Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that the T20 Blast is pulling in the fans. Most teams are reporting record crowds, and we are now at the sharp end of the season. The last three evenings of games will decide Quarter-Final places, and the Quarter-Final crosses. Most of the games still have something riding on them. The pictures of crowds streaming into the Kia Oval more than an hour before their must-win match against Hampshire are proof of product.

Tonight we have had two games: Surrey v Hants and Bears v Lancs.

The long and short of it before the start is that only Hants have nothing riding on the games. If Surrey win, their fate will be decided on the last two evenings; if Surrey lose, they are out, and the last two qualifying places in South group will be decided between Kent, Glamorgan and Sussex. In North Group, the slim chances of the Bears ride on winning their last two games and hoping that other results fall the right way, while Lancashire are in a tight battle with Durham and Worcestershire for a top-two spot and a home Quarter Final: win and they all but guarantee it; lose and their fate will lie in the hands of Worcestershire.

Surrey brought in Aaron Finch and Tom Curran for Rory Burns and Matthew Pillans to add some firepower, needing to win well and for things to fall their way. That Surrey are in this position, their hopes balancing on a knife-edge is mostly their own making: they were cruising to a facile win against Gloucestershire in their previous game, needing just 12 to win from the last two overs with plenty of wickets in hand and, incredibly, lost by five runs. Hampshire, One Day Cup Champions, have been far less successful in the Blast and are in a tight battle with Essex and the hapless Middlesex for the wooden spoon in South Group.

Hampshire’s innings started well, with James Vince scoring quickly, but began to run out of steam in the second half of the innings, after the fall of the top three. From looking set to set a total of 170+ if you apply the rule of doubling the score after 12 overs, the innings subsided, with the run-rate slowing steadily as it progressed. Just 16 runs were added in the last three overs, 30 for the loss of 4 wickets from the previous five. From a promising high of 107-3, the final total of 133-7 was illustrative of Hampshire’s struggles in the competition, in complete contrast to their One Day Cup success. Tom Alsop struggled along at well under a run-a-ball when Hampshire needed far more, and no one was able to compensate. For Surrey, Morne Morkel was expensive, his first two overs going for 21 as Vince and Roussouw took advantage of the powerplay, but Dernbach and, especially, Batty, were particularly mean, pulling the advantage back and stifling the batsmen, the two combining for 8-0-37-3.
Chasing just 134 to win, with Finch and Roy opening, there was a possibility that Surrey could win with a lot of overs un-bowled, what was not in the script was that, after a confident opening from Finch, Jason Roy was clean bowled by off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman for a golden duck to the fifth ball of the opening over, looking to sweep. Just a single came off Chris Wood’s opening over, as Surrey struggled initially in the Power Play overs, giving the Hampshire fans brief hope. Five wides at the end of Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s second over seemed to have opened the flood-gates but, with time, not an issue, Will Jacks backed away from Steyn and offered a slogged catch to Sam Northeast. Incredibly, after four overs, Surrey were actually behind the run-rate and in need of some sensible batting. Aaron Finch though was still there and, in partnership with Nic Maddison, accelerated the scoring. Together they pushed Surrey to the target and, although Maddison fell to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, stumped for 41, to make it 117-3 after 15.3 overs, Aaron Finch powered Surrey over the line with 15 balls to spare, ending 67*. Liam Dawson’s spell of 0-14 from 4 overs and Chris Wood’s 0-16 from 3, kept the scoring under check, but Hampshire needed quick wickets and did not get them.

Surrey now need to beat Glamorgan on Friday and hope that either Gloucestershire or Middlesex beat Sussex to obtain a Quarter Final place. If Sussex lose to Gloucestershire, even though they could still finish on the same points as Surrey by winning their final game, against the hapless Middlesex, they would have one win fewer than Surrey and thus be eliminated.
In the other game, Lancashire’s batting struggled against a Birmingham Bears attack that needed a big win to keep their hopes alive. After Davies and Brown added 22 for the first wicket in the first three overs, it was all downhill. Lancashire limped to 102ao from 19 overs, with Oliver Hannon-Dalby taking 4-20, as only Danny Lamb, at #8, with 24, passed 13. It was a pretty miserable performance from a side looking to top the North Group. The Bears only needed a reasonable start, and they were well on their way to a huge win and a significant boost in NRR. Bell and Pollock supplied an opening partnership of 68 in 9.2 overs and, despite both falling in the space of 8 balls, the match was all but over. Young leggie, Matt Parkinson, took 2-16 from his four overs but lacked any kind of effective support. When the Bears took 13 from Zakhir Khan’s final over, which included three wides, any remote chance of a Lancashire comeback ended, and Sam Hain duly finished the match with a boundary from the first ball of the fifteenth over. The Bears won by seven wickets with 35 balls remaining, to put a significant dent in the Lancashire NRR.

If Worcestershire win their last game, against the Bears, on Friday, they will eliminate their rivals and send Lancashire into an away Quarter Final. However, even if Warwickshire win that game, Yorkshire Vikings, with two games left – against bottom place Northants and against Notts Outlaws – will eliminate them. Similarly, a win for the Outlaws against the Vikings will seal the final qualifying spot for the Outlaws. The North Group is in for a tense finish.

How do you solve a problem like Ian Bell? Last season he seemed like a player on the decline, with little chance of playing for England. Today there were echoes of the old bell. It may be a phantom ring that you get out at sea of villages long lost to mother nature.
​
This fixture was a replay of last season’s final which Nottinghamshire won on that occasion. Today they were mainly second best to Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire).

Chris Nash didn’t enjoy his finest day at the office as the was dismissed third ball, and then when fielding, he seemed to land awkwardly on his shoulder going for a catch.

Nottinghamshire lost a cluster of wickets, Samit Patel went first ball caught and bowled by Colin de Grandhomme. Dan Christian didn’t last much longer as Nottinghamshire started to become desperate.

Riki Wessels struck 41 from 29 balls to add impetus to the innings. The innings then began to falter and Billy Root while ticking over the strike could only score singles. It put pressure on the batsman at the other end. Stephen Mullaney with a brisk 22 from 12 balls, he fell for the unwritten rule of six and out.

Luke Fletcher with three sixes in one Jeetan Patel over gave Nottinghamshire some hope late on. It wasn’t until the final over that Root scored a boundary, as a four followed his maximum. It was enough to power Nottinghamshire over the 150 mark and to 155 for 7.
It soon looked far from enough as Ed Pollock hit two sixes in the first over. It was a brief show from Pollock but allowed Bell to settle in for the day.
Adam Hose also came and went for 17. In stepped Sam Hain and along with Bell set about the target with relish. Both traded in fours, Hain the heir apparent to the Bell throne. There were the trademark cover drives on show. 

Bell finished with 82 from 57 balls and threatened to overshadow the young pretender Hain. If both had opened this game could have been over much sooner. Hain took only thirty balls to reach 45 not out and if anything deserved a fifty along with Bell.

It will for Birmingham ring out a warning that they can go far in this competition.

Elsewhere, Sussex’s dynamic bowling attack proved far too strong for a weak looking Essex side. Debutant Rashid Khan had the Eagles batsmen's heads spinning as he collected excellent figures of 2-25 to put the brakes of the host’s pursuit of 181. 

Earlier in the day, Sussex recovered nicely from 32/3 thanks to fifties from Laurie Evans and the impressive Michael Burgess, who struck a rapid 56 from 23 balls in just his second T20 game of his first-class career. 

It was a curious display from the Eagles who picked four spinners but only bowled five overs of spin during the visitors' innings. Three of which came from new overseas signing Adam Zampa, who despite bagging a wicket in his first over, was comfortably outshone by his Afghan counterpart. 

Burgess and Evans’ show alongside late hitting from Jofra Archer propelled the visitors total beyond 180, a decent total on a pitch that offered spin and swing for the bowlers. And so it proved as Essex struggled to get going throughout and the anchor that was Khan weighed them down even further. South African David Weise took five-wickets as he took advantage of the scoreboard pressure that was building on the hosts throughout as the Eagles strutted and stalled. 

Only Varun Chopra threatened to take Essex close to their target with the former Warwickshire man striking 64 off 48-balls before he fell victim to Khan in the Afghans final over. That triggered the collapse with the hosts capitulating in spectacular style losing their final five wickets for just one run to fall to a 36-run defeat on opening night at ‘Fortress Chelmsford’. 

There was plenty of excitement at Wantage Road though as over 440 runs were scored as Leicestershire’s excellent season continued with an opening night success over Northamptonshire. 

