T20 BLAST 2021 TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: Samit Patel and Tymal Mills... but who else makes the all-star XI?

CHARLIE PETERS: Eleven players from seven counties make the cut. Who gets in from champions Kent Spitfires?

Kent's difficult year soothed by T20 Blast triumph

Jordan Cox took centre stage and never let go

Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent)

After working hard to increase his attacking intent after being overlooked in the 2019 Hundred draft, Bell-Drummond has become a machine in the Blast. His 2021 campaign included 492 runs, at an average of 37.84 and strike rate of 155.69, and ends the tournament as its third-highest run-scorer. The 82 off 51 he made in the semi-final against Sussex was the sort of knock he has played on a regular basis for the Spitfires. A crucial part of their title-winning set-up.

Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)

The Outlaws opener is the ultimate tone-setter, and, alongside Alex Hales, forms half of arguably the most explosive opening partnership the Blast has ever seen. Clarke made 408 runs on the way to the quarter-finals, but perhaps what’s most impressive about the 25-year-old’s season is his strike rate: a staggering 180.53. He understands the value of aggressive hitting at the top of the order, which makes him one of the most exciting talents the Blast has to offer.

Josh Inglis (Leicestershire)

That the Australian was the Blast’s highest run-scorer this season speaks as much for his individual quality as it does for Leicestershire’s recruitment policy. Having identified a deep weakness against the outswinger, Inglis, famed for his inside-out drives, was acquired to rectify this. His 531 runs, including two centuries and one half-century, struck at 175.82 represents a serious campaign. A place in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad is richly deserved.

^{Josh Inglis was the shining light for Leicestershire Foxes}

Harry Brook (Yorkshire)

The 2021 season has been a real breakthrough year for the 22-year-old. His 486 runs for Yorkshire, struck at 149.07 at an average of 69.42, make him the Blast’s fourth-highest run-scorer. It’s particularly impressive that Brook has achieved this quantity of runs from the middle order, too: T20 run-scoring tables are frequently dominated by openers, so Brook’s campaign is no mean feat. What a summer he has had.

Glenn Phillips (Gloucestershire)

The New Zealander’s stock as a T20 gun for hire has rapidly risen in the last year or so, and his 500 runs for Gloucestershire this season will have only aided his cause. Phillips’ runs came at a strike rate of 163.39, and included 30 fours and 36 sixes – 12 more maximums than anybody else in the Blast. An absolute stonker of a catch to dismiss Middlesex’s in-form Stevie Eskinazi proved his worth as an all-round performer, too. Phillips has the tools to become an elite T20 cricketer – you suspect he’ll be there pretty soon. 

I will never stop watching this.

Incredible effort from Glenn Phillips! pic.twitter.com/fwynpeJrzI

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 9, 2021

Jordan Cox (Kent)

You simply could not assemble this side without including Jordan Cox. Kent’s middle-order man has had a great campaign, averaging 52.42 on his way to 367 Blast runs, and bagging a wildcard slot at Oval Invincibles to boot. But his 2021 will forever be remembered for his unbeaten 58 off 28 deliveries in the final, not to mention *that catch*. If ever there was a way to announce yourself, it was this. Finals Day belonged to Jordan Cox.

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)

Even at 36, Patel still has so much to offer. His 309 runs and 16 wickets combined to see him crowned player of the tournament, a richly deserved accolade for the all-rounder. Going at just 6.63 an over, Patel was one of the competition’s most economic bowlers, his slow-left-arm proving just as effective as it did in his younger years. It’s been some renaissance.

Calvin Harrison (Nottinghamshire)

The South African-born leg-spinner ends the Blast as third-highest wicket-taker, with 20 victims to his name from 15 matches. 4/17 against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston would prove to be his best performance in a campaign that saw him average 13.90 per wicket and go for just 6.78 run per over. A last-minute call-up to the Manchester Originals squad capped off a superb season for the 23-year-old.

^{Jordan Cox made Finals Day his own}

Scott Currie (Hampshire)

Hant’s 20-year-old seamer enjoyed a fruitful campaign in his first full Blast season. Currie took 19 wickets from just nine matches, striking on average every 9.7 deliveries. Only five players claimed more scalps than him, all of whom played at least three more games. It’s a season Currie won’t be forgetting any time soon, one that cements him as one of the most exciting young seamers in the country.

Matt Milnes (Kent)

Milnes has proved to be a superb signing since his move to Canterbury from Nottinghamshire. Only Leicestershire’s Naveen-ul-Haq has taken more than Milnes’ 22 wickets this season, but the 27-year-old’s came from 10 fewer overs, with a better average, economy and strike rate to boot. His fleeting appearances for Welsh Fire in the Hundred saw comparisons to South African legend Dale Steyn. While these may have been a tad hyperbolic, they speak of the high regard with which Milnes is increasingly being viewed in.

Tymal Mills (Sussex)

Mills is deservedly back in England’s T20 squad thanks to an excellent summer in both the Hundred and the Blast. His 17 wickets were claimed at an average of 14.11, going at no more than eight-an-over. There is simply nobody better at the death, certainly not in this country. He may not have been able to fire Sussex into the final, but there’s no doubt that he is a world-class operator.