With the showpiece Lord's final fast approaching, we count down the 10 standout moments so far
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Royal London One-Day Cup
Gary Ballance hits out during the One-Day Cup match against Essex
The Royal London One-Day Cup has thrown up some truly memorable moments over the last month or so. We're counting down the 10 best between now and June 30, when Kent and Hampshire do battle for the domestic 50-over title at Lord's...
1. Ballance no-look scoop
Forever innovating. In the pantheon of new-fangled, short-form shots, this Gary Ballance effort might well be unique. Yorkshire had been 45/4 at one stage but largely thanks to the skipper's steadying 91, they crawled up to 259/7 - enough to beat Essex.
During that vital knock Ballance unfurled what we think is a world exclusive - the no-look scoop over the wrong shoulder, FOR SIX. One of those shots he probably couldn't recreate if he had 100 goes. Just when you think you've seen it all...
Imperious. James Vince drove his side to the final at Lord's - quite literally. And what better way is there to spend an afternoon than watching Hampshire's captain unfurling drive after drive? Unless, of course, you are a Yorkshire fan.
Vince pulverised the Tykes bowling attack on a delightful deck for batting, racking up a glorious 171 runs, second only to Callum Ferguson's 192 in size this RLODC season. Vince started on the front foot and barely relented, putting on 142 with Sam Northeast, who will face his former county in the final. Oooh, tasty.
Watch James Vince score fantastic century
3. Callum Ferguson 192 v Leics
Parachuted in as a replacement for fellow countryman Travis Head, Aussie Callum Ferguson had quite the debut for semi-finalists Worcestershire as they took on Leicestershire. The Foxes hammered an extremely healthy 376 (or is it these days?!) but the Rapids were undaunted.
That undauntedness was led by 33-year-old Ferguson, who chose quite the time to rack up the highest List A score of his career. He blitzed a remarkable 192 off 143 balls - the highest score in this season's competition so far - that included five sixes and 21 fours as the Rapids won with 15 balls to spare! He'll be doing bits in the Vitality Blast too.
Ferguson smashes 192 for Worcs
The Australian cuts loose as Worcestershire chase down 376 to beat Leicestershire
4. Kuhn you believe it?
Where to start with the wonder that is Heino Kuhn? The stats speak for themselves - 664 runs in 10 innings and four hundreds with an average of 94.85. I repeat, four hundreds. All that and he's got one game left! The small matter of a final at Lord's against Hampshire.
We've plumped for his pressure knock in the semi-final against Worcestershire with Kent chasing 307 after Ben Cox's wonderful ton. Kuhn responded with (another) one of his own, 127 off 188 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Given the other three in Kent's top four contributed nine between them, the South African's innings was vital to set up a nail-biting win.
Kuhn 100 compilation
5. Kohld as ice
More debut heroics came in the form of Tom Kohler-Cadmore - who had to wait a fair while for his Yorkshire bow in the RLODC after joining his boyhood county from Worcestershire last June. Making up for lost time he smashed a superb 164 off 151 balls against Durham.
In a perfectly paced innings, the 23-year-old cut loose from the 30-over point onwards, and eventually finished with 15 fours and seven sixes, just one behind James Hildreth's 2018 record of eight maximums in a match. It was a display of power-hitting that Durham simply couldn't recover from.
Kohler-Cadmore hits huge One-Day Cup century
Tom Kohler-Cadmore made his List A debut for Yorkshire in style hitting a sensational 164 runs
6. Middlesex meltdown averted
The award for most heart-stopping moment in the 2018 tournament surely goes to Middlesex's Hilton Cartwright. With Glamorgan 222/3 chasing Middlesex's total of 303 at Sophia Gardens, the Australian may have been forgiven for contemplating that defeat was on the cards.
But a magnificent bowling effort from the likes of Helm, Finn and Patel chiselled away at the Glammy middle order and meant the Welsh side needed six from the last ball to tie. Timm van der Gugten whacked it and Cartwright, stationed on the mid-wicket boundary, completely lost the flight. Luckily for him, the ball bounced a yard inside the rope, securing Middlesex a two-run win and sparing him a lifetime of hurt.
Middlesex thriller goes to last ball
Watch highlights of a dramatic end to a thrilling contest in Cardiff as Glamorgan chased down 303 for victory
7. Mo throws the bat
Magic Mo was in full effect as Worcestershire travelled to Edgbaston to face his old county Warwickshire. After missing the Test series with Pakistan the all-rounder had a point to prove ahead of the ODI series with Australia, and it's safe to say he did that.
After collecting 3/40 off his 10 overs, including the scalps of Pollock, Hain and Sibley, he then crunched 114 off 75 balls to delight the travelling Pears fans. His knock was the significant factor in Worcestershire's nerve-shredding one-wicket win.
Moeen Ali smashes century for Worcestershire Rapids
England's Moeen Ali was sensational with the bat as he hurried his Worcestershire side as they chased Warwickshire's One Day total
8. Notts smash 400-barrier - again
England's exploits obviously knocked this Nottinghamshire effort into a cocked hat, but the Outlaws were still the only side to break the 400-run barrier in the Royal London One-Day Cup this season. A full 407 to be precise, with a variety of contributions.
Samit Patel racked up a 63-ball century, Riki Wessels and Tom Moores both contributed 76, Chris Nash hit 59 and Steve Mullaney and Billy Root added the finishing touches in a big victory over rivals Leicestershire. This is the third consecutive year they've hit the highest RLODC total after their 429 v Somerset last year and 445 v Northants in 2016. Pedigree.
The England ODI captain eased himself into fine form during the group stages of the Royal London One-Day Cup - a run that no doubt helped the national team hit those dizzy heights at Trent Bridge. He scored 300 runs in his seven innings, at an average of 42.85.
The best of them came at Bristol against Gloucestershire as he whacked his way to a round century, hitting the ropes seven times and clearing it five. It was an exhibition of Morgan's ability to nudge, nurdle and slap the ball 360 degrees. An absolute pleasure.
Eoin Morgan hits quick-fire 100 in the Royal London One-Day Cup
England captain Eoin Morgan smashed 100 off just 72 balls including five sixes
10. Gregory's heat-seeker to the pegs
Somerset's skipper has some seriously bendy limbs on him if this superb run out is anything to go by. Fielding at a fairly deep mid off at the Ageas Bowl as his side took on Hampshire, Lewis Gregory perfected an extremely difficult art - picking the ball up and lashing a throw at the stumps from an almost horizontal position.
Though he did himself a slight disservice the discomfort was worth it, as he ran out Brad Taylor by a few inches and helped halt Hampshire's momentum ever so slightly. That would prove invaluable as Somerset went on to complete a magnificent win in what was their highest ever successful List A run chase.
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