Leicestershire won the toss and inserted their hosts clearly with half an eye on a chase later in the evening. But they didn’t account for the hitting of Ben Duckett, Josh Cobb and Alex Wakely who all helped themselves to fifties as the Steelbacks raced to 218/3 from their 20 overs. 
Duckett, in particular, looked in fine form smashing 12 fours and three maximums on his way to 96, before he holed out to Neil Dexter off the bowling of Ben Raine. But the clean hitting of Alex Wakely ensured Duckett’s efforts wouldn’t go to waste as the hosts set a testing total for the Foxes to chase down. 

But this Leicestershire side is a different animal to that of a few years ago; they have grit and steel under their new coach Paul Nixon. And they needed it to chase this total down, what will be please for Nixon and his coaching staff is the fact that everyone mucked in during this innings. With only really Tom Wells failing with the bat. 

Colin Ackermann acted as the glue as he held the innings together with an excellent 66 from 31 balls, striking at well over 200. He smashed four sixes and five fours to guide the visitors’ home.
Whisper it quietly, but the Foxes could well be the dark horses from the north group. 

Reports by Jamie Ramage (@famousstrauss) and David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)

All the fun of the white ball cup circus returns to a ground near you as the Royal London Cup begins with five fixtures on Thursday including the Sky live fixture featuring the 2017 Champions Nottinghamshire’s trip to Old Trafford. 

But we’ll start at a little outground in Hertfordshire where Middlesex will take on last season’s beaten semi-finalists Essex at Radlett.  
​
Middlesex have a pretty awful record on the Royal London One Day Cup in recent seasons, and there are no great reasons for their fans to be more cheerful in 2018. Dawid Malan is not available for their first game, played at the outground at Radlett, so Steve Finn captains a remodelled side. Hilton Cartwright’s contract has been extended and will play, having already made a significant impact for Middlesex, while Middlesex welcome back Paul Stirling from his debut Test and have included Ravi Patel in the squad instead of Ollie Rayner. For Essex, Neil Wagner, who took 14 wickets in 7 ODC games last season, replaces Peter Siddle for the Eagles. Essex are feeling confident of going deep into the competition this year, having topped their group with seven wins from 8 in 2017 only to lose an epic semi-final to the eventual winners on the final over. Suffice it to say that for Middlesex, to have finished eighth in the same group felt like a degree of progress. Anything other than an Essex win would be a surprise here.

Middlesex squad: Steven Finn (captain), Tom Barber, Hilton Cartwright, Stephen Eskinazi, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Tom Helm, Max Holden, James Franklin, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Patel, John Simpson (wicket-keeper), Paul Stirling

Essex Eagles squad: Ryan ten Doeschate (27) Captain, James Foster (7) Wicket-keeper, Aaron Beard (14), Ravi Bopara (25), Varun Chopra (6), Sam Cook (16), Simon Harmer (11), Dan Lawrence (28), Jamie Porter (44), Neil Wagner (13), Tom Westley (21), Adam Wheater (31), Ashar Zaidi (99)

Elsewhere, Northamptonshire will look to put their disappointing start to the season behind and press the reset button by entering more familiar ground with white ball in hand at Wantage Road against Leicestershire.
There is hope here though, as Northants won both of their group matches against the Foxes last season. Meanwhile, Leicestershire have enjoyed a decent start to the season under new Head Coach Paul Nixon, a man with significant white ball pedigree at Grace Road as a player. Zak Chappell and Ned Eckersley are returning from injury, whilst Deiter Klein is rested. 

Northants (from 13): Josh Cobb, Luke Procter, Richard Levi, Ben Duckett, Alex Wakely, Adam Rossington, Rob Keogh, Steven Crook, Rory Kleinveldt, Graeme White, Brett Hutton, Ben Sanderson, Saif Zaib

Leicestershire (from 13): Michael Carberry, Varun Aaron, Colin Ackermann, Zak Chappell, Mark Cosgrove, Neil Dexter, Ned Eckersley, Gavin Griffiths, Lewis Hill, Paul Horton, Ateeq Javid, Callum Parkinson, Ben Raine

Weather Watch: Clear blue sky, high of 14c.

Match Odds: Northants 4/6, Leicestershire 6/5 (Betfair)

Warwickshire will be hoping to continue their excellent start to the 2018 season when they take on Derbyshire at Edgbaston. The limited overs format has often been the saving grace for the Bears in recent years after flattering to deceive in the longer format. A good start here against the Falcons may see them firing on all cylinders come September. 

The hosts have picked a big squad for this one, as Ed Pollock, Liam Banks and Adam Hose have impressed in the 2nd XI so far this season. The champions of 2016 will be looking to continue a fine start to the season, and bounce back from a disappointing campaign last season. Bear skipper Jeetan Patel is full of experience, and his crafty off-spin is ideal for slowing the game down in the middle overs. Derbyshire welcome back Gary Wilson from test duty with Ireland, while Safyaan Sharif will make his Falcons debut if selected. Look out for Ravi Rampaul; the former Surrey man took 18 wickets last season during a brilliant run to the final. 

Team news:
Warwickshire (from 16): Jeetan Patel, Tim Ambrose, Keith Barker, Ian Bell, Henry Brookes, Sam Hain, Adam Hose, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Ed Pollock, Josh Poysdon, Will Rhodes, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Alex Thomson, Aaron Thomason, Jonathan Trott

Derbyshire (from 14): Billy Goodleman, Ben Slater, Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen, Alex Hughes, Callum Brodrick, Matt Critchley, Gary Wilson, Daryn Smit, Hardus Viljoen, Ravi Rampaul, Duanne Olivier, Safyaan Sharif, Dan Wheeldon 


Weather Watch: Clear blue skies, highs of 16c

Match Odds: Warwickshire 8/13, Derbyshire 5/4 (Betfair)

Perhaps the most exciting contest of the day is taking place at Old Trafford, as Lancashire welcome last season’s champions Notts to Manchester. One suspects that both sets of players are well aware of each other by now, having already faced off twice in the County Championship this season. Joe Mennie returns to the Lancashire squad, whilst Arron Liley and Karl Brown are set to play their first matches of the season. Notts are without last year’s hero in the final, Alex Hales, who is away with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. However, in Ross Taylor, they have one of the most formidable one-day players in the world cricket to fill Hales’ void, after an impressive series against England over the winter. With the ball, Jake Ball will be looking to make a statement after missing out on England test selection on Tuesday. 

Team news:
Lancashire (from 13): Liam Livingstone, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jordon Clark, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Keaton Jennings, Arron Lilley, Joe Mennie, Graham Onions, Matt Parkinson, Stephen Parry, Dane Vilas
Nottinghamshire (from 14): Jake Libby, Chris Nash, Steven Mullaney, Riki Wessels, Harry Gurney, Matt Milnes, Luke Fletcher, Samit Patel, Tom Moores, Ross Taylor, Jake Ball, Will Fraine, Billy Root, Jake Blatherwick

Weather Watch: Clear blue skies, highs of 16c

Match Odds: Lancashire evens, Notts 4/5 (Betfair)


Lastly, Sussex will hope their explosive batting line-up fires with the likes of Laurie Evans, David Wiese and Luke Wright, and a dangerous bowling pair of Ishant Sharma and young George Garton all sure to cause plenty of problems. Evans, Delroy Rawlins and Abi Sakande are all set to play their first matches of the season after missing out for Championship action. Meanwhile, Kent have enjoyed a good start to the Championship season, with three wins in Division Two, and will fancy a trip along the south coast to Hove. James Tredwell and Grant Stewart are both unavailable with injuries, whilst Darren Stevens is named but faces a late fitness test after a recent groin problem. Kent look to have a solid batting line up, but I suspect might lack the x-factor to go deep in the competition this year.

Team news:
Sussex (from 14): Ben Brown, Danny Briggs, Michael Burgess, Laurie Evans, Harry Finch, George Garton, Delroy Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Abi Sakande, Phil Salt, Ishant Sharma, Luke Wells, David Wiese, Luke Wright

Kent (from 14): Joe Denly, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sean Dickson, Heino Kuhn, Zak Crawley, Alex Blake, Darren Stevens, Calum Haggett, Adam Rouse, Matt Henry, Harry Podmore, Ivan Thomas, Mitch Claydon, Imran Qayyum 


Weather Watch: Clear blue skies, highs of 16c

Match Odds: Sussex 4/5, Kent evens (Betfair)

Friday night T20 Blast action returns with a bumper set of action including some tasty Derby ties. There are three South Group games including the Battle of the Bridge between Essex and Kent, and a West Country derby between Somerset and Gloucestershire, whilst in the final game in the South Group Sussex tackle Middlesex.
 
In the North Group, there are four important group games, including a tasty looking Roses affair at Headingley with Yorkshire looking for revenge on Lancashire after the Red Rose defeated their rivals in the reverse fixture. Elsewhere, Worcestershire take on Derbyshire in a Midlands clash, whilst Nottinghamshire take on Durham and finally Warwickshire face Northamptonshire at Edgbaston.
 
