Ramprakash blasts Surrey to victory
A round-up of the opening evening of the Twenty20 Cup
Cricinfo staff
22-Jun-2007
South
![]() |
![]()
|
Some consolation news for Middlesex, though: Chad Keegan limped off the pitch after damaging his ankle, but told Cricinfo after the match that he expected to be fit for their next game this Sunday.
A surprising evening at Chelmsford, where Murray Goodwin's century wasn't enough for Sussex; so, Essex won comfortably, but their victory wasn't much to do with their new recruit Adam Hollioake. Sussex made 165, with Goodwin blasting 102 not out from 65 balls, but Essex knocked them off with 19 balls to spare. Hollioake bowled two overs, none for 21, and didn't bat, while Grant Flower's topscore of 37 was enough to help them to the win.
The dramatic finish of the night came at Southampton where Hampshire's Greg Lamb was dismissed off the final ball with one run needed to beat Kent leaving the match tied. Robert Key led the way for Kent with 59 off 53 balls.
North
![]() |
![]()
|
Spin proved king for Lancashire at Old Trafford, as Gary Keedy and Sanath Jayasuriya restricted Durham to 149, which was duly overcome. Their target could have been lower - Durham were 73 for 5 - but Gordon Muchall and Gary Park at least gave Durham's bowlers something to work with. Liam Plunkett did his best, with two wickets, but it was not enough. Mal Loye and Steven Croft were Lancashire's saviours, with an unbeaten stand of 113 after they had been in early trouble at 35 for 3.
Mark Ealham and Gareth Clough bowled out Derbyshire to set up a straightforward victory for Nottinghamshire at Derby . Ealham took 3 for 37, Clough 4 for 24 to dismiss Derbyshire for 148. Samit Patel's unbeaten 55 did the rest.
Midlands/West/Wales
Warwickshire were able to steal a march on the rest of the group with a close win against Somerset at Edgbaston. They deserved their early lead, too - Tim Ambrose's 47 lifted them to 166, while Jonathan Trott celebrated his England call-up with 44, but that had looked inadequate as Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer climbed into the attack. But when their opening stand of 47 was broken, they lost wickets steadily and Warwickshire held their nerve, to win by 7 runs.
Northamptonshire's match with Worcestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled, as was Glamorgan's game against Gloucestershire.
For photos of Friday evening's action, click here