Surrey takes the top place thanks to all-rounder Sam Curran: Leicestershire defeated Warwickshire by 5 runs in Birmingham, thanks to all-around excellence from Ben Mike and Rehan Ahmed. Despite Jake Lintott’s four-wicket haul, Scott Steel led Leicestershire’s innings with a 51-ball 72, helping them to 152 with late cameos from Mike (34) and Ahmed (19*). The Leicestershire pair, on the other hand, was back in action in the second innings, taking three wickets each to go through the batting order.
Robert Yates (24), Alex Davies (43), and skipper Carlos Brathwaite (28*) put up a valiant fight, but they were unable to prevent Warwickshire from suffering their first loss of the competition. Warwickshire 147/9 in 20 overs (Alex Davies 43, Carlos Brathwaite 28*; Ben Mike 3-30, Rehan Ahmed 3-36) were defeated by Leicestershire 152/9 in 20 overs (Scott Steel 72, Ben Mike 34; Danny Briggs 2-25, Jake Lintott 4-27).
Surrey went to the top of the league with an easy 72-run win over Hampshire, who were dismissed for 156 in a 229-run chase. The All-rounder Sam Curran excelled with an all-around performance as Surrey climbed to the top of the standings with a comfortable 72-run win over Hampshire. Hampshire chose to bowl, but despite a strong start, they were unable to prevent Will Jacks (64), Curran (69), and Sunil Narine (52) from scoring fifties on way to match-defining partnerships that helped their side reach 228.
Hampshire got off to the worst possible start in a huge chase, losing Nick Gubbins for a two-ball duck before rallying with a 55-run partnership. Yet, due to Curran’s blows, they were reduced to 67 for 6 in the eighth over, with the game effectively gone. James Fuller, on the other hand, fought back with a 34-ball 43 to keep Hampshire in the game. They were able to stretch the game to the 19th over thanks to some appearances from the lower order.
Hampshire 156 in 18.5 overs (Ben McDermott 29, James Fuller 43; Sam Curran 5-30) were defeated by Surrey 228/4 in 20 overs (Will Jacks 64, Sam Curran 69, Sunil Narine 52; Liam Dawson 2-34) by 72 runs.
Glamorgan won by six wickets in a low-scoring match against Essex, chasing down the needed mark of 114 in just 16.5 overs. Michael Hogan and Michael Neser, both from Australia, recorded three-wicket hauls to demolish Essex’s batting order. With a 26-ball 38, Matthew Critchley kept them afloat, but no other batsman went beyond 23, and they finished with a below-par score.
In response, Glamorgan’s chase was headed by Sam Northeast, who scored a run-a-ball 44 as they cruised to victory. Essex lost by 6 wickets to Glamorgan 114/4 in 16.5 overs (Sam Northeast 44) in 20 overs (Matthew Critchley 38; Michael Hogan 3-21, Michael Neser 3-13).
Surrey takes the top place thanks to all-rounder Sam Curran
