Surrey continued their winning streak in the T20 Blast as Yorkshire faced a huge defeat against Northamptonshire Steelbacks in another exciting round of matches. Surrey has almost secured their qualification from the South Group, while Notts Outlaws and Birmingham Bears have strengthened their quarter-final chances. The top four teams from each group will move on to the quarter-finals, scheduled for July 6 and 7.
Worcestershire Rapids kept their quarterfinal hopes alive with an impressive seven-wicket victory over Lancashire Lightning. It allowed the Birmingham Bears to strengthen their grip on the top-spot with a nervous two-wicket victory over struggling Durham. Meanwhile, Yorkshire Vikings’ last-eight chances took a hit as they suffered a heavy 78-run defeat against Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Headingley.
Notts Outlaws beat bottom-placed Leicestershire Foxes and are currently second in the table with an inferior run rate to the Birmingham Bears. Surrey all-rounder Sam Curran blasted six sixes as Surrey hammered Glamorgan to stay on target for a home quarter-final. Additionally, Jordan Cox smashed 82 from 44 balls to keep Kent Spitfires in contention, securing a victory over Sussex.
Holding champions Hampshire suffered a surprise loss at Gloucestershire in a match interrupted by rain. At New Road, Lancashire slipped to 38-4 before England captain Jos Buttler and Rob Jones added 98 for the fourth wicket in 11.2 overs. However, when Buttler fell for 74 in the 19th over, Lancashire struggled to finish on 164-8 with Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner claiming 2-19 from four overs and Pat Brown taking 3-32.
The Bears opted to bowl first at Chester-le-Street, and Chris Woakes soon ousted Alex Lees. Hasan Ali produced sublime figures of 2-15 from his four overs, and Durham posted a target of 146-5. Bears openers Alex Davies and Rob Yates responded with 40 each, and Jacob Bethell saw them over the line with two wickets and two balls to spare. Northants chose to bat first at Yorkshire and scored 180-6 with Justin Broad’s unbeaten 47. Then Ben Sanderson and Willey shared four wickets to reduce Yorkshire to 22-4 in reply, and Tom Taylor took over, taking five wickets and posting figures of 5-28 from his four overs.
Surrey’s Sam Curran made his fourth half-century in this year’s tournament as Surrey thrashed Glamorgan by 81 runs. Curran blasted 59 from 22 balls while Will Jacks scored 69 off 40 balls and Laurie Evans made 40 from 24. Meanwhile, Ben Wells’ 43 from 22 and Ben Charlesworth’s 29 from 15 saw Gloucestershire reach their target of 84 runs from nine overs with five balls to spare in a rain-affected match against Hampshire.
