Arabic version: سومرست تبلغ ربع النهائي؛ يوركشاير وهامبشاير تتقدمان
Somerset kept their T20 Blast title defence alive with a dominant 78-run victory over Worcestershire Rapids in a winner-takes-all shootout to reach the quarter-finals. Will Smeed’s half-century laid the foundations as Somerset set Worcestershire a target of 195, before Jack Leach (3-20) and Riley Meredith (3-17) each took three wickets to skittle the Rapids for just 116.
According to BBC News, Essex brushed aside Surrey by eight wickets at The Kia Oval to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, denying Lancashire a spot despite Lancashire’s earlier win over Durham. Michael Pepper’s unbeaten 71 and Matt Critchley’s 3-16 helped seal the success as Essex completed the run chase inside 17 overs.
Yorkshire continued their bid for a first T20 Blast title with an 18-run victory over Nottinghamshire at Headingley. Adam Lyth’s 52 and Will Luxton’s 38 shared an early 89-run opening stand to help the home side pile up 193, and Joe Root then took two wickets as Notts fell short. Hampshire guaranteed themselves a home quarter-final by beating Sussex in the South Group, with Hilton Cartwright’s 70 and Ben Mayes’ unbeaten 55 rescuing the Hawks from 61-5 and securing victory off the penultimate ball.
The results finalised the last-eight draw and home-tie allocations. Somerset’s run of five wins from their final six group matches moved them into second in the Central & West Group above Gloucestershire on net run rate. Essex and Gloucestershire qualified as the two best third-placed teams on 28 points; Lancashire finished on 26 points and missed out. Hampshire’s victory ensured they would host a quarter-final.
What happens next: the T20 Blast quarter-finals are scheduled to be played at 16:30 BST on Wednesday, 15 July unless stated. The draw lists Utilita Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Essex; Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire Outlaws v Surrey; Headingley: Yorkshire v Somerset; and cinch County Ground: Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Gloucestershire (17:00).
Related sections: General | Sports/الرياضة | World/العالم
