Surrey book their spot at T20 Blast finals day as Dom Sibley and Tom Curran stand strong
Dominic Sibley and Sam Curran’s stand of 95 in 63 balls ensured that Surrey became the first side to book their place at this year’s T20 Blast finals day.
The South Londoners’ five-wicket victory over Durham on Tuesday night hung in the balance when Curran junior joined Sibley in the middle, with the Oval outfit still needing 110 in 13.4 overs after Durham had recovered from a poor start to post 162-8.
Sibley plundered 67 in 48 deliveries while Curran, whose stock as an in-demand T20 all-rounder all around the world continues to rise, hit 52 off 34 balls, including four sixes as Surrey romped home with two overs to spare.
“To get the job done and get through to finals day is great,” said Sibley.
“We thought Durham were a little bit under par, just with the way the powerplay went and our guys bowled. (Dan) Worrall and (Reece) Topley were immense, but Durham fought back well and got themselves up to a competitive total.
“I tried to play strong shots at the start, but then we lost a few wickets. Sam came in and we just talked it through and tried to build a partnership. I enjoyed having someone with so much T20 experience at the other end to keep me calm.
“Sam has been in great form, both in the Hundred and the Blast. The way he strikes the ball I feel a bit inadequate at times. But he’s a good mate of mine and it was good to have a good partnership.”
Chris Jordan, Surrey’s captain, added: “One of the things we asked of the boys, coming into a big game with a home crowd and big expectations, was to find that right balance between intensity and keeping nice and calm when needs be, and you saw that with the batting especially.
“The pitch here at The Oval has played very similar throughout the whole year and luckily we had two quality bowlers in Dan Worrall and Reece Topley exploit the conditions at the top.”
With Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope likely to be available for county cricket’s showpiece occasion at Edgbaston, on September 14, it would be a brave call to leave out Sibley, who might not have had the chance to steer his side to a quarter-final victory had the pair been around.
“Sibbers has been working really hard on his power game over the last 12 months or so, and when he’s got opportunities in this format he has been consistent,” said Jordan.
“I’m not sure who we’ll have available for finals day, but the beauty of it is that we’ve used 24 players so far. Obviously, it’s job done tonight, that was the first thing.
“We’ve got a couple of weeks until finals day and what will be will be, but whoever is selected I’m sure the boys will be ready.”
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