Vitality Blast 2023: June 22nd All Matches - Scorecards, Match Reports and Reactions
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Vitality Blast 2023: June 22nd All Matches - Scorecards, Match Reports and Reactions
Here are the Vitality Blast June 22nd 2023 Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions for all the matches being played today.
Top Tournament Stats - Vitality Blast 2023
North Group
Worcestershire vs Nottinghamshire, North Group, Vitality Blast
Worcestershire Rapids registered a third successive win to remain on course for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast as they completed a double over Notts Outlaws at New Road with a five wicket success.
The Outlaws were restricted to 139-8 after a splendid all-round bowling performance by the home side on a pitch where it was hard to get the ball away.
Dillon Pennington set the tone with a probing three overs during the powerplay and the spin trio of Mitchell Santner, skipper Brett D’Oliveira and Mitchell Santner had combined figures of 11-0-65-5.
Pat Brown also picked up two more wickets to take his tally to 21 and was unlucky not to add to that figure after a couple of late opportunities were spilled.
D’Oliveira then gave the Rapids reply early momentum although they also found it difficult to score freely against the spinners.
But Ed Pollock and Adam Hose mixed aggression with sensible batting in adding an unbroken 60 in eight overs to see the Rapids to victory with nine balls to spare.
The Rapids are now level on 14 points with the Outlaws but have a game in hand heading into the finale of the tournament.
Notts were without Colin Munro (hamstring) and Samit Patel who was missing his first ever T20 game through injury for the Outlaws and his first for any reason since 2012, a sequence of 145 Blast matches.
Haseeb Hameed made his first ever T20 appearance while the Rapids brought Matthew Waite into their side for new England pace bowler Josh Tongue.
The Outlaws were put into bat by D’Oliveira and quickly ran into trouble.
Alex Hales needed one more maximum to become the competition’s all-time leading six-hitter but he riveiremains on 182 after edging his first delivery from Pennington through to keeper Ben Cox.
Santner also struck in his first over when Lyndon James tried to work the New Zealand all-rounder to leg and played all around a delivery which knocked out his off stump.
Former Worcestershire player Joe Clarke lofted Matthew Waite for the first six of the game but the Outlaws were restricted to 40-2 in the powerplay.
Matt Montgomery did his best to improvise against some accurate bowling and twice reverse swept leg spinner Usama Mir for boundaries.
But Clarke struggled to 19 from 18 deliveries before he holed out to deep mid wicket off D’Oliveira after adding 53 with Montgomery.
Montgomery managed a run a ball 39 but then tried to hit D’Oliveira over the top and perished to a catch by Usama Mir running back from cover.
Hameed then aimed a big blow at Santner and only picked out long on and Shaheen Afridi provided catching practice to deep mid wicket off Usama.
Pat Brown then lifted his wicket tally for the tournament to 21 with two in two balls.
Outlaws captain Steven Mullaney was pouched at cover and Calvin Harrison tried a ramp shot to his first delivery and was bowled.
Peter Moore did his best to get the Outlaws up to a competitive total but both he and Matt Carter were dropped in the final over from Brown.
D’Oliveira got the Rapids reply off to a flier with 4-6-4-4 off successive balls from James and scored 24 of the first 27 before Jack Haynes mistimed a Jake Ball delivery and was caught at mid on.
Santner offered a straightforward return catch to Carter and then D’Oliveira picked out deep mid wicket in Calvin Harrison’s first over.
Notts sensed they were back in the contest but the home side did not help their cause with some irresponsible shots.
Kashif Ali aimed a mighty heave at Mullalley over the leg side and was bowled and then Ben Cox was bowled behind his legs sweeping at Harrison.
But Hose and Pollock kept calm, being content to take the singles but also pounce on any loose deliveries to good effect.
Pollock has endured a challenging campaign with the bat but showed his quality with several fine drives.
