Surrey v Essex Eagles
Vitality Blast (South Group)
The Kia Oval, Sunday 30 August
Team News:
Surrey: Will Jacks, Jamie Smith, Laurie Evans, Ben Foakes (wk), Rory Burns, Scott Borthwick, Gus Atkinson, James Taylor, Gareth Batty (c), Daniel Moriaty, Matt Dunn.
Essex Eagles: Varun Chopra, Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater (wk), Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Aron Nijjar, Shane Snater, Matt Quinn.
Match Details:
Umpires:Ben Debenham & Ian Gould
Match Referee: Graham Cowdrey
Toss: Surrey, who elected to bat first
Result: Match Tied
Match Highlights:
Paul Walter reviews dramatic tie with Surrey:
Match Report:
Matt Quinn and Cameron Delport combined to salvage a point for the Eagles in a dramatic conclusion as the title-holders tied their Vitality Blast clash with Surrey at The Kia Oval.
Chasing the Eagles score of 143-6, Surrey seemed to be on course for the win when they needed just 12 runs from the last 2 overs with 5 wickets intact and former Essex man Ben Foakes posing a real threat.
However, Delport conceded just 3 runs in the penultimate over and also accounted for Gus Atkinson who had just clubbed the only maximum blow in the Surrey innings. That left New Zealander Quinn with the final over and carrying the Eagles hopes.
His first ball of the deciding over was steered to the boundary by Foakes, 2 singles followed and then Foakes collected another 2 runs to level the scores. But Quinn then had Foakes caught by Paul Walter at deep fine leg for 44 to leave the outcome in the balance.
The deciding delivery pitched just wide of off stump but beat the bat of James Taylor and Adam Wheater whipped off the bails. Non-striker Matt Dunn was now already down the pitch and although the stumping appeal was turned down, Wheater threw the ball to the vacant bowler’s end where the run out was executed by Simon Harmer to leave the home side 143-8.
Earlier Walter had Jamie Smith and Laurie Evans (who scored 30 and 19 respectively) caught in the covers after Quinn captured the wicket of Will Jacks with his third delivery of the innings before Delport claimed the first of his wickets when Rory Burns was the victim of a diving catch by ten Doeschate at short mid-wicket.
But with Foakes timing the ball well, the home side looked in a strong position having reduced the target to 28 from 24 balls with 5 wickets in hand but Quinn and Delport were to prove a challenging proposition.
The Eagles had been put into bat and made sedate progress reaching 66-4 by the halfway stage if their innings with Delport out for 6, Varun Chopra for 16, Tom Westley 20 and Dan Lawrence 7 and leaving ten Doeschate and Wheater to add some substance to the score.
The pair figured in the highest partnership of the match putting on 58 in 8.3 overs but the rate of progress was stifled as they were forced to accept singles from 13 successive deliveries a between the 11th and 14th overs and with 5 overs remaining, acceleration was the order of the day with Essex were 93-4.
That came briefly from ten Doeschate who pulled a delivery from leg spinner Scott Borthwick into the vacant terraces on the Harleyford Road side and then hoisted the bowler’s next ball over the ropes to bring the total into three figures and raise the half-century stand with Wheater spanning 48 balls.
4 runs were collected from the next two deliveries but ten Doeschate’s move into overdrive was brought to a close when he pulled the last ball of the over from Borthwick into the hands of deep mid-wicket and departed for 35 from 32 balls.
Wheater was joined by Walter, who had a fine all-round game, and struck an unbeaten 23 from 13 balls that encompassed 1 six and 2 fours as 34 were added with Wheater from the final 4 overs before the Eagles wicket-keeper was run out from the final ball of the innings having scored a run a ball 32 and give the Eagles a modest total to defend .
Essex Eagles’ next match is just around the corner with Hampshire visiting The Cloudfm County Ground on Tuesday in the Vitality Blast. The game begins at 2pm with coverage underway at 1:45pm.
Members can tune in from 1pm to watch the pre-match build-up live from Chelmsford including interviews and match analysis.
