Face of Nation : England one-day captain Eoin Morgan scored 83 not out off 29 balls to help Middlesex to a record T20 Blast run-chase and seal a quarter-final spot. Somerset set Middlesex a target of 227 to win at Taunton, with Tom Abell finishing 101 not out for the hosts.
Coming in during the ninth over with his side 111-3, Morgan’s superb knock helped Middlesex to victory with three overs to spare. Middlesex’s successful chase was also the fourth-highest in T20 history.
Meanwhile, Essex Eagles beat Kent Spitfires by 10 runs to secure the final place in the last eight as the group stage reached its conclusion on Friday. Five teams had gone into the final round of South Group fixtures with hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
Despite losing Babar Azam for a duck in the first over, Somerset would have been confident of making the quarter-finals after posting 226-5 from their 20 overs.
Tom Banton’s 62 got the hosts off to a good start, and Abell hit 13 fours and three sixes as he scored his maiden T20 century. But Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling helped Middlesex to 94-2 by the end of the powerplay to get Middlesex ahead of the required run-rate.
Sharp fielding from Roelof van der Merwe saw Mohammad Hafeez run out and Max Waller took a brilliant catch to dismiss danger man AB de Villiers.
But Morgan crashed five fours and eight sixes to lead Middlesex to victory with plenty of breathing space. Their run-chase surpasses the 226 Sussex scored to beat Essex at Chelmsford in July 2014.
“With Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling at the top of order it allows us to go harder earlier because we have strength in depth throughout the batting line-up.”
