T20 Blast 2022 | Round-up May 29 | South Group

Sussex vs Kent

Both the teams came into this game with two losses on the trot and needed a win badly to make a comeback in the tournament. Kent won the coin toss and chose to field first at County Ground, Hove. 

A fine start from Mohammad Rizwan was short-lived as he was dismissed for 13 in the fifth over. After that, Josh Philippe (9) and Delray Rawlins (14) also failed to provide notable contributions. 

The experienced Luke Wright (43) was impressive with his odd boundaries in the first half, and then Tom Alsop remained unbeaten of 65 off 30, with 6 boundaries and 3 sixes to help Sussex post 171 on the board. 

In the second half, Sussex got two early breakthroughs in the form of Daniel Bell-Drummond (0) and Zak Crawley (2). The Protea all-rounder Goerge Linde was the top contributor with 38* runs, while the likes of Sam Billings, Joe Denly, and Jordan Cox contributed around 93 between them. However, they fell short by just four runs. 

Sussex is at sixth position with this win, while Kent is at the penultimate spot in the points table.

Brief scores:

Sussex - 171/5 (20)

Tom Alsop 65* (30), Luke Wright 43 (34);

Qais Ahmad 2/23 (4)

Kent- 167/7 (20)

Goerge Linde 38* (13), Joe Denly 33 (33);

Ravi Bopara 2/23 (4)

Result: Sussex won by 4 runs. 

Middlesex vs Glamorgan

Middlesex continued their winning momentum from the County Championship fixtures to this Blast 2022. They won the toss and opted to bowl against Glamorgan.

It was an average start from the Glamorgan side, with the likes of David Lloyd and Sam Northeast getting perished early. However, the middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne (38) emerged as the top scorer for the team, with the support of Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke, as they posted 168 on the board. The fast bowler Toby Roland-Jones scalped four wickets. 

It was a strong effort from the top three batters, Stephen Eskinazi (34), Max Holden (41), and Joe Cracknell (47), to complete the chase in 19 overs, and secure three consecutive wins. 

Brief scores:

Glamorgan- 168/10 (20)

Marnus Labuschagne 38 (24), James Weighell 30 (20);

Toby Roland Jones 4/22 (4)

Middlesex- 172/6 (19)

Joe Cracknell 47 (28), Max Holden 41 (22);

Prem Sisodiya 2/26 (4)

Result: Middlesex won by 4 wickets 

Somerset vs Essex 

Both the teams had a single win under their belt ahead of this fixture and would have enjoyed a fine momentum by winning this game. Somerset won the toss and decided to bowl first at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. 

Essex lost both their openers until the third over. It was the innings of Critchley (60) that helped to score 139 on the board. The experienced pacers, Josh Davey and Marchant de Lange finished with three and four scalps, respectively. 

In reply, Tom Banton (2) was dismissed by Ben Allison in the fourth over. Thereafter, Will Smeed (58) and Rilee Rossouw (67) were terrific in chasing down the score under 15 overs. 

Brief scores:

Essex - 139/9 (18)

Matthew Critchley 60 (38), Michael Pepper 37 (24);

Marchant de Lange 4/9 (3)

Somerset- 147/4 (14.4)

Rilee Rossouw 67(29), Will Smeed 58 (30)

Simon Harmer 2/22 (4)

Result: Somerset won by 6 wickets (D/L)