T20 Blast team of the week: Who joins Rilee Rossouw and Steven Croft?

SAM MOAKES picks a team of the week from the standout performers in the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast

Ben McDermott (Hampshire)

A game-high 61 runs against the Bears gets Ben McDermott a place in this XI. Opening the batting for Hampshire, McDermott put on a match-winning partnership worth 93 with captain James Vince to get his side off to a flier, scoring 10 boundaries and hitting at a strike rate of 169.44.

McDermott may have struggled at times this year – his tournament batting average of 26.73 is the lowest of the top 20 run-scorers – he performed when it mattered, setting up an easy victory to progress Hampshire to Finals Day.

Tom Banton (Somerset)

Banton’s efforts against Derbyshire might not have made the headlines, but they certainly shouldn’t go unnoticed. His 73 from 41 deliveries, including a 102-run partnership with Rossouw, set up Somerset’s outrageous total of 265 and reminded viewers of his ball-striking ability. The wicketkeeper-batter started the night’s misery for Mattie McKiernan, blasting him for 19 off his first over, before also taking Alex Hughes for two successive sixes later in the innings.

Rilee Rossouw (Somerset)

Undoubtedly the player of the week and an instrumental part of Somerset’s record-breaking total was the South African big hitter. Rossouw’s 93 from just 36 deliveries included 15 boundaries at a strike rate of 258.33, adding to his already stellar season in Taunton.

The 32-year-old smashed McKiernan for 36 off the 15th over, completing the leg-spinner’s record-breaking high figures of 0-82 from four overs. Needless to say, Rossouw’s knock was instrumental in progressing Somerset into the semi-finals.

^{Shadab Khan [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

Steven Croft (Lancashire)

With Phil Salt struggling to up his strike rate and Keaton Jennings being run out for a diamond duck, Steven Croft came to the crease under a little pressure. His innings got off to a slow start – five runs from six balls – before consecutive sixes against Daniel Sams got the 37-year-old up and running. Croft shepherded the run chase with Vilas scoring quickly at the other end and finished the innings with an unbeaten 76 from 48 balls – his top score of the season.

Dane Vilas (Lancashire)

With Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone on international duty, captain Dane Vilas stepped up to the power-hitting plate to sink Essex at Emirates Old Trafford. The veteran’s 51 came from just 23 balls, with almost half of those deliveries being sent to the boundary. Forming a crucial partnership with Croft, Vilas finished with a strike rate of 221.73, ensuring Lancashire reached their target of 162 with 4.2 overs to spare.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)

The Yorkshire keeper was the top-scorer at the Oval and helped rescue his side from 9 for 1 to 160, scoring 62 runs off 48 balls. Batting alongside David Willey, who struggled to find the boundary with a strike rate of 81.08, Kohler-Cadmore ensured Yorkshire had wickets left in the shed to muster up a competitive total in the final overs. His fumble-turned-run-out with the gloves in the final over dismissed Jamie Overton, and with it the hopes of a Surrey victory.

^{James Fuller [David Rogers/Getty Images]}

Shadab Khan (Yorkshire)

The Pakistan international was tight with the ball and electric with the bat against Surrey. This was undoubtedly his best performance in the Blast this year, smashing 21 from 12 deliveries to add crucial runs to a modest Yorkshire total, before taking his best figures in the tournament, 2 for 29. In the absence of Adil Rashid, Khan contributed some crucial leg-spin in the middle overs, knocking over England internationals Rory Burns and Ollie Pope while going at just 7.25 runs an over.

Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire)

1 for 29 might be some pretty standard figures in the Blast this year, but anyone who watched Yorkshire’s tight victory over Surrey will understand Jordan Thompson’s inclusion on this list.

Thompson was thrown the ball in the final over of the match, tasked with defending just five runs as Jamie Overton, 39 from 18 balls at this point, faced up. The Yorkshire allrounder went for just two from the over, forcing Overton into an ill-fated single that resulted in a run out, and taking the wicket of Sunil Narine with a smart mix of slower balls and yorkers to round out an enthralling win for Yorkshire.

James Fuller (Hampshire)

Having set a target of 186, Hampshire needed Fuller’s wicket-taking ability to ensure the Bears couldn’t make a game of it in Birmingham. The allrounder may have only contributed eight runs with the bat, but his figures of 4 for 17 from three overs went a long way to winning the match for Hampshire. With the Bears’ top three already taken care of, Fuller dismissed the entire middle order, including the dangerous Chris Benjamin and Carlos Brathwaite, to ensure Birmingham collapsed more than 100 runs short of the target. Fuller took career-best figures at just the right time for Hampshire.

^{George Scrimshaw [Harry Trump/Getty Images]}

Luke Wood (Lancashire)

Last week, an Essex side that scored 254 against Glamorgan looked unstoppable; this week, Luke Wood and the Lancashire bowling unit ensured they were pretty ordinary in Manchester. Wood was the pick of the bowlers, allowing just one boundary from his four overs. He finished up with figures of 2 for 28, dismissing Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence to make sure Essex finished up with an under-par total.

George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire)

After taking 2 for 16 in a record-breaking innings, George Scrimshaw should’ve come away from Taunton pleased with his individual performance. While the rest of his Derbyshire side all went for more than 12 runs an over, Scrimshaw’s economy of 4.00, including just one boundary, is an admirable achievement considering he also opened the bowling for the first time in T20 cricket. The 24-year-old prevented Will Smeed from getting started, and later denied Rossouw one of the fastest centuries in Blast history, getting him caught at midwicket in the 17th over.