With the County Championship on a midsummer break, it was all about limited overs. Most of the last group fixtures in the NatWest T20 Blast were rained off. However, the weather left some of the Division Two teams in the running for silverware. As a Somerset fan I'm well aware of the disappointment that failure can bring and we have lost far more one-dayers than we've won in 2015. Kent are having a poor run in the four-day game but, with the likes of Darren Stevens, Sam Billings and Sam Northeast, they boast a formidable batting line-up and look the side to beat in T20.
Warwickshire headed the North group, ahead of Worcestershire, Northants and Lancashire, with Sussex, Hampshire and Essex completing the quarter-final line-up. Meanwhile, the new 50-over tournament has launched with five washouts then a host of hundreds through the week. Essex are looking useful in this competition, the Royal London Cup, too. Openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley each scored centuries in one fixture, and Ravi Bopara has been a reliable all-rounder.
Yorkshire's Glenn Maxwell has had a mediocre NatWest Blast, but rounded off a fine week with a 76-ball 111 to beat Worcestershire, and Gary Ballance has rediscovered the knack of scoring fifties while Steven Patterson has shone with the ball. Mark Stoneman, Phil Mustard and John Hastings have contributed to Durham's two wins, but captain Paul Collingwood hit the highest individual score of the week, 132.
Familiar big-hitters Jason Roy and Alex Hales each made three-figure innings but possibly the match of the week was Kent v Glamorgan. Stevens led the way with 110 from 66 balls but the response from South Africans Colin Ingram 109 then Chris Cooke (94 not out) was fabulous, and clinched victory with two balls left.
Things are just getting interesting, so the next week will let patterns emerge. I wonder whether the T20 frontrunners will be doing the same in the Royal London.
Team of the Week: Pettini (Ess), Mustard (Dur +), Madsen (Der), Maxwell (Yor), Collingwood (Dur, *), Cooke (Gla), Bopara (Ess), Hastings (Dur), Patterson (Yor), Anderson (Eng), Finn (Eng/Mid)
