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The knockout stage of the 2008 Twenty20 Cup comprises the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the 2008 Twenty20 Cup. The top two teams from each of the three groups progressed to the quarter-finals along with the two best placed third teams. The teams were redrawn and played one knockout match to decide the semi-finalists. Finals day was held on 26 July 2008.
The match at the Riverside was postponed in bizarre circumstances. The ECB received allegations about Yorkshire fielding an ineligible player in their final group game, against the Nottinghamshire Outlaws. [1]
In an original meeting on 10 July, Yorkshire were summoned to Old Trafford and were told that they were to be thrown out of the tournament, with Nottinghamshire to be reinstated in the draw. [2] However, Yorkshire appealed and at a second meeting held on 14 July, their appeal was heard and rejected, but this time Glamorgan were placed into the draw on a superior run rate. This was because Nottinghamshire were not awarded the points to the 27 June game.
7 July 2008 Scorecard |
Essex Eagles 192/9 (20 overs) | v | Northamptonshire Steelbacks 115/7 (18 overs) |
Essex qualify for Finals Day, after a 59-run win at Chelmsford. Ravi Bopara top scored with a 26-ball 47, and was backed up by Graham Napier who added a 20-ball 40, to his record knock of 152* in the group stages. Grant Flower also added 33 from 31 deliveries, as Essex enjoyed the best of conditions, recording three 50+ partnerships. They ended on a total of 192 for 9, after losing their last five wickets for the princely sum of two runs, with South Africans Nicky Boje and Andrew Hall picking up two wickets each.
Rain revised the Northamptonshire target to 175 in 18 overs, and never looked likely to reach that target, with the top five batsmen only scoring eleven runs between them. In fact, only three batsmen made double figures, as the Steelbacks fell a long way short, having recovered from 27 for 5. Boje top scored with an unbeaten knock of 58 from 43 balls, as Napier took 4-10 from his allotted four overs, earning him the man of the match.
8 July 2008 Scorecard |
Middlesex Crusaders 176/7 (20 overs) | v | Lancashire Lightning 164/8 (20 overs) |
Middlesex sealed their place in Finals Day, after a 12-run win at their "home" for one game, The Oval. This was of course down to their normal home of Lord's being used for the First Test against South Africa beginning 10 July. Middlesex made an uncertain start, losing openers Billy Godleman and Owais Shah with only two runs on the board. Things got worse and at one point, the Crusaders were 21 for 4. Coming in at number 6, was Dawid Malan who would go on to record the 24th century in the history of the tournament. Lasting 56 minutes, he scored 103 off 54, and helped to lift the total to 176 for 7 after their 20 overs. This performance also gave Malan man of the match. Only Eoin Morgan and Tyron Henderson would also reach double-figures as Andrew Flintoff was pick of the bowlers, taking 3-17 off his four overs.
Lancashire's reply got off to a similar start to the Middlesex innings, with both openers Gareth Cross and Lou Vincent going cheaply. The third wicket of Stuart Law, fell with only fourteen runs on the scoreboard, and it looked ominous for the Lightning. Flintoff then stepped up, and hit a 41-ball 53, but when he fell to Steven Finn, it looked as if the game was up. Steady knocks from Kyle Hogg and Glen Chapple left the Lightning with eighteen to win, off the final six balls. However, Middlesex held out for victory, and progress to the second semi-final on Finals Day.
9–10 July 2008 Scorecard |
Kent Spitfires 175/6 (20 overs) | v | Warwickshire Bears 133/8 (20 overs) |
Kent kept their chances of retaining the Twenty20 Cup by hammering the Bears by 42 runs in a rain-delayed match at Edgbaston. The match was played on Thursday, as persistent rain had called off the game, 90 minutes before play on Wednesday. Having been put into bat, the Spitfires reached 37, before losing their first wicket, Joe Denly for 27. Coming to the crease with the score at 54 for 3, was hero of Finals Day last season and the man of the match in this game, Darren Stevens. He then proceeded to make a rapid-fire 69, coming from just 32 deliveries. He was the last wicket to fall, as Azhar Mahmood hit big runs towards the end of the innings, hitting two sixes in a 13-ball 25*. This set the Bears, a target of 176.
Losing Neil Carter in the second over, did not help matters for Warwickshire, as they struggled at the beginning of their reply. Jim Troughton and Jonathan Trott fell in quick succession leaving Warwickshire on 42 for 3. The returning Darren Maddy and Ant Botha pushed the score higher, with Maddy scoring 27 off 18 deliveries and Botha top-scored with 35 off nineteen. However, it was to all be in vain, as the Spitfires' bowling attack always kept them below the 8.8 required run rate. Yasir Arafat was the pick of the bowlers with 3-29.
