The Cricketer picks out the top performers of a rain-reduced week in the short-form competition
It has been a solid Blast campaign thus far for the 24-year-old Lancastrian, whose well-organised side have lost just once in seven completed games – a run that has taken them to the summit of the North Group.
He was at the heart of the Red Rose’s latest victory – an eight-wicket thrashing of Northants. While his partners in a hard-hitting batting lineup played with a thrillingly reckless abandon – Liam Livingstone struck 22 off just 10 deliveries, Davies provided an element of assertive control, helping himself to an unbeaten, match-winning 75 off just 58 balls.
It represented his first score above 29 in this year’s tournament, but his fifth above 24. Good T20 sides are full of contributors; Davies certainly fits the bill.
An underrated T20 cricketer and a man doing a fine job at Derbyshire, the left-handed opening batsman struck a fine personal best of 92 against Worcestershire in one of two games that Derbyshire managed to play in spite of the weather.
While he finished nine runs short of a maiden T20 ton, the knock against the reigning champions’ feted bowling attack was an exhibition of batsmanship – one that left Derbyshire with an imposing total that they were able to defend with some ease.
Alex Davies is in the runs for Lancashire Lightning
On a sticky, used pitch at the Oval that proved difficult for batsmen all night, Sam Curran did what he so often does. If it is possible to counterattack from number three, then this was a prime example.
Replacing Aaron Finch, who fell in the second over, the England man galloped to a 24-ball 47 – a knock consisting of five fours and three sixes.
To give some context to the quality of the innings – against the competition’s standout bowling attack, no less, just two players in the match faced more deliveries on a tough surface. Laurie Evans’ 35 deliveries plundered just 34 runs, while Ollie Pope’s 48 – a crucial bedrock of Surrey’s innings – took 47 balls.
When Curran was cleaned up by Will Beer’s leg-spin – the Sussex bowler was superb on the night, Surrey were 73 for 3 in the eighth over. The value of his knock, as so often, would only be felt after both teams had batted.
It is hardly news that James Bracey has an exciting future ahead of him. A stylish left-hander, he had made scores of 30, 22, 33 and 32 before finally passing fifty against Hampshire in Gloucestershire’s efficient dismantling of their visitors last week.
A maiden T20 half century for an immensely talented 22-year-old, and one that keeps Richard Dawson’s outfit inside those precious top four places. There can be few savvier T20 sides around in county cricket, even if a hamstring problem has ended Benny Howell’s invaluable contribution.
Like Sam Curran, Ollie Pope’s efforts with bat in hand went a long way to securing Surrey’s win over Sussex, ending the visitors’ unbeaten run in the process.
Since returning from a serious shoulder injury, he has more than looked the part. His 48 on Thursday was his third score in the 40s since coming back into the side. This effort was worth far more than what it might have seemed.
As wickets fell around him – he watched Curran, Ben Foakes and Will Jacks all fall within a 20-run period, he continued to nudge his – and Surrey’s – way towards a competitive score. It was not the kind of match-winning knock associated with this big-hitting Surrey side, but it was an intelligent forage for runs.
Daryl Mitchell has been picking up wickets for Worcestershire Rapids
Two weeks ago, Colin Ackermann had taken 31 career T20 wickets. Two spells later, he has added 10 to that tally.
It has been an extraordinary fortnight for the part-time off-spinner; his world-record seven-wicket haul against Birmingham Bears was followed with three more scalps as he marshalled his Leicestershire troops to a crucial victory against Derbyshire.
It was a win that lifts Paul Nixon’s group to fourth in the North Group – some effort for a club without an overseas player brought in for the competition.
Ackermann’s four overs, on this occasion, cost him just nine runs. He picked up the key wicket of Wayne Madsen and that of the enterprising Matt Critchley, before having Logan van Beek caught behind.
Defending just 149, Leicestershire ensured that that was plenty. Derbyshire ended 55 runs light.
Another Derbyshire opener to have enjoyed a stellar Blast campaign, alongside Billy Godleman atop the order, the left-hander has passed fifty on three occasions – the most recent of which came in last week’s win over Worcestershire.
While Godleman went on to make 92, Reece put on 135 for the first wicket with his captain, before bowling four economical overs of his medium pace. Even in defeat against Leicestershire two days later, his four-over spell cost just 28 runs.
A reliable hand with bat and ball, the former Lancashire man has become a key cog in Derbyshire’s wheel.
A fabulously competitive, durable cricketer – an opening batsman in red-ball cricketer, a cannier, niggly operator in white-ball cricket.
He played a vital role in Worcestershire’s extraordinary victory over Durham. There can have been few more remarkable conclusions to any game.
Durham required just 39 runs to win with 51 balls remaining and 10 wickets in hand. After Mitchell dismissed D’Arcy Short in the 13th over, Worcestershire did not concede a single boundary.
Mitchell’s four overs of cutters and slower deliveries cost him just 17 runs as the reigning champions held on for a stunning victory.
Imran Tahir has been in good form for Surrey
It has been a curious Blast for the South African left-armer. An unbeaten 81 as a pinch-hitter against Yorkshire was a reminder of a prowess with the bat visible in a first-class average of 28.01.
Yet, in that almost absurd defence of just 117 runs against Durham, Parnell produced a superb spell both with the new ball and at the death. His four overs cost his side just 16 runs.
He dismissed the dangerous Jack Burnham with the second ball of the 18th over when just 18 runs were needed for victory.
At just 20 years of age, Pat Brown can never have been closer to an England call-up. With a World T20 creeping over the horizon and Eoin Morgan’s side always on the lookout for wicket-taking options, look no further.
A star of last year’s T20 Blast and a pound-for-pound death-over specialist, there was a startling inevitability to the conclusion of that dramatic low-scoring thriller at Chester-le-Street.
With Brown bowling the final over, Worcestershire just seemed home and hosed as soon as he was thrown the ball. He remains a remarkable prospect. Many suggested he would find this season a tougher experience than his first, a victorious campaign.
Imran Tahir has gone the journey at times in this year’s T20 Blast. Of course, that is the game – on occasion, spinners will be taken a long ol’ way. Both home and away against Middlesex, the South Africa leg-spinner was taken at more than 10 runs per over.
But on Thursday – in his own wrist-spinning battle with Rashid Khan, he came out on top. Rashid was tidy, but Tahir was decisive. Three wickets at a cost of just 24 runs as the then-unbeaten Sharks targeted the 40-year-old.
His scalps weren’t tail either: first, he dismissed Laurie Evans – the in-form batsman and a world-respected gun in the shortest format. Australia’s Alex Carey soon followed, before Delray Rawlins fell to the first ball he faced.
A fine spell.
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