Counties eye Finals Day as T20 Blast reaches quarter-final stage
Dan Lawrence is expected to be released from England's Test squad to play for Essex on Thursday
Matt Roller
05-Jul-2023
Dan Lawrence is expected to play for Essex • Getty Images
After 126 group-stage games, the Vitality T20 Blast finally reaches the quarter-final stage this week, with eight counties battling it out for a place at Finals Day in Birmingham on July 15 - including three of the four counties who were there last summer. Here, ESPNcricinfo runs you through this week's fixtures.
Birmingham Bears vs Essex
Thursday, July 6 (6.35pm)
Edgbaston
Live on Sky Sports Cricket
Edgbaston
Live on Sky Sports Cricket
Moeen Ali's England call-up, Glenn Maxwell's lack of form and regular injuries to important players all threatened to derail Birmingham Bears' Blast season - yet they topped the North Group for the second season in a row, this time with 11 wins out of 14.
Dan Mousley, the offspinning allrounder who has enjoyed a breakthrough season, is a doubt after splitting the webbing in his bowling hand, while Moeen and Chris Woakes are on Test duty and Hasan Ali has departed on international duty and is replaced by left-arm seamer Dominic Drakes. But the big news is that Sam Hain - averaging 107.25 with a strike rate of 162.50 this season - is fit again after missing nearly half of the group stage through injury.
Essex qualified by the skin of their teeth thanks to Feroze Khushi, who hit the last ball of their game at The Oval for six on Sunday to clinch a quarter-final berth. In Daniel Sams, they have the Blast's 2023 MVP - according to ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats - while Dan Lawrence is due to be released from England's Test squad.
The Bears have not reached Finals Day - which is played at their home ground - since 2017 but go into this tie as favourites.
Lancashire vs Surrey
Friday, July 7 (6.30pm)
Emirates Old Trafford
Live on LancsTV
Emirates Old Trafford
Live on LancsTV
On paper, these are the best two teams in the competition, both filled with international quality. Lancashire's top six contains three of England's T20 World Cup-winning batting line-up in Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone but it is Daryl Mitchell, the perennially underrated New Zealander, who has led the way with 409 runs at a strike rate 162.30.
Luke Wells, frozen out by Sussex three years ago, has become an important cog with both bat and ball: he has reinvented himself as a modern legspinner in the Rashid Khan mould, earning a wildcard deal at Welsh Fire in the Hundred. He has kept Matt Parkinson, who leaves for Kent at the end of the season, out of the side.
Surrey lost four of their last five to let a home quarter-final slip and home advantage is a major factor for Lancashire, who have not lost at Old Trafford since 2020. But they should not be underestimated: Jason Roy is fit again and slotted in at No. 3 on Sunday to avoid breaking up the prolific opening partnership between Will Jacks and Laurie Evans.
Jacks has also chipped in with the ball and in Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Sunil Narine and Sean Abbott, Surrey have a number of bowlers who have a track record of playing - and performing - in knockout games. This should be a cracker.
Somerset vs NottinghamshireFriday, July 7 (6.35pm)
Taunton
Live on Sky Sports CricketSomerset became the first team in Blast history to win 12 group-stage games and much of their success owes to their ability to take regular wickets. They have taken 125 wickets in 14 games, 21 more than anyone else in the competition; the record for the most wickets taken by a team in a T20 season anywhere in the world is Lancashire's 130 in the 2015 Blast.The formula is simple enough: Craig Overton and Matt Henry strike early, Roelof van der Merwe and Lewis Gregory squeeze through the middle and Ben Green mops up at the death. The arrival of Ish Sodhi, replacing the injured Peter Siddle, means they have a wristspin option too - and Sodhi will be playing against one of his old counties.Nottinghamshire are not the T20 force they once were. They remain a dangerous side, with Joe Clarke and Alex Hales opening up and Tom Moores finding some form down the order, but have some availability problems: Colin Munro and Samit Patel missed the end of the group stage with injuries, Olly Stone's comeback lasted three balls and Shaheen Shah Afridi has left on international duty.With Notts' attack looking lighter than normal - and Somerset boasting a formidable batting line-up led by a rejuvenated Tom Banton - Somerset should feel confident of reaching a third successive semi-final.Hampshire vs Worcestershire
Friday, July 7 (7.00pm)
Ageas Bowl
Live on Hampshire Cricket YouTubeHampshire are defending champions and have strengthened this year: Benny Howell missed the start of the Blast through injury but adds experience, while the South African-born seamer John Turner has been the tournament's breakout bowler, taking 18 wickets in nine appearances.James Vince, the Blast's all-time leading run-scorer, has been characteristically dominant and is top of the runs charts for 2023 thanks to eight 50-plus scores in 14 innings. Like Lancashire, Hampshire are very strong at home, winning six out of seven at the Ageas Bowl this season.Worcestershire, the 2018 champions, finished rock-bottom of the North Group last summer but have recruited well, with spin-bowling allrounders Mitchell Santner and Usama Mir - originally signed as a replacement for Michael Bracewell - both thriving with bat as well as ball.Josh Tongue is not expected to be released by England - he will be rested ahead of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford - so Worcestershire's attack will rely heavily on their three main spinners: Santner, Mir and Brett D'Oliveira. Hampshire should be too strong, but if Worcestershire can get Vince early then anything is possible.
Taunton
Live on Sky Sports Cricket
Hampshire vs Worcestershire
Ageas Bowl
Live on Hampshire Cricket YouTube
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98