Yesterday evening saw the first of the T20 Vitality Blast quarter-finals, with Surrey playing against Durham at The Oval. This post looks at how the match unfolded.
THE DURHAM INNINGS
Surrey won the toss and decided to bowl. Graham Clark, whose brother Jordan was playing for Surrey, was out in the first over, without scoring. Durham continued to fare poorly in the early stages, and when their fourth wicket fell with the score at 36 an early finish looked likely. However a combination of some good batting and some very poor death bowling revived Durham’s fortunes to the extent that they had 162 to defend. What should have been the last ball of the innings was called no-ball, and then the extra delivery was smashed for four. This was still a poorish score for The Oval, where 180 is about par.
THE SURREY CHASE
Surrey did not have things all their own way in the chase. However, the fourth wicket pair of Dominic Sibley and Sam Curran shared an excellent partnership. Sibley was eventually out for an excellent 67, which included bringing up his 50 with a reverse scoop for six. That brought Tom Curran in to join brother Sam for the closing stages. By this point the question was how much time would Surrey have to spare, and in the end it proved to be precisely two overs.
PHOTOGRAPHS
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