Royal London One Day Cup 2022: Friday 26th August - Latest News, Scores, Match Reports and Reactions

Here is all the latest news, scores, match reports and reactions for the Royal London One Day Cup 2022: Friday 26th August.

Royal London One Day Cup 2022 - Top Tournament Stats

Top Tournament Stats

Top Batter (Runs Scored) 

Top Bowler (Wickets taken) 

Most Sixes 

Points Table

Leicestershire vs Kent, Quarter-Final

TIGHT bowling after an impressively solid batting display saw Kent beat Leicestershire by 81 runs and qualify for a Royal London One Day Cup semi-final against Hampshire next week.

Half centuries from Joey Evison, Ben Compton and captain Joe Denly, along with a typically boisterous cameo from Darren Stevens, saw Kent to a score that looked around par on a good wicket at the UptonSteel County Ground. In reply Scott Steel made a solid half-century at the top of the Leicestershire order, but though Wiaan Mulder made a superb 81 off just 71 balls, once the South African was dismissed the pressure was too much for the Foxes' tail.

Once regular opponents, it had been 12 years since these counties met in List A cricket. Denly made 39 in Kent's victory that day, and the Kent captain found himself shaking hands witt Mulder at the toss, Leicestershire's South Africa international  - and himself a former Kent player, albeit briefly - taking over leadership duties from Lewis Hill, ruled out after being struck on the hand while batting in the nets the previous day. Sam Evans came in for Hill, otherwise both sides were unchanged from their final group games.

Mulder's decision to bowl was based on the hope the pitch might still have a little moisture in it, but although Chris Wright and Beuran Hendricks bowled accurately, neither found much movement, either through the air or off the pitch. Evison and Compton started steadily, before Evison, who came close to signing for Leicestershire before signing for Kent, showed what the Foxes have lost, hitting Wright for three boundaries in an over, and then, when Louis Kimber was introduced into the attack at the end of the first powerplay, clubbing the occasional off-spinner for three straight sixes. Leicestershire had taken the gamble of not playing a fifth bowler, and it looked as though it was going to backfire, but Mulder turned to another part-time off-spinner in Steel, and the former Durham man obliged when Evison, having gone to his 50 off 50 deliveries, went down on one knee to sweep, missed, and was given out leg before.

Ollie Robinson, dropped by Arron Lilley at slip off Steel on 4, looked set to make Leicestershire pay, racing to 27 only to sky an attempt to hit Wright through the off-side, Kimber taking the catch at extra cover. Compton, however, continued to accumulate, and with Denly hitting the ball cleanly from the off, Kent reached 172-2 in the 31st over before Compton was bowled by Mulder, his bails trimmed by a fine delivery.

Denly became the third Kent batter to reach 50, in his case off 41 deliveries, but he lost Alex Blake, who missed a slog at Ed Barnes, and Denly himself went soon afterwards for 65, clothing a drive at Barnes into the hands of Steel at extra cover.

The arrival of Darren Stevens was greeted with warm applause from both sets of supporters, and though he quickly lost Grant Stwart, hooking Wright to Hendricks at long leg, the Leicester-born Kent stalwart gave yet another demonstration of his remarkable hitting ability, clubbing Barnes over The Meet as he raced to 41 off just 24 balls. The return of Hendricks and Wright slowed the scoring rate however, and once Stevens had been caught at deep midwicket off Hendricks, it took a useful cameo from Harry Finch, who hit 18 off the final over, bowled by Mulder, to take the Kent score up to 325-8.

Leicestershire's reply began solidly enough, Nick Welch looking in good touch in hitting four boundaries, and it may have been over-confidence on the part of the Zimbabwe-born batter which saw him crack Podmore's short wide first delivery straight into the hands of Finch at backward point. Rishi Patel followed in the same over, Podmore nipping a delivery back through his defences and on to the top of middle stump, to leave Leicestershire on 48-2 at the end of the first powerplay.

Kimber, who has batted destructively for Leicestershire in this competition, duly drove his first delivery over mid-off to the boundary, but he too was bowled by a Podmore delivery which came back between bat and pads. Steel dug in, but Stevens bowled cannily and overs 18 to 25 yielded only 17 runs to the home team's cause. TRying to accelerate, Steel ramped a six and a four off consecutive deliveries from Nathan Gilchrist, but than tried to loft the next delivery over cover and holed out to mid-off.

Lilley came and went quickly, but while Mulder was there Leicestershire had a chance. The all-rounder passed 50 for the fourth time in the competition, along with a century, but Evison came back and produced a delivery which stayed low and bowled the South African off the inside edge. From 214-5 Leicestershire subsided, Stewart picking up four wickets to complete a comfortable victory.

Reactions

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens: "We thought the pitch would get a bit lower and slower and we were a bit fortunate to get Mulder, the ball that got him hit the base of the stumps when he was playing as well as anybody had, but that's the way it goes.

"It's been all about finding a bit of momentum in this competition, and in the last three games that's what we've done - everybody chipping in, making a contribution, and we're on the up, which is what you want going in to a semi-final.

"Hampshire got the wool on us earlier this season at Beckenham, but there were one or two moments in that game when it might have gone our way. The pressure is different in a semi-final compared to the group stages, and we'll see what happens when we go down there."

Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon:

"It was a closer game than the result suggests, but the fact is we weren't at our best. We didn't field well, which we have in this competition, but Wright and Hendricks bowled outstandingly and have had a great competition with 17 wickets each.

"Kent learned from the way they bowled, but we were always behind where we wanted to be because there were too many dot balls, too many overs which yielded 5 runs or less, and they built pressure in the middle overs.