Should the weather hold we could be in store for some absolute classic T20 action, and we are here to tell you everything you need to know.
 
South Group:
 
Somerset v Gloucestershire:
Where? Taunton, Somerset
When? 17.30
Form:
Som:  P8, W3, L4, NR 1 (6th)
Glo:  P8, W5, L2, NR1 (2nd)
Last time out:
Som: Lost by four-runs v Middlesex
Glo: Won by 11-runs v Sussex
Last Meeting: Gloucestershire won by Four wickets, Bristol, 2016
Who?
Som: Allenby ©, Myburgh, Trego, Jayawardene, Hildreth, Leask, van der Merwe, Gregory, Davies (w/k), C. Overton, J. Overton, Groenewald, Davey and Waller
Glo: Klinger ©, Marshall, Cockbain, Dent, Howell, Noema-Barnett, Roderick (w/k), J. Taylor, Smith, Van Buuren, Tye, Miles, Norwell, M. Taylor and Payne
Danger men:
Som: Jayawardene
Glo: Klinger
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Som: 11/12
Glo: Evens
VFTO Predicts: Away win
 
Essex v Kent:
Where? The Essex County Ground, Chelmsford
When? 19.00
Form:
Essex: P7, W3, L4 (7th)
Kent: P8, W3, L5 (8th)
Last time out:
Essex: Won by eight-wickets v Surrey
Kent: Won by 10-runs v Sussex
Last meeting: Kent won by six-wickets, Canterbury, 2015
Who?
Essex: Bopara ©, Foster (w/k), Velani, Napier, Westley, Walter, ten Doeschate, Lawrence, Ryder, Quinn, Zaidi, Taylor, Porter and Masters
Kent: (probable) Northeast ©, Latham, Denly, Cowdrey, Stevens, Blake, Billings (w/k), Tredwell, Rabada, Thomas, Claydon, Griffiths and Ball
Danger men:
Essex: Ryder
Kent: Rabada
Weather: Sunny intervals with a chance of light rain with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Essex: 13/16
Kent: 11/10
VFTO Predict: Away win
 
Sussex v Middlesex:
Where? Hove, Brighton and Hove
When? 19.00
Form:
Sussex: P8, W3, L3, NR2 (4th)
Middlesex: P7, W4, L2, NR1 (3rd)
Last time out:
Sussex: Lost by ten-runs v Kent
Middlesex: Lost by 40-runs v Kent
Last meeting: No result, Lords, 2016
Who?
Sussex: Beer, Briggs, Cachopa (w/k), Jordan, Kulasekara, Machan, Mills, Nash, Salt, Shahzad, Taylor and Wright ©
Middlesex: Malan ©, Bailey, Eskinazi, Franklin, Fuller, Gubbins, Harris, Higgins, Podmore, Rayner, Roland-Jones, Simpson (w/k), Sowter and Stirling
Danger men:
Sussex: Chris Jordan
Middlesex: George Bailey
Weather: Sunny interval with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Sussex: 13/16
Middlesex: 15/13
VFTO Predicts Home win
 
North Group:
 
Worcestershire v Derbyshire:
Where? New Road, Worcester
When? 17.30
Form:
Worcs: P9, W4, L3, NR2 (3rd)
Derbys: P7, W2, L4, NR1 (7th)
Last time out:
Worcs: No result v Durham
Derbys: Lost by seven-wickets v Nottinghamshire
Last meeting: Worcestershire won by four-wickets, Derby, 2015
Who?
Worcs: Kohler-Cadmore, Mitchell ©, Clarke, Kervezee, D’Oliveria, Whiteley, Cox (w/k), Leach, Barnard, Henry, Abbott and Shantry  
Derbys: Rutherford, Durston ©, A. Hughes, Broom, Madsen, Elstone, Neesham, C. Hughes, Thakor, Critchley, Poynton (w/k), Milnes and Carter
Danger men:
Worcs: Kyle Abbott
Derbys: Wayne Madsen
Weather: Sunny Intervals with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Worcs: 4/6
Derbys 7/5
VFTO Predicts: Home win
 
Nottinghamshire v Durham:
Where? Trent Bridge, Nottingham
When: 18.30
Form:
Notts: P7, W3, L2 NR2 (4th)
Durham: P8, W3, L4, NR1 (6th)
Last time out:
Notts: Won by seven-wickets v Derbyshire
Durham: No Result v Worcestershire
Last meeting: Durham won by 66-runs, Chester-Le-Street, 2016
Who:
Notts: Ball, Broad, Christian ©, Gurney, Hutton, Lumb, Mullaney, Patel, Smith, Tahir, Taylor, Wessels (w/k) and Wood
Durham: Stoneman ©, Mustard (w/k), Stokes, Muchall, Pringle, Jennings, Richardson, Coughlin, Borthwick, Arshad, Rushworth, McCarthy and Macleod
Danger men:
Notts: Stuart Broad
Durham: Phil Mustard
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Notts: 8/15
Durham: 7/4
VFTO Predicts: Home win
 
Yorkshire v Lancashire:
Where? Headingley, Leeds
When? 18.30, Live on Sky Sports
Form:
Yorkshire: P7, W1, L4, NR2 (9th)
Lancashire: P8, W3, L4, NR1 (5th)
Last Time out:
Yorkshire: Lost by six-runs (D/L) v Durham
Lancashire: Won by 96-runs v Worcestershire
Last meeting: Lancashire won by 26-runs, Old Trafford, 2016
Who?
Yorkshire: Ballance, Bresnan, Carver, Coad, Gibson, Hodd (w/k), Leaning, Lees ©, Lyth, Patterson, Rafiq, Rhodes, Shaw and Williamson
Lancashire: Croft ©, Brown, Buck, Clark, Edwards, Jones, Lilley, Livingstone, Mahmood, Moores, Parry, Petersen, Procter and Reece
Danger men:
Yorkshire: Williamson
Lancashire: Livingstone
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 14c
Match Odds:
Yorkshire: Evens
Lancashire: 10/11
VFTO Predicts:  Away win
 
Birmingham v Northamptonshire:
Where? Edgbaston, Birmingham
When? 19.00
Form:
Birmingham: P7, W5, L1, NR1 (2nd)
Northants:  P7, W5, L1, NR1 (1st)
Last time out:
Birmingham: Won by eight-wickets v Leicestershire
Northants: Won by six-wickets v Leicestershire
Last Meeting: Northampton won by five-wickets, Edgbaston, semi-final 2015
Who?
Birmingham: Bell ©, Adair, Clarke, Evans, Gordon, Hain, Hannon-Dalby, Javid, Patel, Porterfield, Ronchi (w/k), Poysden and Thomason
Northants: Levi, Rossington, Cobb, Duckett (w/k), Crook, Wakely ©, Keogh, White, Gleeson, Azharullah, Ashraf, Sanderson and Newton
Danger men:
Birmingham: Rikki Clarke
Northants: Josh Cobb
Weather: Sunshine with a chance of rain with highs of 13c
Match Odds:
Birmingham: 4/5
Northants: 6/5
VFTO Predicts: Away win
 
Match Odds provided by Oddschecker.com, please gamble responsibly.
 
Previews brought to you by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)

​For those who are not fans of the longer format of the game, fear not, there is still the wham, bam, thank you ma’am cricket that is T20 Blast cricket to keep you entertained with three Sunday fixtures taking place. 

In the South Group, Somerset take on Hampshire looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat against rivals Gloucestershire whilst Yorkshire and Lancashire will look to finally get a game after a series of washouts when they tackle Derbyshire and Birmingham respectively.

As always we will bring you everything you need to know ahead of these three big clashes in the Natwest Blast. 