Yorkshire vs Warwickshire, North Group, Vitality Blast
Birmingham Bears put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast with a nervy four-run win over stumbling Yorkshire Vikings as the North Group leaders defended a 181 target at Headingley.
The Bears won for the eighth time in 11 games on the back of opener Rob Yates’ 66 off 51 balls and Dan Mousley’s career best four for 28 from four overs of off-spin in Yorkshire’s 176 for eight, including three David Wiese sixes in the last over as Henry Brookes just about defended 27.
England’s Ashes hopeful Chris Woakes returned an excellent two for 21 from four overs of seam.
The Vikings have now lost their last three games - six defeats in 12 - and they must now win their last two fixtures to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
Birmingham should have posted more than 180 for seven having elected to bat, but they lost regular wickets during the second half of an innings ultimately held together by left-handed Yates.
Chris Benjamin also made 45 off 27 from number three, while Yates was run out off the last ball of the 20th over.
Dom Bess with one for 16 from three overs of off-spin and seamer Wiese’s one for 26 from four stood out for Yorkshire, who were sloppy in the field - both on the ground and catching.
Yates was dropped on 50 moments after reaching his second fifty of the campaign in 38 balls.
The Bears had a bright start checked when Alex Davies on 15 steered seamer Matthew Revis’s first ball to short third - 37 for one in the fifth over, which became 50 for one after six.
Yates and Benjamin settled for a couple of overs before the latter, in particular, put his foot down.
Benjamin hit five fours and a straight six in the ninth and 10th overs combined off Revis and leg-spinner Jafer Chohan, taking the score to 92 for one at halfway and him into the forties.
However, just short of a half-century, he drilled Jordan Thompson to mid-off, leaving the Bears at 97 for two and starting a bit of a collapse.
Glenn Maxwell pulled his second ball for a huge six onto the Headingley Lodge hotel’s top tier. But the Australian’s fireworks were only brief as he was bowled for 21 trying to get funky against Revis.
And wickets continued to fall. Mousley was run out following a mix-up with Yates before Ed Barnard and Jacob Bethell holed out off Dom Bess and David Wiese, leaving the score at 164 for six in the 18th.
Yates was strong on both sides of the wicket, pulling his only six over square-leg.
But the Bears weren’t able to put themselves in the unassailable position they perhaps should have done.
Yorkshire also made a bright start to their innings, with Dawid Malan and Adam Lyth taking leg-side sixes off Brookes - in for rested Hassan Ali - in the second over.
But Malan holed out to deep cover off Maxwell’s off-spin and James Wharton edged Woakes to slip in the next two overs - 32 for two after four.
Lyth looked good for 34, and so did captain Shan Masood for 21. Both played some eye-catching shots. But Yorkshire’s recent Achilles heel has been batters failing to build on starts.
So when they both fell in successive overs - Lyth caught at short third off Mousley’s third ball of off-spin and Masood bowled by a beauty of a googly from left-arm wrist-spinner Jake Lintott, Vikings fans were fearing the worst at 73 for four in the 11th.
Mousley trapped Jonny Tattersall lbw in his next over - 87 for five.
But home hopes were raised as all-rounders Thompson and Revis powerfully turned the tide. Thompson was strong to leg, while Revis hit particularly well down the ground in a brisk 54 stand.
They took the target to a still unlikely 41 from three overs at 140 for five.
However, Woakes returned to get Revis caught at deep square-leg for 32, conceding only two off his last over and paving the way for a comfortable run to the line for the Bears.
Mousley’s third wicket was Thompson brilliantly caught at long-on by a diving Jacob Bethell for 34.
He also bowled Bess to leave Brookes with breathing space in the last, though it got closer than it should have thanks to Wiese’s lusty late attack with 20.
South Group
Gloucestershire vs Sussex, South Group, Vitality Blast
Harrison Ward struck a brutal half century to propel Sussex Sharks to a comfortable seven-wicket triumph over South Group rivals Gloucestershire in a one-sided Vitality Blast contest beneath the Seat Unique Stadium floodlights in Bristol.
