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Surrey secure 38-run win v Glos in rain-affected T20 at the Oval

31 May 2022

Will Jacks struck 51 from 33 balls before Sam Curran starred with the ball with 4 for 14 as Surrey beat Gloucestershire by 37 runs at the Kia Oval despite being bowled out for 129 in a Vitality Blast contest reduced to 16 overs per side.

Jacks and Jason Roy plundered 60 runs from the first 27 balls of a remarkable game that was then totally dominated by the bowlers, Gloucestershire being dismissed for 92 in 15 overs in reply.

The match, indeed, was as much a tale of the two powerplays with Gloucestershire slumping to 23 for four in theirs after Surrey had sprinted to 66 for two earlier in the evening.

Left arm spinner Tom Smith took 3 for 13 from his two overs, and Paul van Meekeren 3 for 32, but by then the damage had been done and not even David Payne finishing off Surrey’s innings with seven balls remaining unbowled could prevent them from reaching a score that proved beyond the visitors.

Curran removed James Bracey and Glenn Phillips, mis-hitting to mid off for 1 and caught and bowled for 2, in a two-over new ball burst while in between Reece Topley bowled Miles Hammond for 2.

When Dan Worrall had Ian Cockbain caught on the cover ropes for 8 it left Gloucestershire in deep trouble at 18 for four.

Ryan Higgins did take three fours from Chris Jordan’s first over, but Jack Taylor holed out off Kieron Pollard for 10 and Sunil Narine bowled Benny Howell for a duck as Surrey turned the screw.

Narine’s one for 17 from four overs was an outstanding effort while Jordan bowled Smith for 14 and the returning Curran had Payne caught in the deep before bowling Higgins for a defiant 37.

The match ended with Topley having Naseem Shah caught at long on for 2 to finish with figures of 2 for 6 from three overs.

Surrey made an explosive start, after Gloucestershire had predictably chosen to bowl first, with Jacks and Roy flaying the ball to all parts in front of a 12,000 crowd that had waited patiently through several rain squalls for the match to start at 7.40pm.

Payne’s first ball was flicked over the long leg ropes for the first of Jacks’ three sixes, and both openers then took sixes off Van Meekeren in the third over of the innings – Jacks with a whiplash pull and Roy with a perfectly-timed lofted on-drive.

Roy held the pose after two thumping straight drives, as the eye-catching first wicket stand reached 60 early in the fifth over but Smith – called up after Surrey had raced to 54 from just four overs – suddenly began the home side’s unexpected slide by bowling Roy through the gate for 28.

Curran hit Smith’s next ball over long on for six but, trying to repeat the stroke from the last ball of the 4.5 over powerplay, skied to Hammond running in from long on.

Smith struck again in his second over, Laurie Evans hitting straight to extra cover to go for 1, and Jamie Overton was then bowled off stump by the impressive Howell after also scoring only a single.

Narine managed one boundary before falling for 6 when Hammond clung on to a fine catch from a mishit against Van Meekeren, leaving Surrey 84 for five in the ninth, and Jacks’ fine knock ended – after another six flicked over fine leg off Payne – when Shah bowled him with a searing yorker.

Pollard, on his Surrey debut, pulled Van Meekeren for four but then on 14 miscued to long on from a full toss from the Dutch international seamer that must have been close to a no ball.

And Surrey’s lower order collapse accelerated when Jordan hit Van Meekeren to deep mid wicket, Jamie Smith skied to keeper Bracey off Payne and, later in that penultimate over, last man Topley lofted to deep extra cover.

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