Cameron Delport hit the fifth-fastest century in English domestic Twenty20 cricket, from 38 balls, to fire Essex to a 52-run win over Surrey in the Vitality Blast on Friday night.
Delport hit a remarkable 14 sixes and seven fours before he was eventually dismissed for 129 from 49 balls in Essex's 226 for four in a rain-shortened 15 overs at Chelmsford.
Dan Lawrence added a 17-ball half-century, joining Delport in a 135-run stand from just 41 balls, to leave Surrey shellshocked.
Where were you when... 🤯#SoarWithUs pic.twitter.com/iEsetQilYw
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) July 19, 2019
Matt Quinn then claimed three for 34 as Surrey managed 174 for seven in reply. Rory Burns, batting at eight, top-scored for the visitors with an unbeaten 47.
Durham held on for a seven-run win over Northamptonshire in front of their World Cup-winning duo Ben Stokes and Mark Wood at the Riverside.
Stokes and Wood paraded with the World Cup trophy in front of their home fans before play and could have then been forgiven for feeling some sense of deja vu when Northamptonshire were left needing 15 from the final over.
Blast debutant Matty Potts held his nerve, however, allowing only seven runs to clinch victory.
Opener D'Arcy Short top scored for Durham with 46 from 40 balls and shared a 69-run opening stand with Scott Steel as Durham posted 148 for four on a tough pitch.
After Potts claimed two quick wickets Adam Rossington found some fluency, with 47 from 31 balls, but Northamptonshire fell just short as the 20-year-old Potts returned to close out the match.
Gloucestershire right-armer Benny Howell claimed five 18 before the rain that fell across most of the country arrived to prevent a result with Glamorgan 96 for eight at Cheltenham.
🖐 wickets for @bennytweets_! @Gloscricket saw their #Blast19 contest with @GlamCricket abandoned today, but Howell had a lot of fun beforehand!
WATCH 🎥 https://t.co/hi5wAa1eub pic.twitter.com/yRDtUYydPx
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 19, 2019
The wet weather prevented any play in the four other matches scheduled for Friday night.
Champions Worcestershire, who won at Nottinghamshire on opening night, therefore shared the points with derby rivals Birmingham Bears at New Road.
Nottinghamshire are without a win in two games after their trip to Yorkshire was washed out, a fate that befell the matches between Leicestershire and Lancashire as well as the south-coast derby between Hampshire and Sussex.
