Royal London One Day Cup
Glamorgan 302/6 v Sussex 218 (Glamorgan won by 84 runs)
Glamorgan made it successive victories in the Royal London One-Day Cup with a consummate 84-run victory over Sussex in Cardiff.
Having scored 302 for 6, the Welsh county bowled and fielded with great accuracy to maintain their 100 per cent winning start to this season's 50-over competition.
Glamorgan, having won the toss, chose to bat on a Sophia Gardens wicket that provided precious little assistance to the visiting bowlers, from start to finish.
That said, the host county took an age to establish themselves after Steve Magoffin claimed the wicket of David Lloyd (11) in the fifth over and captain Jacques Rudolph was forced to retire hurt, in the 12th over, after being struck a painful blow on the forearm. The South African was later taken to hospital for X-Rays.
Having come to terms with the pace of the wicket, Will Bragg (42) and Colin Ingram (13) added 68 for the third wicket and 19-year-old Aneurin Donald and wicketkeeper batsman Chris Cooke 69 for the fourth. Donald, who came into the game with three fifties in his previous five innings, helped himself to another half century, off 55 balls.
However, it was the arrival at the crease of 33-year-old Graham Wagg that changed the game in Glamorgan's favour. Sussex, who dropped four catches, found themselves chasing the ball to all four corners of a sun-drenched SSE Swalec Stadium.
Cooke, who punished anything off line, passed 50 off 54 balls and played his part in a 112-run stand for the fifth wicket.
The impressive allrounder Wagg struck seven fours and a six in reaching his half century off just 37 balls, and was eventually fifth man out at 290, bowled by England seamer Chris Jordan. Cooke departed for 80, in the final over, leaving Glamorgan to defend a more than respectable total of 302 for 6.
In reply, Sussex lost Chris Nash for 12, run out by Dean Cosker, before Ed Joyce pulled a short delivery from Craig Meschede to Wagg, at deep square leg with the score on 64.
With the wicket becoming slower, but providing turn for the likes of Andrew Salter and Cosker, Sussex found runs hard to come by. However, as much as the slow bowlers applied the brakes, it was the medium pace of Meschede who picked up the key wicket of New Zealander Ross Taylor.
A short ball appeared to be heading back over the bowler's head when Meschede stuck out a hand and took an outstanding catch. Cosker weighed in with the wicket of Harry Finch (23), at 90 for 4, and from that juncture, the outcome was just about inevitable.
Luke Wright and Ben Brown (31) provided some resistance, with 68 for the fifth wicket, but when the latter pulled a short ball from Wagg to Ingram at mid-on, Glamorgan must have felt they were home and dry.
In the end, they were. Wright and Chris Jordan struck one or two lusty blows before the Sussex captain, who helped himself to six fours and two sixes in a 48-ball innings of 65, top edged Michael Hogan to mid on, where Ingram took a magnificent, tumbling, one-handed catch.
Donald took an equally spectacular catch to dismiss Jordan (22), before Hogan sent back George Garton, Ajmal Shahzad and Magoffin as Sussex were bowled out for 218 in the 43rd over.
Gloucs 254/8 v Middlesex 211/3 target 208 (Middlesex won by 7 wickets, D/L method)
Paul Stirling hit a fluent century as Middlesex inflicted a third Royal London One-Day Cup defeat in as many games on holders Gloucestershire by seven wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis system at Bristol.
The home side posted 254 for 8 after losing the toss, Hamish Marshall top-scoring with 74 on the day he announced that his 11-year stint with the county would end when this season is over.
Gareth Roderick contributed 64, while Toby Roland-Jones (3 for 36) was the pick of the Middlesex attack. James Fuller claimed 2 for 45 on returning to his former county.
Facing a revised target of 208 from 35 overs following a rain break, Middlesex skated to victory with 21 balls to spare, Ireland batsman Stirling reaching his ton off 87 balls, with 11 fours and 3 sixes, before finishing unbeaten on 125.
Gloucestershire's innings had got off to a poor start when Chris Dent miscued Roland-Jones to cover where Nick Gubbins took a comfortable catch in only the second over.