The left-hander smashed 51 from 27 balls, with 5 sixes and 2 fours, and dominated a match-winning opening partnership of 83 with Tom Clark as Sharks chased down a victory target of 141 with 6.4 overs to spare.
Aristedes Karvelas had earlier put the skids under Gloucestershire with 4-20 in 3.2 overs, including three wickets in eight balls during the powerplay, while leg spinner Shadab Khan weighed in with 4-27 during the middle part of the innings as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 140 in 19.2 overs.
Overseas hired hand Grant Roelofsen top-scored with 41 and Gloucestershire were indebted to Matt Taylor and Tom Smith, who added 31 for the last wicket to at least provide a veneer of respectability.
A seventh defeat in 11 games signaled the end of Gloucestershire's quest for a place in the quarter-finals, while victory moved Sussex level on points with their opponents, albeit in the lower reaches of the table.
If Gloucestershire were relying upon the left handers in their top order to exploit a short boundary, they were quickly made to think again as Miles Hammond and Ben Charlesworth fell to consecutive Karvelas deliveries in the first over with the score on nine. Hammond top-edged a short-pitched ball to Shadab Khan at third man, while Charlesworth offered a meek return catch and departed without scoring.
Karvelas struck again in his next over from the Ashley Down Road End, inducing Ben Wells to slice to third man as the home side lurched to 15-3, leaving opener Grant Roelofsen and new batsman Ollie Price to recover a parlous situation the best they could. Understandably adverse to taking too many risks, the fourth wicket pair progressed the score to 43 by the end of the six-over powerplay, Roelofsen plundering a brace of boundaries at the expense of Henry Crocombe to afford the home side some much-needed momentum.
Visibly growing in confidence, Roelofsen greeted Shadab's leg breaks with a towering six over mid-wicket to equal his highest score in the competition for Gloucestershire, and then repeated the feat in the spinner's next over to pass 40 for the first time this season. Just when it looked as though a half century was his for the taking, the South African fluffed his lines, cutting Shadab to backward point and departing for 41, having faced 27 balls, accrued 3 fours and 2 sixes and dominated a stand of 50 with Price.
It seemed no Gloucestershire batsman was able to convert a start into a big score and apply significant pressure, Price advancing to 19 before hoisting Shadab high to George Garton at cow corner as the hosts slipped to 78-5 in the eleventh.
Zafar Gohar then played and missed a straight one from Shadab, who had Tom Price held at wide mid-on five balls later to further reduce Gloucestershire to 93-7 at the end of the thirteenth. Graeme van Buuren edged a catch behind off Garton, David Payne was held in the deep off James Coles and it was left to Taylor and Smith to save face at the death.
If they were to have any hope of defending a paltry total, Gloucestershire desperately needed to take early wickets. But Ward and Clark were clearly reading from an altogether different script, these two managing to take full advantage of the short boundary in a whirlwind opening stand of 83 in 6.4 overs.
Ward took matters into his own hands in the fifth over, smashing three huge sixes off Taylor to bring the rate down to below a run a ball, while Clark drove Tom Price for a maximum of his own to propel Sharks to 78 without loss at the end of the powerplay and effectively take the game away from Gloucestershire. Clark also weighed in with a quartet of fours in a 19-ball knock of 27, which ended when he drove slow left armer Smith to Hammond at extra cover.
But there was no respite for the home side, Harrison going to 50 via 25 balls as Sharks continued to make good progress. Smith removed the hard-hitting opener in the ninth over and Zafar bowled Oli Carter for 10 as spin made inroads, only for experienced captain Ravi Bopara (11 not out) and Shadab (28 not out) to see their side home in a no thrills unbroken stand of 36 for the fourth wicket.
