No Harm done for Essex thanks to heroics from Simon
SOUTH ROUND-UP
IT MAY not have been pretty but thanks to tail-ender Simon Harmer’s heroics with willow in hand, Essex dramatically maintained their 100 per cent start to life in the One-Day Cup South Group at the Oval on Tuesday.
The Essex bowlers restricted Surrey to just 210 all out, despite Ben Foakes’ impressive 77 not out, meaning that an appetising 4.22 runs per over were all that was required for victory.
Yet they were three down inside seven overs as Sam Curran did for Nick Browne and Alastair Cook, while Varun Chopra edged Jade Dernbach to slip.
That eventually became 128-7 but Ryan ten Doeschate (45) and Harmer steadied the ship, although 18 was still required from the South African international and Matthew Quinn for the final wicket. But Harmer held his nerve to notch the winning runs with four balls to spare, ending unbeaten on 44.
Essex had entered the contest on a high after beating Hampshire by 25 runs at Chelmsford two days prior – Tom Westley making 93 and Neil Wagner taking 4-41.
Perhaps the only team in the South to have made a more impressive start to the campaign is Somerset, who saw off Surrey, Sussex and Kent in their opening three ties.
Roelof van der Merwe’s magnificent unbeaten 165 rescued a perilous situation in the opener against Surrey, as they rallied from 22-5 to chase down 291, before Dean Elgar took the plaudits with an unbeaten 131 in the nine-run triumph over Sussex.
And Matt Maynard’s troops made it three on the spin as, despite Daniel BellDrummond (106) and Alex Blake (116) helping Kent to 352-6, Peter Trego’s 135 led the West Country outfit to a fourwicket triumph.
Sussex picked up their first win on Tuesday as Stiaan van Zyl’s 88-ball 96 saw off Glamorgan by 59 runs – the Welsh county having also lost to Surrey but finding success at Gloucestershire.
For their part, Glos recovered from that defeat to record a surprising fivewicket victory over Middlesex at Lord’s – thanks largely to the in-form Liam Norwell’s 5-36 – while Kent are still winless, going down by six wickets to Hampshire.