Hampshire
became the first county to guarantee qualification to the knockout stages,
thanks to victories over Sussex, Surrey and Somerset. The former Meghan Markle may have grabbed the biggest headlines but Aiden Markram was in prolific
form, peaking last Thursday at the Rose Bowl where he fired 130 in 87 balls and
shared a 184-run stand with fellow centurion Tom Alsop. Another South African,
David Wiese took Sussex close with a big-hitting one-day personal best of 171.
However, his dismissal triggered a tail-end collapse. Successive missed heaves
off Mason Crane gave Alsop two stumpings and Sussex fell nine short in an
entertaining South Coast derby.
Somerset
suffered two further heavy defeats to the sides which now lead the South
division. Middlesex leapt to second courtesy of their 118-run triumph at Radlett
(funny, I always thought it was in Hertfordshire!) and another win against
Glamorgan. Most of the batsmen contributed, and Nathan Sowter nabbed seven more
wickets.
On
Tuesday Sussex were involved in another exciting climax, this time emerging on
top. Having restricted Essex to 287, they were left reeling at 87-6, but Will
Beer proved an unlikely high-scoring partner for Laurie Evans. However, when
the ninth wicket fell, 24 were still needed from four remaining overs, only for
Danny Briggs and Mir Hamza to sneak over the finishing line off the penultimate
delivery.
Glamorgan
passed 300 for the second time in two days, led by captain/’keeper Chris Cooke
whose barnstorming 161 at Bristol, well supported by Billy Root, ensured a
74-run margin over Gloucestershire. Surrey’s campaign failed to improve, as
fellow strugglers Kent bowled them out for a paltry 127. As for the qualifiers,
tomorrow’s final round of fixtures could produce a myriad of possibilities.
Middlesex should join Hampshire with a trip to Canterbury and Somerset require a
return to last month’s form at home to Surrey. Net run rate will probably
determine the top four.
Nottinghamshire
retained their place at the summit in the North group despite losing to
Worcestershire by five wickets. The latter also dealt Yorkshire a thumping,
Wayne Parnell enjoying consecutive five-fors whilst conceding fewer than fifty
runs in total. Lancashire’s three-wicket success against Durham put them in
contention but they had to sit on the sidelines as fellow contenders battled
for a place in Friday’s quarter-finals.
Team of the
Week: Robson (Mid), Markram (Ham), Gubbins (Mid), Cooke (Gla +), Root (Gla),
Wiese (Sus), Dawson (Ham), J Taylor (Glo), Parnell (Wor), Sowter (Mid), A
Thomson (War)
