Dan Lawrence fifty guides Essex to Finals Day berth in thriller at Edgbaston
Essex 171 for 8 (Lawrence 62, Drakes 2-26) beat Birmingham Bears 167 for 7 (Hain 52, Cook 2-24) by two wickets
Essex grew to become the primary group via to 2023 Vitality Blast Finals Day after beating Birmingham Bears by two wickets in an exhilarating quarter-final at Edgbaston.
The Bears charged via the group stage with 11 wins out of 14 however bowed out on the quarter-final stage for the third successive 12 months within the face of a commanding show from Simon Harmer’s aspect.
Disciplined Essex bowling, backed up by wonderful fielding, restricted the Bears to 167 for six. Sam Hain struck a sometimes polished 52 (26 balls) however, tied down by Harmer (4-0-20-1) and Sam Cook (4-0-24-2), the house aspect wanted some late flailing from Chris Benjamin and Dominic Drakes to at the very least method par.
Essex then attain 171 for 8 with two balls to spare. Dan Lawrence underpinned the chase with a high-class 62 (41 balls) and Paul Walter‘s violent 15-ball 27 retained his aspect’s management at a significant time mid-innings. The Bears fought onerous within the closing overs and Essex wanted three from the final two balls earlier than Shane Snater hit the primary of them for six.
Essex selected to discipline and began brilliantly as Daniel Sams delivered a wicket maiden. Rob Yates skied the third ball of the innings to 3rd man and it was not till the eighth that the Bears opened their account with a top-edged two. Five for one from 14 balls was not a begin to excite the ten,812 crowd.
Glenn Maxwell pulled the fifteenth ball for six however Alex Davies fell within the subsequent over, adjudged, after an interminable evaluate, to have gloved a pull at Aaron Beard.
Maxwell added 5 fours to his six in a punchy 32 however then pulled Walter to deep mid-wicket the place Sams took a peaceful catch and celebrated with a fist-pump to the raucous Hollies Stand. When, 17 balls later, the Aussie accepted one other catch to oust Dan Mousley, this time he turned and shushed the Hollies… it had gone quite quiet.
Harmer elevated the stress by conceding simply three in his first over and bowling Jake Bethell in his second. Hain posted his twenty fifth T20 half-century, from 33 balls, however then sliced Cook to brief third.
With Hain went the Bears’ hopes of a very imposing whole and it was left to Benjamin and Drakes to eke 34 from the final 21 balls to heave the full over 150.
The Bears wanted to strike early however Adam Rossington clouted 21 from 11 balls to make instant inroads into the modest goal.
Rossington was run out by sensible work from Davies however Essex thundered to 77 for 1 from 41 balls earlier than a wobble arrived with two wickets in three balls, Michael Pepper slicing to brief third man and Feroze Khushi socking a Jake Lintott full toss to deep midwicket.
Successive sixes by Walter off Maxwell reasserted the guests’ management and Lawrence continued to work the ball spherical with consummate ability earlier than his departure arrange a tense end.
With seven wanted from two overs, Lawrence lifted the subsequent ball, from Drakes, to mid on. An outstanding over from the West Indian price only a single and noticed Harmer run out from the final ball, leaving six nonetheless to seek out from the final over, bowled by Olly Hannon-Dalby.
That got here down to 3 from the final two balls, the primary of which Snater socked for a straight six to finish Essex’s quarter-final hoodoo in opposition to the Bears who received each their earlier conferences within the final eight.
Having squeezed via the group stage by the pores and skin of their tooth, and now survived a good quarter-final, Essex will return to Edgbaston for Finals Day on July 15 believing this might be their 12 months.