South Group: 

Somerset v Hampshire:
Where? Taunton, Somerset
When? 14.30
Form:
Som: P6, W2, L3, NR1 (6th)
Hants: P6, W1, L4, NR1 (8th)
Last time out:
Som: Lost by four-wickets v Gloucestershire
Hants: No result v Sussex
Last Meeting: Hampshire won by 6-runs, Ageas Bowl, July 2015
Who?
Som: Allenby ©, Trego, Jayawardene, Myburgh, Hildreth, van der Merwe, Gregory, C. Overton, J. Overton, Waller, Groenewald, Davies (w/k) and Arafat  
Hants: Afridi, Smith, Ervine, Dawson, Alsop, Berg, Vince ©, Carberry, McManus, Wheater (w/k), Best, Stevenson, Andrew and Sammy 
Danger men: 
Som: Chris Gayle
Hants: Adam Wheater 
Weather: Light rain with highs of 18c
Match Odds:
Som: 14/19
Hants: 5/4
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Birmingham v Lancashire
Where? Edgbaston, Birmingham
When? 14.30
Form:
Bears: P5, W3, L1, NR1 (3rd)
Lightning: P6, W2, L3, NR1 (7th)
Last time out:
Bears: Won by four-wickets v Derbyshire
Lightning: No Result v Northamptonshire
Last Meeting: Lancashire won by eight-runs, Edgbaston, July 2015
Who?
Bears: Team news to follow…
Lightning: Croft ©, Brown, Buck, Buttler (w/k), Clark, Edwards, Guptill, Jones, Lilley, Livingstone, Parkinson, Parry, Procter and Wagner
Danger men:
Bears:
Lightning: Liam Livingstone
Weather: Thick Clouds with a chance of rain with highs of 17c
Match Odds:
Bears: Evens
Lightning: Evens
VFTO Predicts: Away win

Yorkshire v Derbyshire:
Where? Headingley, Leeds
When? 14.30
Form: 
Yorks: P5, W0, L3, NR1
Derbys: P5, W2, L2, NR1
Last time out:
Yorks: No Result v Nottinghamshire
Derbys: Lost by four-wickets v Birmingham
Last Meeting: Derbyshire won by four-wickets, Chesterfield, July 2015
Who?
Yorks: Bairstow (w/k), Ballance, Bresnan, Carver, Coad, Lees ©, Lyth, Patterson, Plunkett, Rafiq, Root, Willey and Williamson
Derbys: Godleman, Rutherford, C. Hughes, Broom, Madsen, Neesham, Slater, A. Hughes ©, Thakor, Critchley, Poynton (w/k), Cotton and Carter
Danger men:
Yorks: Joe Root
Derbys: Wayne Madsen 
Weather: Cloudy with a chance of rain with highs of 18c 
Match Odds:
Yorks: 3/5
Derbys: 6/4
VFTO Predicts: Away win

Previews by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu) 

It was an exciting Friday night of T20 Blast action as the matches that survived the again horrendous weather provided the thrills and spills that we have so come to love of this format. In the South, Surrey ran home comfortable victors over London rivals Middlesex, taking bragging rights by a margin of 29 runs. In Cardiff, David Lloyd struck the highest score of the evening, blasting 97 in Glamorgan's 55 run D/L win over Kent. Elsewhere, Gloucestershire snuck home with a single ball remaining in negotiating a tricky chase of 159 to overcome rivals Somerset.
Two matches made it past the rain in the North group – wins for Birmingham and Northamptonshire to consolidate their positions at the top of the standings. Birmingham's Ateeq Javid struck a last-ball four to reach a nervy four-wicket win against the Derbyshire Falcons while in Northampton, Durham stumbled out of the blocks and never recovered in their chase of 162 and despite a Paul Coughlin hattrick, Northamptonshire recorded a solid 26 run win.

South Group

Surrey vs Middlesex
At a sold out KIA Oval, Surrey recorded a derby victory over Middlesex by 29 runs – Middlesex were always struggling in their chase of 174 which always looked a step too far as wickets fell at regular intervals to give Surrey the edge. West Indian Ravi Rampaul took an impressive 3 for 21 from 3 overs including the big scalp of Brendon McCullum, while there were two wickets apiece for spin twins Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari. James Franklin's top score of 39 from 30 balls including two sixes but it came too late in the piece for Middlesex to mount a serious challenge. Earlier, Jason Roy hit a quickfire 35 from 19 balls with a couple of sixes, while Ansari and Tom Curran provided late impetus striking 46 in the 22 balls they were together. Surrey now sit second in the standings and look in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals, while Middlesex are not out of the question by any means – sitting fifth with 5 points, just 3 points behind their rivals. 

Gloucestershire vs Somerset
In the South Group's second derby of the evening, Gloucestershire took the bragging rights over West Country rivals Somerset in a thrilling finish which saw the 11,000 strong crowd get the result many of them will have wanted. Skipper Michael Klinger's 60 was the lynchpin of the hosts' innings before it was left to Gareth Roderick to hit Yasir Arafat's penultimate ball of the match to the boundary to seal a four-wicket win. The match began in peculiar fashion, Chris Gayle playing out a maiden off Jack Taylor – but it wasn't long until he gave the crowd what they wanted, after taking nine balls to score his first run the West Indian hit 6 fours and blasted two huge sixes to top score for the visitors with 40. Jim Allenby and Mahela Jayawardene provided ample support for the Jamaican, scoring 27 and 24 respectively before Lewis Gregory and Roelof van der Merwe took Somerset beyond 150 to set Gloucestershire 159 for victory. Australian Klinger lost partner Hamish Marshall to the first ball of the innings but soon had the runs flowing alongside Ian Cockbain – making 40 together in 5 overs before the latter departed to Jamie Overton. Chris Dent then made 22 before he was the first of Dutchman van der Merwe's three victims – an impressive bowling performance from the experienced spinner who's four overs yielded just 16 runs. Klinger fell in the 17th over, leaving Roderick and Andrew Tye to see their side nervously home. With 14 runs required from the final over, Tye's six swung the momentum before two singles, a three and then a boundary from Roderick sealed the win to the joy of the highest crowd seen at Bristol.

Glamorgan vs Kent
In a rain-affected match at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff, Glamorgan's powerful batting performance overwhelmed an off-colour Kent to have them beaten by 55 runs (D/L). David Lloyd launched a brutal assault on Kent's bowling attack to make 97 not out from 48 balls and set Kent an unlikely victory target of 177 from 16 overs. Lloyd's innings contained 10 fours and 4 maximums, and in partnership with Colin Ingram who contributed 60, took the game away from the Spitfires to leave them chasing the game. Fabian Cowdrey, in particular, took some tap but then again he was not alone on a sorry night for Kent. No bowler went for less than 8 an over, Mitch Claydon's figures looking the most respectful at 2-27 from 3 overs. Kent's chase stumbled from the get-go, the in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond falling to the international quality of Dale Steyn in the first over for four-ball duck. From then, wickets fell regularly and consistently and Kent eventually stumbled to 121 all out. Steyn took three more to end up with 4-18 from his four overs and was ably assisted by Michael Hogan who took 3-12 from 2.5 overs and Timm van der Gugten who finished with 2-18 off three. The only real resistance to the Glamorgan bowling was provided by Joe Denly (23 from 17, 1 six), Alex Blake (30 from 25, 1 six) and Matt Coles (31 from 16, 2 sixes) but Glamorgan never looked troubled in the field, and eventually cruised to victory.

Hampshire vs Sussex
It was somewhat of a farce at the Ageas Bowl as Hampshire's interesting looking context with Sussex was abandoned without a ball bowled after somewhat of a shambolic turn of events. A heavy 15-minute shower put pay to the match, with the groundstaff slow to cover the pitch, meaning water damaged the wicket. Indeed, the announcement was met with a bad reception as the soon to be sun-kissed ground would be left without any cricket.

North Group

Birmingham vs Derbyshire 
A last ball four from all-rounder Ateeq Javid sealed victory for Birmingham at the 3aaa County Ground, who had let the game slip from a comfortable looking position to a situation of peril with the visitors requiring 10 from the final over. Ian Bell's 67 from 54 balls was invaluable to the Bears' cause and set up the last minute scramble for victory. Derbyshire had earlier been restricted to what looked like a below-par 141-7,  Wayne Madsen making a well-paced 38 from 34 balls including two sixes on a track that lacked pace. Hamish Rutherford also chipped in with 33 at just over a-run-a-ball with three fours before two late sixes from Shiv Thakor took Derby to a competitive total. Rikki Clarke, once again, provided four cheap overs at the top of innings – taking outstanding figures of 2 for 17, while there were also two wickets for Oliver Hannon-Dalby. Ian Bell and Sam Hain got the Bears' reply off to a flyer, amassing 48 runs without loss from the first six overs to have their side in the box seat. However, the innings soon stagnated and when Hain holed out to Matt Critchley for 28 the Bears lost their momentum. It was left to captain Bell to bat through the majority of the innings for his 67, but when he fell in the penultimate over 15 runs were still required. That came down to ten from the last six balls, Aaron Thomason fell to the second ball of Jimmy Neesham's last over before Rikki Clarke's movement on the crease fooled Derbyshire wicket-keeper Tom Poynton and the ball ran away for four byes. There was still drama afoot, Chris Woakes was run out from the penultimate ball chasing a match winning second after a misfield before the cool head of Ateeq Javid saw the Bears over the line with a drive past Neesham's desperate dive. 

