Vitality Blast 2023 June 6th - All Matches - Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions
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Vitality Blast 2023 June 6th - All Matches - Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions
Here are the Vitality Blast June 6th 2023 Match Reports, Results, Scorecards and Reactions for all the matches being played today.
Top Tournament Stats - Vitality Blast 2023
North Group
Scorecard: Durham v Northants Steelbacks (Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street)
Northamptonshire Steelbacks 161 for seven vs Durham 162 for six - Durham win by four wickets
Nathan Sowter and Graham Clark haunted Northamptonshire Steelbacks for the second time in the Vitality Blast this season after guiding Durham to a four-wicket win at Seat Unique Riverside.
Sowter followed his figures of five for 15 against the Steelbacks in the reverse fixture with another brilliant spell of four for 14 to limit the visitors to 161 for seven from their 20 overs. Emilio Gay top-scored with a career-best 53, but he lacked support from the rest of the line-up to produce a daunting total for the hosts to chase.
Clark delivered an emphatic performance at the top of the innings against the Steelbacks following his century from the opener. His knock of 55 provided the foundation for the chase that was threatened by three wickets from Freddie Heldreich. But, Durham held their composure to strengthen their credentials for a quarter-final place with their fourth win of the season.
The visitors solidly started in the powerplay without dominating the Durham attack. Gay was the early pacesetter, impressing with his striking down the ground, including back-to-back boundaries against Luke Robinson. Chris Lynn made a slow start to his knock but brought up the fifty stand with a fine cut behind point to the fence.
After clearing the rope for the first time, the Australian was starting to find his range, only to fall for 24 to a brilliant diving catch from Liam Trevaskis at long-off to hand Sowter the breakthrough. Sowter was then responsible for the second wicket as Josh Cobb got himself in a mighty tangle after surviving an lbw shout and was run out by Ashton Turner.
Gay continued to play the anchor role and brought up his maiden T20 fifty from 38 balls to position his side for a late surge over the 150-run mark. But, Sowter continued to torment the Steelbacks line-up after taking five wickets in the reverse fixture.
He prised out David Willey and bowled Saif Zaib to put the clamps on the visitors. The leg-spinner ended his spell with his fourth scalp as Gay was caught on the boundary for 53, taking his ninth wicket in two games against Northants for the cost of just 29 runs.
The Steelbacks scrambled to a competitive total of 161 for seven courtesy of useful late cameos from AJ Tye and Tom Taylor.
Northants missed a golden opportunity to set the Durham chase back in the second over when Taylor put down a simple chance at short midwicket to dismiss Alex Lees. The Durham skipper and Clark surged past their fifty partnership at the end of the powerplay, moving ahead of the required rate courtesy of a huge six by the latter.
Heldreich earned brief respite for the visitors by breaking the stand with his first ball, pinning Lees lbw for 30.
Clark followed in the footsteps of his team-mate Sowter by defying the Steelbacks again. After scoring his maiden T20 century at Wantage Road in the first match of the competition, he proved equally destructive on home soil, powering his way to fifty from 25 balls.
Heldreich kept the visitors in with a shout of hauling back the hosts working in tandem with a miserly spell from Saif Zaib, removing Michael Jones and the key wicket of Clark for 55. Zaib then cranked up the pressure when Ollie Robinson was caught on the fence, ending his four-over spell for one for 17.
Turner eased the tension for the hosts and all but carried them over the line with a vital knock of 31 from 18. Liam Trevaskis wrapped up proceedings by smashing Tye over the rope before the contest was ended by a wide.
Durham's Nathan Sowter said: "I thought that we had the upper hand . Whoever has batted second here has gone on to win the game. So we were quite confident chasing 160 as other teams have done it here recently. It was good to get over the line. I'm not happy at seeing the back of them after taking nine wickets in two games against them this year. I've had two good days out against them, sometimes it just works out that way against one team. I thought they might come harder at me tonight, but I knew if I held my line and backed myself I would get the rewards.
