Stephen Eskinazi and Grant Roelofsen dominated with the bat in the latest round of England’s T20 Blast.
On Friday, Ricardo Vasconcelos notched a handy 24 off 26 balls (three fours) for Northamptonshire as they crushed Leicestershire by 92 runs.
Spinner George Linde took 3-21 in Kent’s 55-run win over Middlesex, whose Joburg-born captain, Eskinazi, contributed a fighting 32 off 24 deliveries (three fours, one six).
Roelofsen, who was run out in bizarre fashion, scored 52 off 38 balls (four fours, three sixes) and Graeme van Buuren 36 off 21 (four fours, two sixes) in Gloucestershire’s four-wicket defeat to Somerset.
One of the stranger run outs you’ll see
Grant Roelofsen given out after running into the bowler ?#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/3H1Kjzq3Dh
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 23, 2023
On Thursday, Simon Harmer‘s cameo of 25 off 11 balls (one four, three sixes) wasn’t enough for Essex as Linde returned figures of 2-32 en route to Kent’s seven-wicket victory, while Roelofsen top scored for Gloucestershire with 41 off 27 deliveries (three fours, two sixes) as they went down to Sussex by seven wickets.
Eskinazi played a captain’s knock for Middlesex in a high-scoring clash against Surrey, top scoring with 73 off 39 balls (13 fours, one six) to secure a seven-wicket victory, while Yorkshire’s David Wiese took a wicket and smashed an unbeaten 20 off nine deliveries (three sixes) in a four-run loss to Birmingham.
Stevie Eskinazi led from the front against Surrey ?✈️
The @Middlesex_CCC captain made a brilliant 73, with these 14 boundaries! ?#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/6sEQuO74Ok
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 23, 2023
? Highest run chase in Blast history
? Second-highest run chase in T20 history
? Joint-sixth highest Blast score
? Highest aggregate score in Blast history
✅ @Middlesex_CCC‘s first win in 15
? @surreycricket‘s highest score at the Kia OvalWhat. A. Night. #Blast23 pic.twitter.com/Q2bKHEbCen
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 22, 2023
Former KwaZulu-Natal batsman Matthew Montgomery top scored for Nottinghamshire with a run-a-ball 39 (five fours, one six) in a five-wicket loss to Worcestershire.
On Wednesday, Leus du Plooy led Derbyshire to a six-wicket victory over Northamptonshire with an unbeaten 40 off 23 deliveries (four fours, one six) after Durban-born teammate Wayne Madsen scored 35 off 24 balls (five fours).
How good did this shot look from Leus du Plooy? ?
The @DerbyshireCCC captain scored 40* against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks, including this stunner!#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/RBMTP9tN4e
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 21, 2023
On Tuesday, Montgomery made 21 off 17 balls (two fours) for Nottinghamshire in their 22-run win over Leicestershire, with Wiaan Mulder scoring 38 off 26 (three fours, two sixes) and “assisting” teammate Colin Ackermann’s peculiar dismissal.
Have you ever seen anything like that?!
Steven Mullaney uses the non-striker to help take his catch ?#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/5YVFs9n41u
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 20, 2023
Earlier, Vasconcelos scored 37 off 24 balls (five fours, one six) in Northamptonshire’s 78-run thrashing of Yorkshire.
Compiled by Rienk de Beer