Michael Klinger had survived a loud shout for a catch behind in the opening over from Tom Helm, but looked in good touch moving to 20 before edging a defensive shot off Roland-Jones straight to Ollie Rayner at slip.
Roderick had made only 13 when badly dropped by Eoin Morgan at point off Helm, an error which allowed the batsman to share the most meaningful partnership of the innings with Marshall.
The latter hit a straight six off James Franklin and Roderick followed suit off Fuller to bring up 100 in the 21st over.
When both Roderick and Marshall reached 62-ball half-centuries in quick succession the hosts looked set for a big score. Then Roderick overbalanced in making an ugly mishit off Helm and was caught at mid-off by Franklin.
That was 150 for 3 and Gloucestershire still looked well placed as 31 more runs were added before their innings turned sour in the 35th over, bowled by Roland-Jones.
Rayner did the damage, running out Cockbain for 14 at the bowlers end from short mid-wicket as he was sent back attempting a quick single and three balls later catching Marshall in the same position off a poor shot.
Suddenly the home side were 183 for 5 and needed to rebuild. There was never much momentum to the innings after that as Benny Howell, Kieran Noema-Barnett and Craig Miles fell without making much impression.
Stirling was dropped on one by Klinger at second slip off Liam Norwell in the third over of the Middlesex reply. The visitors had reached 17 without loss when rain brought an interruption. The revised target left them requiring a further 191 from 28.5 overs under the floodlights.
Stirling hit 2 sixes over mid-wicket off Howell in racing to a half-century off 44 balls. Dawid Malan contributed 29 to an opening stand of 84 before being well caught at deep extra cover by Dent off Miles. Gubbins was dropped by Miles at fine leg on 17 off the unlucky Norwell and, with Stirling continuing to play positively, it was a mistake Gloucestershire could not afford.
By the time Gubbins, on 37, skied a catch to mid-on off Matt Taylor, Middlesex were 156 for two, needing only 52 off more than 12 overs. Morgan perished at the death, but Stirling batted through and hit the winning boundary.
Northants 287/8 v Lancashire 211 (Northants won by 76 runs)
Graeme White's career-best six-wicket haul helped Northamptonshire comfortably beat Lancashire by 76 runs in the One-Day Cup at Wantage Road.
The hosts were reduced to 37-3, but a 137-run stand between Ben Duckett (98) and Rob Keogh - who hit a List A career best 66 - helped them finish on 287-8.
In reply, Lancashire lost Jos Buttler for two and Alviro Petersen for three.
Despite half-centuries by Luke Procter (52) and Karl Brown (51), spinner White's 6-37 saw them all out for 211.
The 29-year-old left-armer's superb spell surpassed his previous best List A haul of 5-35, as he produced the sixth-best figures for a Northants player in the format and best for 11 years.
But his side was also helped, in part, to their first win of the One-Day Cup this season by some poor Lancashire batting, including Steven Croft inexplicably running himself out on 20 when he called a single which was never on.
Notts 415/5 v Warwickshire 379 (Notts won by 36 runs)
Notts Outlaws smashed the 400 barrier for the second time in the week as they defeated Warwickshire by 36 runs in their Royal London One-Day Cup tie at Trent Bridge.
After hitting 445 in Monday's win over Northants, the home side were at it again with another colossal contribution after being put in, thanks in part to their openers putting on 178 for the first wicket.
Michael Lumb made 133 and Riki Wessels hit 76, scores that were then backed up by Greg Smith's 73 and Dan Christian's brutal 94 as the Outlaws realised 415 for five after being asked to bat first.
Rikki Clarke was the only frontline bowler to spare severe punishment, returning figures of 2 for 45 from his 10 overs. Clarke also sent down the only maiden, something not seen in the 99 overs of mayhem earlier in the week.
Wessels hit seven fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball effort, which ended when he tamely miscued Richard Jones to Clarke at mid off.
Lumb powered on and followed his 184 against the Steelbacks with an 88-ball century, comprising nine fours and three sixes. He was eventually bowled by Clarke, who swiftly delivered the same fate to Brendan Taylor.