"It did turn into a tight game at the end, but we showed our dominance over their bowling to get there with one over to spare. We know that with Ashton Turner coming in late he has a calm head and that's what we've been talking about in the dressing room. Ashton is one of the best finishers in world cricket so I was confident that we were going to get the win. The games are coming thick and fast, but the win tonight gives us that little bit of a boost going into our games on the road, starting against Nottinghamshire Outlaws."
Northamptonshire Steelbacks' Emilio Gay said: "It's not a nice feeling to lose the game, but we felt that we were in the game at the halfway stage because of the big boundaries here. It looked as though 160 was about a par score and has been enough over the last two years here. We tried to use the momentum from the back end of our innings to go into the bowling powerplay and get those couple of wickets. It didn't quite work out that way, but we did make a game of it, we just couldn't get over the line. It was not surprising for me that I got my first Blast fifty because I know what I can bring to the team. It was frustrating to miss out last season, but I feel that I have a lot to give in this format. I wasn't expecting to play tonight, but I was ready to take my chance. It gave us a foundation to work from. It was nice to do that and hopefully, I can get a few games under my belt because I really want to be involved in all three formats.
Scorecard: Leicestershire Foxes v Yorkshire Vikings (Grace Road, Leicester)
Beaten in their opening three North Group fixtures, Yorkshire Vikings extended the turn-around in their Vitality Blast campaign to four wins from four, defeating Leicestershire Foxes by 30 runs after the home side were bowled out for 126 at a chilly Uptonsteel County Ground.
Having opted to bat first, the Vikings recovered from a perilous 78 for seven on a green-tinged pitch to post 156 from their 20 overs, all-rounder David Wiese finishing on 50 not out from 32 balls and former Leicestershire all-rounder Ben Mike 30 from 17 after the pair set a Vikings record by adding 78 for the eighth wicket.
Jordan Thompson was the most effective bowler for the Vikings, taking a career-best five for 21, with 20-year-old leg-spinner Jafer Chohan impressing with one for 16 from four overs.
Another South African all-rounder, Wiaan Mulder - playing solely as a batter after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury - top-scored for the Foxes with 46 but although Rishi Patel (36 from 25 balls) proved effective in the powerplay, the home side could not build a sustainable partnership, dismissed with three balls left of the 20th over.
England’s young leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed took three for 21 and left-arm seamer Josh Hull took two for 30 - both just 18 years old - as the best of the Foxes bowlers, but strike bowlers Mikey Finan and Naveen-ul-Haq took some punishment as the home attack leaked 69 runs in the last five overs.
Dawid Malan’s hot streak ended in the second over as a leading edge to a ball from left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson saw him caught at short third man for two following his run of 95 not out, 83 and 81 not out in three innings. James Wharton cashed in on a couple of balls wide of off stump by Hull but there was another success for the Foxes as Naveen beat Adam Lyth’s swinging bat and the Vikings were 42 for two from their batting powerplay.
Wharton and Shan Masood added 36 in 29 balls but three more wickets before the halfway point had the visitors on the back foot at 65 for five.
Ahmed, among the contenders for an England Ashes spot following the injury to Jack Leach, did his prospects no harm by bowling Wharton (26 from 19 balls) with one that skidded through before holding an easy return catch next ball as Jonathan Tattersall chipped one back.
The Vikings were in more trouble as Masood under-edged a catch behind off the tall Hull before Ahmed claimed his third scalp via a catch in the deep on the leg side well taken by Finan.
Yorkshire had no momentum at all at this point and were six overs without a boundary at 75 for six when Ahmed finished his spell in the 13th over, suffering a further setback in the next over as Revis nicked one off Hull.
But a loose over from Finan gave Wiese a helping hand as he lofted a free hit over long off for the first six of the Vikings innings and hammered a full toss for four, setting off a strong finish for Yorkshire side and a poor one for Leicestershire, who up to that point had given little away.
Wiese and Mike hit eight fours and three sixes from 38 balls after the fall of the seventh wicket, Mike clearing the rope off former team-mates Naveen and Finan to give his old county a tougher chase than they had anticipated.
On a roll, Wiese began the home side’s batting powerplay with a maiden and when Nick Welch was grabbed behind the stumps at the second attempt off spinner Dom Bess, the Foxes were one for one. They recovered to put 44 on the board in the opening six but also lost Lewis Hill, who skewed Thompson to third man.
