Middlesex Triumphs in Vitality Blast 2024: Luke Hollman’s Heroics Secure First Win

Middlesex defeated Kent 173 for 8 (Bell-Drummond 60, Hollman 2-18) with 178 for 6 (Higgins 44, Eskinazi 40, Bartlett 3-34) by four wickets.

With four balls left, Luke Hollman pulled Matt Parkinson for the winning six, following Ryan Higgins’ forty-four from 29 balls and Stephen Eskinazi’s forty.

At one point, it appeared as though Middlesex would be chasing a target well over 200, but they rallied to win with a final score of 178 for 6. After destroying 118 from the opening 11 overs, Daniel Bell-Drummond scored 60 from 38 balls, but Kent was only able to muster 173 for 8, with Tom Helm collecting 2 for 24 and Hollman taking 2 for 18.

Zak Crawley drove the third ball of the innings straight to Martin Andersson at extra cover, giving Tom Helm the opportunity to get him for four runs. The visitors elected to field.

Tawanda Muyeye’s leg stump was then sent flying by Blake Cullen for a twelve, but Bell-Drummond and Marcus O’Riordan quickly responded with a stand of 66 from 29 balls. In an attempt to reverse sweep, Hollman bowled Sam Billings for 10 after Higgins had been leg before wicket for 28.

After Bell-Drummond holed out to Hollman and was caught by Leus du Plooy, the run rate fell precipitously. In overs 15 to 17, Joey Evison played on to Josh de Caires and was bowled for four, while Kent was unable to score a single boundary.

After Joe Denly skied Helm to Eskinazi for 28 runs and Beyers Swanepoel swiped Henry Brookes to the same fielder for 8, the 18th went for 15, but the final two only managed 10 runs.

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Denly stole his 50th T20 wicket as he caught Andersson lbw for a five-ball duck as Kent went back to their title-winning tactic from 2021. Even yet, the visitors made a comeback: Eskinazi opened the scoring with a six-shoot and appeared to be in control until he attempted to mount Swanepoel and continued playing.

After Xavier Bartlett pinned Higgins at the beginning of the 13th over, and three balls later, he sent du Plooy’s off stump flying for eighteen, Kent’s hopes were raised once more. Max Holden struck out for seventeen runs after hitting Grant Stewart for four straight. He then ramped up to Matt Parkinson.

But Hollman calmed the anxieties of the visiting team by hitting Parkinson for a six and a four in the seventeenth over, while Jack Davies smashed Bartlett’s opening ball of the eighteenth over cow corner for six.

After chipping Bartlett to Evison, Davies was out for twenty-three, but with four wickets remaining, Middlesex just needed to make 11 runs in the final two overs.

In order to put the visitors one blow away from victory, De Caires straight drove Swanepoel for four. With three needed to win the final six, Hollman easily defeated Parkinson on cow corner.