The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action from the latest round of matches in the 2024 Vitality Blast
Chester-le-Street: Durham 90-5, Northamptonshire 91-4 - Northamptonshire won by six wickets
Ashton Agar and Lewis McManus blasted Northamptonshire Steelbacks to a huge Vitality Blast win at the Seat Unique Riverside, as the visitors beat Durham by six wickets (DLS) in a rain affected match.
Having been put in by the Steelbacks, Ashton Turner (36 from 17) continued his good form and along with Colin Ackermann (25 from 10) powered Durham to a competitive total of 90 for five from their reduced allocation of eight overs amid some wayward fielding from the visitors.
Agar came in at three and smashed 31 to give the visitors a platform to chase down 91 and McManus (12 from 2) along with Saif Zaib (15 from 10) guided the visitors home with six wickets to spare.
Northants are now in the box seat for qualification as they still have two games to play, with a home fixture against Birmingham Bears and a visit to Lancashire still to come. Meanwhile, Durham have to pray for some favourable results elsewhere as they have just one group game left, a trip to Derbyshire on Friday (July 19) night.
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Edgbaston: Birmingham Bears 198-2, Derbyshire 154 - Birmingham Bears won by 44 runs
Birmingham Bears booked a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast by comfortably beating Derbyshire Falcons by 44 runs at Edgbaston.
The Bears piled up 198 for two thanks to powerful half-centuries from Dan Mousley (60 not out from 44 balls), Sam Hain (52 not out from 30) and Moeen Ali (59, 32).
A modest start (21 from four overs) turned into a daunting total of which the Falcons fell well short at 154 all out from 19.2 overs. No-one passed 30 as spinners Danny Briggs (3 for 24) and Jake Lintott (2 for 24) dismantled the top and middle orders to take their combined T20 wicket tally to 379.
The Bears can now look forward to a home tie in the last eight in which they will aim to avoid the choke which has afflicted them at that stage in the last three seasons. Despite this damaging defeat, the Falcons can still qualify but are under pressure to win their last two games, starting at Worcester next Thursday (July 18).
Danny Briggs helped Bears secure a home quarter-final (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Grace Road: Notts Outlaws 160-6, Leicestershire 161-5 - Leicestershire won by five wickets
All-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy hit a career-best 67 as Leicestershire Foxes maintained their push to win a place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast with a five-wicket victory over East Midlands rivals Notts Outlaws at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham backed up Goldsworthy’s performance with 44 from 22 balls as the Foxes won with an over to spare - despite having been six for three at the start of their chase - condemning the Outlaws to an eighth defeat in what has been comfortably their worst season in the current Blast format.
With seven of the nine North Group counties chasing four qualifying places in a tight finish to the group season, the Foxes have 14 points but may still have to defeat group leaders Birmingham Bears in their final fixture at Edgbaston next Friday if they are to go through.
Ben Martindale, the 21-year-old left-hander, made 44 from 42 balls - his best in a fledgling T20 career - and skipper Joe Clarke 39 from 23 as the Outlaws made 160 for six, a mid-innings collapse rescued to a degree at the death by Liam Patterson-White (28 from 16) and Lyndon James (22 from 11), Scott Currie taking 2 for 35 for the Foxes.
But it was a score that proved not enough despite Olly Stone taking two for 22 from his four overs, Rehan Ahmed chipping in with 34 from 38.
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New Road: Worcestershire 205-6, Yorkshire 208-4 - Yorkshire won by six wickets
Yorkshire achieved the second-highest successful run chase in their history in Vitality Blast cricket to keep alive their qualification hopes thanks to a brilliant innings from opener Dawid Malan against Worcestershire Rapids at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
The Vikings chased down a 206 target to win by six wickets in a perfectly paced innings to secure a sixth victory of the campaign with three balls to spare.
Malan was the hero with an unbeaten 93 off 50 balls with five sixes and seven fours and now Yorkshire will look to defeat Notts Outlaws in their final game at Headingley and hope results go in their favour.
The Vikings never panicked despite being well behind the required run rate at 74 for 1 at the halfway stage and requiring another 132 from the final 10 overs.
Adam Lyth, James Wharton and Jordan Thompson, with a late-order six-hitting blitz, all provided important cameos in support of Malan.
Only once have Yorkshire chased a bigger total to win when they reached a 208 target against Durham at Headingley two years ago.
Dawid Malan showed all of his experience as the Vikings won at New Road (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Utilita Bowl: Hampshire 157-7, Somerset 158-1 - Somerset won by nine wickets
Tom Banton's destruction of Hampshire put defending champions Somerset within a point of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals.
Opener Banton whacked an unbeaten 79 off 52 balls in partnerships of 81 and 77 with George Thomas and Tom Kohler-Cadmore to chase down 158 at a canter at Utilita Bowl.
Jack Leach had put his England Test snub behind him with a tidy 2 for 23 and South African quick Migael Pretorious picked up two on his Somerset T20 debut – with only Tom Prest's 51 halting the Somerset dominance.
Banton finished off the nine-wicket victory to put Somerset onto 15 points – with only Gloucestershire, who are two points behind but only have one fixture left, able to prevent them from a knockout berth. Hampshire's three-year run of qualification has now officially ended.
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Chelmsford: Surrey 189-9, Essex 176-8 - Surrey won by 13 runs
Will Jacks hammered five sixes in a scintillating 84 to consolidate Surrey's place at the head of the Vitality Blast south group and guarantee a home match in the quarter-finals.
Jacks hit five sixes in his 46-ball knock and put on 63 in five overs in a stand with Jordan Clark that constituted a record for the sixth wicket against Essex. That rescued Surrey after they suffered a mid-collapse before the reset that helped them post 189 for 9 and eventually prevail by 13 runs.
Surrey had struggled against the Essex spin pair of Matt Critchley, who took 2 for 22, and Simon Harmer, whose 3 for 44 was a season's best. Paul Walter chipped in with two late wickets to finish with 2 for 26 to take his tally to 15.
Adam Rossington tried manfully to take Essex to a third win in four days, and qualification for the knockout stages, but he fell for a 49-ball 78 with five sixes and with it went home hopes. Essex now need at least a point from Friday's final match at Hampshire to reach the quarter-finals.
Gloucestershire kept themselves in quarter-final contention (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 206-6, Glamorgan 85 - Gloucestershire won by 121 runs
Jack Taylor blitzed his way to a brilliant unbeaten half-century as Gloucestershire beat neighbours Glamorgan by 121 runs in a one-sided Vitality Blast encounter at Cheltenham.
Leading by example, Gloucestershire's captain smashed 80 from 35 balls with seven sixes and four fours to lift his side to a substantial 206 for 6 in front of a packed audience at the College Ground. Cameron Bancroft posted 44 and James Bracey 31 in a second wicket partnership of 64, while Beau Webster contributed 33 in a blistering stand of 63 in 6.3 overs with Taylor for the fourth wicket as the home side achieved a record winning margin in a T20 game.
It was altogether too big an ask for Glamorgan, who were bowled out for 85 in 15.5 overs, five of their top six batsmen failing to make it into double figures and only Colin Ingram offering top-order resistance in an innings of 20.
Continuing his good form in the short format, David Payne returned figures of 3 for 7 from three overs, while Tom Smith and Josh Shaw weighed in with 3 for 33 and 2 for 7 respectively as Gloucestershire won inside the distance.
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