Result: Surrey 224-4 beat Glamorgan 222-6 by six wickets.
By Ben Kosky (ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay)
Dan Lawrence’s maiden T20 hundred rescued Surrey as they recovered from a dreadful start to chase down 223 against Glamorgan at the Kia Oval and edge closer to clinching a Vitality Blast knockout place.
Lawrence came to the crease with his side in desperate trouble at 16 for three – but the wristy right-hander transformed the contest by hammering 120 not out from 54 balls, sharing an unbroken stand of 146 from 60 with Tom Curran, a county T20 record against Glamorgan, to secure victory with five balls to spare.
Glamorgan had looked set to record their first Blast success against Surrey in eight attempts after a century partnership between Colin Ingram, with a season’s best of 69 from 33, and Asa Tribe, who finished unbeaten on a 30-ball knock of 56.
Their stand of 105 from 51 for the fifth wicket enabled the visitors to post a challenging 222 for six, but that proved insufficient in the face of Lawrence’s merciless onslaught.
Seeking a response to their heavy loss at Hampshire 24 hours earlier, Glamorgan gathered early momentum from the aggressive hitting of Will Smale, who scooped Nathan Smith for six in the opening over.
Surrey’s seamers all took some powerplay punishment from Smale (37 from 17), but two smart pieces of fielding by Jason Roy at cover pegged the visitors back – following his sharp throw to run out Smale with a courageous catch that cut off Alex Horton’s bullet drive.
Sam Curran (two for 31) bowled tightly, varying his pace to good effect and removed Ben Kellaway, just getting set when he skied to mid-off, but Ingram began to accumulate steadily through the middle overs.
The veteran left-hander hit the accelerator to raise his half-century from 25 balls as Smith’s final over disappeared for 21 and Tribe followed suit at identical pace, pulling Tom Curran into the stand for his third six.
Although Ingram eventually holed out to provide the younger Curran with a second wicket, the home side had to chase at above 11 an over, a task that became no easier after losing both openers inside the first 10 deliveries of their reply.
Roy’s dismissal, courtesy of Dan Douthwaite’s stunning leap to his right at cover, was soon followed by that of Sam Curran, who miscued Ned Leonard behind to leave Surrey three down and floundering.
Lawrence and Will Jacks counter-attacked, both depositing spinner Imad Wasim over the fence and sharing a partnership of 62 from 33 which was ended by another instance of superb fielding.
Kiran Carlson’s arrow throw from mid-off – with one stump in his line of vision – left Jacks (31 from 21) short of his ground, but Lawrence kept up the charge, heaving Andy Gorvin for a leg-side six to pass 50.
With Tom Curran (49 not out from 27) in a supporting role, Lawrence whittled down the required rate, punching the air as he reached three figures from 46 balls and clinching a remarkable win with a straight six off Gorvin.
“I’ve been a bit frustrated this year because I got injured for the first block of T20s, it’s a form of the game where I’m really trying to push and improve and it was nice to get rewards for some really hard work tonight,” Lawrence said.
“I knew I didn’t have to do anything out of the ordinary to score boundaries, all I had to do was get into good positions and let my skill take over.
“Thankfully I got off to a decent start and as the game went on, we were keeping up with the rate the whole way through.
“It was lovely to put on a good partnership with TC at the end. He was a little disappointed with how he went with the ball and the beauty of being able to do both is you can make up for it when you go out to bat.
“He was a great calming influence at the other end, helping me out when I was getting too far ahead of myself and it was great to get a win in front of a big crowd.”
Glamorgan captain Carlson had praise for Lawrence and the opponents. He said: “Credit to Dan Lawrence and co, they put on a bit of a show. Unfortunately we didn’t quite hit our straps towards the end, we had a few bad overs but we pushed them all the way.
“I thought the way we batted and then started with the ball was excellent, but Surrey are a very good team, they put us under pressure and came out on top.
“It’s a great wicket, a quick-scoring ground and we knew it was going to take a big shift to defend even that total.
“If you don’t take wickets through the middle bit in T20 cricket, it makes a big difference. When guys are set there’s almost nowhere to go, regardless of who’s bowling.
“There’s no time to lick our wounds, we’ve got two massive games (to come) and with two wins, you never know.”
Surrey host Somerset at the Kia Oval tomorrow at 3.30pm.