Northamptonshire vs Durham
The first hat-trick of this year's Blast from Paul Coughlin was not enough to prevent Northamptonshire from achieving a comfortable victory over Durham by 26 runs. Coughlin's 5 for 42 included a hat-trick in the final over of the innings, an astounding triple-wicket maiden which helped to restrict Northants to what looked a beatable score of 161-9. Northamptonshire began at an alarming pace, Alex Wakely made a 15-ball 28 before his dismissal brought Josh Cobb to the wicket. Cobb top scored with 68 from 48 balls, his four sixes and five fours keeping up his fine record to date in this year's competition. Stephen Crook too chipped in with 18 before it was left for Coughlin to mop up the tail. He removed Rob Newton, Graeme White and Richard Gleeson to claim his five-fer and his hat-trick, albeit at the expense of a hefty 42 runs. Durham's reply began shambolically. Mark Stoneman, Jack Burnham and Michael Richardson were dismissed for ducks, and Phil Mustard went for 2 to leave the Jets reeling at 9-4 in the fourth over of the innings – three wickets for Moin Ashraf on debut and one for Richard Gleeson. Paul Collingwood and Scott Borthwick went about bringing some respectability to the chase, and even attempted to take Durham towards an unlikely victory. They put on 59 together before Collingwood holed out to long on trying to up the tempo. Borthwick soon followed and despite a six from Keaton Jennings in the final over of the match, Durham had limped to a sorry 135-8 to fall 26 short. Ashraf's debut figures of 3-17 will have impressed, and Josh Cobb topped a fine all-around performance with 2-29 in a victory that never looked out of sight.  

Yorkshire vs Nottinghamshire
Both sides look to be struggling for momentum in this year's group stage as their match was abandoned without a ball bowled at Headingley. Yorkshire captain Alex Lees had earlier sacrificed his place at the top of the batting order to find room for England's Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to come into the side – but neither were able to showcase their talent as persistent rain took another match from the schedule. 

Leicestershire vs Worcestershire
Rain again was the victor at Grace Road as neither side could advance on their strong start to this year's Blast as each side suffered their first wash-out of the competition.

Reports by Charlie Jennings (@AVCJX)

Friday night means T20 Blast cricket, and it returns with a bumper fixture list with eight group games taking place.
 
Providing the weather stays kind the Natwest Blast is likely to provide another exciting night of Twenty Twenty action with North Group leaders and South Group leaders both in action.
 
There is also the small matter of a London Derby, West Country Derby and a South Coast derby to whet the appetite. It’s set to be a thrilling night of action and we will as always provide you with everything you need to know below.
 
Unfortunately the fixture between Leicestershire and Worcestershire has already been postponed due to a waterlogged outfield.
 
South Group:
 
Surrey v Middlesex
Where? The Kia Oval, London
When? 18.30, Live on Sky
Form:
Surrey: P5, W3, L2 (3rd)
Middlesex: P4, W2, L1, NR1
Last time out:
Surrey: Lost by six-wickets v Somerset
Middlesex: Match abandoned v Sussex
Last meeting: Middlesex won by 43 runs at Lords, 2015
Who?
Surrey: Batty ©, Ansari, Bravo, Burke, Burns, S. Curran, T. Curran, Davies, Foakes (w/k), Kapil, Meaker, Pillans, Rampaul. Roy and Sangakkara
Middlesex: Malan ©, Finn, Franklin, Fuller, Gubbins, Higgins, McClenaghan, McCullum, Morgan, Rayner, Roland-Jones, Simpson (w/k) and Sowter
Danger men:
Surrey: Dwayne Bravo
Middlesex: Brendon McCullum
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 17c
Match Odds:
Surrey: 4/5
Middlesex: 15/13
VFTO Predicts: Home win
 
Gloucestershire v Somerset
Where? The Brightside Ground, Bristol
When? 18.30
Form:
Gloucs: P5, W3, L2 (4th)
Som: P5, W2, L2, NR1
Last time out:
Gloucs: Won by eight wickets v Essex
Som: Match abandoned v Glamorgan
Last meeting: Gloucestershire won by eight-wickets at Taunton, 2015
Who?
Gloucs: Klinger ©, Marshall, Cockbain, Dent, Howell, Noema-Barnett, Roderick (w/k), J. Taylor, Smith, Van Buuren, Tye, Miles, Norwell and M. Taylor
Som: Allenby ©, Gayle, Trego, Jayawardene, Myburgh, Hildreth, van der Merwe, Gregory, C. Overton, J. Overton, Waller, Groenewald, Davies (w/k) and Arafat
Danger men:
Gloucs: Klinger
Som: Jayawardene
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 17c
Match Odds:
Gloucs: 6/5
Som: 4/5
VFTO Predicts: Away win
 
Glamorgan v Kent
Where? SWALEC, Cardiff
When? 18.30
Form:
Glam: P5, W3, L1, NR! (1st)
Kent: P5, W2, L3 (7th)
Last time out:
Glam; Match abandoned v Somerset
Kent: Lost by four wickets v Sussex
Last meeting: Glamorgan won by one run, Tunbridge Wells, 2015
Who?
Glam: Rudolph ©, Lloyd, Ingram, Donald, Cooke (w/k), Wagg, Meschede, Steyn, van der Gugten, Cosker, Hogan, Salter and Wallace
Kent: Northeast ©, Denly, Bell-Drummond, Latham, Billings (w/k), Stevens, Blake, Cowdrey, Coles, Tredwell, Claydon, Griffiths and Thomas
Danger men:
Glam: Timm van der Gugten
Kent: Joe Denly
Weather: cloudy with highs of 17c
Match Odds:
Glam:10/11
Kent: 11/10
VFTO Predicts: Home win
 
Hampshire v Sussex:
Where? Ageas Bowl, Southampton
When? 19.00
Form:
Hants: P5, W1, L4 (9th)
Sussex: P5, W3, L2, NR1 (3rd)
Last time out:
Hants: Lost by 80 runs v Surrey
Sussex: Match abandoned v Middlesex
Last meeting: Hampshire won by four runs, Hove 2015
Who?
Hants: Carberry, Vince, Alsop, Wheater (w/k), Dawson, Ervine ©, Afridi, Sammy, Smith, McManus, Berg, Stevenson, Andrew and Best
Sussex: Beer, Briggs, Brown (w/k), Cachopa, Finch, Garton, Jordan, Machan, Mills, Nash, Salt, Shahzad, Taylor, Wiese and Wright ©
Danger men:
Hants: Darren Sammy
Sussex: Tymal Mills
Weather: Sunny intervals with highs of 18c
Match Odds:
Hants: 6/5
Sussex: 4/5
VFTO Predicts: Away win
 
 
North Group:
 
Northamptonshire v Durham:
Where? The County Ground, Northampton
When? 18.30
Form:
Northants: P5, W3, L1, NR1 (2nd)
Durham: P5, W2, L3 (7th)
Last time out:
Northants: No result v Lancashire
Durham: Lost by six wickets v Leicestershire
Last meeting: No result, County Ground, 2015
Who?
Northants: Rossington (w/k), Cobb, Duckett, Wakely ©, Crook, Keogh, White, Gleeson, Azharullah, Sanderson, Zaib and Ashraf
Durham: Stoneman ©, Mustard (w/k) Borthwick, Burnham, Collingwood, Richardson, MacLeod, Coughlin, Pringle, Jennings, Arshad, Rushworth and Harrison 
Danger men:
Northants: Alex Wakely
Durham: Chris Rushworth
Weather: Cloudy with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Northants: 4/5
Durham: 5/4
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Derbyshire v Birmingham:
Where? The 3aaa County Ground, Derby
When? 19.00
Form:
Derbys: P4, W2, L1, NR1 (3rd)
Bears: P4, W2, L1, NR1 (4th)
Last time out:
Derbys: No Result v Nottinghamshire
Bears: No Result v Yorkshire
Last meeting: Birmingham won by 60 runs, Edgbaston, 2015
Who?
Derbys: Godleman, C. Hughes, Rutherford, Broom, Madsen, Neesham, Slater, A. Hughes ©, Thakor, Critchley, Poynton (w/k), Cotton and Carter
Bears: Bell ©, Adair, Clarke, Evans, Gordon, Hain, Hannon-Dalby, Javid, Patel, Poysden, Ronchi (w/k), Thomason and Woakes
Danger men:
Derbys: Jimmy Neesham
Bears: Chris Woakes
Weather: Thick Clouds with a chance of rain with highs of 15c
Match Odds:
Derbys: 13/10
Bears: 8/11
VFTO Predicts: Away win
 
Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire:
Where? Headingley, Leeds
When? 19.00
Form:
Yorks: P4, L3, NR1 (9th)
Notts: P4, W1, L2, NR1 (8th)
Last time out:
Yorks: No Result v Birmingham
Notts: No Result v Derbyshire
Last meeting: Yorkshire won by 40 runs, Headingley, 2015
Who?
Yorks: Lees ©, Bairstow (w/k), Ballance, Bresnan, Carver, Coad, Lyth, Patterson, Plunkett, Rafiq, Rashid, Root, Willey and Williamson
Notts: Ball, Christian ©, Fletcher, Gurney, Hales, Hutton, Lumb, Mullaney, Patel, Russell, Smith, Taylor, Wessels and Wood
Danger men:
Yorks: Jonny Bairstow
Notts: Andre Russell
Weather: Light rain that will later turn to clouds with highs of 14c
Match Odds:
Yorks: Evens
Notts: Evens
VFTO Predicts: Home win
 
Previews by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)

Natwest Blast 10th June 2016:

There are four games in each group as a bumper set of fixtures takes place in the T20 Blast this evening. 

