After an absorbing couple of months and over 100 matches, the 2023 Vitality Blast group stages are over and the schedule for the t20 Blast quarter finals is set.
Birmingham Bears, who finished top of the North Group, will kick things off on Thursday 6th July when they host Essex at Edgbaston.
The other three quarter finals will be played on Friday 7th July, with South Group destroyers Somerset hosting Nottinghamshire at Taunton.
Defending champions Hampshire managed to clinch a home quarter final on the final matchday as they welcome Worcestershire to the South Coast.
Last year's beaten finalists Lancashire will look to reach another t20 Blast Finals Day with a win at Old Trafford over the star-studded Surrey.
1st Vitality Blast 2023 Quarter Final preview - Birmingham Bears vs Essex
Birmingham finished atop the North Group, five points clear of Lancashire in second. They enjoyed a stunning run of form in the second half of their group campaign and sealed top spot well ahead of the final matchday.
Sam Hain has once again been one of the key performers for the Bears, averaging a huge 107.3 while striking at 162.5. His half-centuries and run tally were only bettered by opener Rob Yates, who went past fifty on five occasions with a strike rate of 134.6.
Alex Davies was solid alongside Yates at the top, though star overseas batter Glenn Maxwell failed to make a genuine impact with the bat. Dan Mousley showed his considerable talents throughout the 14 matches played, with Chris Benjamin and Jacob Bethell chipping in at times.
Embed from Getty ImagesHasan Ali was impressive with the ball in his five games, taking nine wickets with an economy of just 6.78. Mousley has alos been impressive with the ball, taking 20 wickets as well as 14 catches in the outfield.
Maxwell and experienced spinner Danny Briggs also contributed to form a strong spin attack that also included Jake Lintott and, briefly, Moeen Ali.
Essex, meanwhile, have packed a punch in the batting department with a range of big-hitting batters on display. Of the seven batters to score over 240 runs, five had strike rates of over 160. Michael Pepper, who impressed last season, and Australian international Daniel Sams led the way, scoring 376 runs and 340 runs with strike rates of 174.1 and 174.4 respectively.
Dan Lawrence, who recently announced his upcoming move to Surrey, was joined by young Robin Das and all-rounder Paul Walter in striking multiple fifties with strike rates a shade above 160. Another young talent who stood out with the bat was Feroze Khushi, who passed fifty on three occasions.
Sams also took the most wickets for Essex with 22, closely followed by fellow all-rounder Matt Critchley who claimed 20. Experienced South African Simon Harmer took 18 scalps with his slow left-arm, while Sam Cook claimed 13 victims of which three came via a hat-trick against Sussex.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhile Essex had some powerful batting performances with beefy strike rates from the majority of their big scorers, their bowling went the other way.
Sams was the tidiest in terms of economy rate, but even that was 8.09 as no bowler managed to keep the opposition from scoring fewer than eight an over against them.
Birmingham will naturally be the favourites to progress and book a place at 2023 Finals Day at their home stadium, especially given their recent form. They will again be without Moeen Ali, who is again on Ashes duty.
They have more than enough cover, though, with Glenn Maxwell and Mousley providing the all-round ability with bat and ball. The form of Hain will also be important, along with the solid foundation that is often formed by Yates and Davies at the top.
Essex will be confident, however, with their strong batting performances throughout the group stage brimming with potential to cause the Bears significant problems. The return to the side of Adam Rossington makes their batting an even scarier proposition.
2nd Vitality Blast 2023 Quarter Final preview - Somerset vs Nottinghamshire
Somerset had a storming group stage, recording the most productive return in Blast history. Predictably, the top three performers were the top three themselves, with Will Smeed, Tom Banton and Tom Kohler-Cadmore all passing 400 runs at a brisk pace; all struck at more than 150.
Smeed in particular cemented his international potential in the shortest form by smoking 471 runs at an incredible strike rate of 183.3. Tom Abell was on hand to shore things up when required, while Sean Dickson and Ben Green chipped in with some useful innings along the way.
Embed from Getty ImagesGreen has had himself a brilliant tournament so far, with no one taking more than his 26 wickets so far. New Zealand international Matt Henry has been a shrewd addition, while his compatriot Ish Sodhi has played just twice so far as a replacement for Australian Peter Siddle but has already showed his pedigree.
Roelof van der Merwe, who was one of the standout players at the inaugural SA20 earlier in the year, was typically tidy until he picked up an injury towards the end of the group stage. Josh Davey, Craig Overton and skipper Lewis Gregory have provided substantial support.
Nottinghamshire, meanwhile, began the tournament in fine fettle until they fell away in the back end, just about qualifying in fourth in the end. Joe Clarke has been typically consistent at the top of the order, scoring 430 runs at a strike rate of 161.0.
His opening partner Alex Hales has been relatively subdued in comparison to his usual standards and output, scoring his 328 runs while striking at 142.0 and pairing his three fifties with three ducks. Overseas signing Colin Munro has provided his usual impetus in the top three while also not hitting full consistency.
The somewhat surprise package in terms of the batting has been wicketkeeper Tom Moores. He has scored 363 runs at an average of a shade over 40 while striking at 144.0.
Rather unsurprisingly, star Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has topped the wickets column for Notts so far with 22. The support has been spread out, with five others reaching double figures in terms of wickets. Calvin Harrison and Steven Mullaney have been the most miserly of those, with economy rates of 7.20 and 7.33 respectively.
Embed from Getty ImagesShaheen is now unavailable for Notts, though fellow Pakistan Super League star Imad Wasim is a strong addition while Olly Stone can provide more than enough cover in the pace department.
