As the dust settles after a sweltering first week of Vitality Blast cricket, we bring you all the best and most intriguing bits to go on over the past few days…
WORLD RECORD
There’s nowhere better to start our reflection than with a history-making performance at the hands of Kent Spitfire’s Joe Denly. On any other day, his hundred in the first innings where he hit 102 off 63, would be enough alone to earn the plaudits. But this wasn’t just any old day, it was a time slot within which Denly achieved something no other human has managed professionally since the creation of T20 cricket. If the century wasn’t enough, he then went on to claim a hat-trick with the ball, the first person to achieve such a feat in List A cricket. And his side won the match. What a moment to be a Spitfire’s fan!
TABLE TALK
It’s early days with most teams having only played a couple of matches, but here’s how the North and South Groups shape up
CHRISTIAN THE REDEEMER
Northants would have been pretty confident when they reduced Notts Outlaws to 81/4 just shy of 10 overs. What they didn’t account for, though, is the most spectacular of middle order hitting. Step forward, Dan Christian. Mixing panache with power, the Outlaws captain smashed his way to a 37-ball hundred, the joint-seventh fastest to reach T20 triple figures, delivering his side from harm by propelling them to an unreachable target.
SAVED BY THE BELL
Ian Bell. There’s very little that has been written about him. So instead of us whittling away about a subject well known, simply sit back, relax, put your feet up, and watch the most sumptuous of T20 innings courtesy of the opening match of this summer’s tournament
STOKE SIGNAL
Set an imposing 201 to win by Yorkshire, Durham Jets were always up against it. One shining light though was the appearance of Ben Stokes, who eased back into Twenty20 action ahead of his England return with an unbeaten 90
KHAN HE DO IT?
It didn’t take long for Rashid Khan to find his feet in Vitality Blast cricket. Just eight balls into his stint with Sussex Sharks and the Afghanistan maestro claimed his first wicket. He now has four to his name after their opening two matches.
And finally, if you weren’t aware already, we can confirm, through the medium of Blast cricketers, that football is in fact coming home…