Smith and Christian put on 141 together, with the Australian hitting the first two balls of the final over for six before lifting Oliver Hannon-Dalby into the hands of midwicket when looking to reach his century. His 94 came from only 47 balls with eight fours and six sixes. Samit Patel applied the final flourish to the innings, with an unbeaten 17 from only five deliveries.
Having conceded their highest limited overs score, Warwickshire fought back bravely to post their own highest total against a first class county, before being bowled out in the final over for 379.
Jonathan Trott led the charge, playing a defiant, battling knock of 100. The former England international scored his runs from 93 balls, with nine fours and two sixes and whilst he was at the crease with Ian Bell an unlikely upset seemed possible.
The pair put on 95 for the third wicket, with Bell making 60 - but Steven Mullaney removed them both on his way to taking three for 81.
Support for Trott and Bell came from Sam Hain, who followed the hundred he had made 24 hours earlier by hitting 69 and Tim Ambrose, who reached 50 in only 28 deliveries before falling for 73.
Harry Gurney had Ambrose caught at mid off and also dismissed Ateeq Javid and Jeetan Patel on his way to taking figures of three for 58, the best of the day.
Notts have now won both of their opening fixtures and are already handily situated to qualify out of the North Group, whilst Warwickshire's defeat leaves them with just two points from three matches played.
Surrey 163/6 v Somerset 180/2 target 180 (Somerset won by 8 wickets, D/L method)
Somerset beat Surrey by eight wickets with five balls to spare at The Kia Oval in a Royal London One Day Cup match but if felt more like a Twenty20 fixture after rain had reduced it to a 24-over affair.
Surrey scored 163 for 6 and Somerset were set a recalculated 180 for victory. Jim Allenby, with 71 from 56 balls, and Johann Myburgh, who struck 76 from 59, put on 155, just four short of a record opening stand for Somerset in List A matches at this ground. Michael Burns, who shares the 1998 record with Dermot Reeve, was an umpire this time.
Surrey were led for the first time by Rory Burns after regular captain Gareth Batty had pulled out of the match in the morning for family reasons. That allowed Dominic Sibley to make his first appearance of the season.
Burns had chosen to bat and when Jason Roy and Steven Davies opened in bright sunshine it was a 50-over game. An out-of-sorts Davies, head back and pulling, was bowled by Allenby for 6 in the eighth over. But three overs later the players left the field to shelter from torrential rain which would prevent any further play for four hours and 20 minutes.
When play resumed at 7pm Surrey, who were 53 for 1, with Roy unbeaten on 31, had 13 overs to face and reverted to T20 mode.
Roy appeared to relish the increased tempo as he pulled and drove Peter Trego for fours as 11 came off the first over after the restart. But then Surrey lost two key players in the space of three deliveries.
Roy had carved one more boundary to third man when he was bowled by a slower delivery from Tim Groenewald for a 43-ball 46, with five fours. Then, from the second ball of the 14th, Sangakkara, on 12, was run out when a straight drive by Burns was directed onto the stumps by the bowler Roelof van der Merwe.
After that Burns led by example. He hoisted Max Waller over long-on for six, but lost Gary Wilson, who was well caught low down by Adam Hose in the covers, to make it 106 for 4 in the 19th over.
Tom Curran was run out first ball and Zafar Ansari fell cheaply. The innings was being held together by Burns, who swiped van der Merwe over midwicket for his second six.
Surrey were 147 for 6 at the start of the last over and Somerset were relieved that Burns had lost the strike. But tail-ender Mathew Pillans struck the first two deliveries from Trego over square-leg and midwicket for sixes as 16 came off the final six deliveries.
But it would not be enough as Myburgh and Allenby, who each hit three sixes, put the result beyond doubt.
T20 Blast
Kent 193/3 v Hampshire 185/9 Kent won by 8 runs
Canterbury is one of the quietest grounds on the circuit, where the hum of the ice cream van is in danger of an application for a noise abatement notice, but as Hampshire recovered in that phase from 97 for 5 to 157 for six - slashing the requirement to 37 in four overs after being out of the game, the squeals of apprehension were getting louder by the moment.