In the South Group, Surrey will look to strengthen their grip at the top of the group when they travel to the West Country to tackle Somerset. Whilst Northampton will look to carry on their fine recent form in the Blast when they take on Worcestershire at New Road. Here is everything you need to know ahead of a busy night of T20 action. 

South Group: 

Somerset v Surrey: 
Where? Taunton, Somerset
When? 17.30
Form: 
Som: P3, W1, L2 (8th)
Sur: P4, W3, L1 (1st)
Last time out:
Som: Won by seven wickets v Essex
Sur: Won by 80 runs v Hampshire
Who?
Som: Gayle, Allenby ©, Myburgh, Trego, Hildreth, Gregory, van der Merwe, Davies (w/k), J. Overton, C. Overton, Leask, Arafat, Groenewald and Waller
Sur: Batty©, Ansari, Bravo, Burns, S. Curran, T. Curran, Foakes (w/k), Meaker, Pillans, Rampaul, Roy, Sangakkara, Sibley and Wilson
Danger Men:
Som: van der Merwe
Sur: Jason Roy
Weather: Light rain with highs of 19c
Match Odds: 
Som: Evens
Sur: 10/11
VFTO Predicts: Home win 

Gloucestershire v Glamorgan:
Where? The County Ground, Bristol
When? 18:30
Form: 
Glo: P3, W2, L1 (4th)
Glam: P3, W2, L1 (2nd)
Last time out:
Glo: won by 7 wickets v Kent
Glam: won by 5 wickets v Hampshire
Who? 
Glo: Klinger ©, Marshall, Cockbain, Dent, Howell, Taylor, Roderick (w/k), Smith, Noema-Barnett, Van Buuren, Norwell, Taylor, Miles and Tye
Glam: Rudolph ©, Lloyd, Ingram, Donald, Cooke (w/k), Meschede, Wagg, Salter, Steyn, van der Gugten, Hogan, Cosker, Wallace, Selman, Kettleborough and Penrhyn-Jones
Danger Men:
Glo: Howell
Glam: Steyn
Weather: cloudy with highs of 21c
Match Odds:
Glo: 21/20
Glam: 11/10
VTFO Predicts: Away win

Essex v Middlesex:
Where? Essex County Ground, Chelmsford
When? 19:00
Form:
Essex: P3, W1, L2 (7th)
Mid: P2, W1, L1 (6th)
Last time out:
Essex: lost by 7 wickets v Somerset
Mid: lost by 4 wickets v Gloucestershire
Who?
Essex: Bopara ©, Foster (w/k), Ryder, Napier, Westley, Mickleburgh, ten Doeschate, Lawrence, Riaz, Quinn, Porter, Taylor, Zaidi and Masters
Mid: Malan ©, Franklin, Fuller, Gubbins, Helm, Higgins, McClenaghan, McCullum, Morgan, Podmore, Rayner, Simpson (w/k), Sowter and Stirling
Danger Men:
Essex: Napier
Mid: McCullum
Weather: cloudy with highs of 20c
Match Odds:
Essex: 4/5
Mid: 8/7
VFTO Predicts: Away win

Sussex v Kent:
Where? County Ground, Hove
When? 19:00
Form:
Sussex: P3, W2, L1 (3rd)
Kent: P4, W2, L2 (5th)
Last time out:
Sussex: lost by 23 runs v Surrey
Kent: won by 8 runs v Hampshire
Who?
Sussex: Beer, Briggs, Brown (w/k), Finch, Garton, Jordan, Machan, Mills, Nash, Salt, Shahzad, Taylor, Wiese and Wright ©
Kent: Northeast ©, Bell-Drummond, Denly, Latham, Stevens, Cowdrey, Billings (w/k), Blake, Coles, Thomas, Claydon, Hunn, Tredwell and Griffiths
Danger men:
Sussex: Wiese
Kent: Billings 
Weather: cloudy with highs of 19c
Match Odds:
Sussex: 4/5
Kent: 11/10
VFTO Predicts: Home win

North Group:

Worcestershire v Northamptonshire:
Where? New Road, Worcester
When? 17:30
Form:
Worcs: P4, W3, L1 (2nd)
Nor: P3, W3 (1st)
Last time out:
Worcs: lost by 7 wickets v Northamptonshire
Nor: won by 7 wickets v Worcestershire
Who?
Worcs: Mitchell ©, Kohler-Cadmore, Clarke, Kervezee, D’Oliveira, Whiteley, Cox (w/k), Leach, Barnard, Henry, Shantry, Russell, G. Rhodes and Morris
Nor: Rossington (w/k), Prasanna, Cobb, Duckett, Crook, Wakely ©, Keogh, White, Gleeson, Azharullah, Sanderson, Newton and Ashraf
Danger men:
Worcs: Leach
Nor: Duckett 
Weather: cloudy with highs of 21c
Match Odds:
Worcs: 5/6
Nor: 6/5
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Lancashire v Leicestershire:
Where? Old Trafford, Manchester
When? 18:30
Form:
Lancs: P4, W1, L3 (7th)
Lei: P4, W2, L2 (4th)
Last time out:
Lancs: lost by 2 wickets v Nottinghamshire
Lei: win by 6 wickets v Durham
Who?
Lancs: Croft ©, Brown, Buck, Buttler (w/k), Clark, Edwards, Lilley, Livingstone, Mahmood, Parkinson, Parry, Petersen, Procter and Wagner
Lei:  Pettini © , Cosgrove, K O’Brien, Akmal, Delport, Dexter, Hill (w/k), Wells, Raine, McKay, Taylor, Sykes and Naik
Danger men:
Lancs: Buttler
Lei: Raine
Weather: light rain with highs of 21c
Match Odds:
Lancs: 8/15
Lei: 13/8
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Birmingham v Yorkshire:
Where? Edgbaston, Birmingham
When? 19:00
Form:
Bears: P3, W2, L1 (5th)
Yorks: P3, L3 (9th)
Last time out:
Bears: won by 9 wickets v Durham
Yorks: lost by 26 runs v Lancashire
Who?
Bears: Bell ©, Adair, Clarke, Evans, Gordon, Hain, Hannon-Dalby, Javid, Lamb, Patel, Porterfield, Poysden, Ronchi (w/k) and Thomason
Yorks: Balance, Bresnan, Carver, Coad, Hodd (w/k), Leaning, Lees ©, Lyth, Patterson, Plunkett, Rashid, Rhodes, Willey and Williamson
Danger men:
Bears: Ronchi
Yorks: Bresnan
Weather: rain with highs of 17c
Match Odds:
Bears: 3/4
Yorks: 5/4
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire:
Where? Trent Bridge, Nottingham
When? 19:15 (live on Sky)
Form:
Notts: P3, W1, L2 (8th)
Derbys: P3, W2, L1 (3rd)
Last time out:
Notts: won by 2 wickets v Lancashire
Derbys: won by 4 wickets v Leicestershire
Who?
Notts: Ball, Christian ©, Fletcher, Gurney, Hutton, Lumb, Mullaney, Patel, Russell, Smith, Taylor, Wessels (w/k) and Wood
Derbys: Broom, Carter, Critchley, Cotton, Godleman, Elstone, A. Hughes ©, C. Hughes, Madsen, Neesham, Poynton (w/k), Rutherford, Slater and Thakor
Danger men:
Notts: Wessels
Derbys: Neesham
Weather: rain with highs of 18c
Match Odds:
Notts: 8/15
Derbys: 15/8
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Previews by Rebecca Hampstead
Edited by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)

​There were plenty of shocks in the Natwest Blast on Friday evening as holders Lancashire fell to a second defeat of the season and Yorkshire fell to a heavy defeat to Leicestershire at Headingley. 

