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...
Stop what you're doing and watch this incredible Gary Ballance six 😱👏 pic.twitter.com/mRYgchAZvj
— One-Day Cup (@OneDayCup) June 14, 2018
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CENTURY MOMENT | Watch the four that brought @Samitpatel21 his first century of the season #SensationalSamit #LeicsvNotts pic.twitter.com/4raAiCyrN2
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) May 23, 2018
9. Magnificent Morgs
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.
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.
How good is this?!
— One-Day Cup (@OneDayCup) June 6, 2018
A stunning direct hit from @lewisgregory23 💥
➡️ https://t.co/8bf3daqQOn pic.twitter.com/xPyHDrBQDT