T20 Blast: Somerset beat Surrey as rain forces draws elsewhere
A review of Friday's action in the Vitality Blast, as Corey Anderson and Peter Trego helped Somerset to victory over Surrey.
Peter Trego and Corey Anderson led the way as Somerset cemented their position at the top of the South Group with a four-wicket Vitality Blast victory over Surrey at Taunton.
The visitors posted 176 for nine, thanks largely to teenager Will Jacks, who smacked 53 off 31 balls, and the experienced Rikki Clarke (32).
Somerset paceman Jamie Overton continued his resurgence after injury with four for 24, while leg-spinner Max Waller conceded only 15 from his four overs.
In reply, Somerset recovered from a shaky start to reach 177 for six with five balls to spare, Trego hitting 70 off 54 and Anderson 53 from 31 as their fifth-wicket partnership yielded 104 runs in 10.3 overs.
It was Somerset's sixth successive group victory and, having not won it since 2005, they are starting to look the team to beat in this season's competition.
Captain Colin Ingram led by example as Glamorgan outplayed Hampshire at Sophia Gardens to climb to third place in the South Group.
An undefeated 71 from Ingram earned him the man-of-the-match award and allowed Glamorgan to ease past the visitors' total of 151 for eight.
Ingram has now scored more runs and struck more sixes than anyone else in the competition since 2016. He cleared the ropes four times during this eight-wicket win.
Matt Parkinson claimed three for 23 as Lancashire beat Birmingham Bears by 37 runs to make it back-to-back wins and strengthen their grip on the quarter-final places.
The Lightning comfortably defended their total of 185 for five, given to them by Karl Brown's half-century and late-order firepower from Jordan Clark.
Victory keeps Lancashire third in the North Group table while Birmingham's knockout hopes suffered a blow as they slipped to sixth.
A thrilling century stand between Tom Moores and Jake Libby returned Notts Outlaws to winning ways in their North Group match against Yorkshire Vikings.
Both batsmen registered their highest scores in the competition as the home side posted a 63-run victory at Trent Bridge, ending a run of two defeats in the competition.
Moores scored an unbeaten 80, with six fours and three sixes, putting on 112 in only 10.5 overs with Libby, who made 58.
Notts posted 212 for five after opting to bat first, with Matt Fisher taking two for 52.
The Vikings were always struggling to compete with a rising run rate and could only make 149 for seven. Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scored with 72 in their chase but the Outlaws attack held firm, led by Harry Gurney's three for 24.
Captain Tom Latham helped Durham to a 12-run victory over Northamptonshire.
Latham's 30 was one of several key contributions for the Jets and in reply to 174 for seven, Northants were always up against it despite Ben Duckett's 40.
An explosive 38 from Seekkuge Prasanna kept alive hopes of a successful chase but his dismissal to Nathan Rimmington allowed Durham to see things out.
Despite the best efforts of Callum Ferguson, Worcestershire fell short of recording a victory that might have guaranteed themselves a home Vitality Blast quarter-final as Leicestershire claimed a five-run win.
The 33-year-old Australian, who registered his maiden T20 century against Nottinghamshire a week ago, played a superbly measured innings after hosts Leicestershire had made 155 for nine from their 20 overs.
He seemed on course to lead the Rapids to a fifth straight win after rescuing his side from a difficult start that had seen them in trouble at 32 for three in the fifth over, despite needing to maintain a run requirement of 10 per over from the halfway stage.
Worcestershire still needed 30 from the final three overs but Ferguson was hitting the ball so nicely it was difficult to see him not guiding them home.
However, his legs let him down when sixth-wicket partner Wayne Parnell called him through for a second run off the fifth ball of the 18th over and Mohammad Nabi's throw from long-on comfortably ran him out for 69, an innings that included nine fours and a six off 49 balls.
No one was more relieved than Neil Dexter, who had let him off by dropping a sitter at midwicket earlier in the same Zak Chappell over.
There was still a scare to come when Chappell conceded three boundaries in his final over, but hitting the six required off the final ball to win the match and make up for his error over the run-out proved beyond the crestfallen Parnell.
It was a first home win of the season for Leicestershire, who again appeared to have come up short in their 20 overs as key batsmen gave themselves a platform to make big contributions only to squander their chance.
Essex and Gloucestershire had to settle for a point apiece from a rain-affected fixture.
Three weeks ago, their scheduled meeting at Cheltenham was abandoned when Essex's innings was interrupted by the first serious precipitation of the campaign.
They gave up on this attempt to play in front of a sold-out Cloudfm County Ground just after the latest inspection at 1900, the scheduled start time.
After several outbreaks of torrential rain during the afternoon and early evening, umpires Paul Pollard and Tim Robinson had "serious concerns about the outfield" and announced the final inspection.
Gloucestershire will be the more disappointed in having to settle for a no-result as they would have hoped to have feasted on an Essex side struggling in the South Group with just one win in 11 games.
Heavy rain during the day and late afternoon also forced the abandonment of Sussex's game against Kent at Hove, with both sides taking one point.
With the outfield saturated, there was no option but to announce that the ground was unfit for play and that there was no chance of conditions improving after the scheduled 7pm start, even for a five-over match to be contested later in the evening.
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