At Edgbaston, the Pears beat the Bears to claim the Midlands bragging rights after Brett D’Oliveira continued his fine early season form to lead the visitors to their second success of the summer. After being invited to bat first by the ‘Rapids’ Birmingham got off to a flying start with Ian Bell and Sam Hain finding the boundary with ease to lead the hosts to 50 without loss after five overs. Hain’s departure though soon slowed the rate down as the visitors battled back in the middle overs. Hain fell to Jack Shantry (1-37) to depart for a quick-fire 24. Three tight overs followed as Joe Leach and Ed Barnard stemmed the flow of runs brilliantly, and the frustration showed when Barnard removed Porterfield for a run-a-ball twelve launching a ball down the throat of Alex Kervezee. After a promising start the hosts found themselves in a hole, and when D’Oliveira impressed with the ball to remove Laurie Evans leg before for two the Bears were in trouble on 83/3. D’Oliveria, the grandson of Basil, bowled a tight spell alongside Barnard to frustrate the hosts, and with Ian Bell going along at a run-a-ball the visitors were in command. Bell reached his half-century playing his typically classy way, but in truth, his innings was just a bit too pedestrian as he fell with the score on 121 off the final ball of the 16th over. You couldn’t keep Dolly out of the game as he caught the former England man off the bowling of Leach who fell for 66. 
The Bears were behind the rate, and they knew it, Luke Ronchi their overseas star tried to rescue the situation and he hit a couple of lusty blows in his score of 21 before finding the hands of Kervezee in the deep to depart with an over-and-a-half to go. That left the inexperienced pair of Ateeq Javid and Mark Adair to up the scoring rate in the final over.  Javid hit an early boundary before running out his partner off the second ball, and then hitting Matt Henry to Tom Kohler-Cadmore to fall himself with a ball to go. In the end, the hosts reached a below-par score of 155/7 from their 20 overs.  The Rapids’ reply didn’t get off to a well ‘rapid’ start losing Kohler-Cadmore and Joe Clarke early to Adair and Recordo Gordon respectively. Clarke, in particular, was unlucky after Laurie Evans excellently pouched his nonchalant flick into the leg side. The visitors were soon three down when skipper Daryl Mitchell edged Boyd Rankin through to wicketkeeper Ronchi to leave the Pears on 45/3. Kervezee and D’Oliveira then steadied the ship sharing 53 for the fourth wicket at a good tempo. The in-form D’Oliveira particularly impressive playing shots all around the Edgbaston playing field as he eased the visitors to the finish line. Kervezee struck 40 before being bowled off an inside edge, whilst Ross Whiteley fell to Gordon for a well-made 23 trying to finish the game off in style with a six, only to lose his off-stump. But with just one required, fittingly, man-of-the-match D’Oliveira (62 not out & 1-17 from four overs) smashed Oliver Hannon-Dalby over the ropes to seal a five-wicket success for Mitchell’s men. 

Elsewhere, in the North Group, reigning Champions Lancashire’s hopes of retaining their title took another blow as Durham ran out six-wicket winners at Old Trafford. Losing regular wickets proved to be the hosts downfall as only overseas star Martin Guptill and captain Steven Croft added meaningful contributions in their score of 149/8 from their twenty overs as the Red Rose fell short of par in Manchester. The New Zealander Guptill, opening for the hosts struck a brilliant 72 hitting 10 fours and a six during his 46-ball stay at the crease but when he departed halfway through the twelve over the Lancashire innings lost all momentum. Barry McCarthy and Usman Arshad were the pick of the Durham attack taking three wickets apiece as the pair combined to keep the hosts innings in check. Indeed, three wickets fell in the 16th over, bowled by McCarthy to well and truly put the brakes on the Lancashire innings. In the end, they rather limped to their total of 149 and they knew they would have to bowl out of their skins to defend that. 
Things didn’t start well for the hosts as Durham smashed 43 from the first two overs as Mark Stoneman and Phil Mustard combined in brutal fashion to get the visitors off to a dream start. Neil Wagner struck though this his first ball to remove Stoneman for 13 as Kyle Jarvis recovered from being smashed for 20 in his only over of the match beforehand to take a good catch. Mustard continued to find the boundary with ease though as he reached 46 hitting five fours and three sixes before he found the hands of Guptill. By then though the bulk of the damage was done with the score at 73/2 from six overs. Graham Clark and Michael Richardson picked up where Mustard and Stoneman left off smashing the Red Rose attack to all parts with no bowler really able to slow the rate down. Despite Clark falling to Wagner for 36, Durham were in complete control and Richardson (34 not out) alongside Keaton Jennings guided the visitors home with 30 balls to spare to claim their first win of the t20 summer. 

Yorkshire were stunned by a Ben Raine inspired Leicestershire as the Foxes thrashed the Tykes by 54-runs at Headingley. Raine struck a career-best 48 before collecting impressive figures of 3-7 to guide his side to victory in Leeds. After being inserted by the hosts, Leicestershire were off the worst possible start losing skipper Mark Pettini for a duck as Tim Bresnan started the match with a wicket maiden. The hosts boasted a side packed full of local talent continued their positive start when James Wainman had Mark Cosgrove caught for 20 by Ben Coad. Irishman Kevin O’Brien attempted to up the ante for the visitors with a trio of boundaries but he soon fell too. England’s Liam Plunkett the man with the wicket as the all-rounder found Adil Rashid in the deep. Raine though continued to steady the ship hitting at just above a run-a-ball to be the glue the Foxes innings required. It allowed the likes of Niall O’Brien (39) and Lewis Hill to play the aggressive knocks to boost the visitor’s total passed par. Indeed, O’Brien and Hill (24 not out) only dealt in maximums hitting seven between them as the pair added vital late impetus to help the visitors to 174/7 from their 20 overs. 
In pursuit of 175 for victory, a flurry of early wickets put the hosts immediately on the back foot with Raine and Kevin O’Brien striking to remove Adam Lyth, Alex Lees and Adil Rashid to leave the hosts struggle at 20/3. Tom Wells then joined the party striking in his first over to remove Jack Leaning and suddenly the White Rose were in all sorts of trouble on 32/4 from eight overs. Will Rhodes (45) and Gary Ballance (17) attempted a counter charge adding thirty runs in three overs but when Ballance became O’Brien’s second victim it was looking like game over. 
Tim Bresnan struck a lusty blow before picking out Neil Dexter in the deep to give Jigar Naik his only wicket of the day to fall for 10. Dexter himself removed Liam Plunkett for a duck in the very next over to leave the hosts on 89/7. That soon became 98/8 when O’Brien collected his third and final wicket of the day bowling Andy Hodd for 1 to finish with figures of 3-27 from his four overs. Yorkshire’s top scoring Will Rhodes hit three fours and a brace of sixes before being the penultimate man to fall. He found the grateful hands of Wells off the bowling of Dexter to leave the Tykes on 109/9 and in the words of David Lloyd the cars were beginning to start. It was to be Raine who finished the game off to put Yorkshire out of their misery to cap a fine all-round game for the youngster. He bowled Ben Coad for one as the visitors secured a comfortable success to stun the locals and claim their first Blast success of the summer. 

Elsewhere, in Northampton, the Steelbacks defeated the Falcons in a high-scoring game at the County Ground. Wes Durston and Chesney Hughes both struck forties, whilst late runs from wicketkeeper Tom Poynton (37 not out) pushed the visitors to a competitive total of 195/7. Sri Lankan leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna continued to impress for the hosts as he claimed figures of 2-27 including the vital wicket of Durston to be the pick of the Northants attack. For the hosts, there were vital contributions four of the Steelbacks top five batsmen as they snuck home to claim their second close fought win in a row. Richard Levi struck a rapid fire half-century to get the hosts of to a flying start. The Kolpak pro struck three fours and four sixes to propel the hosts towards the victory line. They did endure a wobble as Andy Carter struck three times late on in the game but Steven Crook (33 not out) picked up where he left off in the Championship fixture earlier in the week to guide the hosts to a three-wicket win.

In the only game in the South Group Middlesex were comfortable winners over Hampshire at Uxbridge. In the picturesque setting of Uxbridge Cricket Ground Dawid Malan richly entertained the paying punters smashing five sixes and ten fours on his way to 93 as the hosts racked up the runs. The Middlesex skipper dominated the hosts scoring but found able support from Adam Voges (23) as the pair led the hosts to a mammoth score. Tino Best didn’t enjoy his Blast debut for Hampshire going for 51 from his four overs as Uxbridge proved too small for Best’s rapid bowling. Shahid Afridi and Gareth Andrew were the pick of the visitors bowling attack taking two wickets apiece but Malan’s heroics had led the hosts to a more than useful 195/6 from their 20 overs. In reply, the visitors struggled to get going losing wickets regularly and in clusters as Middlesex impressed with the ball. Indeed, only Adam Wheater and Liam Dawson threatened to spoil the Middlesex party. But a disciplined bowling display by the hosts ensured Hampshire would fall way short. Toby Roland-Jones and Ravi Patel both had hat-trick opportunities as both Sean Ervine and Will Smith collected golden ducks. But the real story was the dramatic collapse from the visitors who went from contenders at 55/1 to no hopers at 96/8. This is a great win for Middlesex who claim their first t20 win at the first time of asking and still have the big-hitting Brendon McCullum to come into their side. 

