Twenty 20: June 16th

Glamorgan v Northamptonshire @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff - Midlands/West/Wales Division

Northamptonshire were indebted to their overseas player M Hussey who pummelled the Glamorgan attack to end 79 not out from just 58 balls. M Hussey arrived at the middle in the first over after the pinch-hitting of B Phillips didn't pay off and departed for a golden duck. R White was playing solidly at the other end but not really scoring at any real rate, so when he was dismissed for 20 the score was still only on 27/2. Enter a second Australian to the party and instantly the scoring rate was increased with P Jaques hitting a quick-fire 31 from just 21 balls. However a couple of quick wickets from A Dale restricted the scoring before the Northants wicketkeeper came in and smashed three boundaries to end 16* from 8 balls.

In reply the captain R Croft lead by example as he lead the assault on the bowlers, cracking 53 from just 33 balls including six 4's and a big six. Unfortunately for Croft he was run out attempting a risky 3rd run which he was well out in the end. However at the other end wickets continued to tumble as six wickets fell for single figures. Only D Thomas offered any real resistance as he hit a quick-fire 25 from only 16 balls, but his effort was all in vain as he had his middle stump removed by J Brown to end the innings and confine Glamorgan to a 23 run defeat.

Northamptonshire - 159/5 (20 Overs)

M Hussey 79*, P Jaques 31 and R White 20 - A Dale 2/15, M Kasprowicz 1/16, D Cosker 1/30 and D Harrison 1/43

Glamorgan - 136 (18.4 Overs)

R Croft 53 and S Thomas 25 - J Brown 2/21, G Swann 1/15 and A Nel 1/18



Kent v Hampshire @ Beckenham - South Division

Kent made their debut in the Twenty 20 Cup and the bowlers soon found the going hard, even with a wicket in the first over the Hampshire duo of J Hamblin and S Katich soon increased the scoring rate to around 7.5 an over, the decision to open the bowling with a spinner and a second introduced first change seemed to backfire when the pair went for 69 in their combined 8 overs. The introduction of one of the most economical bowlers on the circuit in Ealham helped to slow the scoring rate but it was a run out of the aggressive J Hamblin which saw the Hampshire middle order of A Mascarenhas, J Crawley and W Kendall all depart with only a further 5 runs added to the total. Enter the big hitting W Akram who hit three 4's en-route to 24 (20), between Akram and Katich the pair added a vital 44 runs and got the score up to a defendable 145.

Kent's reply was nothing short of incredible! Even with the wicket of P Trego with just the second ball of the game it didn't hold Kent back as A Symonds led the assault with a barrage of boundaries and taking E Giddins and A Mullally for 45 runs from just two overs between them, which meanwhile made J Tredwell's effort of 24 from just 14 balls look mediocre. A Symonds bombardment continued and at one stage was 76* from just 24 balls, however as the target got closer he seemed content just to stay around and knock the remaining runs off as he finally finished 96* from only 37 balls including 14 fours and 3 sixes. Kent completed the win in just 12 overs and if they continue this form will be a force to be reckoned with throughout the Twenty 20 Cup.

Hampshire - 145/6 (20 Overs)

S Katich 59*, J Hamblin 38 and Wasim Akram 24 - M Dennington 2/31, A Sheriyar 1/19, M Ealham 1/23 and J Tredwell 1/33

Kent - 147/4 (12 Overs)

A Symonds 96*, J Tredwell 24, M Ealham 19 - Wasim Akram 2/29 and J Hamblin 21



Leicestershire v Yorkshire @ Grace Road, Leicester - North Division

Leicestershire looked in all sort of trouble early on with the dangerous V Sehwag back in the pavilion for a 3 ball duck and was shortly joined by D Stevens for just 4. However B Hodge took a liking to the Yorkshire bowling and proceeded to obliterate them to all parts in a scintillating knock of 97 from just 61 balls. In the process sharing in a 90 run partnership with wicketkeeper P Nixon who himself hit a aggressive 43 from 26 deliveries in which he cracked four 6's and surprisingly no 4's.

In reply to the target of 175 to win, Yorkshire got of to another bad start with S Fleming again out early for just 4. Enter the young Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh who went on all out attack mode and blasted his way to 71 from just 37 balls including 14 fours and a six all in just 28 minutes before he edged behind to the reliable P Nixon. With the score on 101/2 things were looking very good for the Yorkshire side however M Lumb and G Hamilton went in the space of three balls and the match was very much back in the balance at 107/4. That was soon to become 111/5 as C White was dismissed - nothing strange at first, however C White opened the innings and in the whole assault by Yuvraj Singh, C White was dismissed having only faced 16 balls for 13. The innings then fell away as R Blakey struggled to find the boundaries in his stay of 25 from 29 balls and the tail offered little resistance as B Hodge managed to add to his earlier 97 with the bat to take three wickets for just six runs.

