Wayne Madsen and Colin Ingram produced standout performances with the bat, while spinner Simon Harmer bagged a hat-trick in a prolific week for South African exports in England’s T20 Blast.
On Sunday, Ricardo Vasconcelos scored 44 off 26 balls (eight fours, one six) and took a stunning catch to guide Northamptonshire to a six-wicket victory over Worcestershire.
George Linde struck an unbeaten 22 off 11 deliveries (two fours, one six) with the bat and picked up 2-28 with the ball for Kent as they went down by five wickets to Surrey.
Superb hands from Vasco at point. ? https://t.co/GDX5dUmfm2 pic.twitter.com/TqP0lBXpDo
— Northamptonshire Steelbacks (@NorthantsCCC) June 4, 2023
Essex’s Harmer returned figures of 2-26 against Somerset, with spinner Roelof van der Merwe then taking 2-23 as his side secured an 11-run victory.
Ingram delivered for Glamorgan in their 32-run victory over Sussex, scoring 48 off 32 balls (six fours, one six), while Colin Ackermann played a captain’s knock for Leicestershire in their seven-wicket victory over Durham, scoring 33* off 22 deliveries (four fours).
READ: Brevis blasts South Africa A to victory
Middlesex’s Stephen Eskinazi had a forgettable outing during their seven-wicket loss to Gloucestershire, managing only a single run, while teammate Pieter Malan made 21 off 19 balls (three fours).
Madsen and David Wiese were the standout local exports in Derbyshire’s clash with Yorkshire. Wiese took a wicket before scoring 30 off 21 balls (four fours, one six) in Yorkshire’s three-wicket win, while Madsen made 44 off 26 (three fours, two sixes) for Derbyshire.
50 ? Lancashire
61 ? Nottinghamshire
57 ? Northamptonshire
109* ? Leicestershire
71* ? Birmingham
44 ? YorkshireWayne Madsen has enjoyed a stunning start to this year’s T20 Blast ?#CountyCricket2023 pic.twitter.com/3eIjF7VRMj
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 4, 2023
On Friday, Harmer returned figures of 3-43 for Essex in a crushing 118-run defeat to Hampshire, while Grant Roelofsen scored 21 off 23 deliveries (one four, one six) for Gloucestershire as they beat Surrey by two wickets.
Madsen starred for Derbyshire in their 17-run victory over Birmingham, scoring an unbeaten 71 off 52 balls (12 fours).
Eskinazi made 18 and Malan eight for Middlesex in their nine-wicket loss to Somerset, with Van der Merwe picking up a wicket for the victors.
Linde‘s unbeaten cameo of 26 off 12 deliveries (five fours) was not enough for Kent, as Ingram hit 63* off 32 deliveries (10 fours, one six) to secure a seven-wicket victory for Glamorgan.
Wayne Parnell took 2-28 for Durham in their six-wicket victory over Lancashire.
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“We could both feel the juices again”
?gram after his unbeaten 6️⃣3️⃣ led to a third win from four games in the @VitalityBlast ?#OhGlammyGlammy | #Blast23 pic.twitter.com/bZwGgmX92Q
— Glamorgan Cricket ? (@GlamCricket) June 2, 2023
On Thursday, Wiese scored just two with the bat before picking up 2-31 with the ball for Yorkshire in their 15-run victory over Lancashire.
Madsen was Derbyshire’s star in their two-run victory over Leicestershire, scoring an unbeaten 109 off 61 balls (12 fours, four sixes), with Ackerman‘s unbeaten 59 off 38 deliveries (six fours, one six) in vain for Leicestershire.
Harmer was the chief destroyer for Essex in their 25-run victory over Sussex, scoring 21* off 17 balls (two fours) before tearing through Sussex’s lineup. The Proteas spinner celebrated a hat-trick off his first three balls and went on to finish with figures of 4-28.
A hat-trick to start your spell! ?
Simon Harmer, you magnificent man ?#Blast23 https://t.co/zgpTXCDTjp pic.twitter.com/zBEQdlByYQ
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 1, 2023
On Wednesday, Northamptonshire’s Vasconcelos scored 65 off 39 balls (13 fours) in a 21-run loss against Birmingham.
Ingram produced a match-winning performance for Glamorgan in their 29-run win over Middlesex, smashing 92* off 51 deliveries (seven fours, six sixes). Eskinazi then scored 59 off 33 balls (12 fours) as Middlesex fell short.
Just a few things to note… ?
Our record T20 partnership for any wicket ✅
Record 4th wicket partnership in the @VitalityBlast ✅
Our second-highest T20 score ✅#OhGlammyGlammy pic.twitter.com/9NwSZY5erO
— Glamorgan Cricket ? (@GlamCricket) May 31, 2023
On Tuesday, Matthew Montgomery took a wicket and scored 28 off 19 balls (three fours, one six) for Nottinghamshire in their eight-run loss to Yorkshire, while Wiese picked up two wickets for 32 runs.
Roelofsen scored 29 off 17 deliveries (fours fours, one six) and Marchant de Lange 17* off seven (one four, two sixes) in Gloucestershire’s three-wicket loss to Essex. Fast bowler De Lange also picked up a wicket.
Compiled by Rienk de Beer