Reports by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu) 

​The Natwest Blast kicked off in spectacular fashion as runs flowed and stumps flew to put pay to any murmurings of the shortest format of the English game being mediocre. 

Worcestershire, Birmingham, Northampton, Sussex, Kent and Surrey all picked up wins at the first time of asking as the T20 blasted off. 

At New Road, a magnificent 54-ball 127 from Tom Kohler-Cadmore kicked off the campaign in style. The youngster flayed the Durham attack all round the New Road outfield to lead his side to 225/6 from their 20 overs. Kohler Cadmore dominated his side’s total with only in-form Brett D’Oliveira making it past 30 as Durham took wickets at regular intervals. The opener struck 14 fours and eight sixes to help his side to set a commanding target for their visitors to chase. On the bowling front, as you would expect when the batting side reaches a mammoth total many had an economy rate to be fear with Scott Borthwick the only man to have semi-respectable figures of 2-24. In reply, Joe Leach showed the visitors how it is done taking a spectacular five-wicket bag to bowl his team to victory. He removed the dangerous Phil Mustard (64), Mark Stoneman (25), Ryan Pringle (21), Calum MacLeod (0) and Barry McCarthy (0) – who had a day to forget, collecting a golden duck after getting smashed for 63 from his four overs. In truth, the Jets never looked like getting the required 226 for victory as regular wickets continually pegged them back with only Mustard threatening to spoil the party. Mitchell Santner showed his class finishing with figures of 2-29 from his four overs, but the day belongs to Leach whose figures of 5-33 led the Rapids to a 38-run success. 

Sam Hain’s magnificent unbeaten 92 led Birmingham Bears to a thrilling win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. The young opener struck 12 fours and a couple of sixes to hold his nerve and guide his side to success with two balls the spare. Hain was well assisted by Luke Ronchi (22 off 10), William Porterfield (26 off 18) and Chris Woakes (16 off 11) as the t20 specialists edged to a six-wicket win. Amongst the carnage new Nottinghamshire skipper Dan Christian had a bowling day to forget going for 23 off of his two overs. Earlier in the day, Nottinghamshire had Greg Smith (43) and Riki Wessels (52) to thank as the hosts reached 179/7 from their 20 overs with Jeetan Patel producing his usual t20 heroics collecting figures of 3-23 from his four overs. Indeed, only three batsmen passed 20 for the hosts who fell just short of victory at Trent Bridge. Wessels struck four 4s and a couple of sixes in his half-century before becoming one of Patel’s three wickets. Requiring just five off the last over having done the bulk of the work in the penultimate over, the Bears negotiated the Yorkers from Luke Fletcher to scramble singles and twos before Woakes unleashed to smash the six that secured the win with a couple of balls to spare. 

Seekkhuge Prasanna had a day to remember as he smashed a six off his only ball to lead Northampton to victory at Grace Road. The Sri Lankan, who had earlier impressed with the ball taking 1-21 of his four overs capped a fine all-round display to launch Ben Raine out of the ground to guide his new team home with a ball to spare in a rain-affected match in Leicester. Earlier, Mark Pettini (43) and Umar Akmal (52 not out) starred for the hosts who reached 178/5 from their 20 overs. The Pakistani batsman struck 3 fours and 3 sixes in his 32-ball stay as he hit his first t20 half-century of the summer, the first of many we suspect. In reply, the big-hitting Richard Levi got the visitors off to a flier hitting seven fours and three sixes in his innings of 61 before he fell facing his 29th ball caught by Pettini off Ben Raine (2-34). The in-form Duckett played a gem of an innings to help keep his side in the driving seat hitting an unbeaten 37 off 34 balls with five fours as the visitors dodged the rain to secure victory. A light shower reduced the Northampton innings to 18-overs with a new target of 164. They got it down to just needing seven off the last with six-wickets in hand, but they lost Wakely early in the last as he skied a ball straight back to the bowler Raine. That left Duckett and Prasanna with the task of seeing the visitors home, and Duckett hit the second ball of the over to the ropes to leave them requiring three from four. He scrambled a single to leave the debutant Sri Lankan to get 2 from the final two balls, he needed just one of those as he hit Raine over the boundary for six to guide Northampton to a five-wicket win. 

Sussex’s overseas star Ross Taylor produced a magnificent innings to lead the Sharks to a narrow one-run Duckworth/Lewis success over Gloucestershire at Bristol. The New Zealander struck an unbeaten 93 including eight sixes and four boundary fours as the visitors went run crazy in the West of England. He found support from Ben Brown (43) and Matt Machan (31) as the visitors racked up a mammoth 242/5 from their 20 overs. And as they heavens opened every run proved crucial for the Sharks. After the hosts themselves got off to a flying start with the returning Michael Klinger smashing four 4’s and three sixes during his unbeaten 42 before the rain came. With heavy persistent rain continue the umpires decided enough was enough and with Gloucestershire just a run behind the par score on 83/1 from their 7.3 overs they faced they fell to a harsh one-run defeat in Bristol, but the game will be remembered for Taylor’s fireworks earlier in the day. 

Somerset fell to a heavy defeat at Canterbury despite 91 from opener Jim Allenby as the hosts secured an eight-wicket win. The visitors batted first and the innings was dominated by Peter Trego (57) and skipper Allenby’s brilliant 91 as they reached 197/7. Fabien Cowdrey was the pick of the bowlers for Kent as he collected figures of 3-18 from his three overs to slow the Somerset charge. He picked up the wicket of Trego, who had hit four 4’s and four sixes before holing out Darren Stevens to fall with the score on 143/2. And his dismissal led a collapse of sorts with wickets falling regularly with Mitch Claydon (1-35) and David Griffiths (2-33) chipping away at the middle order alongside Cowdrey. And when Allenby became the last man to fall after hitting 10 fours and three sixes the hosts had made a competitive looking total of 197. But Kent have a dangerous batting line-up and many fancy them to go far in the competition. Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond are in fine form in the first-class game and they brought that form into the shortest format sharing a record t20 opening stand for Kent of 150. Denly smashed six sixes and five fours in his 38-ball 75 as he and Bell-Drummond took the hosts to a dominant position. Bell-Drummond tipped by many for big things ended unbeaten on 83 hitting eight fours and a couple of sixes. Denly fell to Tim Groenewald but by then it was all too little too late for the visitors, as Kent only needed 48 from seven-and-a-half overs. In the end, it was a stroll for the impressive hosts who reached their target with 16-balls the spare as Darren Stevens produced a little cameo to hit a four and a six to finish the job off. 

A mixture of youth and experience guided Surrey to a narrow eight-run success over Essex at the Essex County Ground. Kumar Sangakkara hit 32 including six fours and a six during his 16-ball cameo before becoming one of four victims for Essex debutant Matt Quinn, who impressed with the ball for the Eagles. He took figures of 4-35 to be the pick of the Essex attack. But late runs from Tom Curran (32) and Azhar Mahmood (42) added vital late impetus for the visitors as they reach 170/8 from their 20-overs. The veteran Mahmood, 42-years young hit four fours and two sixes to top score for Surrey, and his runs were to prove crucial come 10pm. Essex’s reply got off the worst possible start losing skipper Ravi Bopara in early as the impressive Sam Curran struck in the first over. Things soon got worse for the hosts as Mahmood took two-in-two in the third over to leave Essex in trouble on 26/3. The Pakistani first had Jesse Ryder (13) top-edging a short ball behind to Gary Wilson, then youngster Dan Lawrence gifted him his second wicket by being strangled down the leg-side for a golden duck. Suddenly the Eagles were in trouble and the Essex faithful were left in stunned silence. Tom Westley, the in-form man for the hosts steadied the ship alongside the experienced Ryan ten Doeschate as the Eagles began to wrestle back the initiative but the big moment of the game came when Westley was adjudged leg before to Gareth Batty. He went for 46 reverse sweeping the experienced spinner, but replays suggested that the ball would go on to miss the leg stump. Another Essex debutant strode the middle in Ashar Zaidi, a plump looking fellow, but boy could he hit a long ball. Fresh from starring in the Bangladeshi Premier League, the former Sussex man looked set to win the hearts of the Essex crowd as he swatted ball after ball to the boundary. He shared 40 with ten Doeschate before the Dutch man found Sangakkara on the rope to fall for 36. Eight-runs later the game had effectively gone, when yet another poor decision cost Essex, dear. Zaidi looking to hit Sam Curran over fine legs head was hit on the foot and given leg before, but yet again the ball would’ve gone on to miss leg stump. Fortune was favouring the visitors and Essex despite some lusty blows from Graham Napier (19) fell short as Mahmood finished things off in the final over, taking two wickets in it to finish the match with figures of 4-38. 

Reports by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)