Ashar Zaidi blitz gives Essex five-wicket win

Middlesex vs Essex

All-rounder Ashar Zaidi lit up Lord's on a gloomy day with a 21-ball half-century to help Essex beat Middlesex in the Natwest Blast T20 encounter by five wickets. In a match that was reduced to 16 overs per side due to rain, the hosts were on top during the second innings after getting rid of Ravi Bopara in the ninth over to have the visitors reeling at 54 for 4.

With 72 runs needed off the final seven overs, Essex needed a whirlwind knock from someone to stay alive in the chase. Zaidi, who had just entered the crease at that time, quickly moved to 16 from his first six deliveries to give his side hope. Dan Lawrence steadied the ship from the opposite end but was dismissed for a 34-ball 36 by James Franklin.

The dismissal didn't have an effect on Zaidi's approach though as he hit a six and a four in the 14th over, and then hit a couple more sixes and a four in the penultimate over to virtually seal the game. With just three runs required off the final over, the 35-year-old hit Steven Finn for a six off the third ball to finish the match.

Earlier in the day, opener Dawid Malan hit an unbeaten 68 off 51 balls to help Middlesex post 126 in their 16 overs for the loss of five wickets. Malan failed to get support from the other end as the next highest score was an unbeaten 13 from Toby Roland-Jones. Graham Napier and Ryan ten Doeschate picked up two wickets each for the visitors.

Brief scores: Middlesex 126/5 in 16 overs (Dawid Malan 68*; Ryan ten Doeschate 2-18, Graham Napier 2-25) lost to Essex 132/5 in 15.3 overs (Ashar Zaidi 59*, Dan Lawrence 36; James Franklin 1-3) by five wickets.

Sussex vs Glamorgan

Heavy rains denied Sussex a victory on Thursday (July 28) against Glamorgan at the County Ground in Hove after the chase was called off in the fifth over. The hosts needed only 96 in 13 overs as per the revised target and were well placed at 30 for 1 in the fifth over before the clouds opened up.

Sussex opted to field first after the game was reduced to a 14 overs per side contest. They made use of the damp conditions on offer knocking over the Glamorgan batsmen at regular intervals. Eight out of the eleven batsmen fell for single-digit scores. The visitors had tailenders, Michael Hogan and Shaun Tait, to thank for as the duo added 24 runs for the last wicket to take their side past the three-figure mark.

19-year-old left-arm seamer George Garton was the pick of the bowlers as he ended up with figures of 4 for 16 off his four overs. Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan picked up two wickets each.