Mahela Jayawardene rolled back time by scoring a majestic century and carving out a 9-wicket victory for Somerset in the first quarter-final of the Royal London One-Day Cup on Wednesday against Worcestershire.
The Sri Lankan legend’s unbeaten 113 ensured that his side will be traveling to Edgbaston for a semi-final clash against Warwickshire, who crushed Essex by 70 runs in the second quarterfinal, thanks to yet another ton from the red-hot Jonathan Trott.
After yesterday’s one-sided games, the focus now shifts to today’s quarterfinals, which promise to be two cracking affairs. Northamptonshire are gearing up to face last year’s runner’s up Surrey, while a star-studded Yorkshire head to Canterbury for a duel with Kent. A victory will put these sides one step closer to a Lord’s final on September 17.
Northamptonshire vs Surrey
Having secured a finals day spot in the Natwest T20 Blast with a convincing 7-wicket victory against Middlesex, Northamptonshire now aim for more white-ball success. The Steelbacks come into the quarterfinals with back-to-back wins that helped them finish atop the North Group. Playing an aggressive brand of cricket with a never-say-die attitude, Northamptonshire have put on some massive totals this season.
Their campaign kicked off with a run-fest at Trent Bridge, as an aggregate of 870 runs were scored on a record-breaking night. Aided by a 342-run opening stand between Michael Lumb (184) and Rikki Wessels (146), Nottinghamshire had set Northants a near-impossible target of 446. But a belligerent 128 off 63 from Rory Kleinveldt and a dynamic 97 from Adam Rossington gave the Notts a real scare as the visitors came within 20 runs of their total before being bowled out with 10 balls to spare.
Northamptonshire’s gallant display in the opener was a sign of things to come as they posted scores of 355 against Durham, 319 against Worcestershire, 287 against Lancashire and 310 in a losing cause against Yorkshire.
Ben Duckett’s impressive run has been one of the talking points of the season, and he would yet again be the danger man as he comes into the game with 436 runs at an average of 72.66, which includes a century and 3 fifties. Rob Keogh with 307 runs, Josh Cobb with 271 and Rossington with 262 have all had a few good hits in the middle.
As far as the bowling goes, left-arm spinner Graeme White leads the charge with 16 wickets at an economy of 4.8. His best of 6 for 37 came against Lancashire. Medium pacers Richard Gleeson and Mohammad Azhar Ullah have 12 and 11 wickets respectively.
Their opponents, who lost a nail-biting final to Gloucestershire last year, would be hoping to finish one better this season. Beginning the campaign with two close losses against Kent and Somerset, Surrey clinched the fourth spot in the South Group after edging out Middlesex in a thriller on the last day of the group phase. It was keeper Ben Foakes and all-rounder Zafar Ansari’s heroic partnership that took Surrey home in a rain-reduced encounter.
Boosted by the return of Kumara Sangakkara, who comes into the squad after a victorious season with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, and Ravi Rampaul, Surrey look like a side to beat. Jason Roy’s ability to take the game to the opposition has seen him aggregate 321 runs this season, while Simon Davis, Rory Burns (who has hit four fifties) and Foakes have all been in good touch with the bat.
Captain Gareth Batty’s 13 scalps make him the team’s top wicket-taker, and he, along with Jade Dernbach (who has 9 wickets in 3 innings this season) and brothers Tom Curran and Sam Curran will try to restrict the aggressive Steelbacks’ batting line-up from getting away.
With Jayawardene already making an impact yesterday, it won’t be a surprise if Sangakkara is inspired to leave his mark in the quarterfinals.
Kent vs Yorkshire
With Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Gary Balance back in the side, Yorkshire will start favorites against Kent, no matter what the recent records or past history may suggest.
The three returning England players will join the likes of Adam Lyth, who scored explosive back-to-back centuries against Northamptonshire and Lancashire; Adil Rashid, who has picked 8 wickets in 5 matches; Tim Bresnan, who has scored 283 runs at an average of 70 and picked up 8 wickets from 7 games; Liam Plunkett, who has 8 wickets to his credit; and David Willy, who has picked 8 wickets and scored 123 runs this season.
With captain Alex Lees and Jack Leaning also among the runs, Yorkshire will be in with a great chance of progressing.
After a poor start against Worcestershire and a washout against Derbyshire, Yorkshire got momentum with back-to-back successes over Northants, when they chased a target of 311, and Lancashire, when they posted a total of 325 and then dismissed the opponents for 84.
The winning streak continued when they handed Leicestershire a 191-run hammering. Travis Head, who has now left the squad to join the Australian team in Sri Lanka, scored a brilliant 175, while Leaning struck 131 as the Vikings scored 376 for 3 in 50 overs.
They made it four wins in a row after beating Nottinghamshire in a tense finish in the next game. But, defeats to Durham and Warwickshire in the last two games meant they finished third in the North Group.
Kent, on the other hand, finished second in the South Group with 5 wins and 3 losses. Kent’s top order, comprising captain Sam Northeast (251 runs), Daniel Bell-Drummond (330 runs), Joe Denly (397 runs including 2 centuries and a fifty) and wicketkeeper Sam Billings (217 runs, including a 100 and a 50), has scored heaps of runs in the tournament and will look to keep the good form going in the quarterfinals.
Kent will also be backing their ever-reliable 40-year-old all-rounder Darren Stevens to succeed in what is said to be his 500th appearance for the county in all formats.
With 21 wickets, Matt Coles is the overall leading wicket-taker in the season and Kent will be hoping for another good showing from the 26-year-old medium pacer, who will be supported by James Tredwell (8 wickets) and Mitchell Claydon (7 wickets).
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