Leicestershire
aren’t exactly setting the world alight with their cricket but the county will have
its name in the record books thanks to captain, Colin Ackermann. It’s usually
his runs which come to the rescue but against the Birmingham Bears at Grace
Road, it was his off-spin which reaped rewards. Pitching a bit short the opposition
obliged by heaving him to waiting deep fielders, six times in the last two
overs, and Ackermann replaces the equally unlikely Arul Suppiah as holder of
the best ever T20 bowling haul. With 7-18 he became the first man to take seven
wickets in the format.
Indeed
it was a week for bowlers around the country, and both Rolof van der Merwe and
Steve Finn captured five-fors. The Middlesex seamer took 5-16 against Surrey
but in his other fixtures his seven overs went wicketless for a hefty
ninety-two runs. Team-mate Nathan Sowter was more consistent, spreading his
eight victims across the three games. However it was AB De Villiers who hogged the
headlines for his two half-centuries, particularly a 35-ball unbeaten 88
against Somerset at Richmond.
After
soaring for much of the Blast, the Kent Spitfires were shot down decisively by
Gloucestershire at Bristol where seamers fired most of the bullets. This
enabled Sussex to leapfrog their neighbours thanks to another trio of triumphs.
Ollie Robinson boosted his T20 wicket tally by eight, ably supported by Rashid
Khan, Mills, Briggs and Topley. Still six games remain, so they need a few more
wins to ensure a place in the knockouts. Kent at Canterbury next Friday is the
most mouth-watering meeting.
Somerset
have clawed themselves into contention thanks to Babar Azam’s 102 not out
against Hampshire, the only century of the past week. Credit, too, to Tom Abell,
who passed 40 in each of his three games at very respectable strike rates.
In
the North division, umbrellas were in great demand much of the time. Sadly, the
Roses clash at Old Trafford was completely washed out but a three-run margin at
Manchester was sufficient for Lancashire to end the week four points ahead of second-place
Nottinghamshire. Yorkshire and the Bears produced the season’s third tie.
Chasing 177-4, Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s unbeaten 76 was not quite enough to get over
the line and the Vikings ended on an identical score.
Worcestershire
sit in third but with a game in hand. Playing Northants, Derbyshire and Durham,
they may well close the gap next week but the Lancashire Lightning face the lumbering
Bears home and away.
Team of the
Week: Babar Azam (Som), Short (Dur), De Villiers (Mid), Cockbain (Glo),
Ackermann (Lei), Abell (Som), Hill (Lei +), Van der Merwe (Som), Robinson
(Sus), Sowter (Mid), Sanderson (Nor)
