38, Usman Khawaja 33, Andrew Tye 3/17)

Leicestershire vs Derbyshire – North Group

LEIC: 149/5 in 20 overs (M Cosgrove 65, Ackermann 29, Wahab Riaz 2/26)

DERBY: 150/4 in 18.5 overs (B Godleman 57*, Viljoen 32, Neil Dexter 2/18)

Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire – North Group

NOTTS: 196/9 in 20 overs (Jake Libby 44, Billy Root 40, Toby Lester 3/33)

LANCS: 139/8 in 15 overs (K Brown 49, Dane Vilas 29, Ish Sodhi 2/17)
[DLS Method- Match reduced to 15 overs due to rain. Target: 156]

Yorkshire vs Warwickshire – North Group

YORKS: 226/8 in 20 overs (Tom Kohler-Cadmore 73, Kane Williamson 49, G Elliott 2/34)

WARKS: 176/4 in 18 overs (Adam Hose 43, Ian Bell 42, Liam Plunkett 2/31)
[DLS Method- Match reduced to 18 overs due to rain. Target: 208]

Kent vs Sussex – South Group

KENT: 99/2 in 11.2 overs (Joe Denly 52, D Bell -Drummond 22, Rashid Khan 1/12)
[No Result]