At the halfway point, the outcome looked in the balance after a couple of tight overs from Chohan, with 93 needed from 60 balls at 64 for two. When Patel - hit on the helmet by Revis on 31 - was leg before to Thompson for 36 from 24 balls, and Louis Kimber was bowled by Chohan sweeping, the Vikings looked favourites, an assessment quickly confirmed as Ahmed thumped a short delivery from Revis in the air to Wharton at mid-off.
Mike held a steepling return catch to remove Arron Lilley, after which a flurry of boundaries by Mulder raised hopes that the Foxes could still make a game of it until Thompson dismissed him and Naveen with consecutive deliveries, both via catches in the deep. Parkinson departed in similar fashion off Mike and Thompson kept steady under another soaring return catch put up by Finan to complete his maiden five-for.
Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson said:
“The way we have been batting recently, we felt we were a few runs below par. Perhaps we took too long to assess the conditions. In the end, 150 proved to be enough but 78 for seven was not a good look.
“But we signed David Wiese in part for situations like that, where his experience playing white-ball cricket around the world really tells. He got us a very important half-century to give us what proved to be a winning score in the end. And Ben Mike, who played his part in that partnership, showed his potential again tonight. He is making telling contributions with the ball and the bat.
“Jordan Thompson was fantastic tonight. He bowls a lot of challenging overs for us and it was good to see him get his rewards, but the bowlers executed their plans and their skills well tonight. They have taken the responsibility for the jobs we have given them to do and that’s really pleasing. To manage the powerplay the way we did today was outstanding.”
Leicestershire’s Lewis Hill, who stood in as captain in the absence of the injured Colin Ackerman, said:
“We looked in a good position in the game, bowling great lines, great lengths but we lost a bit of momentum in the last five overs. On reflection, we maybe could have kept to those hard lengths instead of going for the death overs.
“We couldn’t blame the pitch when we batted. It was quite a good surface but they bowled well and we didn’t get away as quickly as we could have in the middle overs and in the end that has cost us. That was where the game was lost.
“Ackers was a big miss in that middle order, he is our rock and we missed him really. Wiaan went well in the end but we couldn’t get him on strike in that middle period, which was frustrating, but we’ve got to do better.
“We’ve got another home game here on Friday night and hopefully we can give the fans here something to cheer about.”
South Group
Scorecard: Essex Eagles v Sussex Sharks (County Ground, Chelmsford)
Sussex Sharks 147 lost to Essex 149/5 by five wickets
Michael Pepper continued his Vitality Blast form as his 48 and Sam Cook’s four-for set up a five-wicket victory for Essex against Sussex Sharks.
Batter Pepper was the Eagles’ top scorer in 2022 with 439 runs and has belated started 2023, after a finger injury, with a 63 in the defeat to Somerset, and a stylish 48.
Fast bowler Cook had helped restrict the Sharks to 147 with four for 20 despite Ravi Bopara’s 50, before Pepper and Adam Rossington broke the chase with 76 for the second wicket.
Matt Critchley and Daniel Sams completed the win with 31 balls to spare as Sussex were condemned to a 4th straight defeat, as Essex chalked up their third victory from five matches.
In the chase, Dan Lawrence was caught at mid-on second ball but Pepper and Rossington got the Eagles off to a flier with 77 runs coming in the powerplay.
Henry Crocombe was Rossington’s victim with a variety of scoops and pulls to and over the boundary in a healthy 21 run over.
Nathan McAndrew also was sprayed for 21 at the other end in a 10 ball over with Pepper using his crease to create angles to crash four fours.
Rossington flamingoed his fourth six but his stay ended when he turned Tymal Mills around the corner to short leg, before Robin Das and Paul Walter followed quickly.
Pepper popped Bopara back over his head but Shadab Khan pinned him lbw on the reverse sweep.
But Critchley and Sams eased to the finish line with a 45-run stand.
Sussex chose to bat and lost Toms Clark, Haines and Alsop in the powerplay but Bopara steadied things with Shadab Khan and Michael Burgess.
