T20 Blast: Evans ton leads Surrey run-feast v Glamorgan

Laurie Evans (left) has played T20 franchise cricket all around the world

Laurie Evans' T20 career-best was the highlight of a superb Surrey batting display as they beat Glamorgan by 65 runs.

Evans' 118 not out came off 60 balls with Sam Curran blasting 66 as Surrey ran up 236-2.

Glamorgan could not match the demanding run-rate and finished on 171-8 with Sam Northeast making 76.

It was Surrey's fifth win from seven games while Glamorgan have four from six.

Despite Curran's contributions with bat and ball, the night belonged to globe-trotting veteran Evans in his 232rd match in the format.

Surrey started at full throttle and kept it that way as Will Jacks and Evans played a glorious range of shots in the evening sunshine.

The century came up in the 10th over and Jacks was only playing second fiddle because he faced fewer deliveries, his 46 coming off 29 balls.

Glamorgan's slim bowling resources were left even slimmer when Dan Douthwaite went off with a side strain after bowling just 10 balls.

Jacks fell lbw to Australian leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou but Curran's entrance kept up and even accelerated the furious scoring rate.

Evans was dropped on the boundary on 94 by Kiran Carlson, who dislocated his finger in the previous match, and shortly afterwards reached three figures off just 52 balls.

Curran was not to be outdone as he passed a half-century off 23 balls, clearing the ropes regularly with 7 sixes in his 29-ball knock as Glamorgan's bowlers were smacked around with abandon.

He eventually holed out at long-on off Jamie McIlroy in the last over having added 118 with Evans, whose runs came off 60 balls including 12 fours and 6 sixes.

Carlson blasted 22 off 14 balls but the rest of the Glamorgan top-order could not get near the required run-rate, with the previously in-form pair of Colin Ingram (11) and Chris Cooke (12) confined to a run a ball.

Captain Chris Jordan (2-26) put the brakes on in the middle of the innings with his first two overs costing eight, while experienced off-spinner Sunil Narine got through his four overs with 1-34 and Curran took 2-36.

Northeast, Glamorgan's top scorer in 2022 with 510 runs, battled to his half-century off 44 balls but Glamorgan were falling further and further behind the rate as the home crowd had little to cheer.

Prem Sisodiya (23) swung entertainingly before falling to Gus Atkinson, who finished with fine figures of 2-24, while Northeast finished with 9 fours and 2 sixes as he played his way back into form before he was bowled in the last over by Jordan.

With Coldplay rocking the Principality Stadium down the road, injury-hit Glamorgan were left badly in need of a Chris Martin offer to "Fix You" before their next game at home to Essex on Friday 9 June, while Surrey travel to Sussex in prime form.

Opener Eddie Byrom is also facing a spell on the side-lines with his hip injury against Sussex more serious than it first appeared.

Surrey's Sam Curran said:

"We've played a few games away from home on the bounce and it's been tough, but the way Laurie Evans played, and Will Jacks started, was absolutely incredible, a great performance from everyone.

"Any time you walk in with a hundred and whatever on the board for the first wicket, you get free licence in such a strong batting line-up so that was exciting. With Laurie going like he was and the ground a bit smaller today, a really good wicket, we knew we had to get over 200.

"We lost Jason Roy to an early injury but Laurie has gone up top and done really well. Hopefully we can keep this momentum because the games keep coming pretty quickly."

Glamorgan's Sam Northeast told BBC Sport Wales:

"Surrey played very well tonight, Laurie and Will Jacks started brilliantly, Sam Curran played a great knock as well and 230 was too much.

"If we'd got somewhere near 200 to chase, it might have been a different story, but they bowled well and it was a tough night.

"It was nice to spend a bit of time in the middle, it wasn't my fluent best but they're a very good bowling outfit and hopefully it'll kick-start the T20 season.

"It's a case of the walking wounded at the moment, fingers crossed Dan can come back soon but Eddie (Byrom) is out for a few months, it's an unforgiving schedule. But we're in good positions in both competitions so we're going to have to regroup and keep going."