T20 Blast

Starts to tomorrow... With finals day in October!

Slighted cheapened and spoilt by the england players being busy playing T20i's at the same time. Doubly frustrating that the red ball specialists also missed the Bob Willis, and the bubble situation/need for replacements means lots of bench warmers doing nothing at all. Still as it happens its a bonus theres cricket at all in many ways

Looks like weather might impact the schedule pretty heavily too despite all the pundits banging on about how "if this were a T20 theyd be playing" when it was raining/pitch black during the tests.

Rain wins in 6 out of the 7 fixtures today, following on from its win over England and Pakistan in the recent two test matches. Rain is even managing to disrupt the Caribbean T20 competition.

Keaton Jennings with the century on day one!

Gloucestershire hitting 157 in a 12 over game vs Birmingham!. Then bowled the bears out for 100. Very impressive all round from Gloucester.

Somerset currently heading for 200+...little surprise on a pancake of a wicket and a ground where one side has the boundary rope brought in by a laughable amount.

One of the worst bowling performances I've ever seen, delivered by Worcestershire against Somerset.

Pat Brown bowled a succession of wides, then was no-balled for actually missing the pitch when he bowled (too wide). This was followed by Ed Barnard, the captain, bowling two consecutive no-balls over waist height at the start of his fourth over - meaning he conceded 14 without actually bowling a legitimate delivery (as the two no-balls were hit for 4 + 6) and was removed from the attack by the umpire.

All in all, Somerset added about 70-odd off the last four overs and finished with 229/8. Extraordinary.

Great ton from Crawley today in the Blast. Against a reasonable Hants attack including Shaheen, Crane and Vince.

Got run a ball hundred in the fourth innings of a BWT trophy match last week too. It is good when someone comes back from International cricket and just realises they are now too good for County Cricket!

JDizzle wrote:Great ton from Crawley today in the Blast. Against a reasonable Hants attack including Shaheen, Crane and Vince.

Got run a ball hundred in the fourth innings of a BWT trophy match last week too. It is good when someone comes back from International cricket and just realises they are now too good for County Cricket!

Just been checking out his domestic stuff after Anderson and Vaughn both pushed him as a future England white ball bat. I agree with the sentiment that its too close to the world T20 to force his way into contention for that, but looking ahead 3 years to the next 50 over world cup when Morgan will really be pushing it age wise and all the current senior bats will be well over 30.

Great signs all round for him, even ift the successes have been punctuated by a few dips (scored just 1 today) that he inst just a limited grinder like Sibley bodes well for the future.

Joe Root continues to make a case for him to be considered in the shortest form. A positive Covid19 test for David Willey has meant that his direct bubble in the team are all out for the rest of the season.

Match winning performance from the Test Skipper yesterday.

He has enjoyed his Blast matches (no expectation and lower standard of players helping of course). From 5 matches he scored 278 runs at an average of 69.5 and 145SR, while taking 7 wickets at an average of 16 and RPO of 6.58.

Incredible choke from Notts.

Yeah, just saw it. 76/1 after 6 overs chasing 153...ended up needing a scrambled single off the last ball just to get a tie!

Interesting interview with Joe Clarke, who was MOM, after the game. Dagnall asked him if he had any hope of debuting for England/playing in the WT20 and he just flat out said no. Normally you get the management speak of 'concentrating on Notts', 'each game at a time' etc. etc. but he just said no. Guess he has been told he is still blacklisted.

JDizzle wrote:Interesting interview with Joe Clarke, who was MOM, after the game. Dagnall asked him if he had any hope of debuting for England/playing in the WT20 and he just flat out said no. Normally you get the management speak of 'concentrating on Notts', 'each game at a time' etc. etc. but he just said no. Guess he has been told he is still blacklisted.

Wouldn’t be surprising - plenty of top order biffers in the county game of his ilk, and while he’s talented, not really kicked on as some hoped when he moved to Notts

Ed Barnard 10 off 3 balls in the final over of a tied game? King

Clarke still only 25. I reckon he’d be ahead of Livingstone in the T20 pecking order, thinking cricket only. Such a sweet striker of a cricket ball. He should be doing better in red ball cricket though for sure.

Barnard with the throw from the boundary for the final run out too - wouldn’t be any bare margins if he was on the boundary in 2019. Brett D’Oliveira still a better bat though…

Joe Clarke 136 off 65 tonight. 11 sixes.

JDizzle wrote:Joe Clarke 136 off 65 tonight. 11 sixes.

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/sport/19380489.england-cricketer-joe-clarke-charged-affray-powys/

No wonder Clarke's still not getting anywhere near the England team!

Saw that Bairstow played a destructive innings last night - 112 from 51 balls - but injured himself in the process.

