An exciting night of Blast action saw derby wins for Surrey and Gloucestershire. In the other completed South Group match, Glamorgan dominated Kent in a rain-affected match. There were wins for Birmingham and Northamptonshire in the North Group. Meanwhile, rain forced washouts in the matches between Hampshire and Sussex, Leicestershire and Worcestershire, and Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

David Lloyd Glamorgan – The highest score of the night left Welshman Lloyd an absolute cert to make the XI this week. The opening batsman's assault on the Kent bowling attack took him 3 runs short of a maiden century in this form, to help Glamorgan pile on 175 from their 16 overs, a score which was adjusted to 177 for Kent to chase. Lloyd hit 10 fours in his innings, along with four huge sixes. His career-best score dominated the Glamorgan innings and Kent would never recover to pose a threat to Glamorgan's total. The sixth over of the innings was particularly impressive for Lloyd, striking the veteran Darren Stevens for three fours and a six in an over worth 19 runs. Lloyd set the tone for Glamorgan, and once he'd finished there was only one winner. 

Michael Klinger Gloucestershire – Klinger is becoming a run scoring machine for Gloucestershire, his 60 in their West Country derby versus Somerset was invaluable to their negotiation of a difficult chase of 159. The Australian's innings came from 43 balls, but more importantly held together his side's innings as no other Gloucestershire batsman made a score over 30. It truly was a captain's innings – perfectly paced and after the skipper departed in the penultimate over his side crept home with one ball to spare. The Gloucestershire management can once again be thankful for their overseas star for what is now becoming a typical occurrence, plenty of runs and a wealth of experience. His exploits on Friday came after an astonishing 78 from 49 on Thursday to see his side defeat Essex comfortably by 8 wickets. A prized possession.

Colin Ingram Glamorgan – The South African looks on a mission to atone for missing the first part of this year's blast by blasting runs as quick as he can for the Welsh county. His 60 played second fiddle to David Lloyd's 97 not out – but the internationally experienced batsman was just as commendable for his brutal innings which came from just 29 balls. Ingram was the earlier aggressor after the early loss of Jacques Rudolph, striking 3 of his first 5 balls to the boundary and following that up a four and six in the next over. Ingram's score was a continuation of the brilliant form which has seen him score 95 not out and 85 in his last two innings. His partnership with Lloyd yielded a huge 132 in just 10 overs – and was worth more than the whole of Kent's innings as the visitors never had a foot in the match.

Josh Cobb Northamptonshire – Captain Cobb is fast becoming a regular in our team of the week, this week's contribution of 68 from 48 balls, along with a handy couple of wickets with the ball saw his Northamptonshire side home despite some Paul Coughlin brilliance late in the innings. Josh Cobb is quickly gaining a reputation as a more than handy T20 player, often adding wickets to go with what this season has been plenty of runs. Cobb's 4 sixes on the night took his tally of maximums for the season to 10 – fourth in the six-hitting standings and he also hit five fours to have Durham quickly on the back foot after the early loss of Adam Rossington. With the ball, Cobb took the crucial wicket of Paul Collingwood who was threatening to put the match back in the balance. He also had Paul Coughlin caught to finish with figures of 2-29 from his spell of four overs. In truth, Cobb was only finishing off Durham after four early wickets had in earnest left the match over. A more than impressive performance from captain Cobb.

Zafar Ansari Surrey – Impressive contributions with bat and ball saw the England touted spinner help his side to an eventual comfortable derby day victory over Middlesex. Ansari scored 34 from 25 balls to help manufacture an imposing score of 173 from his side's 20 overs. When he made his way to the crease, the innings was losing its momentum as three wickets had Middlesex in the ascendency after Jason Roy's early onslaught. Ansari had other plans, his rotation of the strike combined with the four boundaries he hit redirected Surrey in the right path, and in partnership with young Tom Curran added crucial late impetus to the innings. He and Curran added 54 in the 22 balls they were together. Then, with the ball the left-armer took the wickets of Nick Gubbins and Toby Roland-Jones to reinforce Surrey's stronghold on the Middlesex innings. Three cheap overs for the Englishman saw him finish with 2-16 and it was a fine day all-round for someone who is clearly already in the minds of England selectors.

