Birmingham silence Glamorgan's big hitters
A few weeks ago, Ed Pollock was an unknown quantity even within his own county, but his fear-free hitting led Birmingham to the final of the NatWest Blast
A few weeks ago, Ed Pollock was an unknown quantity even within his own county, but his fear-free hitting led Birmingham to the final of the NatWest Blast
Commentator: Shashank Kishore
Right, folks. Hop over to our coverage of the second semi-final. Gnasher will be with you for that one. Cheers!
Grant Elliott to Jacques Rudolph: "I just want to say what a fantastic career. It's always sad when someone finishes but I've enjoyed watching and playing with him - a gentleman of the game. The experience he's given to players in England and hats off to you, Jacques."
What a thriller! Have to wonder if Rudolph's run-out was the turning point. Thomasan deserves plenty of credit for what, to me, is the game-changer. They made 175 look much more than that courtesy some brilliant bowling from a 23-year old Olly Stone. Bowled consistently over 145 clicks to begin with, but was clever enough to mix things up towards the end. No praise is enough for Jeetan Patel, who brought all his experince to the fore. Restricted runs in the middle, escalated the asking rate and then got the batsmen to manufacture shots. Looking back, you have to say Pollock's turbocharge gave Birmingham the platform from where they could've looked for 200. A few weeks ago, Pollock was such a peripheral part of Birmingham's plans that the club's director of sport, Ashley Giles, admits he had never seen him play. In a crunch game, he made the entire country sit up and take note.In the end, they just managed to pull through despite a wobbly final over from Chris Woakes. They can now put their feet up and get some well-deserved rest to gear up for the final.
AG Salter c Hose b Woakes 27 (18m 14b 3x4 1x6) SR: 192.85
M de Lange b Stone 16 (10m 10b 1x4 1x6) SR: 160.00
A few weeks ago, Ed Pollock was an unknown quantity even within his own county, but his fear-free hitting led Birmingham to the final of the NatWest Blast
North Group | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
NOTTS | 14 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 0.484 |
DERBS | 14 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 0.457 |
WARKS | 14 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 0.23 |
LEICS | 14 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 0.133 |
YORKS | 14 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 1.127 |
NHNTS | 14 | 6 | 5 | 15 | -0.63 |
LANCS | 14 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 0.174 |
WORCS | 14 | 3 | 10 | 7 | -0.713 |
DURH | 14 | 3 | 10 | 3 | -1.206 |
South Group | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
GLAM | 14 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 0.045 |
SUR | 14 | 7 | 5 | 16 | -0.13 |
HANTS | 14 | 7 | 6 | 15 | -0.021 |
SOM | 14 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 0.491 |
SUSS | 14 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 0.423 |
KENT | 14 | 6 | 7 | 13 | -0.158 |
MIDDX | 14 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.221 |
ESSEX | 14 | 5 | 7 | 12 | -0.204 |
GLOUC | 14 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -0.648 |