T20 Blast 2024 roundup: Durham and Worcestershire trounced, while Surrey begin with key win

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action from the opening night of the 2024 Vitality Blast

North Group

Northampton: Derbyshire 162-9, Northamptonshire 163-5 - Northamptonshire win by five wickets

Veteran allrounder Ravi Bopara hit an unbeaten 56 from 42 deliveries as Northamptonshire Steelbacks made a winning start to their Vitality Blast campaign in a final-ball thriller against Derbyshire Falcons.

Former England man Bopara, 39, shared a partnership of 67 from 52 balls with 38-year-old Zimbabwe international Sikandar Raza – both making their experience count on their Blast debuts for the Steelbacks.

Although Raza (38 from 27) fell to Zak Chappell with 25 still needed, Bopara – a Blast winner with Essex in 2019 – kept his head to steer Northamptonshire over the line along with Lewis McManus, who levelled the scores with a boundary off Luis Reece and struck the final ball for a single.

Earlier, David Lloyd had top-scored for the Falcons with 41 from 22 as they posted 162 for 7 at Wantage Road, with Steelbacks skipper David Willey taking 1 for 17 from four overs.

Headingley: Worcestershire 101, Yorkshire 104-2 - Yorkshire win by eight wickets

Left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty made life easy for Yorkshire's star-studded batting line-up with a career-best 4 for 25 as the Vikings brushed Worcestershire aside by eight wickets at Headingley to make a flying start to their Vitality Blast campaign.

Moriarty, making his Yorkshire T20 debut, put the skids under the Rapids with all four wickets during the first half of an innings which saw them bowled out for 101 in 15.4 overs. Ethan Brookes, one of only two visiting batters to reach double figures, top-scored with a middle-order 42 off 32 balls.

It was little surprise when a Yorkshire top five including current internationals Donavan Ferreira, Dawid Malan, Shan Masood and Joe Root made light work of the meagre target. Ex-England Test opener Adam Lyth top-scored with 55 off 33 balls, the win sealed inside 12 overs. Root finished unbeaten on 13.

^{Northamptonshire defeated Derbyshire in their season opener (David Rogers/Getty Images)}

Manchester: Durham 75, Lancashire 76-1 - Lancashire win by nine wickets

Tom Aspinwall celebrated his T20 debut by taking 4 for 18 as Lancashire annihilated Durham by nine wickets in their opening Vitality Blast match at Emirates Old Trafford.

But Lancashire had to share the plaudits with Jack Blatherwick, who picked up 3 for 14, as Steven Croft's side put their Championship woes behind them to chase down the visitors' paltry 75 in exactly eight overs.

And 39-year-old Croft, who was skippering the side in the absence of back-spasm victim Keaton Jennings, also got in on the act by taking a brilliant running catch to remove Matthew Potts off Blatherwick, the captain sprinting back some 40 yards from mid-off to dive full length, grab the ball in both hands and bring the home supporters to their feet.

As things turned out, Potts' 15 was Durham’s highest score and the visitors total proved no sort of target for Lancashire’s batters, Luke Wells making 49 not out to complete the hammering.

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South Group

Southampton: Hampshire 162-9, Surrey 163-5 - Surrey win by five wickets

Tom Curran produced heroics with bat and ball to give Surrey a Vitality Blast Off victory over Hampshire Hawks – and get revenge for last weekend’s Vitality County Championship mauling.

With the ball, fast bowler Curran claimed 3 for 32 to peg the Hawks back and help restrict them to 162.

But his starring role came with the bat as he came in with 63 needed with 38 balls remaining to smash 37 off 20 to see Surrey to a five-wicket victory at Utilita Bowl.

^{David Payne ran through Essex's top order (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Bristol: Essex 141-9, Gloucestershire 142-5 - Gloucestershire win by five wickets

David Payne and Matt Taylor claimed four wickets apiece as Gloucestershire opened their Vitality Blast account with an impressive five-wicket victory over Essex at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.

Making his first appearance of the season, Payne took three wickets with the new ball and then removed dangerman Daniel Sams to finish with 4-24, while Taylor eclipsed the tail to return career-best T20 figures of 4 for 22 from four overs and restrict last season's beaten finalists to 141 for 9.

Jordan Cox top-scored with 48 and dominated a stand of 64 in 6.5 overs for the fourth wicket with Paul Walter, who contributed 43, but the failure of seven batsmen to reach double figures fatally undermined the innings after Essex had been put in.

Gloucestershire made relatively light work of chasing a modest target, James Bracey posting 49 from 30 balls and dominating a stand of 83 in seven overs with Cameron Bancroft, who weighed in with 32 as the home side took control. Ben Charlesworth finished unbeaten on 22 as Gloucestershire wrapped up victory beneath the Bristol floodlights with 18 balls to spare.

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