Smeed has occasionally struggled immediately in his innings and there is no one better at bowling the first over in a t20 than Shaheen. He will be a big miss given just how strong Somerset's top order is. Notts will also need Hales to truly fire along with Clarke if they are to get the job done.
Somerset's tremendous t20 form likely puts them in the driving seat, as well as the home advantage with the fairly unique dimensions at Taunton. The bowling attack is also varied and potent, with the middle order being the only potential weakness.
That has, though, not been a huge problem and it will take a huge performance from Notts to prevent the home side progressing to another t20 Blast Finals Day.
3rd Vitality Blast 2023 Quarter Final preview - Lancashire vs Surrey
Lancashire have the current luxury of having three bonafide international t20 talents in their batting lineup, though each have not quite lived up to expectations. Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt all failed to pass 300 runs, though Buttler played just nine times and scored 292.
Between them in 31 combined innings, they scored four half-centuries with Buttler accounting for three of them. Instead, it has been New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell who has been the star of the batting lineup, scoring 409 runs while striking at 162.3.
Embed from Getty ImagesVeteran Steven Croft has chipped in considerably, notably scoring one of the few Blast hundreds this season so far. Luke Wells has also played important knocks, while also being tidy with the ball.
Luke Wood has been Lancashire's main man with the ball, taking 17 wickets which included a stunning inswinging yorker to dismiss Hales. Mitchell has even chipped in with the ball, taking 12 wickets himself to underline his value as an overseas signing.
Surrey have an incredible stable of talent, filled with international experience and have scored a bucketload of runs in this year's Blast, yet they still could only finish third. Will Jacks has had yet another powerful t20 campaign, smashing 541 runs at a strike rate of 163.4.
Laurie Evans has kept pace with Jacks, scoring 493 runs at a very similar strike rate. Jacks has five half-centuries to his name while Evans has gone past fifty on four occasions, one of which was converted into an unbeaten 118.
Like Jacks, Sam Curran has had yet another productive run of games in the shortest format, scoring 374 runs with four fifties and a strike rate of a shade over 150. A number of others have chipped in with significant contributions, the most eye-catching being Sean Abbott's incredible maiden t20 hundred.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe bowling has not been quite as productive, though Curran has combined with usual suspects Sunil Narine and Chris Jordan to be the main wicket-takers. Gus Atkinson and Jacks have also recorded double figures in terms of wickets.
Narine, usually so miserly, has not always had it his own way during the South Group matches. He has still, though, come out with an economy of 7.76 and 19 wickets, the most by a Surrey player thus far.
In what should be a cracking quarter final matchup, there is a sense that Lancashire's England international batting trio could be on the verge of truly clicking, That will spell danger for a Surrey side who have leaked runs this year.
The Surrey batting unit in their own right is of course hugely threatening. If Jason Roy is indeed added into the mix, then Surrey could well edge the tie, given the quality in their bowling attack as well.
4th Vitality Blast 2023 Quarter Final preview - Hampshire vs Worcestershire
Defending champions Hampshire snuck a home quarter final at the death, securing the hosting privileges with a win on the final matchday against Gloucestershire at the Ageas Bowl. It has so far been a primarily one man show in the batting for Hampshire.
Captain James Vince, arguably one of the greatest domestic t20 players of all time, has enjoyed yet another incredible Vitality Blast campaign. He has procured a mammoth 638 runs in 14 innings with seven half-centuries and a hundred, all while striking at 157.9.
Embed from Getty ImagesHis main support has been his opening partner Ben McDermott. The Australian international has scored 378 runs with four fifties and a strike rate of 142.1.
Joe Weatherley is the only other batter to have scored over 200 runs for Hampshire so far, though Liam Dawson has chipped in with some solid contributions in his seven visits to the crease so far; Ross Whiteley has been disappointing by his usual standards.
John Turner has exploded onto the scene, taking 18 wickets in just nine innings at an average of 11.1 and an economy of 6.66. He has given brilliant support to Aussie seamer Nathan Ellis, who has also taken 18 wickets.
Dawson and Hampshire t20 stalwart Chris Wood are the only other two bowlers to have taken more than six wickets. Benny Howell may well prove to be an important part of the Hawks' title defence, having played just five times so far.
Worcestershire have enjoyed a stellar campaign thus far, with contributions throughout the team helping them to third in the North Group. Four batters have scored over 350 runs, with Adam Hose topping those particular charts with 397.
He is followed closely by New Zealand's Mitchell Santner, whose all-round talents have come to the fore with 391 runs in 11 innings. Skipper Brett D'Oliveira has scored 368 runs, while the talented and highly sought-after Jack Haynes has struck 353.
Embed from Getty ImagesKashif Ali and Ollie Cox have also made solid contributions, while Adam Finch and Pakistan international Usama Mir have provided useful runs at the death.
Mir has worked well in tandem with Santner, with the pair taking 28 wickets between them with economy rates of 7.52 and 7.34 respectively. The main wicket-taker, though, has been pacer Pat Brown who has snared 24 victims, albeit with a hefty economy of 11.38.
Fellow quick Dillon Pennington has taken 11 wickets, while D'Oliveira has chipped in with 15 wickets with his legbreaks.
Hampshire will naturally be favourites given the fact they are defending champions and at home, but Worcestershire have shown that they have multiple players capable of helping produce winning performances.
Vince is of course such an enormous part of Hampshire's success, but they are arguably verging on being over-reliant on him. Worcestershire's variety of performers could well play a key part, though expectations will remain firmly on the side of the home team.
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