Eskinazi hails ‘incredible’ Middlesex after record-breaking T20 Blast win
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iddlesex captain Stephen Eskinazi paid tribute to his gamers’ onerous work after they ended a 14-match shedding run within the T20 Blast with a scarcely plausible victory over Surrey on the Kia Oval.
In entrance of a 20,000 crowd, Middlesex chased down 253 — the best profitable chase within the competitors’s historical past — with seven wickets in hand and 4 balls remaining.
“An absolutely incredible game of cricket,” mentioned Eskinazi. “It’s been a phenomenally difficult time for us as a group of players and staff. Everyone loves the club and puts in hours and hours of time.
“While the celebrations may look over the top, it’s a vindication of the process and that we’re finally seeing some of the fruits of our labour. You need results like tonight to make people believe.”
After a first-innings whole from Surrey that in itself was the best rating of all time on the bottom, Middlesex exploded out the blocks as Eskinazi (73) and Joe Cracknell placed on 90 for the primary wicket within the opening six-and-a-half overs.
It felt positive to be a matter of when, not if, Middlesex’s chase tailed off, however as a substitute their batters saved going as Max Holden hit 65 not out off 35 balls, ably assisted by Cracknell (36) and Ryan Higgins (48), earlier than Jack Davies made 11 from simply three deliveries on the finish.
Only South Africa, who made 259 in opposition to the West Indies, have ever chased extra to win a T20 match.
What made the end result all of the extra exceptional was that it was Middlesex’s very first victory of the season, having misplaced all 10 of their Blast matches this yr.
Surrey’s innings included a exceptional 177 opening stand between Will Jacks (96) and Laurie Evans (85). At one stage Jacks, who may very well be in competition for the Test squad subsequent week, hit 5 consecutive sixes off Luke Hollman, however shanked the final-delivery full toss for only one run.