22 July 2008 Scorecard |
Durham Dynamos 163/8 (20 overs) | v | Glamorgan Dragons 119 (17.4 overs) |
Having waited fifteen days to play their quarter-final, Durham progressed to Finals Day on Saturday after a 44-run win at the Riverside. Having been put into bat, the visitors took three early wickets, removing dangermen Phil Mustard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Paul Collingwood, with the score only on 26. After Michael Di Venuto fell, Durham looked to be in some trouble. However, a fifth wicket partnership of 53 between Will Smith and captain Dale Benkenstein pushed the score up. Smith made 51 as Durham set a target of 164, for Glamorgan to chase. It could've been somewhat lower had it not been for virtuoso innings by Gareth Breese, smashing 20 off just 9 balls, and Liam Plunkett who hit 12* off 3. James Harris took 3 wickets, but accounted for around a quarter of the runs conceded.
The Glamorgan reply could not have gotten off to a worse start, losing opener Richard Grant very first ball. David Hemp soon followed, becoming Plunkett's second victim, with only seven runs on the board. Glamorgan were always struggling with the run-rate, with most of the top-order recording strike rates of below 100. Only four players made it to double figures, with Jamie Dalrymple top scoring with 32, and had stern support from wicket-keeper Mark Wallace, who fired 26 off sixteen deliveries. However, Glamorgan fell a long way short with Plunkett, the pick of the Durham attack, taking 3-16 off three overs.
Durham, Middlesex, Kent and Essex qualified for the semi-finals from their quarter final ties. Durham were drawn to play Middlesex and Essex played Kent on 26 July 2008. Kent and Middlesex progressed to the final, which was won by Middlesex by 3 runs.
The 2005 English cricket season was the 106th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Before it began, a resurgent England cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by an innings. This was followed by a tri-nations one-day tournament that also featured Australia. Australia still started the Test series as favourites but most fans expected England to put up a challenge.
Essex County Cricket Club played their cricket during the 2005 season in Division Two of the County Championship and Division One of the Sunday League. They started the season 8–1 to win the Second Division Title, and were second in the Championship table at 9 May, but five matches without a win following that sent them down to fifth place at the Twenty20 break in June. They only intermittently broke into the top three after the Twenty20 break, and when they did their opponents behind them usually had a game in hand. They finished fifth, 15.5 points behind the promotion spot, and with 36 bowling points they picked up the fewest in the entire Division Two. In the National League, however, they only lost once in sixteen games – against Gloucestershire Gladiators in August – and won the League on 28 August with three games to play. In the C&G Trophy, they went out to Lancashire at the second round stage, while they finished fifth in the group stage of the Twenty20 Cup, two points off a guaranteed quarter-final spot.
Glamorgan County Cricket Club started their 2005 season as defending totesport League champions, but the 2005 season ended without a trophy – instead, they suffered relegation in the first-class form. They played their first-class cricket in the First Division of the County Championship. They started the Championship season at 25–1 to win, and favourites to be relegated – which they eventually were, winning one of sixteen games in the Championship season to finish bottom – nearly 100 points behind the first team to avoid relegation. By the end of August, they had confirmed relegation with three games remaining. In the National League, they hovered around mid-table for most of the season, before a run of three unbeaten games at the end of August sent them out of the relegation zone, and they finished the season in fourth place. In the C&G Trophy, they were knocked out at the second round stage by eventual champions Hampshire, while the Twenty20 campaign saw them finish bottom of their group with two wins from eight matches.
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club in 2005 are playing their cricket in Division Two of the County Championship and Division One of the totesport League. They started the season at 12–1 to win the Division Two title. During the off season 9 players left.
Sussex County Cricket Club played in Division One of the County Championship and Division Two of the Totesport League in 2005. The 2003 County Champions started the season at 6–1 to retake the title.
Kent County Cricket Club in 2005 played their cricket in Division One of the County Championship and Division Two of the totesport League. They started the Championship at 11–2 to win it, behind Surrey and Warwickshire. Their first first-class game, however, was against the students of Cardiff UCCE. They fell to 104 for 6 before rain prevented any further play. They had little luck in their first Sunday League game, against Derbyshire, which was also abandoned through rain.
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club played their cricket in 2005 in Division One of both the County Championship and the totesport League. They started the season at 7–1 to win the title, and with a new captain, New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.
