T20 Blast: Ollie Robinson's return ends in defeat as Sussex lose to Gloucestershire
- Published
Gloucestershire sit joint top of the South Group on 12 points after their win against Sussex
Gloucestershire spoiled England seamer Ollie Robinson's return to senior cricket as they thrashed previously unbeaten Sussex Sharks at Hove.
Glenn Phillips hit an unbeaten 94 for the second night in a row and Benny Howell took 4-15 as the South Group leaders prevailed by 27 runs.
At Taunton, the battle of the New Zealand debutants ended in Devon Conway's favour as his Somerset side defeated Colin de Grandhomme's Hampshire.
Surrey won their derby at home to Middlesex while Nottinghamshire went top of the North Group after a dramatic tie with Derbyshire.
Robinson's return turns sour
Sussex's Robinson had taken a short break from the game following his suspension from international cricket earlier this month, after racist and sexist tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013 were shared online during his Test debut against New Zealand.
His return looked to be going well when he took a wicket with his third ball, having Miles Hammond caught, before the pace of Tymal Mills (3-20) reduced Gloucestershire to 35-4 after six overs.
Glenn Phillips has made back-to-back scores of 94 for Gloucestershire
But Phillips, who had also made 94 not out against Glamorgan 24 hours earlier, smashed seven fours and five sixes and put on 124 for the fifth wicket with Jack Taylor (38) to lead the visitors to a competitive 162-5.
Sussex, the last unbeaten side left in the competition, shed regular wickets in reply and the loss of Luke Wright (33) at the end of the ninth over proved decisive.
Despite late resistance from Robinson (31 from 19 balls) and Mills (27 from 16), Gloucestershire's victory was never in doubt.
De Grandhomme wins battle, Conway wins war
De Grandhomme outperformed Kiwi international team-mate Conway but ended up on the losing side in a thrilling finish at Taunton.
He took 2-41, including removing Conway for just five, and then hit 66 on his Hampshire Hawks debut, but it was not enough.
Somerset's 172-9 was almost exclusively made by Tom Banton (77) and Will Smeed (63 not out), with the other nine batsmen scoring just 20 between them.
Lewis Gregory's final over went for just three runs while he also took two wickets
De Grandhomme then struck 10 fours and two sixes and looked to have set up victory, as the Hawks needed 35 from the last five overs.
But great death bowling, particularly from Lewis Gregory in the final over, saw Hampshire fall short on 165-8.
Elsewhere in the South Group, Kent remain hot on Gloucestershire's heels after a rain-affected win over Essex at Chelmsford.
Daniel Bell-Drummond (50) and Zak Crawley (43) put on an opening stand of 89 and 45-year-old Darren Stevens celebrated his new contract with a quickfire 28 to guide the visitors to 167-9.
Simon Harmer took 4-26 for the Eagles, who then slumped to 31-4 in five overs when rain brought an early finish as Kent won by 28 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Ollie Pope's 52 not out steered Surrey to a five-wicket win over Middlesex, who remain at the foot of the South Group.
Ollie Pope and Jamie Overton steered Surrey to victory with an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 60
Middlesex's Stevie Eskinazi, fresh from a maiden T20 century, hit 64 this time before he was bowled by Gus Atkinson, who took a career-best 4-36.
Eskinazi and Daryl Mitchell (58) helped Middlesex to 174-7 but power-hitting at the top of the Surrey reply from Will Jacks (47 from 26) and Pope's measured middle-order innings guided the hosts home with an over to spare.
Notts tied up as Derbyshire blow it
Nottinghamshire lead the North Group after a remarkable finish as Derbyshire failed to win after needing 10 runs from the final 14 balls.
Notts made 137-9 with opener Joe Clarke top-scoring with 36 from just 16 balls. Matt Carter (15 not out) and Jake Ball (18 not out) also added 27 for the final wicket, which proved crucial in the end.
Luis Reece made 51 as Derbyshire reached 68-0 in reply in the eighth over and seemingly in cruise control but the Outlaws gradually slowed the Falcons down.
Derbyshire still looked in command at 128-6 but Mattie McKiernan, Logan van Beek and Conor McKerr all fell for golden ducks and the hosts could only tie.
Previous North Group leaders Yorkshire, unbeaten in their last five matches, lost to Leicestershire by 34 runs at Grace Road.
Arron Lilley was left stranded on 99 not out - his highest T20 score in 73 innings - as Leicestershire posted 207-3, the third time this season they have passed 200 in the Blast.
England Test captain Joe Root, who took 1-33 in three overs with the ball, fell for 15 as Yorkshire stuttered in reply to 137-8 with just 20 balls left, and despite Dom Bess's 24 off 14, they were bowled out for 173.
Northamptonshire recorded their second T20 win of the season, beating Lancashire by seven wickets.
Steven Croft (35 not out) top scored in Lancashire's mediocre 130-7 and the Steelbacks won with 10 balls to spare, Ricardo Vasconcelos (41) leading the way.
Worcestershire Rapids recorded their first win in five matches as Jake Libby (78 not out) and Brett D'Oliveira (67) anchored them to an eight-wicket victory over Durham.
Ben Stokes struggled to get going in his innings of 20 for Durham against Worcestershire
Libby and D'Oliveira both improved on their previous best T20 scores, sharing a stand of 145 for the second wicket, before captain Ben Cox sealed victory in the final over, executing a ramp shot for six and then an off-drive for four to seal victory.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes had a difficult match, scoring just 20 in Durham's 178-8 and then conceding 40 in his three wicketless overs. Worcestershire's Charlie Morris took a career-best 3-37.
Coming up - Three fixtures on Saturday (all times BST)
North Group:
Birmingham Bears v Durham (14:30), Edgbaston
Notts Outlaws v Lancashire Lightning (15:00), Trent Bridge
Yorkshire Vikings v Northamptonshire Steelbacks (18:30), Headingley