North Group
Northamptonshire vs Derbyshire
Leus du Plooy’s fiery unbeaten 40 off 23 deliveries in pursuit aided Derbyshire in completing a successful run chase and thwarting Northamptonshire’s quarterfinal bid. Northamptonshire entered the match with 10 points in 11 games and the opportunity to join the middle pack with three other teams on 12 points, but Derbyshire halted them in their tracks.
Emilio Gay (47 off 34 balls) and Chris Lynn (33 off 23 balls) provided the foundation for the team to post more than 150 runs despite Northamptonshire’s poor start and shaky middle-order. In the PowerPlay, their bowlers dismissed opener Luis Reece and Haider Ali cheaply to maintain prospects of reaching 12 points, despite the fact that this did not appear sufficient. However, du Plooy came out blazing and formed game-changing partnerships with Harry Came and Wayne Madsen. When Du Plooy and Brooke Guest attacked Ben Sanderson for 16 runs off the 19th over, Derbyshire needed 20 runs off the final two overs of their chase. Tom Taylor conceded five wides in the final over, effectively ending the pursuit.
Brief Scores: Northamptonshire 156/8 in 20 overs (Emilio Gay 47, Chris Lynn 33; Zaman Khan 3-26) lost to Derbyshire 160/4 in 19.1 overs (Harry Came 43, Leus du Plooy 40*, Wayne Madsen 35; David Willey 2-33) by 6 wickets
South Group
Somerset vs Glamorgan
Somerset demonstrated why they are securely atop the points table by securing their ninth victory in 11 matches with a complete performance with both bat and ball to thwart yet another top-four contender. Glamorgan entered the contest with 10 points from as many games and the opportunity to tie fourth-placed Hampshire, but they were comprehensively outclassed by the South Group’s best team.
Somerset’s return to form began with the ball, as the fast-bowling duo of Craig Overton and Jack Brooks picked up six wickets and ripped through the top order. Five of the top six batters (including two ducks) scored in the single digits, and the batting side was reduced to 53 for 5 by the seventh over. The innings was revived by a 91-run partnership between opener Kiran Carlson, who survived the early collapse, and Timm van der Gugten, who scored those runs in only 52 deliveries. In the 16th over, just as the batting side was poised for a late flourish, Josh Davey dismissed both the set batters. Glamorgan’s total was raised from 146 for 7 to 171 by the contributions of Andy Gorvin and Peter Hatzoglou.
Will Smeed (66 off 36; 8 fours, 3 sixes) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (62* off 42; 5 fours, 2 sixes) added 84 off 47 balls to send their team well on its way. Tom Banton’s dismissal in the fourth over was the only major blemish in Somerset’s otherwise flawless run chase. The partnership was dissolved in the 12th over, but it was irrelevant because Tom Abell joined Kohler-Cadmore in the 18th over to complete the formalities.
Brief Scores: Glamorgan 171 in 19.3 overs (Kiran Carlson 71, Tim van der Gugten 48; Craig Overton 3-21, Jack Brooks 3-35, Josh Davey 2-26, Ben Green 2-45) lost to Somerset 172/2 in 17.1 overs (Will Smeed 66, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 62; Ruaidhri Smith 2-47) by 8 wickets