Sussex batsman Harrison Ward said: "It feels good to get my first T20 fifty. People always say 'don't worry about stats' but it was on my mind, and I'm relieved to get that monkey off my back. When you are chasing a smallish total like that, you always want to try and go hard from the outset and get the job done quickly. We were only 30-something after four overs, but then scored heavily in the fifth and sixth. By the time Tom (Clark) was out, I think the rate was down below a run-a-ball and Ravi Bopara and Shadab Khan were able to finish things off without any trouble. It was an emphatic win and we have to thanks the bowlers for setting it up. We've proved good at taking early wickets in recent games and Aristedes (Karvelas) did brilliantly to reduce them to 15-3. Gloucestershire had a decent partnership after that, but Shadab was superb in those middle overs and put us right on top. He's a lovely guy and has had his fair share of issues with injury, so it's nice to see him back in the middle and playing so well."
Gloucestershire spinner Tom Smith said: "We're devastated and this is not the result we wanted. There is a lot of frustration, because we did not give the best account of ourselves. I think we probably had the right approach of trying to get an above-par score and not just go into our shell on a used pitch. Sussex had an experienced bowling line-up in the middle and Shadab (Khan) and (Ravi) Bopara knew exactly what they were doing. It was a really tough phase of play and we didn't get through it with wickets in hand to be able to push on at the end. Those early wickets hurt us and Charlesworth getting out first ball did us no favours, because he has been our form player with the bat. I think 170 could have been a winning score, but we just ran out of steam in our innings. We went into it thinking we might still have won, but they played brilliantly in the powerplay and took the game away from us. As much as we are upset, we have to give credit to them, because they played really well and adapted to the conditions. We didn't get our plans right in the powerplay and were unable to adapt quickly enough."
Surrey vs Middlesex, South Group, Vitality Blast
Essex vs Kent, South Group, Vitality Blast
Joe Denly joined James Vince and Luke Wright in passing 5,000 Vitality Blast runs after a breathtaking 32-ball 76 gave Kent Spitfires their fifth straight victory.
Denly thrashed his 39th T20 fifty and overtook Wright to move just behind Vince in the all-time run-scoring list – he is now up 5,050 runs in the competition.
His tubthumping innings, paired with in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond’s fifth fifty of the tournament in a 110 stand, underpinned the Spitfires chasing 184 with nine balls to spare.
Essex were on the receiving end of a thrashing for the second time in a week to loosen their hopes of progressing from the group, despite Dan Lawrence’s 52.
Tawanda Muyeye fell to a top-edged behind in the third over but that only brought Denly to the crease.
Two dots, a single and an edgy guide to the third boundary underestimated the carnage that was about to unfold, which started with two pulled sixes.
A pair of checked cover drives could have added points for aesthetic pleasure, while the force he used to bring up his 18-ball fifty would have knocked out a herd of oxen.
He took his tally to six sixes and six fours before tamely picking out cover for 76.
Amongst Denly’s onslaught, Bell-Drummond was classily ticking through his repertoire in a 35 ball fifty. He now has 476 runs in 11 innings.
Sam Billings was caught at long off, but Bell-Drummond rose to 69 not out and a 12-ball 20 cameo from Jordan Cox got them over the line.
Earlier, Essex were asked to bat and for the fourth time in five games, lost three wickets in the powerplay.
Feroze Khushi skied to mid on where Wes Agar brilliantly caught – after bowler George Linde had visibly prayed – with Michael Pepper and Robin Das leaving the hosts 55 for three after the first six overs.
Paul Walter came, was dropped and was pinned by Jack Leaning, who was celebrating his 50th Kent T20 appearance.
Lawrence was often scratchy but amassed eight fours and a wonderfully-timed six over mid-on in his 33-ball fifty.
He and Matt Critchley had rebuilt with a 57-run stand but both fell within three balls of each other, with Daniel Sams only facing six balls before edging behind.
Just as Essex looked like recording a very poor score, Simon Harmer and Will Buttleman slapped 40 together in 16 balls, with Grant Stewart taking the brunt in a 28-run over.
But that momentum fizzled out with three wickets falling in the final over.
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