Rikki Clarke Birmingham Bears – Veteran Rikki Clarke once again dazzled top order batsmen with four cheap overs at the top of Derbyshire's innings to leave them struggling at the halfway stage of their innings. Clarke began with a fiery bouncer which struck and shook up Billy Godleman before he was dismissed by Olly Hannon-Dalby in the second over. The former Derbyshire skipper was wreaking havoc on his former employers, having Chesney Hughes caught at mid-off two balls after he had launched the bowler for six – the only boundary Clarke conceded. Clarke then struck again as Neil Broom top-edged a pull to really put a stranglehold on the Falcons. His two wickets were worth just 17 runs, Clarke again showing what made him the bowler with most dot balls to his name last season.

Paul Coughlin Durham Jets –  Coughlin took the first hat-trick of this year's Blast, and the first five-wicket bag of his short T20 career to date but couldn't do enough to prevent Northamptonshire from recording a comfortable victory. The Northerner's hat-trick came in the last over of the Northants innings – which astoundingly became a triple wicket maiden for the young right-armer. He had Rob Newton, Graeme White and Richard Gleeson all caught to restrict the opposition to 161-9. His other two scalps were Josh Cobb, who looked in dangerous form, and Rob Keogh before his three in three sealed the five-fer. Coughlin's one regret would be the expense of his five wickets, coming at just over ten-an-over and eventually Durham fell well short of their victory target – however, that blame can be left at the top order batsmen who collapsed embarrassingly. 

Roelof van der Merwe Somerset – Despite ending up on the losing side, van der Merwe's performance can not be looked past as outstanding. He added late runs alongside Lewis Gregory to push his Somerset side up to a challenging looking score of 158 – making himself a handy 18 from 13 balls including a single six. Van der Merwe's real contribution, however, came with the ball. His four overs went for just 16 runs, and the Dutchman took three big wickets to leave Somerset well in the hunt with six balls remaining, with 14 Gloucestershire runs still required. Unfortunately for RVDM and Somerset, Yasir Arafat disappointingly lost his nerve – their fate sealed with a boundary off the penultimate ball. It was undeserved for an outstanding performance from the spinner, who is a more than useful county pro.

Dale Steyn Glamorgan – The South African ripped through Kent's batting line-up as Glamorgan demolished the Canterbury-based club by 55 runs (D/L). If David Lloyd and Colin Ingram's earlier exploits were explosive, then Steyn matched his teammates with a fearful bowling performance of 4 for 18 from four overs. The fifth-ranked Test bowler showed all his international nous, removing the in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond with the fifth ball of the Kent reply, a rare duck for the England touted opener. Steyn then followed that up with the wickets of Sam Northeast and Sam Billings and Kent had slipped to 44-4. The fast bowler then returned to remove James Tredwell for his last, but the game was long gone for Kent – Steyn's early salvo had ruined any chance of a thriller at the SWALEC, and it was a resounding victory for the Welsh side.

Moin Ashraf Northamptonshire – Ashraf's debut for his new side couldn't have gone much better. Having joined on a short-term deal from Leeds/Bradford University, the ex-Yorkshireman took three quick wickets at the top of the Durham innings – a setback from which the Jets never recovered. Having been set a victory target of 162, Durham faltered. Ashraf removed Phil Mustard for two and then Jack Burnham and Michael Richardson for ducks as they slipped to 9-4. Ashraf two over burst at the top of the innings dampened any Durham hopes of a victory, and despite a brief respite in the form of a fifty partnership between Paul Collingwood and Scott Borthwick, fell well short on a good day for Northamptonshire.

Ravi Rampaul Surrey – West Indian Rampaul took three wickets in Surrey's defeat of Middlesex, conceding only 21 runs in the process. Rampaul was greeted in his first over with a huge six off the bat of Brendon McCullum but soon exacted his revenge on the Kiwi, deceiving and bowling him with a slower ball to have the dangerman gone for 16. Rampaul returned later on in the piece to take two more in an over. He had all-rounder Ollie Rayner caught by Jason Roy, then took the big wicket of James Franklin who was looking threatening to really put pay to Middlesex's hopes of victory. The West Indian quick doubled his wicket tally for the season and what a match to do it in, he will now be looking to improve on this performance and help push Surrey toward the quarter finals.

Team as always picked by resident coach Charlie Jennings (@AVCJX) - Who would you have included? Tweet Charlie or #VFTO @ViewFromTheOut with your #T20BlastTotw!

