Glamorgan defeat the Eagles in comfortable Blast win

NORTH GROUP

Birmingham Bears 147/9 lost to Leicestershire Foxes 152/9 by 5 runs

SOUTH GROUP

Surrey 228/4 beat Hampshire Hawks 156 by 72 runs
Glamorgan 114/4 beat Essex Eagles 113/9 by 6 wickets

BEARS FALL SHORT OF FOXES TOTAL

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Leicestershire Foxes lost a steady stream of wickets. Opener, Hamish Rutherford, was gone before the visitors could reach double figures. The Foxes found themselves 65/6, but a solid partnership between Scott Steel and Ben Mike was key to the first innings. Steel made 72 from 51, whilst Mike supported him with 34 from 17. A run out ended that duos time at the crease together, but the Foxes finished on 152. Jake Lintott was the pick of the bowlers with 4/27. The Bears' innings struggled to get going. Jacob Bethell was dismissed for seven, and the power hitter, Paul Stirling, fell for 14. Alex Davies made a solid 43 (from 21 balls), but after he lost his wicket, the Bears collapsed. They went from 110/6 to 117/9 within four overs. Carlos Brathwaite did come to the crease though, and made for an entertaining last over. The equation was 23 to win from six. You can see how they played out below!

CURRAN LEADS SURREY TO BIG WIN OVER HAWKS

When Jason Roy was dismissed for just one run three balls into the match, Surrey fans might have been worried for their batting effort. Sam Curran came to the crease and he and Will Jacks put on 131 together. Jacks scored 64 from 36 and Curran made 69 from 38. Sunil Narine came in later on and had some fun with the bat. He dispatched the Hawks bowlers all over The Kia Oval, scoring 52 from just 23 deliveries. That included five 4s and four 6s. A brilliant effort from the home side to reach 228. The Hawks came out to reply, and were a wicket down within the first over. Ben McDermott and Tom Prest both made it past 20, but that was where Hampshire's opening resistance was halted. James Fuller top scored with 43 from 34, but that was it for the visitors. Curran matched his batting display with an excellent 5/30. 

GLAMORGAN STROLL TO VICTORY OVER THE EAGLES

Essex Eagles batted first against Glamorgan and struggled during the Powerplay. They finished the first six overs on 17/3. Matt Critchley offered some resilience for the away side, scoring 38 from 26 balls. Paul Walter also helped with 20 from 24, but a flow of wickets prevented Essex from making a high score. They finished on 113/9. Glamorgan's captain, David Lloyd, was gone for a duck four balls into the innings, but after that, the home side's batters always seemed comfortable. Sam Northeast made 44 from the same number of deliveries, and two big Chris Cooke sixes saw Galmorgan over the line.