Finch’s 72 in vain as Somerset score victory

LONDON: Tom Banton (37-ball 71) and Edward Byrom (19-ball 54 not out) were the architects of Somerset’s chase as the duo propelled the home side past the sizeable target of 204 set by Surrey in the 19th over.

Banton and Babar Azam gave Somerset a breezy start with a stand of 93 in just over nine overs. Once the opening duo fell, Byrom took over by exploring all corners of the ground. The number four batsman smacked six fours and four sixes while James Hildreth, the seasoned batsman, played the supporting role with an undefeated 26-ball 31 to help the side cross the finishing line. For Surrey, Aaron Finch had played a captain’s innings (44-ball 72), but his knock at the top of the order went in vain.

Brief scores: Surrey 203/4 in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 72; Max Waller 2-34) lost to Somerset 207/2 in 18.4 overs (Tom Banton 71, Edward Byrom 54*) by eight wickets.

Yorkshire v Worcestershire: Rikki Wessels led the way with a 51-ball 91 as Worcestershire usurped Yorkshire by five wickets in the North Group in the T20 Blast game in Leeds. The visitors chased down the target of 178 in just 17.3 overs.

The visitors didn’t have the best of starts as they lost Martin Guptill early. However, Wessels and Callum Ferguson set the platform with a 65-run stand for the second wicket. Wessels then put Worcestershire on course with another fifty-plus stand with Wayne Parnell. Dominic Bess and Duanne Olivier picked up the scalps of Wessels and Parnell, but by then, the result of the match was more or less a foregone conclusion. Ed Bernard, the all rounder, duly took them past the finishing line with a boundary. Earlier, Adam Lyth (68) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (40) had cracked quickfire hands to power Yorkshire to a competitive score. Dillon Pennington, Patrick Brown and George Rhodes took two scalps each for the visitors.

Brief scores: Yorkshire 177/7 in 20 overs (Adam Lyth 68; George Rhodes 2-12) lost to Worcestershire 179/5 in 17.3 overs (Rikki Wessels 91; Duanne Olivier 2-29) by five wickets.