Jason Roy Surrey: – England's T20 opener showed just why he is one of the highest rated short format batsmen in the country, if not the world. He struck 109 from 67 balls, guiding his Surrey team to a mammoth total of 205-4, which Sussex could not overhaul. Roy's innings contained 16 fours and only one maximum – but set the tone perfectly for the innings in a 107 run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara for the second wicket. Roy took a particular liking to the bowling of South African David Wiese, smashing two fours and that singular six in successive balls in an over that went for 17. The Englishman brought up his century from 61 balls, and this innings, in particular, was the one that took this match away from Sussex. 

Chris Nash Sussex (C): – The Sussex opener fired a magnificent century on Wednesday in his side's comprehensive victory over Somerset. His 112 came from 64 balls and contained 3 maximums to go alongside his 13 boundaries. In particular, the Englishman took a liking to the short leg-side boundary at Hove, assisted by the breeze – and brought up his maiden T20 hundred by depositing Jamie Overton over long-on for one of those maximums. It was all the more impressive that the 33-year old's innings upstaged West Indian Chris Gayle's arrival for Somerset, making his first appearance in this edition of the NatWest T20 Blast. Nash outshone his Jamaican counterpart, and alongside Luke Wright (83 off 39, 8 fours and 5 sixes) led the Sharks into posting a huge score of 223 for Gayle and his teammates to chase down, which they failed to do by quite a margin.

Varun Chopra Birmingham Bears: – Chopra's first innings in this year's blast could not have gone any better, making an unbeaten 97 to guide his side to a comfortable nine-wicket win over the Durham Jets. Chopra began with good intentions, striking a glorious six over extra cover in the first over of the innings, and followed that up with two more lusty blows for six during the powerplay. His 97 came from just 58 balls, the former Bears captain totalling up 8 fours along with 5 sixes and it was left, fittingly so, to Chopra to hit the winning runs with a gentle two. This innings impressed as it involved clever manipulation of the strike along with tactically timed boundary hitting, which always had the Bears on top of their run chase. He struck 94 in ten overs with skipper Ian Bell (35 off 27) before Bell departed, but safely saw the Bears home in partnership with Will Porterfield (18 off 29). Chopra will now be looking to seal a place in the starting XI for the Bears, having only featured due to Sam Hain being struck down with food poisoning shortly before the match – it would be a shock should he not retain that place in the squad now. 

Joe Root Yorkshire Vikings: – The ever-impressive Yorkshireman Root struck a blindingly good 92 not out in a losing effort in the Roses match. Root lacked support throughout the innings from any of his teammates, and in the end was stranded 8 runs short of a deserved century as well as 26 runs of the Vikings' victory target of 205. It was, however, a typical Root innings - the like that we saw countless times during England's run to the World T20 final, it included a glorious array of strokes that brought Root 8 fours and 3 sixes. Root grew ever more frustrated throughout the innings, it would only have taken one batsman to stick with him and make a half decent contribution to take the Vikings close – and to such a proud Yorkshireman, a Roses defeat is as bitter as it comes. 

Liam Livingstone Lancashire Lightning (w/k): – What a player Lancashire have on their hands. Livingstone took to the Yorkshire attack with a brutal display of some monstrous hitting that left the crowd taking cover. The youngster showed just what potential the Red Rose can look forward to seeing on display over the coming years as he hit a 23-ball 55, including four huge sixes. Livingstone paved the way for Lancashire to set a highly demanding target for Yorkshire to chase. Livingstone and Karl Brown were the main foils to the Yorkshire bowling attack as they put together a speedy 98 together in just 8.2 overs – Livingstone eventually falling to the experienced Liam Plunkett. It was an incredible feat from such a young man, and in front of the Sky cameras, we must just have seen one of the future England stars be born. 

Aneurin Donald Glamorgan: – Young Welshman Aneurin Donald is touted as one the future stars of English cricket, and showed just why his reputation has grown to such heights against Hampshire. He blitzed the Hampshire attack with a series of blows to make a fast-paced and crucial 55 from 32 balls. Astonishingly, Donald's first 18 runs off the bat all came from boundaries and included hitting experienced all-rounder Darren Sammy for a six and a four off the first two balls of the 5th over, and followed that up with consecutive fours off the last two of that over to hit Sammy for 18 in his only over. For Donald this was his second t20 fifty of his career, having hit his first on Wednesday night versus Essex. The England Under 19 batsman's innings eventually curtailed when he was bowled by Liam Dawson, but by that time had hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in compiling a score which had taken Glamorgan from a precariously positioned 9/2 to a healthy 103/3 alongside Ingram. 

