Cricket News Vitality Blast T20: Review of the table, team, and players of the week

Kent Spitfires defeated Somerset in the previous edition to win the T20 Blast title. Of the 18 first-class counties, 12 have won the competition, but no side has claimed the title two years in a row. This year the tournament is taking place in a 14-match group stage format with First class counties split into North and South Groups. Therefore, each team will play seven at home and seven away matches, with the top four of each division progressing into the quarterfinals. With the tournament crossing the halfway mark, let’s look at the teams ranking in each division.

North Group

Of the nine teams in the division, most of the teams have played ten matches each. Lancashire Lightning sits on the top of the table with 15 points, having won 7 of the ten games. Derbyshire Falcons and Northamptonshire Steelbacks occupy the second and third spot, respectively, separated by a margin of the net run rate as they both have 14 points, having played 11 matches. Birmingham Bears occupy fourth place with 12 points, whereas Leicestershire Foxes sit fifth in the standing. However, Leicestershire likely slips down as it has played 12 matches, whereas all the other teams below in the rankings are two matches behind. Worcestershire Rapids sits at the bottom with just one win in 10 games and one ending in no result.

South Group

The South Division is ruled by Surrey (19 points) as they are unbeaten in the group with 9 out of 10 matches won and one ending in no result. They have the highest net run rate of 1.432 among both groups. Somerset occupies second place with 14 points whereas Gloucestershire is in third place with 12 points. Essex Eagles are one game behind Gloucestershire and have a more positive run rate than them, so they are one win away from climbing third. Similarly, Hampshire Hawks placed sixth with five out of 10 matches and can replace Glamorgan from the fifth spot with four wins from 11 games. Middlesex and Sussex Sharks are lingering towards the end, and with too much disappointment, former champions Kent Spitfires are placed last with just four points. 

Somerset: Best performing team of the week

Currently ranked second in the South Group with 14 points, Somerset has won 7 of the ten matches played till now. The team had three clashes this week and won two against Gloucestershire and Essex Eagles, whereas they lost one to table-toppers Surrey. In the three matches played, the team, while successfully chasing down a target of 188 against Essex, failed to defend their target of 144 against Surrey in a last-ball thriller. Rilee Rossouw has been the critical batter for the team, smashing 443 runs in 10 innings, with five half-centuries. He carries a phenomenal strike rate of 191.8 and averages at 63.3. Apart from him, Will Smeed, Tom Abell, and Tom Banton have been the crucial contributors to the bat. Ben Green, Josh Davey, and Lewis Gregory are their key wicket-takers who have scalped 12 wickets each across the ten games. 

The team currently carries a win percentage of 70, which is the highest in the last decade. They have a strong team and are one of the finish contenders to see in the tournament. 

Players of the week

Bowler- Callum Parkinson (Leicestershire Foxes)

Callum Parkinson is an orthodox bowler, playing for Leicestershire this season. In the 12 innings played so far, he has scalped 17 wickets, averaging at 20.1 and carrying an economy of 7.26. These are by far his best bowling figures in the tournament.  

His ever-impressing figures came in the three innings this week as the bowler took eight wickets at an economy of 5.57 and averaged just 8.75. He returned with the best figure of 3/16 to contribute to his team’s win.

Batter- Sam Hain (Birmingham Bears)

Sam Hain is a right-handed batter hailing from Hong Kong. The batter is playing for Birmingham Bears and has been in his lightning form. In the seven innings, he has accumulated 325 runs at an average of 81.2 and a strike rate of 169.3. 

He is the chosen batter of the week as he has fetched 185 runs in 2 innings played this week, playing dauntlessly with a strike rate of 201.09. He even achieved his highest score of 112 runs to reach his maiden ton of the season this week.