Hawks beat Surrey in rain-hit contest to go top

A good bowling show helped Hampshire Hawks triumph astatine Surrey connected nan DLS method successful nan T20 Blast, while Middlesex's crippled against Kent was abandoned.

On a slow transportation successful nan 2nd crippled of a soggy southbound London double-header astatine The Oval, Hampshire put nan hosts successful and past stifled them pinch nan ball, limiting Surrey to conscionable 14 boundaries successful a humble full of 141-7.

The miserly Scott Currie and Chris Wood picked up 2 wickets apiece arsenic nary Surrey batter passed 37, while successful reply Toby Albert and James Vince steered nan Hawks to 63-0 successful nan ninth complete earlier nan rainfall intervened, giving nan visitors a 15-run triumph via DLS to spell apical of nan South Group.

Meanwhile, Zak Crawley smashed 57 from 34 balls aft Kent were put in, but 3 wickets apiece for Tom Helm and Luke Hollman reduced nan Spitfires to 172-9, and though they picked up their first points of nan campaign, nan elements denied nan hosts nan chance to extremity their 11-match winless streak astatine Lord's.

With nan imaginable of upwind playing a part, Hampshire won nan flip and asked Surrey to bat first.

Dom Sibley cracked James Fuller complete nan ropes arsenic Surrey put connected 18 from nan opening 2 overs of seam but South African spinner Bjorn Fortuin, making his debut successful spot of Liam Dawson, tempted Sibley into sweeping consecutive to John Turner for 13 successful nan third.

Jason Roy began to lukewarm up arsenic nan hosts reached 43-1 astatine nan extremity of nan six-over powerplay but Currie tempted Ollie Pope into stepping crossed his stumps and trying to scoop, only to nick consecutive into nan hands of keeper Albert and depart for 11. Pope has now made 25 runs crossed 3 games opening nan batting and near his broadside 51-2 from 8 overs.

Roy was joined by skipper Sam Curran but his broadside were 64-2 astatine nan midway constituent arsenic nan Hawks bowlers slowed their advancement – limiting nan hosts to conscionable 10 boundaries and 4 sixes crossed nan 20 overs.

The unit told arsenic Roy tried to return Turner complete nan mid-wicket boundary, only to find Joe Weatherley conscionable wrong nan statement and depart for 37 to time off his broadside 67-3 successful nan 12th complete - though Roy vanished arsenic his side's starring scorer for nan 3rd consecutive game.

Laurie Evans and Curran struggled to get to grips pinch nan Hawks onslaught and Surrey were 91-3 pinch 5 overs remaining, though some trim loose successful Turner's last over, pinch Curran launching back-to-back sixes to make it 21 runs from 5 balls earlier miscuing nan last shot into nan entity for Vince to drawback and nonstop Curran packing for 34 from 25 balls.

Tom Curran picked retired Weatherley pinch a skier to heavy quadrate disconnected Wood (2-27) and Ollie Sykes was caught by Currie for 1 3 balls later while Weatherley picked up his 3rd drawback to disregard Chris Jordan for 8 disconnected Currie (2-17) to extremity nan 19th over.

Roy put down a crisp chance astatine 2nd gaffe disconnected nan opening shot of nan reply from Dan Worrall, giving Albert different life, but nan Surrey bowlers kept nan Hawks successful cheque until nan rainfall began to fall

The last complete of nan powerplay, Sam Curran's first, costs 16 runs amid immoderate errant fielding and saw nan Hawks scope 50-0.

With 10 wickets successful hand, Hawks were good up of nan DLS complaint of 48 erstwhile they were yet called disconnected aft 8.2 overs pinch nan people 63-0.

Vince vanished unbeaten connected 33 from 28 deliveries pinch Albert connected 28 from 22 astatine nan different extremity arsenic nan Hawks picked up conscionable their 2nd T20 triumph complete Surrey successful nan past 11 meetings.

