Updated standings after Hampshire vs Surrey, Match 5

Thursday (May 30) saw a flurry of action in the Vitality T20 Blast, where all five matches ended in victories for the visiting teams.

In the North Group, Lancashire defeated Durham by nine wickets in the first game to secure the top spot. They have a positive net run rate (NRR) of +5.75.

Following closely, with an NRR of +3.864, Yorkshire are placed second in the points table. They defeated Worcestershire in the opening game by eight wickets.

Northamptonshire had beaten Derbyshire in their first fixture by five wickets. They are currently holding the third position with a positive NRR of +0.05.

Derbyshire, Worcestershire, and Durham occupy the seventh, eighth, and ninth spots in the North Group, respectively.

In the South Group, Gloucestershire occupied the first position after a five-wicket win over Essex in their first game. Surrey defeated Hampshire by five wickets to secure the second position in the points table with an NRR of +0.331.

Meanwhile, Hampshire and Essex are sitting at the eighth and ninth spots, respectively.

Lancashire, Yorkshire, Northampton Lead North Group; Gloucestershire, Surrey Top South in Vitality T20 Blast 2024

Gloucestershire won the toss and opted to bowl against Essex in the first game. They bowled excellently and restricted Essex to a mere 141/9 with Jordan Cox and Paul Walter scoring 48 and 43, respectively. David Payne and MD Taylor took four wickets each for Gloucestershire.

In reply, Gloucestershire chased the target in 17 overs for the loss of five wickets. James Bracey top-scored 49 off 30, followed by Cameron Bancroft (32) and Ben Charlesworth (22*).

Worcestershire opted to bat first against Yorkshire in the second game and were bowled out for 101. Ethan Brookes (42) and Gareth Roderick (25) were the top scorers while the rest of the team was dismissed in the single digits. Daniel Moriarty led the bowling unit of Yorkshire, picking up a four-fer while Dom Bess and Dominic Leech took two wickets each.

In response, Adam Lyth’s unbeaten 55-run knock, backed by decent contributions from Dawid Malan (25), and Joe Root (13*), helped them achieve the target in 11.4 overs for the loss of two wickets.

In the third game, Derbyshire batted first vs Northamptonshire and set a sub-par target of 162 with David Lloyd (41) and Wayne Madsen (37) leading the batting department. George Scrimshaw and David Wiley took two wickets each for the Northamptonshire.

Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten half-century, backed by Ricardo Vasconcelos’s 42 off 31 and Sikandar Raza’s 38 off 27, aided Northamptonshire in winning the game by five wickets.

Similarly, Hampshire defeated Surrey in their first game at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. Toby Albert’s 46, Joe Weatherley’s 33, and Liam Dawson’s quick-fire 12-ball 30-run knock helped them set a 163-run target. Tom Curran bagged three wickets for Surrey while Spencer Johnson and Gus Atkinson picked up two each.

Surrey, in response, reached the target with four balls remaining, showcasing strong batting performances from their top and middle order, despite losing five wickets along the way.

Lancashire registered a dominating nine-wicket victory over Durham at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. Bowling first, they bundled out Durham at 79 with Thomas Aspinwall and Jack Blatherwick, taking four and three wickets for Lancashire, respectively. Luke Wells and George Bell achieved the total inside eight overs.