Durham County Cricket Club started the 2005 season with odds of 20-1 to win the Second Division of the County Championship, and in one-day cricket they started the season in Division Two of the National League. However, they were promoted in both competitions - in the County Championship, they finished second after an initial run of four wins and eight matches without defeat. They only lost two of 16 Championship matches, securing promotion a week before the end of the tournament. In the National League, they were promoted with two weeks to spare, and won their last five matches - yet finished two points behind Sussex Sharks, who had a similar run. The cup competitions gave them lower final placings, however - in the C&G Trophy, they were knocked out in the first round by Derbyshire, and without internationals Mike Hussey and Paul Collingwood, who played in the NatWest Series, they lost five of eight matches in the group stages in the Twenty20 Cup to finish fifth in the North Division.
Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 2005 are playing their cricket in Division Two of the County Championship and of the totesport League. They started the season as 25–1 outsiders to take the Division Two Championship title. These odds looked reasonable as they plummeted to an innings defeat in their first match, picking up only one point against Durham. They then lost their first totesport match, also against Durham, by 9 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Worcestershire County Cricket Club in 2005 played their County Championship games in Division Two and their Totesport League games in Division One. Under their new captain, Vikram Solanki, they were tipped to go straight back up to the top flight of the County Championship and started the season 9–2 second favourites to end up as Division Two champions.
Hampshire County Cricket Club played their cricket in Division One of both the County Championship and the National League in 2005. They started the season at 10–1 odds to win the Championship. With the first eleven including seven players who had represented their country at Test or ODIs at the end of the season, they nearly won the County Championship, beating eventual County Champions Nottinghamshire both home and away, and ended with the same win–loss record as Notts. However, with two bonus points less and half a point deducted due to a slow over rate against Sussex in July, they finished behind – something that had been apparent the week before the Championship ended. They did win the C&G Trophy, defeating three League Division Two sides and a minor county on the way to the title, in addition to Glamorgan from Division One, but their other limited-overs forays ended in relegation and elimination due to head-to-head results in the Twenty20 Cup.
Surrey County Cricket Club, in 2005, played their cricket in the First Division of the County Championship and the Second Division of the totesport League. The 2004 season was a disappointment for Surrey under the captaincy of Jonathan Batty, who was replaced by Mark Butcher in 2005. However, Butcher was out for most of the season due to an injury to his left wrist, leaving Mark Ramprakash as interim captain – one of the few, maybe the only, man to captain both Surrey and their arch-rivals Middlesex.
Middlesex County Cricket Club in 2005 played their cricket in Division One of the County Championship and Division Two of the totesport League. They started the season at 9–1 to win the County Championship title.
Twenty20 cricket is played over 20 overs according to normal limited-over rules, the one exception being the rule for "timed out", where the time by which an incoming batsman must be at the crease ready to receive his first ball is reduced to 90 seconds after the outgoing batsman has been dismissed. This amendment to the rules helps speed up the game. Additionally, boundary ropes tend to be shorter in Twenty20 cricket than for normal limited over games.
Paul Andrew Nixon is an English cricket coach and former professional cricketer who played for Leicestershire, England, England A, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Kent. He is a wicket-keeper and left-handed batsman. Nixon played in twenty international matches for the England cricket team, all within a four-month spell in 2007.
The 2006 English cricket season was the 107th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. It included home international series for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England came off a winter with more Test losses than wins, for the first time since 2002-03, but still attained their best series result in India since 1985. The One Day International series against Pakistan and India both ended in losses.
The 2008 Twenty20 Cup was the sixth edition of the T20 Blast formerly known as the Twenty20 Cup tournament, and saw Middlesex Crusaders winning the tournament after a thrilling climax to the final against the reigning champions, the Kent Spitfires. The tournament began on 11 June 2008 before culminating in Finals Day, held at The Rose Bowl, Southampton on 26 July. As always, the eighteen county sides were split into three groups of six, depending on the location of the counties in the United Kingdom.
The 2013 County Championship season, known as the LV= County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 114th cricket County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in their division both home and away. Durham were County Champions for the third time in six seasons. The top two teams from Division Two, Lancashire and Northamptonshire, gained promotion to the first division for the 2014 season, while the bottom two sides from Division One—Derbyshire and Surrey—were relegated to Division Two for 2014.
The 2017 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that forms part of the 2017 domestic cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side and had List A cricket status. All eighteen First-class counties competed in the tournament which ran from the end of April with the final taking place at Lord's on 1 July. Nottinghamshire won the tournament, defeating Surrey in the final. The defending champions were Warwickshire.
The 2021 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2021 English cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side, having List A cricket status, with all eighteen first-class counties competing in the tournament. The tournament started on 22 July 2021, with the final taking place on 19 August 2021 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Somerset were the defending champions winning the 2019 tournament, with no tournament taking place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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