Ryan Higgins leads Middlesex to victory, leaves Essex knockout hopes hanging by a thread

Middlesex 226 for 8 (Higgins 61, Critchley 5-28) beat Essex 225 for six (Sams 69*) by two wickets

The Middlesex all-rounder’s 61 was plundered off simply 24 balls and included three sixes and eight fours. It laid the foundations for a chase after 226 runs solely surpassed by their file 253 to beat Surrey final week.

Essex now head to The Oval on Sunday the place they need to beat Surrey to face any probability of a spot in subsequent week’s quarter-finals.

Essex, put in, sometimes misplaced three wickets within the powerplay whereas creeping alongside to 52 runs. It was the calm earlier than the storm. Feroze Khushi was first to go taking a swing at Ethan Bamber and choosing out deep mid-off.

Adam Rossington, returning after a finger harm, hit two sixes, one ramped off Tom Helm, earlier than edging behind for 19 off 13 balls.

Dan Lawrence accomplished the trio of early wickets when he retreated in the direction of sq. leg in opposition to Josh De Caires and located himself stretching in useless because the ball thudded into his stumps. Lawrence confirmed his anger with himself by kicking furiously on the innocent crease.

However, the run-rate accelerated as soon as Walter joined Pepper and the pair placed on 36 inside 4 overs. Pepper hammered six fours and a six into the pavilion in a 20-ball knock earlier than he leaned again and slashed Martin Andersson to backward level.

Walter, who had recorded single-figure scores in his earlier two innings, was again to big-hitting kind. The second of the quartet of sixes was the longest, clearing the scorers’ field over de Caires’s head. He perished when slicing Luke Hollman to cowl level.

Sams slipped virtually seamlessly into Walter’s boots and battered 43 of the runs in a fifty partnership for the sixth wicket, by which Matt Critchley contributed three. However, Critchley nonetheless hit three sixes in an 18-ball 36 earlier than he was caught by Joe Cracknell sliding in from the midwicket boundary. The pair had shared a stand of 79 in six overs.

Sams’s eyes lit up within the closing over by which Andersson conceded 26 runs, together with three sixes, two off the final two balls, the primary over fantastic leg, the second over third man.

The ubiquitous Sams was again on the scorecard when he held a pull from Stevie Eskinazi on the boundary to offer Aaron Beard a wicket as Middlesex obtained off to a gentle begin in reply. He was in the identical place to take the catch that ended Max Holden’s whirlwind 15 off 5 balls throughout which 32 runs had been compiled from simply 9 balls in partnership with Higgins.

Before that, Cracknell was dropped by Rossington on 4 and added six, 4 and a six in his 36 earlier than misreading Critchley and seeing his bails dislodged.

Higgins reached his fifty from 20 balls together with his third six, swept off Walter, however ultimately fell when he pulled Critchley straight into Beard’s arms on the midwicket fence.

The third and fourth wickets, with Higgins on the helm, gathered 78 runs off 24 balls. But three wickets in seven balls turned the tide again in Essex’s favour as Middlesex slide from 173 for 4 to 175 for 7. Sams tempted John Simpson in select brief midwicket and Critchley had Hollman caught by Beard at mid-on and Alex Davies leg earlier than.

Middlesex wanted 9 off the final over with two wickets standing however a six by Andersson off Walter’s third ball all however wrapped it up.