But David Griffiths' mastery of yorkers at the death, completing an excellent spell of two for 24, saw Kent home, Afridi toeing a low full toss to Darren Stevens at long on and Sammy falling with 11 needed off five balls when he flayed and edged to the wicketkeeper. The last pair produced no grand finale, Kent thereby gaining revenge for their nine-run defeat last week at the Ageas Bowl.
Hampshire are the acknowledged masters of T20 cricket in England with six successive appearances at Finals Day; Kent, beaten quarter-finalists in two cup competitions last season, pronounced themselves the most exciting young batting side in the country.
But Twenty20 has little respect for reputations and both had started slowly in this season's NatWest Blast with one victory in three. Canterbury therefore staged what could be regarded, even this early in the tournament, as the first crunch game of the season and Hampshire, bottom of the Championship and disrupted by injuries, will need a considerable change of fortune if they are going to extend their extraordinary Finals Day record.
"It was a game that never felt done and dusted," said Kent's skipper Sam Northeast. "It's never ideal when you've got Sammy and Afridi walking out, hitting it from ball one. Griff has been brilliant for us and it's great to have him fit again after his back surgery. He's seriously one of the best bowlers at the death when he's fit and that was a remarkable little spell from him again."
Sean Ervine, Hampshire's captain, had single-handedly kept Hampshire's chase alive, reaching his half-century with a full-shouldered long-on swing against Darren Stevens, 17 off the over announcing the charge. When Ervine was run out by Griffiths, Hampshire finally had Afridi and but 112 for 6 was no sort of preparation. "With two superstars at the back, we have to take the game deep," bemoaned Ervine. "Four run outs didn't help us either."
Without Michael Carberry, injured, and James Vince, elevated this season to England's Test side, Hampshire's top order is vulnerable. They were three down for 51 in the seventh over. Jimmy Adams chipped to mid-on; Lewis McManus ran himself out at the non-striker's end, sent back by James Wheater who had driven straight to Denly in the covers; and Wheater was deceived by Ivan Thomas' slower ball.
Sam Billings' return to Kent from a first season of IPL had been low key until last night at Canterbury, but in his third appearance in the NatWest Blast since his stint with Delhi Daredevils he displayed some of the adventure which last season began to cement his reputation. His unbeaten 55 from 30 balls was capped by an audacious steel-wristed swept six off Tino Best.
Few would have anticipated suich entertainment 24 hours earlier with the Canterbury outfield underwater after taking the brunt of one of the brief thunderstorms that have crossed the country this week.
With that in mind, having been put into bat, Kent would be satisfied with a Powerplay return of 52 for 0 on a slow surface. Denly and Bell-Drummond hunted the short legside slope towards the Lime Tree Café with alacrity and when Denly twice flicked Afridi for six into the building site at midwicket, where a series of retirement homes are in the early stages of development - Rob Key rumoured not to be interested - Kent's authority was clear.
By the time, Kent's openers departed in the 11th over they were 98 runs to the good. Denly sought the leg-side boundary once too often and Liam Dawson took a neat, diving catch, and Tino Best ardour was roused by the sight of Bell-Drummond's splayed stumps. Dawson, a vital controlling influence, found some encouragement from a damp pitch that had escaped the covers, persuading Northeast and Billings to allow themselves a brief reassessment.
Hampshire lacked three bowlers who made such a contribution to their success last season. The veteran Yasir Arafat decamped to Somerset on a season-long loan, Danny Briggs joined Sussex to escape his creeping reputation as a specialist one-day spinner and Chris Wood is out for the season with a knee injury. That is 53 wickets down, with Briggs also going at only seven an over.
Against their replacements, Northeast and Billings broke free. Billings lofted straight and then, as Denly had before him, majored on the short leg-side boundary. When he swept Best into the building site against Best, Kent's stewards already seemed to have a retirement flat in mind, leaving Gareth Berg to jog around the security fencing to retrieve the ball himself.
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