Leus du Plooy lifts Derbyshire Falcons to thrilling win over Birmingham Bears
Derbyshire 207 for 4 (du Plooy 66*, Reece 57) beat Birmingham Bears 203 for 7 (Hain 79, McKiernan 3-39) by six wickets
A shocking onslaught from captain Leus du Plooy lifted Derbyshire Falcons to an exciting six-wicket Vitality Blast win over Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.
After the Bears piled up 203 for 7, du Plooy smashed an unbeaten 66 from 25 balls to see his facet to 207 for 4 with three balls to spare.
Sam Hain‘s unbeaten 79 from 36 balls within the Bears innings contained some breathtaking hitting however was trumped by du Plooy’s masterclass.
After openers Luis Reece (57) and Haider Ali (48) added 96 in ten overs to set the proper basis for the massive run chase, du Plooy constructed a memorable victory on it with an exhilarating show of hitting which introduced him 5 sixes and 4 fours.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes was socked for 51 in his 4 overs because the Falcons facet accomplished a quickfire double over the Bears and handed them their third successive defeat.
The first half of the Bears innings didn’t go to their plan after they selected to bat. Rob Yates made a perky 21 however leg-spinner Mattie McKiernan bowled potential big-hitters Moeen Ali and Glenn Maxwell by means of indeterminate photographs earlier than they might inflict any injury and likewise castled Alex Davies for a sketchy 26.
Hain batted superbly however wanted help and located it from Dan Mousley and, after Mousley was bowled by means of a lap by Zak Chappell, from Woakes, who reworked the innings with 23 from 11 balls in a blinding stand of 48 in 18 balls with Hain.
Woakes was yorked by Zaman Khan however Hain was at his most harmful within the closing overs, thumping 36 from his final eight balls confronted.
The Falcons confronted a testing goal however, after driving their luck early on, Reece and Haider Ali performed sweetly to boost 50 from 33 balls. They set down the proper platform earlier than being parted in scruffy vogue when Haider Ali charged and missed at Danny Briggs. Davies missed the stumping on the first try however, with the batter down the observe, had time to finish it second time spherical.
Moeen, enjoying his penultimate sport for the Bears earlier than he departs on Ashes obligation, utilized a brake with an astute spell which introduced the wicket of Reece, bowled by means of a slog sweep. As the required charge escalated, and Wayne Madsen suffered a uncommon failure when he holed out to Mousley, the stress elevated on the Falcons.
Du Plooy went to the crease with that stress at its peak. He wanted to hit brilliantly from his first ball – and did so to take his facet to a victory which tightens the North Group desk proper up.