Ball One: oh Laurie!
The first T20 match between Surrey and Yorkshire provided a classic thriller, with Yorkshire advancing to Finals Day in incredible circumstances.
A sweltering evening in south London had boiled down to the final over, with the equation being as straightforward as it gets in white-ball cricket (which is never straightforward, is it?). If and only if they did not lose a wicket, the home team required five runs to reach their target and four runs to win. Jamie Overton was on strike and had been smashing sixes; Laurie Evans, who was not on strike, was also set and had 14 years of expertise under his belt.
Where does Jordan Thompson bowl? 19.1: Overton misses the ball with a tremendous smear. Overton allows himself room and hits a single to the offside sweeper at 19.2 feet. 19.3: Evans takes a single. A slower ball outside off stump, which wicketkeeper Tom Kohler-Cadmore mishandles before recovering and running out Overton, is greeted with a single and then returned. 19.5: Sunil Narine hits a full ball to deep square leg, where Will Fraine risks all to take the catch rather than block the boundary; luck favors the bold. Again in 19.6, Thompson hits a full toss, Gus Atkinson misses, and Yorkshire wins by one run.
David Willey may not be the flavor of the month in Broad Acres after announcing his resignation at the end of the season, but he deserves tremendous respect for providing his players with the clarity they required to execute plans under incredible duress.
Two-ball: cross regarding batters crossing
A seemingly innocuous innovation played a crucial role in that last over – the next hitter being on strike following a dismissal (except for a run out). The deep hit by Narine allowed the batters to cross the plate with the ball in the air, which in previous seasons would have put Evans on strike instead of the new batter.
One could argue that a false stroke (since Narine was caught) should not result in an advantage for the chasing team, but one of the reasons for hitting the ball hard is to put the chosen hitter on strike. Since it only matters in a close finish, it is unrealistic to expect a player who has just arrived at the crease to make a perfect connection on his first attempt.
There are arguments on both sides, but in the final six balls, this ostensibly administrative clarification has an effect that is disproportionate to its objective. The show would have been enhanced if Evans had been on strike; he should have been.
Ball three: Bears’ Finals Day picnic is canceled
Not every game is a classic, and despite having comfortably surpassed the 200-run mark in four of their previous six meetings, Birmingham fell like a lead balloon at home against Hampshire.
James Vince opted to set the objective, and he, Ben McDermott, Joe Weatherley, and Ross Whiteley, the veteran finisher, would have been delighted with a score of 186-6.
James Fuller, Nathan Ellis, Brad Wheal, and Mason Crane all contributed wickets as the Birmingham Bears continued to lose wickets at inopportune times, with no partnership exceeding three overs. It was all over in less than 14 overs, and the locals, who had been looking forward to a Finals Day celebration on their turf, returned home while it was still light, dissatisfied after a stellar group stage performance.
Ball four: Roses delight fans to kick off Finals Day
Lancashire was missing Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Richard Gleeson, and, um, Jos Buttler on England duty for their home match against Essex, but their somewhat second-string attack – backed up by brilliantly aggressive fielding reminiscent of the one-day maestros of the early 1970s – restricted Essex to 161-5, with only 13 fours scored by the visitors. This was in contrast to the 40 fours and sixes they hit in their last encounter, and it was a horrible time for Essex to produce the lowest number of fours and sixes in their last seven matches batting first.
The Old Trafford fans, if not the stadium, rose to the occasion and shrugged over the loss of Keaton Jennings, who was run out backing up without facing, by cheering Steven Croft and Dane Vilas to victory with 26 balls remaining. Next Saturday morning, the M6 will be congested when Red takes on White in a Roses match to savor in front of a rocking Hollies Stand.
Ball five: discussing my generation
There was substantial discussion among Sky’s commentary crew about how 20 years of T20 cricket have not led to the loss of spin (as many had predicted in 2003), but have brought slow bowlers to the forefront in a format dominated by 50mph to 60mph bowlers. I use this term because not all players turn the ball.
However, another unexpected trait has escaped detection. Many of T20’s top practitioners are well into their 30s, disproving the notion that it is a hostile environment for older guys. Vilas and Croft are both 37 years old, and what they lack in rapid singles they more than makeup for in shot selection, composure under duress, and an indefinable shrewdness that recognizes and then wins important situations.
It will be a long day for them (as it will be for everyone in their thirties on Finals Day), but they will be the first names on the roster and ready to go when they take guard.
Ball six: Derbyshire’s destruction
George Scrimshaw is one of the lesser-known members of the England Lions squad who will face South Africa this week. It is common for Derbyshire players to be referred to as such.
In the final round of the quarterfinals, he demonstrated precisely why he should be promoted by posting outstanding statistics of 4-0-16-2. Unfortunately for him, his teammates’ 16 overs yielded 249 runs, with Tom Banton, Rilee Rossouw, Tom Lammonby, and Taunton’s short boundaries helping Somerset reach 265-5. Still, it was a record Blast score by only four runs, so things couldn’t get any worse, right?
An hour or so later, they did, the shell-shocked visitors being dismissed for 82, a Blast record defeat with a 47-run margin to second in the standings. Sometimes it’s just not your day.