Hampshire bowler Scott Currie, told nan ECB Reporters' Network:

"It is simply a bully win. It is ever bully to travel present and put a bully capacity connected nan committee and travel distant pinch nan result.

"Obviously it is simply a shame it ended nan measurement it did pinch nan weather, but it is not for america to kick astatine this point, it's 4 much points connected nan committee and different bully capacity from everyone.

"I deliberation we were happy astatine half-time; we felt we were successful nan game. We sewage a bully commencement and we were up of nan rate. I felt we were successful power of that crippled throughout."

Seven miles to nan north, Middlesex won nan flip and opted to vessel first aft a somewhat delayed start, seeking their first triumph successful 12 astatine Lord's - a tally going backmost to 2022.

Daniel Bell-Drummond top-edged an attempted trim disconnected paceman Helm done to nan keeper for 7 to time off Kent 21-1 successful nan 3rd over.

Tawanda Muyeye deed back-to-back boundaries disconnected debutant Josh Little successful his first complete to move into nan 30s while Crawley ended nan complete pinch a mighty six complete heavy quadrate to return Kent to 54-1 astatine nan extremity of nan six-over powerplay.

Moments later, Muyeye departed for 34 from 26 balls arsenic a debased transportation from Zafar Gohar clipped his disconnected stump and Joe Denly was soon stumped by Jack Davies astatine nan 2nd effort disconnected leg-spinner Hollman to time off nan people connected 69-3 astatine nan extremity of nan eighth over.

Sam Billings joined Crawley but was pinned lbw for 8 attempting a reverse expanse disconnected Hollman arsenic nan Spitfires reached 87-4 astatine nan midway point.

Chris Benjamin helped his broadside into 3 figures connected nan 13th complete but was run-out for a run-a-ball 15 and seemed to suffer a enarthrosis wounded arsenic he unsuccessfully dived to make his crushed to hit Ben Geddes' propulsion from nan deep.

Crawley followed up his blistering 37 successful Kent's opening triumph astatine Gloucestershire pinch a 32-ball half-century which he brought up pinch his 2nd six disconnected Hollman.

He followed it up pinch different but his effort astatine a 3rd successful succession saw Ryan Higgins return a good drawback wrong nan statement to depart for 57 from 34 balls

Tom Rogers made a breezy 16 but holed-out disconnected Helm arsenic Kent slipped from 112-4 to 155-9 arsenic Helm had Grant Stewart and Wes Agar caught successful nan heavy successful consecutive deliveries, though Nathan Gilchrist survived nan hat-trick ball.

Kent's past man added 17 from nan last 9 balls on pinch Fred Klaassen (14*) and slashed a six disconnected nan last shot from Noah Cornwell to decorativeness unbeaten connected 10 and spot Kent adjacent connected 172-9.

Middlesex were hoping for a five-over slog to scope 57 for triumph but nan rainfall did not relent earlier nan 21:26 BST cut-off and nan sides had to settee for 2 points apiece which helped nan hosts get disconnected nan people aft 2 consecutive defeats, while Kent stay unbeaten aft 2 matches.

Middlesex skipper Stephen Eskinazi told nan ECB Reporters' Network:

"We haven't walked distant pinch nan afloat points coming but I'm really pleased pinch nan measurement we managed to bounce backmost from a assurance perspective. In nan section we were buzzing astir and nan bowlers did their job.

"Hopefully that's a spot of a springboard for america to return into a really engaged play complete nan adjacent fewer weeks. I'm complete nan satellite pinch nan measurement we approached this crippled and surely it's nan benchmark for america moving forward."

Kent batter Zak Crawley:

"At times it felt for illustration a really bully wicket, astatine different times it was a spot of a challenge. I deliberation that was rather competitory successful nan end, we felt it would person been a 50-50 crippled truthful it was a shame not to get backmost retired there.

"I felt successful bully touch, it was a shame to get retired erstwhile I did. I was a spot greedy, eyeing him up a small spot excessively overmuch location – I had to calm myself down! But I was pleased pinch really I played, hopefully adjacent clip I tin get a bigger one."