Rikki Clarke Birmingham Bears: – The veteran Clarke showed just what a key player he is in the Birmingham lineup as he played his first match of this campaign, and took outstanding figures of 2-25 from his four overs opening the bowling. Clarke began well, beating the bat of the dangerous Phil Mustard a couple of times before being planted over the square leg boundary and being driven for four – it was his second over that set the tone. The former Surrey man had Graham Clark held outstandingly at mid-on by Josh Poysden and no runs were scored from the over as Clarke really began to dig the Durham batsman a hole. It was no surprise – Clarke bowled more dot balls than anyone else in last year's competition. He then had another in his third, Michael Richardson being a bit too adventurous and scooping him right into the hands of fine leg. The all-rounder had really set Durham's innings back and at the end of his spell, the Jets were reeling at 49/3. Durham struggled to an eventual total of 154/9, which the Bears chased down emphatically, and Clarke's powerplay bowling is so often the reason the Bears restricts the opposition to manageable totals.

Jimmy Neesham Derbyshire Falcons: – T20 specialist Neesham provided the type of performance Derbyshire will have been looking for when they signed the New Zealand international – Neesham was a class above on the day and in what was a low-scoring match against the Leicestershire Foxes his international experience told. Neesham's important performance began with the ball; he took 3 for 26 from his four overs – taking the key early wickets of Aussie Mark Cosgrove and Irishman Kevin O'Brien cheaply, for 1 and 9 respectively. Later in the innings, Neesham had Neil Dexter caught to prevent any score of real danger being posted by the Foxes. It was then left to Neesham to see home the innings with a short cameo of 29 from 22 balls with one six. Just when the Falcons may have been getting nervous, with the wickets falling at regular intervals, the Kiwi's calm head proved pivotal in a short partnership with the also impressive Shiv Thakor, who scored the winning runs.

Chris Woakes Birmingham Bears: - Local lad Woakes continued his early season hot streak in taking outstanding figures of 3 for 25 from his four overs. Woakes showed just what he has added to his game to make him a real contender for an England spot – real pace alongside great variation to underpin the batsmen trying to attack him. Woakes roughed up danger man Phil Mustard with a couple of fiery bouncers, one striking Mustard on the head before another short one was top-edged into the hands Josh Poysden. Paul Coughlin was Woakes' next victim, a mistimed slog caught by Rikki Clarke and two balls later Scott Borthwick was sent back for a golden duck, dollying a catch to silly mid off. Woakes was crucial, along with Rikki Clarke in restricting the Jets batsman to a manageable total.

Andrew Tye Gloucestershire: - The Australian paceman showed just why he has been capped at international level in the shortest format, taking an impressive 3-18 from his four overs to restrict Kent to a below-par total of 144 for 7. Tye's first over was perhaps the most crucial, getting rid of the in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond for an underwhelming 25 in the sixth over, which went for just 1 run. The man from Perth then came back in the 10th over to prevent the threatening Darren Stevens from making an impact on Kent's total – bowling him for 11. He then struck with the first ball of his penultimate over, having Fabian Cowdrey caught and his impressive spell ensured that the Spitfires had created no real momentum. And the visitors knocked off the 145 required easily, sealing victory in the last over.

Michael Hogan Glamorgan: - Four wickets for Hogan helped bowl out Hampshire for a paltry total of 141. Hogan ripped into the Hampshire batting line-up before Dale Steyn returned late in the innings to finish off the tail; he began by removing both openers in consecutive overs. Michael Carberry was his first victim, mistiming a pull and being caught at backward point, he was soon followed by James Vince who was bowled for 27. Hogan returned later in the innings to remove Liam Dawson and the big-hitting Shahid Afridi – who threatened to blow away the Glamorgan bowlers late on in the innings in making a quick fire 32. Hogan and Steyn polished off Hampshire with relative ease, and a total of 141 was always too little. Some big hitting from Aneurin Donald and Colin Ingram ensured Hogan's efforts were in a winning cause.

Written by Charlie Jennings (@AVCJX - resident T20 VFTO Coach)