Bopara played 67 home T20 matches for Essex, having played for the inaugural 2003 season to 2019, with all but one coming at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. He knows the dimensions of the ground better than most.
On this occasion he targeted the leg side boundary on the Doug Insole Pavilion side, dragging Ben Allison for six from outside the off stump before to slog sweeps off Simon Harmer.
He added 35 with Shadab, and after the Pakistani was bowled by Walter’s first ball, Burgess helped bring 40 in 24 balls.
Bopara’s 46th T20 fifty came in 30 balls but he departed when Shane Snater grabbed some air to catch at long-on.
Sussex would only score another 33 in the last six overs as Critchley had James Coles and McAndrew in the 16th over, Cook returned four for 20 as he had Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Burgess caught in the same over.
Sams got the wicket his tight bowling deserved when Tymal Mills chipped to a diving Harmer at cover as Sussex were bowled out for 147 with three balls unused.
Essex batter Michael Pepper:
"It has been a lovely start. I was disappointed to miss out on the first few games but it is good to be back and thankfully in the runs.
"The way I bat is working so there is no real reason to change it. Everything in the game feels good and I am happy to just be playing.
"I was very disappointed to get out again when we still needed 40-odd runs, I wanted to be the guy at the end, but thankfully the guys got over the line today.
"The bowling performance, like on Sunday against Somerset, was incredible. To restrict them to 147 on a decent pitch with small boundaries was an unbelievable effort. Everyone nailed their lengths and did their job. The first half really set us up to win the game.
"The fielding performance was also near on perfect. It was sensational and saved us so many runs in saving boundaries and the catching.
"We are in a very good position. The two defeats aren't ideal but that is T20 and everyone is going to lose the odd game. We are very happy with our position."
Sussex Sharks head coach Paul Farbrace:
"It is a run of games that show we have an awful lot of work to do as a team. Last week I shared my views in very blunt terms my views and since then there has been no point in having raised voiced in the changing room at the end of a game because we know we have an awful amount of work to do.
"I said at the Ageas Bowl that we were taught a lesson in every aspect of the game and tonight I guess is another of those lessons. We talk about wanting to be aggresive and positive in the way that we play but we're not. We're not laying a glove on the opposition. We are meandering to a score without any real purpose. It is clear our batters have a lot of work to do.
"That is on me as much as the team. My job, with the other coaches, is to improve players and team performance, and we are not doing that at the moment. It isn't a case of me telling players that they need to get better because I include myself in that. I've still got a lot of learning to do. I want to learn and make this team better every day.
"We have a group of people who work exceptionally hard and we have got talent but what we're not doing at the moment is harnassing that into a team performance, and that is frustrating.
"It is not good enough what we are doing and it will be another night of laying awake at 3 or 4am staring at the ceiling and thinking how what we can do to improve things. What can I do or say in practice or team meetings?
"I'm not going to give up on this tournament and say that it is gone now and we should focus on Championship cricket because every game is an opportunity to learn and get better. We can't just throw the towel in and make excuses.
"I don't think we are the best team in the tournament when you compare our players to other teams but that doesn't mean that in T20 anyone can't beat anyone. All you need is a couple of players in your team to have a good night and the game can go your way.
"At the moment we aren't doing that and as individuals and as a team we aren't competing and that's the hardest bit for me. I don't care how good Essex are as we aren't making teams work hard to beat us."
Scorecard: Middlesex v Hampshire Hawks (Radlett Cricket Club, Radlett)
Hampshire Hawks (164-6) beat Middlesex (159-7) by five runs
Hampshire seamer John Turner starred with three wickets on his Vitality Blast debut as the defending champions recorded their third straight win, holding off rock-bottom Middlesex at Radlett.
The 22-year-old captured the wicket of Middlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi with his first ball in the tournament, finishing with three for 30 as the Hawks successfully defended a modest total of 164 for six.
Max Holden’s first Blast half-century of the summer, with 53 from 31 balls, had given the Seaxes hope of finally breaking their duck in the South Group as he and Ryan Higgins (43 from 35) added 60 for the fourth wicket.