4 overs for 22 for left arm spinner Liam Trevaskis of Durham vs Worcs tonight. Was impressed with him vs Lancs when they were on TV last week, and still only 22. Will definitely keep an eye out for him.

JDizzle wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Joe Clarke 136 off 65 tonight. 11 sixes.

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/sport/19380489.england-cricketer-joe-clarke-charged-affray-powys/

Charges dropped by the CPS. Not sure the whole thing will have shown England he’s matured much as a person though.

JDizzle wrote:

JDizzle wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Joe Clarke 136 off 65 tonight. 11 sixes.

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/sport/19380489.england-cricketer-joe-clarke-charged-affray-powys/

Charges dropped by the CPS. Not sure the whole thing will have shown England he’s matured much as a person though.

Hard to see him making a squad anytime soon, with the plethora of players with no black marks on their record in line too.

57 off 27 tonight. Such a waste.

Well bowled Glamorgan

Ridiculous hitting from Lammonby for Somerset. 90 off 36! Got Somerset to 183 after they were 89-5 after 14.2! Crazy stuff. Super talented dude even if it hasn’t gone his way in the red ball this year.

Great cameo from Rashid Khan tonight to propel Sussex into T20 Finals Day. Always one of the most exciting cricketers to watch with bat or ball.

It’s Matt Carter’s world and we are all just living in it!

Get Carter (on strike) but Paterson can’t manage it. Unbelievable comeback from Hampshire. Brilliantly captained by James Vince.

Great drama. Notts cruising to an easy win, then the collapse, followed by Carter surely winning it, before Vince fumbled the run-out chance, then the decisive edge behind.

Defending champions and tournament favourites gone.

JDizzle wrote:It’s Matt Carter’s world and we are all just living in it!

Thought your boy was going to do it - cruelly denied!

Hampshire’s batting lineup is laughably weak. Somerset should walk this

Can’t have been often, certainly in the more recent editions on the Blast, that the PP overs have all been bowled by two bowlers.

Never underestimate the weakness of Somerset’s bowling or their ability to lose high pressure games…

No ball to rule out the Weatherly wicket as a fielder was being dense and stood outside the circle. Free hit then goes for six. Vintage Somerset.

For such a quality and experienced bowler Marchant de Lange has really had a shocker here.

Gregory must be raging having held him back to bowl 4 overs on the bounce at the end.

Gregory not making a good statement of his England t20 captaincy credentials here

Why Overton didn't bowl his last over at the death is beyond me. And Green only bowled one over - for four.

Seems like a pre-arranged plan ? Flexibility seems to be a lost art in English cricket...

Will Smeed opening on his home ground, nice to see

Somerset are in the midst of Somerset-ting

JDizzle wrote:Never underestimate the weakness of Somerset’s bowling or their ability to lose high pressure games…

Always and forever.

Tottenham Somerset strike again.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Somerset are in the midst of Somerset-ting

Having to chuckle at the pessimism of the Somerset commentators . Certainly looking well founded at the moment ; but they've been fearing the worst ever since halfway through the Hampshire innings. Habit formed of long bitter experience I guess

Ouch ! 34/5 . Somerset-ting indeed...

I really rate Brad Wheal from what I've seen of him previously but I must say that he seems down on pace today from the previous times I've seen him bowl live.

He'll be really important for Scotland in the T20 World Cup.

Still in it - just . Ten off six ? Wheal has just a little pressure on his last over ...

What a heist from Somerset. Green's cameo and Davey's six in the final over.

Been some terrible death-over bowling from Hampshire, not trying to take anything away from Somerset.

Blimey ! Somerset win

Astonishing finish. Wonder if they have any jokers left for the final ?

Duty281 wrote:What a heist from Somerset. Green's cameo and Davey's six in the final over.

Been some terrible death-over bowling from Hampshire, not trying to take anything away from Somerset.

Guess there was some pretty bad death bowling from Somerset earlier too ! That's t20 though , isn't it ? Never over until the end...

Yep. The death bowling from both sides was impressively in only it's incompetence it must be said!

In Wheal and de Lange it came from two bowlers I rate very highly as well.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Somerset are in the midst of Somerset-ting

The absolute textbook Somerset. To be honest as soon as they went 34-5 they were nailed on to win

I saw Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara and David Wiese in the XIs for the next semi and thought, "those are some aging all rounders still mixing it with the best". Then I noticed Darren Stevens as well. He's playing on finals day. I love cricket.

Poor over from Mills but Bell-Drummond is looking in great nick. I've said a few times before that I reckon in a weaker era of white ball cricket Bell-Drummond would be an England mainstay.

That first over an example of why I think/hope England aren’t viewing Mills as a like for like replacement for Archer - his power play bowling is nowhere near the level that Jofra’s is. Hoping he will show his death bowling prowess later