Seconds Narrowly Miss Out on T20 Triumph
Fri 10 Jun 2022
Leicestershire’s Second XI narrowly missed out on T20 glory, finishing as runners up on Finals Day at Arundel after Glamorgan won by five wickets on DLS.
Dips Patel’s side beat Nottinghamshire in the day’s opening semi-final by 14 runs, before falling to the Welsh county in a rain-affected final.
The semi-final saw Matthew Montgomery win the toss for Nottinghamshire and put the Foxes into bat. Captain Harry Swindells and Nick Welch got County off to an excellent start, posting a 50 partnership from 28 balls.
The pair had added 89 for the first wicket when Welch was dismissed for 43 (24b). Swindells went to his 50 (29b) shortly afterwards, with Leicestershire sitting on 99-1 from 9.4 overs.
Swindells fell to Notts skipper Montgomery for 62 (42b), before Tom Scriven and Sam Evans forged an important partnership in the middle order, adding 44 for the fifth wicket.
Scriven (30) 24b was caught from the final ball of the innings, while Evans ended unbeaten on 22 (15b). Leicestershire closing on 175-5.
In their reply, Nottinghamshire were always behind the asking rate. The Foxes made early inroads into the Notts innings thanks to a couple of outstanding catches from Ed Barnes and Scriven.
Nottinghamshire fell 14 runs short closing on 161-8. Leicestershire winning by 14 runs. Scriven and Wiaan Mulder both picking up 2-24, Nat Bowley weighed in with 2-37, and Gavin Griffiths 1-24.
Glamorgan beat Middlesex in the other semi-final, teeing up the trophy decider. Swindells won the toss for Leicestershire and elected to bat.
The Foxes recorded 137-9 from their 20 overs. Mulder top scored with 37 (23b), while Sam Bates (24) and Bowley (20*) provided ample support.
Rain began to fall between innings. With no floodlights available, Duckworth Lewis Stern swung into operation when play resumed, and Glamorgan had a revised target of 122 to win from a maximum of 17 overs.
Glamorgan were briefly wobbling at 6-2 after just five balls, Mulder picking up both wickets. Callum Taylor (53*) 45b steadied the ship, ensuring Glamorgan got home with 11 balls remaining.
Taylor was well supported by Billy Root (36) 24b. The pair added a 50 partnership from 33 balls to help the Welsh side to get home by five wickets. Mulder, Griffiths and Bowley picking up wickets for the Foxes in a valiant bowling effort.
At the end of the game the SET20 Trophy was presented by Andy Smith of the ECB, who congratulated both teams on an excellent SET20 campaign, and also thanked the Match Officials, and Arundel Castle Cricket Club for hosting a most enjoyable day.