Leicestershire - 174/6 (20 Overs)

B Hodge 97 and P Nixon 43 - C Silverwood 2/22, P Swanepoel 2/33, R Sidebottom 1/25 and A Gray 1/40

Yorkshire - 158 (20 Overs)

Yuvraj Singh 71 and R Blakey 25 - B Hodge 3/6, J Snape 3/14 and J Grove 3/24


Surrey v Sussex @ Imber Court - South Division

Although most of the Sussex batsman got good starts a combination of tight bowling and wickets at regular intervals restricted the away side to just 143 from their allotted overs. The Sussex captain was the main innings of note as he struck 36 from only 22 balls before becoming one of four wickets for his opposite number A Hollioake. Adams was given able support by the young wicketkeeper T Ambrose who struck a quick 23 from 14 balls. However the Dutch batsman B Zuiderent who hit a 34 ball 35 set the foundation of the innings. The innings however faded away with the introduction of A Hollioake who dismissed the free hitting Adams and then proceeded to get regular wickets to prevent the tail from wagging late on.

In reply the Surrey innings seemed to follow a similar pattern to that of the Sussex innings were a few got starts but nobody managed to carry the bat through, as a result the modest target of 143 pushed the unbeaten Surrey side all the way. I Ward for the second time got the innings off to a flyer before playing one shot to many and as a result losing his wicket for a fiery 22 from just 12 balls. J Benning and A Hollioake shared in a solid rather than brutal partnership of 46 before the leg spin of Mushtaq Ahmed had them both out in the same over to reduce the Surrey side from a position of strength to a precarious 84/4 and soon to be 104/5 with the dismissal of M Ramprakash for just 8 from 13 balls. 104/5 become 113/6 with the dangous G Thorpe removed for a controlled 18 from 16, and still with 31 needed to win and only J Batty and the tail to come the match was in the balance. However Surrey held their nerves and two big sixes all but ended the game for a fighting Sussex side.

Sussex - 143/8 (20 Overs)

C Adams 36, B Zuiderent 35 and T Ambrose 24 - A Hollioake 4/31, I Salisbury 2/20 and Sampson 2/29

Surrey - 145/6 (18.1 Overs)

J Benning 27, A Hollioake 24 and I Ward 22 - Mushtaq Ahmed 2/20, P Hutchison 1/24, M Davis 1/ 31 and R Martin-Jenkins 1/33



Nottinghamshire v Lancashire @ Trent Bridge, Nottingham - North Division

Lancashire entered the Twenty 20 Cup as one of the pre cup favourites with some of the biggest hitters in their ranks, however things didn't start well for them when both openers were removed with just six on the board. Things went from bad to worse when the powerful C Hooper was removed for just eight and I Sutcliffe went without scoring to leave the visitors in a precarious position of 4/24. C Schofield promoted to three was soon to follow for just 14 from 17 balls, G Chapple also came and went quickly leaving Lancashire in allsorts of trouble at 6/42. M Chilton and W Hegg lead the fight back with some solid and sensible play before opening their shoulders late in the game to up the scoring, when M Chilton departed with the score on 91, it was left to W Hegg to get the runs as the tail offered little support and allowing R Logan to pick up his fifth wicket to end with figures of 5/26.

In reply 120 was never likely to be enough, however Lancashire had the encouragement that the day before Notts and Durham played out a low scoring encounter in a NCL game. The hopes of a victory were raised when U Afzaal needed 21 balls for him 9 before he was clean bowled leaving the score on 22/1. However a fine partnership of contrasting styles saw Nottinghamshire almost home with J Gallian playing a solid innings of 29 from 39 balls, meanwhile the big hitting K Pietersen was being as brutal as ever hammering 58 from only 37 balls before falling just eight runs from the target. However no major incidents were about to happen as G Welton and B Shafayat saw the side home with five balls to spare.


Lancashire - 120 (19.2 Overs)

W Hegg 45 and M Chilton 23 - R Logan 5/26, S MacGill 2/21

Nottinghamshire - 124/3 (19.1 Overs)

K Pietersen 58 and J Gallian 29 - P Martin 1/15, G Chapple 1/16 and S Mahmood 1/22

Posted by Richard