Vitality T20 Blast 2022 : North group, Match Highlights

Birmingham Bears Vs Worcestershire Rapids

Birmingham Bears climbed to the top spot in the group after grabbing a massive 144-run win over Worcestershire Rapids. 

While bowling first, Worcestershire got off to an excellent start as Mitchell Stanley dismissed Alex Davies and Sam Hain for ducks in the first over. However, Adam Hose's unbeaten 110 and Dan Mousley's 35-ball 53 took Birmingham Bears to the total of 228 with a little more contribution from other batters as bowlers failed to restrict the two. 

Worcestershire also had a stumbling start as they lost three wickets in the powerplay. Danny Briggs took a four-wicket haul to walk down the middle order. Whereas Olly Stone and Jake Lintott took two wickets each. The bowlers were absolutely clinical as they bundled out Worcestershire for just 84 in 15.3 overs. 

With this win, the Bears have taken a foot into the knockouts.

Derbyshire Falcons Vs Lancashire Lightning

A slim five-run win for Derbyshire Falcons over Lancashire Lightning has climbed them to 16 points, with Birmingham Bears and Lancashire Lightning to be separated by a margin of run rate. 

Batting first, Derbyshire lost its first wicket of Luis Reece (1) to Tom Hartley. Skipper Shan Masood led the team with his 50-ball 75, further propelled by 31-ball 70 from Wayne Madsen as the total climbed to 188/8 as other batters failed to add much.

To chase the target, Luke Wall's 42 off 24 and Steven Crofts's 47 off 29 gave Lancashire a decent start. Tim David surged the total by smashing 42 runs in 23 balls but failed to cross the line as the team fell short of 5 runs owing to terrific death over bowling from Derbyshire bowlers.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks Vs Yorkshire Vikings

From being reduced to 11/3 to recovering and grabbing a 62-run win, Yorkshire Vikings grabbed crucial points to break into the top 4 as Northamptonshire received its third defeat on the trot. 

Batting first, Yorkshire lost its top-three batters for mere 11 runs. Skipper David Willey added 31 runs; however, the inning recovered only when Harry Brook added 31-ball 67. Brook smashed six maximums and four boundaries in this knock. Jordan Thompson and Matthew Waite chipped in 30 and unbeaten 35 runs at number 7 and 8 to help the team take the total to 190 in 20 overs. 

While chasing the target, Northamptonshire didn't get going in any part of their inning. They kept losing wickets at quick intervals failing to build stable partnerships. After delivering through the bat, Matthew Waite showed confidence to take a three-wicket haul, whereas David Willey, Dhadab Khan and Dom Bess scalped two wickets each. The team got bundled out for 128 in 16.2 overs.

Durham vs Nottinghamshire Outlaws

Notts Outlaws registered a two-run win over Durham in a thriller as the game got reduced to 11 overs per side due to heavy rain.

Nottinghamshire, batting first, was led by Steven Mullaney, who scored an unbeaten 34 off 23 balls, but Tom Moores's 11-ball 25 took them to 98/9 despite Ben Raine's spell of 2-0-12-3. 

In reply, Durham's chase game was led by Michael Jones at the top to score an unbeaten 30. Matthew Carter and Samit Patel took two wickets each, as they didn't allow the middle-order to settle. Ned Eckersley too added an unbeaten 24 off 13 but ultimately fell short by two runs.