Report: Bears v Foxes, Vitality Blast

Birmingham Bears sealed top spot in the Vitality Blast North Group final table with a 72-run victory over Leicestershire Foxes at sultry Edgbaston.

The Bears booked a home quarter-final with Gloucestershire while the Foxes, who knew that a win would take them into the last eight, suffered the angst of being edged out of the qualification spots on the last day.

Moeen Ali’s third T20 century – 103 (59 balls, nine sixes, seven fours) – lifted the Bears to 194 for five, a tall total but less than appeared likely when they were at 99 without loss in the ninth over. The Foxes then reined in the scoring impressively led by the excellent Scott Currie (two for 26) and Josh Hull (two for 34).

The Foxes batters could not carry on the comeback, though, folding feebly to 122 all out in 16.4 overs. Only Lewis Goldsworthy (35, 34) offered any resistance as Craig Miles (two for 12) struck important early blows before Danny Briggs (three for 30) took his haul in this season’s competition to 27 wickets at 12.81 apiece.

After choosing to bat, the Bears raced to 69 without loss after six overs. Moeen pulled the last two ball of the powerplay, from James Neesham, for six, passed 50 in 28 balls and celebrated with successive sixes off Goldsworthy.

The opening stand was worth 99 in 53 balls when Alex Davies (31, 22) was well held by Ben Mike at long on off Rehan Ahmed.

The Foxes impressive fightback then took hold as three overs from Hull, Currie and Louis Kimber cost just 11 runs and brought the wickets Dan Mousley, lbw trying to sweep a Hull yorker, and Chris Benjamin, caught at deep mid-wicket off Currie.

The innings was reignited by two sixes for Moeen off Rehan. The former England player survived a missed stumping off Kimber on 92 to reach a 54-ball century but the Foxes dug deep as Mike conceded just four runs from the 18^th over. Moeen holed out to Hull in the last over and after the first ten overs brought 109 runs the last ten yielded just 85.

The Foxes were still under some scoreboard pressure though and their chase was torpedoed by early wickets. Sol Budinger edged a slog at Zak Foulkes and Miles struck with his third and sixth balls when Rishi Patel and Rehan Ahmed chipped catches into the off-side infield. When Peter Handscomb sent a return catch to Briggs, the top four had all sunk in single figures.

Briggs removed Neesham with the assistance of Mousley at long off. If that catch was impressive, even more so was Ed Barnard’s take, running back from extra cover, to oust Kimber off Jake Lintott. The insatiable Briggs collected his 281^st T20 wicket when he knocked out Goldsworthy’s off-stump and the Bears’ romped through to the knockout while the Foxes’ decent campaign ended with a whimper.

Bears bowler Danny Briggs said: “It has been a good T20 campaign for me but it’s down to the whole team. We have had a pretty solid bowling attack the whole comp and scored a decent amount of runs. Mo has come off tonight and got a brilliant hundred and got us ahead of the game and when that happens you know you are going to get chances as a bowler because the batters have to come at you. You’ve just got to put the ball in the right spots often enough. I’ve had the luck this season and taken the wickets but there are other bowlers who have deserved more wickets. As a unit we have bowled really well.

“It’s fantastic to have a home quarter-final to look forward to, We have had some disappointments in the quarter-finals in recent years but this year feels special. We’ve got a really good group with bat and ball and have fielded excellently the whole comp, so everything’s in place. Gloucestershire will be tough in the quarter-final but we have played really well at Edgbaston so it will be fantastic to have that home advantage again.”