But Hampshire’s death bowlers held their nerve to ensure the home side remain winless in the competition, equalling their longest losing start to a campaign of seven defeats in 2006 and 2009.
Hampshire skipper James Vince, who had smashed a match-winning 88 not out in the sides’ first meeting of the tournament, missed out this time after driving Josh de Caires’ second ball tamely to mid-off.
But Ben McDermott was soon into his stride, pummelling Blake Cullen for successive boundaries and dispatching both Tom Helm and de Caires over the fence as he and Toby Albert shared a partnership of 56 from 38.
Luke Hollman’s tight three-over stint of two for 12 broke the stand, luring Albert into a mistimed reverse sweep and the leg-spinner also prised out the big-hitting McDermott, caught at long-off just short of his half-century.
With Joe Weatherley and Aneurin Donald both holing out as de Caires recorded his best T20 figures of two for 34, the Hawks had lost three wickets for just 11 runs and they responded by shifting Chris Wood up the order to seven.
That move paid off as the paceman thrashed 31 from 21 and he and Ross Whiteley, with an unbeaten 28 from 20, hauled Hampshire above 150 but Higgins, with four consecutive dot balls in the penultimate over, ensured they fell short of par.
However, their total looked more than substantial after two overs of the Middlesex reply, with just two extras on the board and both openers back in the pavilion with ducks against their name.
Eskinazi was caught miscuing a pull to midwicket off Turner’s first delivery and Joe Cracknell followed five balls later, leg before – but Holden and Pieter Malan kick-started the innings with a stand of 43 from 23.
Malan, having advanced to 18 with two powerful leg-side blows off Wood, attempted to do the same against Nathan Ellis just before the end of the powerplay and was caught in the deep.
Holden displayed a knack of picking out the gaps, carving Scott Currie to the cover boundary and clipping his next ball to leg for four more as Middlesex kept pace with the required run-rate.
The left-hander brought up his 50 from 26 balls and Higgins was a more than capable foil in their partnership, bisecting the leg-side fielders perfectly to register successive fours off Wood.
But Liam Dawson tilted the contest back in Hampshire’s favour, tempting Holden to top-edge a pull to short fine leg and Turner claimed his third wicket before Vince raced from mid-off and dived to pouch a skier from Higgins.
Despite two boundaries by Martin Andersson to keep Middlesex in contention, a target of 15 from the final over proved too steep.
Middlesex batter MAX HOLDEN, who top-scored with 53 from 31 balls, said:
“I feel like that’s one that got away from us for sure. Chasing 160-odd at Radlett we were pretty confident at the halfway stage we could knock those off – it’s notoriously hard to defend, with the outfield and the dimensions of the ground.
“There’s licence in the powerplay to be positive and look to take the attack to the opposition, so I wasn’t looking too much at the scoreboard. It’s nice to hit a few but I would like it to be in a winning situation next time.
“With me and Higgo going there, we were in a good position to do that. The responsibility was on one of us to be there at the end because it’s always difficult for guys coming in on that wicket against that quality of opposition.
“It probably needed me or Higgo to bat for another 10 balls each and we’d have got over the line, so it’s bitterly disappointing. It’s such fine margins and at the moment we’re not winning those key moments and playing well enough at key times.”
Hampshire bowler JOHN TURNER, who took 3-30 on his Blast debut, said:
“I was saying to Toby (Albert) around the 14th or 15th over, T20 is very quick! It’s taken me a bit by surprise, how quick it is compared to the 2s stuff but the foundation I’ve got from that has given me a good grounding and I’m enjoying it.
“I was fortunate it was me today, to be able to enjoy the moment and everything that came with it. Obviously to get some wickets and not go for too many runs, that helped the nerves a bit.
“The start we got with the ball put us in quite a strong position. To fight back after the total we got – it was a bit below par, we were looking for 180-plus and I think we were a few short – but we’re a team that always fights and that’s what we did today.
“We’re here to entertain and give the crowd a good game. I think that’s what we did and fortunately we came out on the winning side. Three from three and it’s good to get on a roll, hopefully we can make it four from four tomorrow (against Somerset).”
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