Finch (102no) struck nine sixes to help secure Surrey their fifth win of the campaign
Tuesday 27 August 2019 22:55, UK
Aaron Finch clattered a brilliant 102 not out from 53 balls as Surrey kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals and severely dented Somerset's, with a six-wicket victory at the Kia Oval.
Somerset started strongly and openers Tom Banton and Babar Azam put on 80 in 8.2 overs - but their challenge fell away dramatically against the spin of Imran Tahir (four wickets for 25 runs) and Gareth Batty (two for 24) and they totalled 157 for nine.
However, Finch's assault emphatically settled matters, with nine sixes helping to bring Surrey their fifth win of the campaign.
They now have 12 points, and Somerset, in fourth place with 13, need to beat Middlesex in their final group game on Friday if they are to have a chance of making the last eight.
Somerset might still have defended their total if Craig Overton had taken a boundary-edge catch in the eighth over, with Finch on 33, when the Australian pulled a short ball from leg-spinner Max Waller to deep midwicket and saw the ball bounce through Overton's hands and go over the rope for his fourth six.
Finch did not give any other chances, however, as he followed up that blow, two earlier straight sixes off Tim Groenewald and an opening pulled maximum off Overton, with further sixes off Roelof van der Merwe, Waller and two off Tom Lammonby's left arm seamers.
Finch duly completed his 52-ball hundred, his seventh in T20 cricket - whipped wide of mid-on off Groenewald, and Will Jacks struck successive fours before being caught and bowled for nine by Van der Merwe with just eight more runs wanted.
Jordan Clark then hit Jerome Taylor into the pavilion for the evening's final six as victory arrived with 3.3 overs to spare.
A blistering innings of 77 from Ed Pollock guided Birmingham Bears to a seven-wicket victory over Durham via the Duckworth-Lewis method in their Vitality Blast North Group clash at Emirates Riverside.
The Bears were set a challenging total of 153 from 19 overs after rain interrupted the host's innings, with D'Arcy Short top-scoring for Durham with a half-century.
However, Pollock was outstanding on his return to the Birmingham line-up, allowing the visitors to control the tempo of their chase. The 24-year-old dismantled the Durham bowling attack with ease before he was dismissed for 77.
Matthew Lamb and Will Rhodes saw their side over the line in the final over, lifting them off the bottom of the table, ending Durham's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition in the process.
In reply, Pollock provided an early onslaught, dispatching Matty Potts for a six over the leg side and back-to-back boundaries, pushing the run rate above 10 per over.
The home side had no answer for the power of Pollock. James Weighell's introduction into the attack resulted in a 19-run over, including another maximum from the left-hander.
Short broke the opening stand for 83 when Sibley chipped tamely into the deep, but Pollock stayed calm at the other end, reaching his half-century from 24 deliveries.
Short notched his second wicket as Sam Hain played onto his stumps, attempting a reverse sweep. However, Pollock was undeterred and continued to find the boundary, whittling down the total.
Pollock was finally out in the 17th over, smashing a drive straight back to Steel to set up a closer finish than expected. But, Lamb and Rhodes did enough to secure victory with one ball to spare.
Sky Sports' coverage of the Vitality Blast 2019 continues on Thursday as Kent Spitfires host Gloucestershire, live on Sky Sports The Ashes, from 6.30pm.
