T20 tourney set to begin at Devonshire
Night cricket comes to Somerset Cricket Club and Devonshire Rec this week when the Lindo’s T20 tournament is staged over the next five weeks.Group C teams Willow Cuts and PHC meet tonight at Somerset in the opening match of the competition before Devonshire Rec host Flatts and Southampton Rangers meet Warwick in two more matches scheduled for tomorrow. All games will start at 5.45pm.Defending champions Bailey’s Bay, who beat St. David’s by five wickets in last year’s final at Somerset, open the defence of their title on July 3 when they play Devonshire Rec. The East teams — Bay, Rec, Flatts, St. David’s, St. George’s and Cleveland — will play their round robin matches at Devonshire Rec while the West teams will play at Somerset. Group D will be made up of four teams, Southampton Rangers, Somerset, Warwick and Somerset Bridge, while the other three groups will each have three teams.On current form Bay, St. David’s, Willow Cuts and Southampton Rangers look to be firm favourites to win their respective groups and advance to the semi-finals on August 16 and 23 at Somerset. The final will also be played at Somerset on August 30, all Friday night matches.Cuts take on their Western Counties rivals, PHC, in tonight’s match, with all-rounder Malachi Jones in blistering form with the bat following two consecutive centuries. On the weekend Cuts had a comfortable 190-run win over Somerset in a West End derby, while PHC won at home by 35 runs over St. George’s.GroupsGroup A: Bailey’s Bay, Flatts, DevonshireGroup B: St. David’s, St. George’s, ClevelandGroup C: Willow Cuts, Western Stars, PHCGroup D: Southampton, Somerset, Warwick, Somerset BridgeScheduleJune 19: Willow Cuts v PHC (Somerset)June 20: Devonshire v Flatts (Dev. Rec); Southampton v Warwick (Somerset)June 26: St. George’s v Cleveland (Dev. Rec); Somerset v Som. Bridge (Somerset)June 27: East make-up date; Western Stars v PHC (Somerset)July 3: Bailey’s Bay v Devonshire (Dev. Rec); Somerset v Warwick (Somerset)July 4: East make-up date; Willow Cuts v Western Stars (Somerset)July 10: St. David’s v St. George’s (Dev. Rec)July 11: East make-up date; Southampton v Som. Bridge (Somerset)July 17: Bailey’s Bay v Flatts (Dev. Rec); Warwick v Som. Bridge (Somerset)July 18: East make-up date; Southampton v Somerset (Somerset)July 24: Cleveland v St. David’s (Dev. Rec); West make-up dateJuly 25: East and West make-up date