"Wiaan batted beautifully, 530 runs to go with 14 wickets, he's been amazing, everything you could ask for in your overseas, but we put him under too much pressure. Scott Steel had a nice knock but there were too many dots. We've made progress, and scrapped our way to a lot of wins in this comp, but never really played our 'A' game."

Lancashire vs Nottinghamshire, Quarter-Final

Blackpool native Steven Croft’s breathtaking century on his 600th all format career appearance led Lancashire to a thrilling Royal London Cup Eliminator win over Nottinghamshire as they chased down 339 at Stanley Park.

Croft’s unbeaten 115 off 105 balls was the key contribution in setting up a semi-final tie with Sussex at Hove on Tuesday, the 37-year-old steering his side to a three-wicket win with nine balls remaining to delight a 1,000 strong crowd. 

Lancashire were in a spot of bother at 237 for six in the 38th over and needed 85 off the last 10. But Croft shared 94 with seventh-wicket partner Danny Lamb, who contributed a crucial 43 before falling with only eight runs needed.

Nottinghamshire’s 338 for eight was underpinned by an excellent 104 off 122 balls from opener Ben Slater, while Matthew Montgomery contributed 78 to start an impressive all-round day which included two wickets with his part-time off-spinners. 

Slater, 31 today, drove and cut well in excellent batting conditions en-route to his sixth List A century after the visitors had been inserted.

Fellow opener Sol Budinger (56) and fourth-wicket partner Montgomery added more aggressive half-centuries. 

Having taken three boundaries off former Outlaw Jack Blatherwick in the first over, Slater elevated his List A career average to 56.69, the fifth highest in the world at present. 

He moved above Virat Kohli and Babar Azam on a list headed by Warwickshire’s Sam Hain (58.54). 

After conceding 79 without success in 10 overs, Lancashire could have been chasing a target similar to the 371 they overhauled against Northamptonshire here last week.

George Balderson, Lamb and Luke Wells dragged things back for a side who lost in-form batter Rob Jones to an ankle injury minutes before the toss.

Budinger hit two of three sixes down the ground, leading a 98-run opening stand inside 15 overs with Slater before pulling Balderson to deep midwicket. 

Lyndon James and Haseeb Hameed were caught and bowled by Steven Croft and Lamb - 167 for three after 31 - before Slater and Montgomery shared 72.

Slater reached his century off 117 balls. And just before he drilled Liam Hurt to mid-off, leaving Notts at 239 for four in the 42nd, he was within a whisker of overtaking Hain’s world leading List A average.

Montgomery hit well ’in the v’, including two sixes, before holing out as the second of three wickets for Lamb, who was hoisted for two straight sixes by Dane Paterson in a last over costing 19. 

Notts hung tough impressively in the early stages of Lancashire’s chase, as the hosts slipped to 119 for three in the 18th over, including two wickets for Paterson. 

While the hosts rattled along at a rate good enough to win this fixture, they lost important wickets. 

In-form opener Wells for 47 was chief among them having pulled a couple of sixes into the adjoining Stanley Park off Toby Pettman in the eighth. 

But Wells’ strength proved his undoing when he top-edged a pull at South African seamer Paterson as the score fell to 85 for two after 12. 

Either side of that wicket, Red Rose captain Keaton Jennings feathered Brett Hutton behind before Josh Bohannon was caught at cover off Paterson for 37.

Lancashire reached halfway at 162 for three, with Croft and Dane Vilas nearing their half-century partnership.

But just when you were thinking, ‘The approach of these two has been no risk, picking up the ones and twos and the bulk of the hard work has been done’, Vilas took two risks against Montgomery’s spin on 29 and paid for the latter.

Dropped by Hameed at midwicket, he pulled the next ball to the same man, who brilliantly held on.

At 180 for four in the 29th, the game looked different.

That theory was strengthened when a Hutton full toss accounted for Balderson shortly afterwards before George Lavelle found long-on off Montgomery, leaving the score at 237 for six in the 38th. 

But then came the intervention between Croft and Lamb, a crucial juncture coming when the former slog-swept his only two sixes over midwicket as 20 came off Fateh Singh’s left-arm spin in the 45th over to leave 41 needed.

Croft was particularly strong to leg, and his century followed almost immediately afterwards off 95 balls.

But his celebration was reserved compared to that when he hit the winning runs.

Reactions

Lancashire’s Steven Croft said:

“It’s a very nice feeling to be there at the end and get the lads through to the semi-final. 

“But it was a magnificent team effort. Lamby’s knock at the end was just as equal as mine, and everyone has chipped in with bat and ball all competition.

“We’d had a great win here a week ago chasing around 50 more, so we knew it was gettable. The pitch slowed down a bit from last week, but we always knew how many you can score here in the last 10 overs with a guy set and wickets in hand.

“I’d say it was a well calculated chase, although we wouldn’t have minded losing a couple less wickets. It was a great game. 

“I think white ball wise, this is going to be up there for me. An unbeaten hundred on your home ground to get through to the semi-finals is something I won’t forget.”

 

Nottinghamshire’s Ben Slater said:  

“We felt happy enough with 338. Having seen the scores here last week (Lancs v Northants - 370 played 371), we were only 30 off that and it was a used wicket.

“Looking from the outside when I was on the boundary, they probably played it a bit better than we did in the middle - pushing it around a bit more. 

“But it was only little things. I don’t think there was anything major where we messed up. 

“I knew my List A average was alright, but I didn’t realise it was that good. I had a really good first year in List A cricket, and I took confidence from that. It’s snowballed from there for me.”

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