Wow indeed. Having just watched an incredible result of an incredible match at Taunton, and deliberately refrained from checking scores on this match, but relying on updates from Sky, when Nick Knight calmly announced hot off the presses the composition of the last eight, as Sky had not shown the finish of any of the other matches, when I saw the top qtr final as Lancs v Essex Eagles, I think I stopped breathing and was technically in shock for a few seconds.
Even then I thought, have Sky just got this wrong, a monumental mistake, soon to be corrected.
What a night and how I envy all the supporters at Chelmsford tonight.
Not much more I can add which has not already been stated other than to re-emphasise that one can ever write off Essex, or do so at your peril.
Was there anyone genuinely confidant last night that we would qualify? I doubt it very much.
The reason is due to the surprise of the night, with Glamorgan defeating Hampshire, for their first win of the campaign, Hampshire who had thrashed Middlesex by eight wickets the night before, and now Middlesex looking very ragged against Hampshire, rising magnificently to the occasion by out batting a strong Somerset side, in one of the finest T20 matches ever played, with supreme batting skills showcased throughout the match. Magnificent.
A small aside- how will Somerset now feel and react after such a kick in the teeth, as they approach the season climax? Very interesting.
We needed not only to beat Kent, difficult enough, but all other results to go our way, which of course they did. Simply jaw dropping.
The utterly capricious nature of T20 has never been demonstrated better than by tonight’s matches.
Purists decry T20, deriding the swashbuckling immediacy, undermining traditional cricket values of building an innings etc., but what is undeniable is the edge of your seat entertainment T20’s provide, where matches are often decided by a single shot, catch or wicket.
One last point apart from congratulating the spirit shown by the team over the last two weeks in beating Sussex, Surrey and now Kent. Peaking at the right time.
No, what is really interesting now is playing Lancashire on a neutral venue, due to Test Match commitments at Old Trafford.
How will Lancs feel, in what in effect is playing away at a strange ground, and not being rightly rewarded by playing at home?
Long way to travel for our supporters, but for those who cannot make the trip, at least there is the consolation that it is on Sky next Wednesday, the first qtr final.
Momentum is everything in sport. Do we have it?
You bet.
